Spring Festival is the most important festival in China. It is the grandest, most lively and most important ancient traditional festival in China, and it is also a unique festival for China people. The following is the origin of China Spring Festival custom and how to celebrate the Spring Festival in various dynasties in history. I hope it will help everyone.
Origin of Spring Festival:
Spring Festival, the first year of the lunar calendar, is another name for Spring Festival, which is the grandest, most lively and most important ancient traditional festival in China, and also a unique festival for China people. It is the most concentrated expression of Chinese civilization. Since the Western Han Dynasty, the custom of the Spring Festival has continued to this day. Spring Festival generally refers to New Year's Eve and the first day of the first month. However, among the people, the traditional Spring Festival refers to the sacrificial rites from La Worship on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month or on the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month to the 15th day of the first lunar month, with New Year's Eve and the first day of the first lunar month as the climax. How to celebrate this festival, in the thousands of years of historical development, has formed some relatively fixed customs and habits, many of which are still passed down to this day. During the Spring Festival, a traditional festival, the Han nationality and most ethnic minorities in our country have to hold various celebration activities. Most of these activities are mainly about offering sacrifices to gods and buddhas, paying homage to ancestors, getting rid of the old and spreading the new, welcoming the new year and praying for a good harvest. The forms of activities are rich and colorful, with strong national characteristics. On May 21th, 2116, the folk custom of "Spring Festival" was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.
There is a legend about the origin of the Spring Festival. In ancient China, there was a monster called Nian, which had long tentacles and was fierce and unusual. Nian lived at the bottom of the sea for many years, and climbed ashore every New Year's Eve, devouring livestock and hurting people's lives. Therefore, every New Year's Eve, people in villages and villages fled to the deep mountains to avoid the harm of the "Nian" beast. One year on New Year's Eve, an old beggar came from outside the village. The villagers were in a hurry and panic. Only an old woman in the east of the village gave the old man some food and advised him to go up the mountain quickly to avoid the Nian beast. The old man smiled and said, "If my mother-in-law lets me stay at home for one night, I will definitely drive the Nian beast away." The old woman continued to persuade and begged the old man to laugh without saying a word. At midnight, Nian beast broke into the village. It found that the atmosphere in the village was different from that in previous years: the old woman's house in the east of the village had red paper posted on the door, and the candles in the house were brightly lit. "Nian" beast was shaking and gave a long cry. As we approached the door, there was a sudden explosion in the courtyard, and Nian trembled and dared not go forward again. It turns out that Nian is most afraid of red, fire and exploding. At this time, my mother-in-law's door was wide open, and I saw an old man in a red robe laughing in the hospital. "Nian" was frightened to disgrace and fled in confusion. The next day was the first day of the first month, and the people who came back from refuge were very surprised to see that the village was safe and sound. At this time, the old woman suddenly realized and quickly told the villagers about the promise of begging the old man. The story soon spread in the surrounding villages, and people all knew the way to drive away the "Nian" beast. (Hakka legend) Since then, every year on New Year's Eve, every family has posted red couplets and set off firecrackers; Every household is brightly lit by candlelight, and it is better to wait for the new year. In the early morning of the first day, I have to say hello to my relatives and friends. This custom spread more and more widely and became the most solemn traditional festival among the people in China.
Spring Festival custom:
Doing new year's goods
China's annual custom culture has a long history, and various Chinese New Year customs are derived from all parts of the country, with different characteristics in the north and south. Although the customs vary from place to place, preparing new year's goods and sending new year's gifts are "necessary for the New Year" almost all over the country. Buying new year's goods, including food, clothes, clothes, use, stickers (New Year's Eve) and gifts (New Year's Eve), are collectively called "new year's goods", and the process of purchasing new year's goods is called "buying new year's goods". It is an important activity for China people to celebrate the Spring Festival.
offering sacrifices to stoves
folk offering sacrifices to stoves originated from the ancient custom of worshipping fire. For example, "Explanation of Names" said: "Kitchen. Make it, create food. " The kitchen god's duty is to take charge of the kitchen fire and manage the diet. Later, it was expanded to investigate the good and evil in the world, so as to reduce good and evil. Sacrificing kitchen stoves has a history of thousands of years in China, and the belief in kitchen god is a reflection of China people's dream of "having enough food and clothing".
Sweep the dust
On New Year's Eve, there is a custom of "sweeping the dust on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month" (also called house sweeping). The folk proverb says "twenty-four, sweep the house". Folk call it "Dust-cleaning Day". Dust-sweeping means year-end cleaning. Every household should clean the environment, clean all kinds of appliances, remove bedding curtains, sweep the courtyard of Liulu, dust cobwebs and dredge open channels and culverts. Everywhere is filled with the joyful atmosphere of engaging in sanitation and welcoming the Spring Festival cleanly. According to the folk saying: Because of the homonym of "dust" and "Chen", sweeping the dust years ago has the meaning of "removing Chen Buxin". The purpose of sweeping the dust is to sweep away all bad luck and bad luck, so as to pray for a clear auspicious year in the coming year.
cutting the annual meat
The folk proverb says, "On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, pigs are killed to cut the annual meat", which means that meat is mainly prepared for the Chinese New Year on this day. The so-called killing pigs, of course, is to kill their own domestic pigs; The so-called meat cutting means that poor families who don't raise pigs go to the market to buy meat for the New Year. The reason why "cutting annual meat" is put into the annual ballad is because the farming society and economy are underdeveloped, and people can only eat meat in the annual festival, so it is called "annual meat".
Sticking Year Red (waving spring)
Every household sticks Year Red on the 28th, 29th or 31th of the year (Year Red refers to the red festive elements such as Spring Festival couplets, door gods, horizontal banners, New Year pictures and the word "Fu"). It is a traditional Chinese New Year custom in China to stick New Year's Red (waving spring), which adds a festive atmosphere and places people's good expectations for the New Year and a new life.
Spring Festival couplets: According to literary works such as Jade Candle Collection and Yanjing Year, the original form of Spring Festival couplets is what people call "peach symbols". Another source of Spring Festival couplets is spring stickers. The ancients posted the word "Yichun" every day in beginning of spring, and then it gradually developed into Spring Festival couplets. Sticking Spring Festival couplets is also called pasting couplets, spring couplets, couplets, peach symbols, etc. It depicts the background of the times and expresses good wishes with neat, dual, concise and exquisite words, which is a unique literary form in China. Every Spring Festival, no matter in urban or rural areas, every household should select a red Spring Festival couplets and stick them on the door to add festive atmosphere to the festival.
New Year pictures: Hanging New Year pictures during the Spring Festival is also very common in urban and rural areas, and colorful New Year pictures add a lot of prosperous and happy festive atmosphere to thousands of families. New Year pictures are an ancient folk art in China, reflecting people's simple customs and beliefs, and pinning their hopes for the future. With the rise of woodblock printing, the content of New Year pictures is not limited to monotonous themes such as door gods, but has become rich and colorful.
window grilles and the word "Fu": In the folk, people also like to stick various paper-cuts on the windows-window grilles. Window grilles not only set off the festive atmosphere, but also integrate decoration, appreciation and practicality. At the same time, some people have to put the word "Fu" on the doors, walls and lintels. There are also people who elaborate the word "Fu" into various patterns, such as longevity, longevity peach, carp jumping over the dragon gate, abundant grains, dragons and phoenixes, and so on.
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve, also known as New Year's Dinner, reunion dinner, etc., especially refers to the family dinner on New Year's Eve at the end of the year. The New Year's Eve dinner originated from the ancient year-end ritual instrument, which was a reunion dinner after worshipping the gods and ancestors. New Year's Eve dinner is the highlight of the year, which is not only colorful, but also very interesting. Worship the gods and ancestors before the reunion dinner, and eat after the worship ceremony. Generally, there are chicken (which means there is a plan), fish (which means there is more than one year), oyster sauce (which means a good market), Nostoc flagelliforme (which means getting rich), yuba (which means being rich), lotus root (which means being smart), lettuce (which means making money) and sausage (which means being long-lasting) for good luck. China people's New Year's Eve is a family reunion dinner, which is the most abundant and important dinner at the end of the year. ?
There are many tricks of the New Year's Eve, which are different in north and south, and each has its own emphasis. Northerners are used to eating jiaozi during the Spring Festival, which has been handed down from ancient times. Due to geographical and climatic reasons, during the Spring Festival, the northern part of China is still in the cold winter when everything is hidden. In winter, the northern part of China is white and snowy, and it is basically impossible to grow crops. There are few resources and few ingredients to choose from. In the southern region, especially in some coastal areas, full of green is basically in four seasons, and the southern winter has great advantages in vegetables and fruits, so it has more choices in diet choice; In terms of geographical location, it also benefits from the abundant distribution of water resources, so all kinds of catches are sufficient and diverse; Therefore, on some important festivals, the diet in the south will be more varied.
observing the new year's eve
observing the new year's eve is one of the annual custom activities, and the custom of observing the new year's eve has a long history. The folk custom of observing the new year is mainly manifested in that all houses are lit with the new year's fire, and families get together, and keep the "new year's fire" from going out, waiting for the moment to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year. On New Year's Eve, the lights stay on all night. It is said that all houses are lit with candles, especially under the bed, which is called "wasting light". It is said that after such lighting, the wealth at home will be enriched in the coming year. In ancient times, there were different customs in the north and the south. In some places in ancient times, the custom of keeping the old age was mainly to endure the New Year's Eve. For example, in the "Records of Local Customs" written by Zhou Chu in the Jin Dynasty, it was said that everyone gave gifts to each other on New Year's Eve, which was called "giving the old age"; Young and old get together and wish a complete song, which is called "dividing the age"; Sleeping all the year round, waiting for dawn, is called "keeping the age." On New Year's Eve, the whole family get together, eat New Year's Eve, light candles or oil lamps, sit around the stove and chat, and keep vigil all night, symbolizing driving away all evil diseases and looking forward to good luck in the new year.
lucky money
lucky money is one of the old customs. After the annual dinner, the elders should distribute the lucky money prepared in advance to the younger generation. It is said that lucky money can suppress evil spirits, and the younger generation can spend their first year safely with it. Lucky money in folk culture means exorcising evil spirits and keeping peace. The original intention of lucky money is to suppress evil and exorcise evil spirits. Because people think that children are vulnerable to stealth, they use lucky money to suppress evil spirits.
In history, there are many kinds of lucky money, which are usually distributed to the younger generation by elders at the countdown of the New Year, indicating that they are special and contain their concern and sincere wishes for the younger generation. The other is given to the elderly by the younger generation. The "year old" of this lucky money refers to the age, which is intended to look forward to the longevity of the elderly. The earliest traceable lucky money written in the Han dynasty, also known as winning money, is not circulated in the market, but is cast as a ornamental object in the form of coins, which has the function of avoiding evil spirits.
wandering the gods
wandering the gods is one of the traditional New Year customs. Touring the gods, also known as the holy driving parade, the tour master, the camp master, the tour bodhisattva, the tour god tournament, the annual regulations, the greeting of the gods, the spring outing, the incense-walking, the bodhisattva's hometown-walking, the idol-carrying, the idol-walking tour, etc., refers to that people go to the temple to invite the walking idol into the sedan chair during the New Year or other festive festivals, or on the Christmas day of the gods, and then carry it out of the temple for sightseeing. The main purpose is to reward God, eliminate disasters, and pray for blessings. Along the way, you will be accompanied by a variety of artistic performances such as gongs and drums, suona, dolls, lion dances, dragon dances, floating colors, flags, lanterns, octaves, acrobatics and band performances. It is a traditional folk activity integrating worship, prayer, celebration and banquet.
god-wandering in Chaoshan area is also called "god-wandering tournament" and "camp master", which is a traditional folk activity in Chaoshan area. During the Spring Festival every year, in chronological order, villages and towns take turns to hold folk spirit-wandering activities, and the scene is very lively. In western Guangdong, it is also called "You Laoye", "You Bodhisattva", or "Nianshi". The so-called chronology means "tracing back to the past and making examples every year". In Beiliu area, it is also called the "annual example". In the Pearl River Delta region, it is also called "Bodhisattva Hometown". People carry statues and parade around the village to receive blessings. In Fuzhou, it is also called "meeting the gods". The third to fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the time to wander around the gods and become one of the important activities of "doing the year" in the countryside. Wandering gods often take the village as a unit, and sometimes several villages join forces to parade around the village in groups with gongs, drums and firecrackers. The people lined the streets to watch and meet, and the scene was warm.
Worship the New Year
Worship the New Year, one of the annual custom activities. Welcome the new year in the morning of the first year of the year and worship the "God of the Year". "Sui", also known as "Sheti" and "Tai Sui", is the star name of ancient times. Tai sui is also a god of folk beliefs. At the age of 61, the chronology of the cadres and branches of 61 Jiazi is used as the operation cycle, and there is 61 * * people. Every year, there is an old god on duty. In that year, the duty of Tai Sui is called "the duty of Tai Sui", which is the master of one year and is in charge of the good and bad luck of the world. For example, as stated in the "Three Commandments Meeting", "A man who is too old is the one-year-old master and the leader of the gods". Worship the New Year is the oldest traditional Chinese New Year custom, which is still popular in Guangdong, especially in Wuchuan. On the first day of the new year, welcome the new year, worship the gods and receive blessings.
Temple Fair
Visiting temple fairs is one of the folk activities during the Spring Festival. Guangfu Temple Fair and Beijing ditan temple fair are also called the two major temple fairs in China. It covers such theme activities as puppet show, Chinese unique skills, Wulin Congress, Lantern Festival, etc., and contains rich contents such as blessing culture, folk culture, food culture, business and leisure culture.
New Year greetings
Visiting New Year greetings during the Spring Festival is one of the traditional customs of the New Year Festival, and it is a way for people to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new and express their best wishes to each other. On the second and third day of junior high school, I began to visit relatives and friends, pay New Year greetings to each other, congratulate and wish each other, and say something like congratulations on the new happiness, wealth, and happy New Year. The significance of New Year's greetings lies in visiting relatives and friends, congratulating each other on the New Year, expressing feelings for relatives and friends and good wishes for the new year's life. With the development of the times, the custom of New Year's greetings is constantly adding new contents and forms.
Paili is
Paili is one of the long-standing customs, and "profit" also includes writing "profit market" or "profit thing". Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. The word "benefiting the market" has existed since ancient times, and it was recorded as early as the Book of Changes, with the meaning of benefiting more from less. In the yuan dynasty, the textual research on common sayings also mentioned that "for the sake of good omen, you should ask your master for a profit", so it can be seen that profit-making also has the meaning of good luck. According to "Yi Za Zhu", "Doing business for profit, doing things for profit", businessmen call it profit, which means it is beneficial to do anything.
Burning firecrackers
There is a folk saying in China that "open the door and have firecrackers". That is, at the arrival of the new year, the first thing for every household to open the door is to burn firecrackers to eliminate the old and welcome the new with the sound of firecrackers. Fireworks are a specialty of China, also known as "firecrackers", "firecrackers", "firecrackers" and "firecrackers". Its origin is very early. Regarding the evolution of firecrackers, Excellent Popular Arrangement records: "Ancient firecrackers. All of them are popular with real bamboo, so Tang poetry is also called explosive pole. Later generations rolled paper for it. Called "firecrackers". ?
the original purpose of firecrackers is to welcome gods and exorcise evil spirits. Later, with its strong festive color, it developed into a symbol to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Burning firecrackers can create a festive and lively atmosphere, which is a kind of entertainment in festivals and can bring happiness and good luck to people.
How to celebrate the New Year in different dynasties:
According to relevant records, the Spring Festival originated in Yu Shun about 4,111 years ago. It is said that Shun ascended the throne to worship heaven and earth, which was called the first year of the year, which is now called the Spring Festival. Since then, the Spring Festival has been passed down. Although the meaning of the Spring Festival is roughly the same, it is to pray for the New Year at the beginning of the year, to worship ancestors, to worship gods and buddhas, to welcome the New Year and to pray for a bumper harvest, except for the old cloth and the new board, but the Spring Festival of each dynasty is still slightly different.
During the Qin Dynasty, after Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, the Spring Festival was held regularly at the end of autumn, on the first day of October every month, which was called New Year's Day. Its main significance and activities were to celebrate the bumper harvest of that year.
During the Western Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty set the New Year's Day on the first day of the first month of October (that is, the Lunar New Year's Day, which has continued to this day), which was called the first year of the year.