The Spring Festival is the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar, also called the lunar year, commonly known as the "New Year". This is the most solemn and lively traditional festival in our country. The Spring Festival has a long history. It originated from the activities of worshiping gods and ancestors at the beginning and end of the year during the Yin and Shang Dynasties. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, the first day of the first lunar month was anciently called Yuanri, Yuanchen, Yuanzheng, Yuanshuo, New Year's Day, etc. It was commonly known as the first day of the Lunar New Year, and before that it was the New Year's Eve. Haha, it’s probably on the same level as Christmas Eve.

How should you celebrate the traditional Spring Festival?

The 25th day of the twelfth lunar month: Picking up the Jade Emperor to drive away silkworms in the fields during the year of lunar calendar On the 15th, he personally went down to the world to examine the good and evil in the world, and determine the good and bad fortune in the coming year. Therefore, every family worshiped him to pray for blessings, which was called "receiving the Jade Emperor". On this day, you must be cautious in your daily life and words, and strive to perform well in order to win the favor of the Jade Emperor and bring blessings to you in the coming year.

Chasing Luan Sui

After sending the Kitchen God to heaven, he did not welcome him back until New Year's Eve. During this period, there was no god in the world and there were no taboos. Many people got married, which was called "Chasing Luan Sui". Luan Sui is a specific period of time designed by the people to adjust social life. At the end of the year, people have leisure and savings. This is a good time for people who rarely have the energy to do big things.

This is a good time. Therefore, people invented this special time folk custom according to the needs of real life. It can be seen that in traditional societies, the order of people's lives relies on folk customs for regulation.

Shaotian silkworms

Also known as "Shaotian silkworms", "Zhaotian silkworms" and "Shaotian wealth", it is a folk custom of praying for good luck in the Jiangnan area. On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, long poles tied with torches are erected in the fields to use the flames to divine the new year. If the flames are strong, they will herald a good harvest in the coming year. Some places hold this event on New Year's Eve.

Thousand Lantern Festival

It is a religious festival of the Mongolian and Daur people. In Mongolian, it is called "Mingganzhuola", which means Thousand Lantern Festival. On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, people make "mingganzhuola" and light them in the temple. It is believed that the more lights they light, the more auspicious they will be. This festival custom is most popular among the Virat Mongolian people in Xinjiang. Local people eat roast beef and mutton and hold traditional sports and entertainment activities on this day.

The 29th of the twelfth lunar month: Little New Year's Eve to celebrate the new year

Little New Year's Eve

The day before New Year's Eve is called "Little New Year's Eve". There is a banquet at home and people come and visit. "Farewell". Burning incense outdoors is called "tianxiang" and usually takes three days.

New Year's Eve on the 31st day of the twelfth lunar month: Paste the door god, post Spring Festival couplets and set off firecrackers

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve refers to the night of the last day of the twelfth lunar month every year. It is closely related to the Spring Festival (the beginning of the first lunar month) 1) Connected end to end. The word "Chu" in "New Year's Eve" means "to go; to change; to change". New Year's Eve means "the end of the month and the end of the year". People have to get rid of the old and replace the old with the new in the coming year. means, it is the last night of the whole year in the lunar calendar. Therefore, the activities during this period are centered around eliminating the old and bringing in the new, eliminating disasters and praying for blessings.

At the end of each year during the Zhou and Qin dynasties, the "Da Nuo" ceremony would be held in the palace to beat the drums to drive away the ghosts of plague and disaster. This was called "Zhuchu", which was later also called the day before New Year's Eve. It is the Little New Year's Eve, that is, the Little New Year's Eve; New Year's Eve is the Great New Year's Eve, that is, the New Year's Eve.

Sticking to the door god

There is a custom of sticking to the door god during the New Year in various parts of our country. The original door god was carved into a human form of peach wood and hung next to the person. Later, the portrait of the door god was painted and posted on the door. The legendary brothers Shen Tu and Yu Lei specialize in controlling ghosts. With them guarding the door, evil spirits big and small dare not come in and cause harm. After the Tang Dynasty, there were paintings of the fierce generals Qin Qiong and Yuchi Jingde as door gods, and there were also paintings of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as door gods. There is one door-god statue on the left and right. Later generations often painted a pair of door-gods as civil and military. There are three types of door gods: the first type is the "door god", which is usually posted on the car door or the entire door. It is about four or five feet high and two or three feet wide. The second type is the "street door god", which is usually posted on the small street door. It is about two feet high and one foot wide. These two door gods are two gods, one with a black face and one with a white face. White left and black right, white good and easy, black ferocious and evil, each holding a yue. The third category is the "house door god", which is slightly smaller and more limited than the street door god. It also has two gods, black and white, but there are also two gods, black and white, who are seated. The most common thing on the door of the house is a picture of "Qilin presenting his son", which shows two dolls painted with powder and grease and combing the prince's crown, each riding a Qilin. This kind of door god was supposed to be posted on the door of the newly married house to bring good luck, and later it became a New Year decoration on ordinary street doors.

Posting Spring Couplets

Spring couplets are also called "door pairs" and "spring posts". They are a type of couplets. They are named because they are posted during the Spring Festival. One source of Spring Festival couplets is Taofu. At first, people carved human figures in peach wood and hung them by the door to ward off evil spirits. Later, they painted the image of the door god on the peach wood, and then simplified it to inscribing the name of the door god on the peach wood board. Another source of Spring Festival couplets is spring stickers. The ancients often posted the word "Yichun" on the Beginning of Spring, which later developed into Spring Festival couplets. The real popularity of Spring Festival couplets began in the Ming Dynasty, related to Zhu Yuanzhang's advocacy. According to the "Miscellaneous Theory of Hairpin Cloud Tower" written by Chen Shanggu of the Qing Dynasty, one year when Zhu Yuanzhang was preparing to celebrate the New Year, he ordered that a Spring Festival couplet be posted on the door of every house to celebrate. Originally the Spring Festival couplets were inscribed on peach boards, but later they were rewritten on paper. The color of peach wood is red, and red has the meaning of good luck and warding off evil spirits, so the Spring Festival couplets are mostly written on red paper. However, the temple uses yellow paper, and the mourning system (when mourning is not completed) uses white, green, and yellow colors. White paper is used in the first year, green paper in the second year, yellow paper in the third year, and red paper is used after the fourth year of mourning. Paper. Because the Manchu people were still white, the Qing court Spring Couplets used white paper, with blue edges wrapped on the outside and red stripes on the inside.

Pasting blessing characters, window grilles, New Year pictures, and hanging flowers

These all have the folk custom functions of praying for blessings and decorating the residence. New Year pictures are an ancient folk art in my country. They reflect the customs and beliefs of the people and express people's hopes for the future. New Year pictures, like Spring Festival couplets, originated from the "door god". Spring couplets developed from the names of Shen Tu and Yu Lei to text, while New Year pictures still developed along the direction of painting. With the rise of woodblock printing, the content of New Year pictures is no longer limited to door gods, but gradually invites the God of Wealth into the home, and then in some New Year painting workshops, "Three Stars of Fortune, Luxury and Longevity", "Blessings from Heavenly Officials", " Colorful New Year pictures such as "A bumper harvest", "Prosperous livestock", "Welcome the Spring and receive blessings" can satisfy people's good wishes of celebrating the good year. Because Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty advocated posting Spring Festival couplets during the Spring Festival, New Year paintings became popular due to his influence. There are three important production areas of New Year paintings across the country: Taohuawu in Suzhou, Yangliuqing in Tianjin and Weifang in Shandong, forming the three major schools of New Year paintings in my country. In the early years of the Republic of China, Shanghai Zheng Mantuo combined the calendar with New Year pictures. This is a new form of New Year pictures. This two-in-one New Year picture later developed into a wall calendar. Hanging Qian is to use auspicious words engraved on red paper with a long ruler and stick it in front of the door to complement the peach charms. Those with figures of the Eight Immortals on them were hung in front of the Buddha. It is mostly used by thousands of households, but less used by aristocratic families. The yellow paper is three inches long and the red paper is more than an inch long. It is a "small hanging thousand" and is used by shops. The earliest hanging Qiandang was made of coins (copper coins). Like New Year's money, it has the effect of suppressing victory.

Setting up a heaven and earth table

This is a temporary offering table specially designed for New Year’s Eve. Generally, homes that do not have a large Buddhist hall attach great importance to the Heaven and Earth Table, because they usually make less offerings to the Buddha, and at the end of the year a large reward is given to the gods and Buddhas. In addition, this table is mainly used to receive the gods. The content of the Heaven and Earth Table is different from that of the permanent Buddhist hall. In addition to the usual hanging money, incense candles, five offerings, and large offerings, most of the idols enshrined there are also temporary, such as: "hundred percent", It is a woodcut album of god statues; "Eighteen Buddhas and Gods in the Three Realms of Heaven and Earth" is a full deity code printed with watercolor woodcut on large yellow rough-edged paper; portraits of the three stars of fortune, happiness, and longevity, etc. Some of the above statues were burned immediately after receiving the gods, such as "100%". Some have to wait until Powu or even the Festival of Lanterns to burn them. The location of the heaven and earth table is not uniform. If the main room is spacious, it can be placed in the house. If there is no space in the house, it can be placed in the courtyard. Legend has it that this night is when the gods from the sky descend to the realm, so there is a custom among the people to receive the gods.

Staying up late

Chinese people have the habit of staying up late on New Year's Eve, which is commonly known as "staying up late". The New Year's Eve dinner begins with the New Year's Eve dinner. This New Year's Eve dinner should be eaten slowly, starting from the time when the lanterns are turned on. Some people have to eat until late at night. According to Zong Mao's "Jingchu Years' Records", the custom of eating New Year's Eve dinner has existed at least in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The custom of keeping the year old includes not only a feeling of nostalgia for the passing years, but also a good hope for the coming New Year.

Set off firecrackers

When the New Year’s bell rings at midnight, the sound of firecrackers shakes the sky across the entire land of China. In this "Three Yuan" moment of "the Yuan of Year, the Yuan of Moon, and the Yuan of Time", in some places, a "vigorous fire" is built in the courtyard to show that the energy is strong and prosperous. Around the blazing fire, the children set off firecrackers and jumped happily. At this time, there were bright lights inside the house, brilliant sparks in front of the court, and loud noises outside, pushing the lively atmosphere of New Year's Eve to its climax. .

Poets and writers of all ages have always praised the coming of the New Year with their most beautiful verses.

Wang Anshi's poem "Yuan Ri":

The sound of firecrackers marks the end of the year,

The spring breeze brings warmth to the people.

Thousands of households are as bright as the sun.

Always replace old talismans with new ones.

Describes the festive scene of our people celebrating the Spring Festival. The sound of firecrackers is a symbol of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, and an expression of festive mood. Business family. Setting off firecrackers has another meaning: they set off firecrackers on New Year's Eve to make a lot of money in the new year. However, according to old customs, you should be the first to honor the God of Wealth, and the last to set off firecrackers. Legend has it that if you want to make a fortune, the firecrackers should sound until the end to be considered sincere.

Eating New Year’s Eve dinner

While the children are playing and setting off firecrackers, it is also the busiest time for housewives in the kitchen. The New Year dishes have been prepared a few days ago, and The New Year's Eve dinner is always cooked by the chef on New Year's Eve. In the north, dumplings for the New Year's Day are also made on the 30th night. At this time, every chopping board was busy chopping meat and chopping vegetables. At this time, the sound of chopping boards came from every house, the sound of firecrackers came from the streets and alleys, the sound of "crackling" abacus and the mellow sound of accounts coming from the small shops, mixed with the chatter and laughter everywhere, one after another. , filled with ears, intertwined into a cheerful New Year's Eve movement.

Eating New Year’s Eve dinner is the most lively and happy time for every household during the Spring Festival. New Year's Eve. The table is filled with sumptuous New Year dishes, and the whole family is reunited. Sitting around the table and having the reunion dinner together, the sense of fulfillment in my heart is really indescribable. People not only enjoy the table full of delicacies, but also enjoy the happy atmosphere. There are big dishes, cold basins, hot stir-fries, and snacks on the table. Generally, two things are indispensable, one is hot pot. One is fish. The hot pot is boiling, steaming, warm and sultry, indicating that it is booming; "fish" and "yu" are homophonic, which symbolizes "abundance in auspicious celebrations" and also means "abundance every year". There are also radish, commonly known as cabbage, which is used to wish good luck; lobster, fried fish and other fried foods are used to wish prosperity for the family, just like "fire cooking oil". The last part is usually a sweet dish, wishing you a sweet life in the future. On this day, even if you don’t know how to drink, you can drink a little.

There are many famous New Year’s Eve dinners, which vary from north to south, including dumplings, wontons, long noodles, yuanxiao, etc., and each has its own specialties. Northerners are accustomed to eating dumplings during the Chinese New Year, which means "Geng Sui Jiao Zi" (Geng Sui Jiao Zi), the alternation between the old and the new. And because the white flour dumplings are shaped like silver ingots, serving them on the table symbolizes "making a fortune in the new year, and the ingots rolling in". When making dumplings, some people also wrap a few coins that have been sterilized in boiling water, saying that whoever eats them first will make more money. The custom of eating dumplings was passed down from the Han Dynasty. According to legend, the medical sage Zhang Zhongjing saw that the ears of the poor were rotten by the frost during the twelfth lunar month of winter, so he made a "Quhan Jiao Er Decoction" to treat frostbite for the poor. He used mutton, chili peppers and some cold-warming medicinal materials, wrapped them in dough to make ear-shaped "Jiao Er", cooked them in a pot, and distributed them to the poor. After eating, people felt their whole body warm and their ears warm. Later, people followed suit and it has been passed down to this day. Eating wontons during the New Year means taking the beginning of the new year. Legend has it that before the world was created, it was in a state of chaos. Pangu created the world, and then there were four directions in the universe and long noodles, also called longevity noodles. Eating noodles in the New Year is a wish for a hundred years of longevity.

Give New Year's money

New Year's money is given by the elders to the younger ones. In some families, after the New Year's Eve dinner, everyone sits at the table and is not allowed to leave until everyone has finished eating. It is given by the elders to the younger generation, and encourages the children and grandchildren to learn and make progress in the new year and to be a good person. In some homes, parents wait for their children to fall asleep and put them under their pillows at night. In other homes, children gather in the main hall, shout Happy New Year to their grandparents, parents and moms, line up and kneel down, and then reach out for red envelopes. They even went to the grandparents' bedroom and ran to the edge of the bed together, shouting: "New Year's money, New Year's money!" The old man didn't think it was lively enough, so he pretended to be stingy, went from bargaining to besieging and groping, and finally dug out the ancestor's red envelope. After everyone looted everything, they dispersed. The old man was overjoyed when he saw this scene, thinking it was a good sign that everything would go well in the new year. Giving lucky money during the New Year reflects the care of the elders for the younger generation and the respect of the younger generation for the elders. It is a folk activity that integrates family ethical relationships.

There is a nursery rhyme that goes:

Samsung is in the south, and every family wishes New Year greetings;

The younger generation kowtows, and the older generation gives money.

If you don’t want money, just turn your face and leave.

Joining the Gods

Joining the Gods distinguishes the old and new years, but the time of receiving the Gods is not uniform. Some ceremonies begin as soon as Zizheng arrives, some begin to receive the gods at "Zizheng" time, that is, at midnight, and some begin after "Zizheng". After offering sacrifices to the stove, all the gods returned to the heavenly palace and ignored the secular affairs of the human world. At midnight on New Year's Eve, that is, when the new year came, they came to the human world to take care of affairs. The ceremony of receiving the gods is held in front of the heaven and earth table, and is presided over by the eldest member of the family. Because the directions in the heaven where the gods live are different, the directions from the lower world are naturally different. As for which god to pick up and where the god comes from, you must check the "Constitution" in advance, and then lead the whole family to hold incense and pick up the god according to the direction in the courtyard. . For example, the "Constitution" in the Xinwei year states: "The God of Wealth is due east, the God of Fortune is due south, the God of Nobility is northeast, the God of Joy is southwest, the God of Taisui is southwest, etc." After kowtowing according to the direction, stand still until the incense is gone, kowtow again, and finally remove the incense roots, idols, ingots, etc., and put them into the money and grain basin that has been prepared in the courtyard for burning. When burning, burn pine branches, sesame straw, etc. together. Firecrackers went off during the reception, and the atmosphere was extremely intense.

Trampling on the evil spirits

After receiving the god, spread sesame straw from the street door to the house door, and people walk on it and make a crackling sound, which is called "trampling on the new year". It's called "trampling on evil spirits". Since "broken" and "祟" have the same pronunciation, it means starting to drive away evil spirits in the new year.

Ancestor worship

In ancient times, this custom was very popular. Due to the different etiquette and customs in different places, the forms of ancestor worship are also different. Some go to the wild to visit their ancestors' tombs, some go to the ancestral hall to worship their ancestors, and most of them place the ancestor's tablets in the main hall in sequence at home, display the offerings, and then the worshipers press the long The younger ones offer incense and kneel down in order. When Han people worship their ancestors, they usually make fish and meat bowls, which are served in high bowls, which is quite similar to eating with bells and cauldrons.

For southerners living in Beijing, ancestor worship is particularly grand. Most of them are eight bowls of dishes, with a hot pot in the middle and cups and chopsticks according to the spiritual position. On New Year's Eve, New Year's Day and New Year's Eve, the hot pot is fanned out and replaced at any time. vegetable. Banner people worship their ancestors, which is different from Manchuria and Mongolia. Mongolian Banner people offer yellow rice noodles fried in butter, which are fried in sesame oil and dipped in white sugar when they are removed, which gives them a different flavor. Manchurian bannermen worshiped their ancestors and offered walnut cakes, hibiscus cakes, apples, and plain wax sandalwood, which was extremely quiet and solemn. On New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, vegetarian rice dumplings are served, and on Yuan Yuan night, the Lantern Festival is served. Every morning and evening, incense is burned, kowtow is offered, and new tea is offered. Although there are different forms of ancestor worship, most of them are hung on New Year's Eve and the offerings are withdrawn on the night of the Lantern Festival. Relatives and friends who are close to you must also visit the ancestor hall when paying New Year's greetings. Not only should they be careful to follow the distant past, but they will never forget their intentions, because of the virtue of respecting their ancestors. , also saved by this.

Sending the God of Wealth

In the old days, since the opening of the Wealth Gate at midnight during the Spring Festival, people would send gifts to the God of Wealth. They would hold a piece of paper printed on the God of Wealth outside the door and shout: "Send the God of Wealth." Here comes the Lord!" At this time, the owner of the house, in order to welcome the God of Wealth, gave the visitor a reward, and of course he always said some auspicious words when giving it to the God of Wealth. For example: "The gold and silver treasures are rolling in"! "There are a pair of golden lions on the left and a pair of golden phoenixes on the right"! And so on and so on. Another way is to dress up as the God of Wealth, wearing a red robe, a gauze hat, a fake beard, and a yellow bag for collecting money, followed by a few gongs and drums, going from house to house. Distribute statues of the God of Wealth in order to collect rewards. Every time I go to someone's door, I sing: "The left compartment is full of gold and silver, and the right side is full of treasures." A lot of auspicious words are uttered, until the owner happily takes the red paper statue of the God of Wealth. , gave them some money, and these people who pretended to be the God of Wealth, thanked them repeatedly, beat hard for a while, and moved to another house amidst the sound of gongs and drums.

Drinking Tusu wine

Tusu wine is a medicinal wine. In ancient customs, the whole family drank Tusu wine on Yuan Day to dispel unhealthy energy. The method of making Tusu wine is: use one penny of rhubarb, one penny and five cents of platycodon, and one penny and five cents of Sichuan pepper, one penny and eight cents of osmanthus heart, one penny and two cents of dogwood, and one or two pieces of saposhnikovia. Take it up at Yinshi and boil it for four or five times with wine. In ancient times, the way to drink Tusu wine was very unique. Most people always start drinking from the oldest ones; but when drinking Tusu wine, it is just the opposite, starting from the youngest ones. Probably the young ones grow up day by day and drink first to show their congratulations, while the older people drink later to show their retention as each year passes. The poem "Chu Ri" written by Su Che, a writer of the Song Dynasty, said: "I drink Tusu at the end of the year, and I am more than seventy years old before I know it." This is what this custom is about. This unique drinking order often evoked various emotions in ancient times, so it left a deep impression on people.

New Year's Meal

In the north, some families also provide a bowl of rice, which is cooked before the New Year and served during the New Year. This is called "New Year's Meal" because there is leftover every year. There is endless food to eat all year round, so this year it means eating the food from the past year. This pot of rice and millet is usually cooked with a mixture of rice and millet. As the saying goes in Beijing, it is called "two rice rice" because it has yellow and white. This is called "gold and silver rice, and the pot is full of gold and silver". The cakes, fruits and pastries prepared in many places during the observance of the New Year are all intended to bring good luck: eating dates (early spring), eating persimmons (all goes well), eating almonds (happy people), and eating immortality fruit (immortality) ) and eat rice cakes (which get higher every year). On New Year's Eve, the whole family ate, had fun, talked and laughed.

The first day of the first lunar month: Happy New Year and fortune with stickers on chickens

The first day of the first lunar month

The Spring Festival is commonly known as "Chinese New Year", formerly known as "New Year's Day". "Zhu Baodian" says: "The first month is the end of the month, and its first day is the Yuan day, which is also the Zhengchao and Yuan Shuo." The original meaning of "Yuan" is "head", which was later extended to "beginning", because this day It is the first day of the year, the first day of spring, and the first day of the first month, so it is called "Sanyuan"; because this day is also the dynasty of the year, the dynasty of the moon, and the dynasty of the sun, it is also called "Three Chaos"; and because this day is also the dynasty of the year, the dynasty of the moon, and the dynasty of the sun. It is the first lunar day, so it is also called "Yuan Shuo". The first day of the first lunar month is also known as Shangri, Zhengchao, Sanshuo, and Sanshi, which means that the first day of the first lunar month is the beginning of the year, month, and day.

China is an ancient multi-ethnic country. Different nationalities in different historical periods have determined their own New Year's Day based on their own cultural traditions and customs, that is, changing it to "Zhengshuo" and correcting the time of the first day of the lunar month. Emperor Zhuanxu and the Xia Dynasty both used the first lunar month of Mengchun as the Yuan Dynasty, that is, using the Xia calendar of the Jian Yin period, the first day of the first lunar month was New Year's Day; the Shang Dynasty used the Yin calendar, and the Yin calendar Jian Chou took the first day of the twelfth lunar month as the New Year's Day; the Zhou Dynasty used the Zhou calendar, and the Zhou Dynasty used the Zhou calendar. The first day of the eleventh month of the lunar calendar was used as New Year's Day; the Qin Dynasty used the Qin calendar, which marked the first day of the 11th lunar month as New Year's Day; the Qin calendar was still used in the early Western Han Dynasty, and was switched to the first year of Taichu in the Han Dynasty (AD 104). The Taichu calendar created by Sima Qian and Luo Xiahong reused Jianyin's Xia calendar, with the first day of the first lunar month as New Year's Day. From then on, except for Wang Mang and Emperor Ming of Wei who once switched to the Yin calendar of Jian Chou, and Empress Wu and Su Zong of the Tang Dynasty switched to the Zhou calendar of Jian Zi, all dynasties used the Xia calendar until the end of the Qing Dynasty.

The Revolution of 1911 overthrew the monarchy. One day before Sun Yat-sen traveled from Shanghai to Nanjing to take office, the Nanjing Senate decided to switch to the Gregorian calendar and use the Republic of China to mark the year. However, the lunar calendar has been in use for a long time and is helpful for arranging farm work. Therefore, people still prefer the lunar calendar.

Open the door and firecrackers

On the morning of the Spring Festival, when the door opens, firecrackers are set off first, which is called "opening the door and firecrackers." After the sound of firecrackers, the ground was filled with red, shining like clouds and brocade, which was called "full of red". At this time, the streets were full of auspiciousness and joy.

New Year's greetings

An important activity during the Spring Festival is to go to new friends' homes and neighbors to wish them a happy New Year, formerly known as New Year's greetings. The custom of paying New Year greetings among the Han people has been around since the Han Dynasty. It became very popular after the Tang and Song Dynasties. Some people who did not need to go there in person could send congratulations with name cards. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was called "thorn", so the business card was also called "name thorn". After the Ming Dynasty, many families put a red paper bag on their door to collect name cards, called a "door book".

The forms of mutual New Year visits between people can be roughly divided into four categories according to their social relationships:

The first is visiting relatives. On the first day of the new year, you must visit your father-in-law and bring gifts. After entering the door, first kowtow three times to the Buddha statue, the image of the ancestors, and the tablets, and then kneel down to the elders in turn. You can stay to eat and play.

The second is a courtesy visit. If you are wishing New Year greetings to colleagues or friends, as soon as you enter the house, you should only kowtow three times to the Buddha statue. If you are the same generation as the host, you only need to bow your hands and bow. If you are older than you, you should still take the initiative to kneel down and the host should get down from the seat and make a gesture of support. Even saying "no courtesy" shows humility. In this situation, it is generally not advisable to sit for long periods of time. Just say a few polite words before leaving. After the host has been worshiped, he should choose a day to return to worship.

The third is a grateful visit. Anyone who has been in debt to others over the past year (such as lawyers, doctors, etc.) should buy some gifts and send them to them as a way to express their gratitude during the New Year.

The fourth is door-to-door visits. We don't have much contact with our neighbors on weekdays, but we can always talk to each other when we meet. When New Year's Eve comes, we just go to the courtyard, hug each other's fists and say, "Congratulations on getting rich," and "Everything goes well, everything goes well." Just sit there for a while, not much etiquette.

In ancient times, there were differences between New Year greetings and New Year greetings: New Year greetings were to kowtow to the elders; New Year greetings were to congratulate each other.

Nowadays, in some agencies, groups, companies, and schools, everyone gathers together to congratulate each other, which is called "group worship."

New Year greetings are a traditional custom among Chinese people. It is a way for people to say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new year, and to express their best wishes to each other. In ancient times, the original meaning of the word "bainian" was to congratulate the elders on the New Year, including kowtowing to the elders, giving blessings, wishing them a happy new year, and greeting them with well-being. When you meet relatives and friends of the same generation, you should also give congratulations.

In ancient times, if there were too many relatives and friends in the neighborhood and it was difficult to visit them all, servants would be sent to bring business cards to pay New Year greetings. This was called a "flying post". A red paper bag was posted in front of each house with the words " The two words "receive blessing" are used to inherit the flying posts. This custom began in the upper class society of the Song Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty's "Yantai Moon Order" describes the Beijing New Year: "It's the moon, the movies are flying, and the empty carriages are driving away." It became fashionable. Rich families have a special "door book" to record the comings and goings of guests. There are four virtual "visitors" on the front page of the door book: one is an old man who lives a hundred years, and lives in Baisui Fang Lane; the other is a rich man named Yu. , lives in Yuanbao Street; one is called Mr. Gui Wuji, who lives in the University Scholar's Archway; the other is Mr. Fu Zhaolin, who lives in the Wufu Building. In order to seek good fortune and seek luck. To this day, giving out New Year's cards and greeting cards during the Spring Festival is a legacy of the ancient tradition of sending flying messages to each other.

It is a custom for upper-class scholar-bureaucrats to congratulate each other with name cards. Zhou Hui, a native of the Song Dynasty, said in "Qingbo Magazine": "During the Yuanyou years of the Song Dynasty, servants were often used to carry famous thorns to celebrate the New Year." At that time, the scholar-bureaucrats had many contacts, and it would take both time and energy to visit people from all over the world to pay New Year greetings. Therefore, some friends who were not close to each other did not go there in person. Instead, they sent servants to bring a two-inch wide, three-inch paper cut from plum blossom paper. An inch-long card with the name, address and congratulatory words of the congratulatory person written on it is sent to express New Year greetings on your behalf. In the Ming Dynasty, people paid homage instead of paying New Year greetings. Wen Zhengming, an outstanding painter and poet of the Ming Dynasty, described it in his poem "New Year's Greetings": "I don't ask for a meeting, but for a visit. Famous papers come from the dynasty and fill the house. I also throw in a few papers with others. The world hates them for being simple but not too empty." The "names" and "names" mentioned here are the origins of today's New Year's cards. New Year's cards are used to connect feelings and exchange greetings. They are convenient and practical and are still popular today.

Since about the Qing Dynasty, New Year greetings have added the form of "group worship". Qing Dynasty native Yi Lanzhu said in "Side Hat Yu Tan": "At the beginning of the year, the capital routinely performs group worship to connect the New Year. "Friendship is to strengthen the nostalgia", "Every year, guests are booked by the New Year's Book Red Book, and there are meals and banquets to enjoy the day."

With the development of the times, the custom of New Year greetings has constantly added new content and forms. Nowadays, in addition to following the previous methods of New Year greetings, people have also developed ceremonial New Year greetings via telegrams and telephone calls.

However, from the first to the fifth day of the first lunar month, most families do not accept women, which is called "taboo". Only men can go out to visit the New Year, while women must wait until after the sixth day of the first lunar month to visit. The New Year greeting activities will be extended for a long time, until around the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month. Visiting people to pay New Year greetings in the evening is called the "Ye Bao Festival", and after the tenth day of the Lunar New Year, it is called the "Lantern Festival", so there is a joke that "if you are willing to pay New Year greetings, it is not too late to eat cold food."

If for some reason you fail to follow the rituals and make up for it in the future, it is called "paying homage to the old age"

Ziying Sui

In the old days, people used to enter the new year of the new year. The weather will be cloudy and sunny this year. The theory begins with "Sui Zhan" written by Dongfang Shuo of the Han Dynasty, which states that eight days after the end of the year, one day is the chicken day, the second day is the dog day, the third day is the pig day, the fourth day is the sheep day, the fifth day is the cow day, the sixth day is the horse day, and the seventh day is the horse day. One day is a great man, eight days is a valley. If the day is sunny, the object will flourish; if the day is cloudy, the object will not prosper. Later generations followed this custom and believed that the weather from the first to the tenth day of the lunar month was auspicious with clear weather, no wind and no snow. Later generations developed from accounting for age into a series of sacrifices and celebrations. There is a custom of no killing of chickens on the first day of the lunar month, no killing of dogs on the second day of the lunar month, no killing of pigs on the third day of the lunar month, and no execution on the seventh day of the lunar month.

Painting chickens

In ancient times, chickens were painted on doors and windows during the Spring Festival to drive away ghosts and evil spirits. The "Xuanzhong Ji" written by the Jin Dynasty talks about the aforementioned rooster on Dushuo Mountain. It is said that when the sun just rose and the first ray of sunlight shone on this big tree, the rooster appeared. It cried. As soon as it crows, all the chickens in the world will start crowing. Therefore, the chicken cut during the Spring Festival actually symbolizes the rooster. However, in ancient mythology, there is also a saying that the chicken is the transformation of the Chongming bird. It is said that during the reign of Emperor Yao, the friendly countries that passed over paid tribute to a Chongming bird that could ward off evil spirits. Everyone welcomed the arrival of the Chongming bird. However, the tribute envoys did not come every year, so people carved a wooden Chongming bird or cast a Chongming bird. Placing the bird on the doorway or painting the Chongming bird on the doors and windows can scare away demons and ghosts so that they do not dare to come again. Because the Chongming birds resemble chickens, people gradually changed to painting chickens or cutting window grilles and pasting them on doors and windows, which became the source of paper-cut art in later generations.

In ancient my country, chickens were particularly valued and were called "the bird of five virtues". "Han Shi Wai Zhuan" says that it has a crown on its head, which is a virtue; it has a distance behind its feet and can fight, it is a martial virtue; it dares to fight in front of the enemy, it is a brave virtue; it has food to greet its kind, it is a benevolent virtue; it keeps vigil at night without losing sight of it. When the dawn comes, it is faith. Therefore, people not only cut chickens during the Chinese New Year, but also designate the first day of the New Year as Rooster Day.

Gathering Wealth

It is said that the first day of the first lunar month is the birthday of the broom. You cannot use a broom on this day, otherwise it will sweep away luck, lose money, and attract the "broom star", which will bring bad luck. . If you must sweep the floor, you must sweep from the outside to the inside. It is also not allowed to throw water or rubbish outside on this day, for fear of losing money. Today, many places still have a custom of cleaning up on New Year's Eve. On New Year's Day, no brooms are taken out, no garbage is taken out, and a large bucket is prepared to hold waste water, and no spilling is allowed on that day.

The second day of the first lunar month: Worshiping the God of Wealth

Sacrificing the God of Wealth

In the north, people worship the God of Wealth on the second day of the first lunar month. On this day, both commercial shops and ordinary families have to worship the God of Wealth. Activities are held to worship the God of Wealth. Every family offers sacrifices to the God of Wealth they received on New Year's Eve. In fact, they burned the crude prints they bought. We will eat wontons at noon today, commonly known as "Yuanbao Soup". Sacrificial offerings include fish and mutton. Big business houses in old Beijing hold large-scale sacrificial activities on this day. The sacrifices must be made from the "five major offerings", namely whole pigs, whole sheep, whole chickens, whole ducks, live red carp, etc., in the hope of making a fortune this year. There are different opinions on who the God of Wealth is, mainly as follows:

Zhao Gongming is also called Zhao Xuantan because Zhang Tianshi once ordered him to guard the Xuantan. This person comes from "The Romance of the Gods", Jiang Ziya named him "the god of the golden dragon, Ruyi Zhengyi, the true king of the dragon and tiger Xuantan". Zhao Mingliang, also known as Gongming, is the god of Xuanwu in Taoism, commonly known as Master Zhao Gong. This theory comes from "The Encyclopedia of Searching the Gods of the Three Religions", and the full name of the holy name is: "General Manager Shangqing Zhengyixuan Altar Flying Tiger Golden Wheel Law Enforcement Zhao Yuanshi".

Bigan: The uncle of King Zhou of Yin, who had his heart ripped out because of his loyalty and uprightness. Because he was "unintentional" and unbiased, later generations regarded him as the God of Wealth. This matter is recorded in "Historical Records·Yin Benji".

Fan Li: A minister under King Gou Jian of Yue during the Spring and Autumn Period. He helped the King of Yue defeat Wu. Later, he made a fortune in business and changed his name to Tao Zhugong. Later generations regarded him as the god of wealth.

Guan Yu: Guan Yu in the Three Kingdoms was an "all-powerful" figure who valued loyalty the most. Later generations treated "righteousness" and "profit" equally and regarded him as the god of wealth. Most businesses in general worship Guan Yu, believing that he has a protective effect on the business.

Among the above-mentioned gods of wealth, Fan Li, Bigan and others are called the gods of wealth, while Zhao Gong, Tianshi and Guan Yu are the gods of martial wealth. In addition, there are those who worship Taibai Star, called "Caibo Star Lord". Because Taibai is also called Venus, it is associated with the God of Wealth. There are also those who regard the Monkey King and the Lucky Boy as their gods of wealth.

Most of the folk offerings are from Zhao Gongming. The printed image is very majestic, with a black face and thick beard, a helmet on top, a whip in hand, surrounded by patterns such as cornucopias, large ingots, and corals. , to set off and highlight the gorgeous and luxurious effect.

On the third day of the first lunar month: Burning the door god paper and fasting rice

Burning the door god paper

In the old days, on the third day and night of the first lunar month, the pine and cypress branches during the New Year and festivals were hung. The door gods, door notes, etc. are burned together to indicate that the new year is over and business is about to begin again. As the saying goes, "Burn the door god paper, and you will find your own health."

Millet Birthday

People believe that the third millet birthday is the first month of the first lunar month. On this day, sacrifices are made to pray for good luck, and rice is not allowed.

Little New Year's Day

It is the Tianqing Festival. It was a court festival in the Song Dynasty. In the first year of Dazhong Xiangfu of Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, Zhenzong issued an edict declaring the third day of the first lunar month as the Tianqing Festival, and officials and others took a five-day holiday. Later, it was called the Xiaonian Dynasty. It did not sweep the floor, beg for fire, or draw water, which was the same as the Sui Dynasty.