"Fujian People's Spring Festival Customs and Habits"
The Spring Festival was called "New Year's Day" in ancient times, which refers to the beginning of the new year. Also called "New Year's Day", commonly known as
"Fujian People's Spring Festival Customs and Habits" and "Looking at the World"
The text of the article "Fujian People's Spring Festival Customs and Habits" about "Looking at the World" begins> > The Spring Festival was called "New Year's Day" in ancient times, which refers to the beginning of the new year. Also called "New Year's Day", commonly known as "Nian".
The Spring Festival is the most solemn and grand traditional festival for people of all ethnic groups in Fujian Province. In terms of time, the core of the Spring Festival is the first day of the first lunar month. Folk activities mainly include official ceremonies, sacrifices, New Year greetings, recreation, etc.
1. Kaizheng
It refers to choosing a good time to open the door at midnight on New Year's Eve, while burning incense, lighting candles, and setting off firecrackers, which indicates the new year. At the beginning, I also prayed for good luck and prosperity. The time of "Kaizheng" is calculated based on the heavenly stems and earthly branches of that year, and most people act according to the records in the almanac. During the "Kaizheng" period, before dawn, every house is brightly lit, cigarettes are swirling, and the sound of firecrackers can be heard one after another, making it very lively for a while.
"Kaizheng" is called "Kaichun" in Longhai; in Gutian, it is called "Kai Nian"; in Shaxian, it is called "Jie Nian"; while in Nanping, Shaowu, Shunchang, Guangze and Liancheng , Changting, Qingliu and other places call it "opening the door" or "opening the gate". The "Kai Zheng" ceremony is similar across the province. In Xiamen, "On New Year's Day, people burn incense paper, set off firecrackers, and close the door immediately."① In the rural areas of Jiangle, if multiple families live in one house, the person who opens the door must be a respected elder with a family full of descendants. I hope he can bring good luck and happiness to everyone in the new year. well-being. In some rural areas in Ninghua, people set off firecrackers before opening the door, and walk through every room in the house before opening the door. In Wuping, the whole family should be present when the door opens. If there are outsiders, they are not allowed to participate. After opening the door, kowtow in the direction of the God of Wealth as shown in the "Spring Ox Picture". In Shaowu, if someone is accidentally hit by a firecracker and bleeds, it is called "blood color". It is said to be an excellent sign and he will make a fortune this year.
Nowadays, the practice of choosing the "opening" time is basically gone. Generally, firecrackers and fireworks are set off at midnight on New Year's Eve to welcome the new year. In recent years, televisions have become popular, and most families in urban and rural areas across the province sit in front of the televisions to watch CCTV's "Spring Festival Gala" program. At midnight, when the New Year's bell rings on TV, people light firecrackers and set off fireworks in unison. The grand occasion is by no means comparable to the "opening" of the past. This new custom is so popular in cities and towns that the public security department notified citizens to restrict the locations where fireworks and firecrackers can be set off, and advised residents to pay attention to fire safety. Large cities in the province have banned fireworks and replaced them with audio tapes recording the sound of firecrackers.
2. Sacrifice to gods
Sacrifice to gods is an indispensable and important ritual in the old days after "Kaizheng". Sacrifice to gods mainly includes worshiping heaven and earth, family gods and ancestors. Before the sacrifice, offerings should be placed on the long table in the hall. The offerings vary from place to place, but generally include wine, fruits (mostly tangerines or tangerines), rice cakes, pure tea, sweet wine, "New Year rice" with red paper flowers, and flowers. In some places, it is purely vegetarian, with "fruit, tea, wine, and New Year's rice to worship heaven"②. Yongchun also offers dumpling soup, Zhangzhou also offers noodles cooked with brown sugar, and Tongan also offers daylily, dried longan, etc. Many families in Quanzhou move the "Tiangong's Birthday" on the ninth day of the first lunar month to offer sacrifices after "Kaizheng", and the offerings are even more particular, including three animals, five fruits and six fasts. When worshiping gods, the elders of the family will preside over it. The whole family will dress up and worship the gods of heaven and earth. They will burn incense, candles, and gold paper to pray for family safety, good luck, good fortune, and longevity in the new year. This is the so-called "ritual". God prays for good years." Next, ancestors are worshiped in order of age and age. In Luoyuan, "On New Year's Day, when you set up an incense table and worship on that day, it is called 'Qi Yin'." ③ In some places, sacrificial activities are also held at other times. In Xiamen, ancestor worship is held at noon on the first day of the Lunar New Year. There are also places where sacrificial activities are held at other times. In Xiamen, ancestor worship is held at noon on the first day of the Lunar New Year. In Liancheng, ancestor worship is called "tutu worship". On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, the clan leader leads his descendants to perform it in the ancestral temple. In Datian, there is a folk custom of drinking ginger tea (that is, adding ginger and rice flowers to boiled sugar water) on the first day of the Lunar New Year. At this time, a cup of ginger tea should be served in front of the ancestral shrine, and the sacrifice should be performed in the ancestral temple after breakfast.
After worshiping the gods, the offerings are kept for one more day before being removed, and some are kept until the fifth day of the lunar month. Among them, fruits such as red oranges should be placed on the 15th day of the first lunar month during the Yuanxiao Festival. In Fu'an, the burning of incense on the hall chief's desk lasts for three days.
In Longhai and Longjiang, fishermen buy large bundles of sugar cane with roots and leaves during the Spring Festival and tie them to the mast of the ship with red silk cloth to pray for a sweet new year. Sugar cane cannot be taken off and eaten until the third day of the Lunar New Year, otherwise it is said to be a bad omen.
Nowadays, many rituals to worship gods are not popular, but some people still offer fruits and light incense and candles. Although they are not without the meaning of worshiping ancestors, they also add to the festive atmosphere.
3. New Year's greetings
New Year's greetings, also known as "Blessings to Zheng", "Happiness to Zheng" and "Happiness to Spring", are one of the important activities of the Spring Festival. New Year greetings can be divided into three types:
The first type is in one's own home. After worshiping the ancestors, the younger generation pays New Year greetings to the elders in turn. In the old records, "The young and the elders worship in sequence" ④ and "The younger and the younger worship their elders in order" ⑤ fall into this category. In the old days, it was necessary to kneel down and salute, but later it was gradually changed to bowing. Although there are people who bow and salute to this day, most of them only say things like "New Year's greetings" and "Longevity".
After accepting the New Year's greetings from the younger ones, the elders should reward them with red envelopes (i.e. New Year's money, some New Year's money is given on New Year's Eve) or red oranges, etc. Nowadays, the time for New Year greetings has also changed. Since many children in cities and towns are separated from their parents, they usually bring their children back to pay New Year greetings to their parents on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year.
The second type is to use the clan as a unit to pay New Year greetings in the ancestral hall and ancestral temple, which is similar to the current "group worship". According to the "Etiquette and Customs" (Volume 19) of "Lianjiang County Chronicles" (Volume 19) of the Republic of China: After people worshiped gods and ancestors, they "entered the ancestral temple, worshiped in order of their clans, inserted tangerines with arborvitae leaves, and each person received one or two "Everyone who worships his ancestors in the ancestral temple has the custom of paying New Year greetings to his family after the sacrifice." This type of New Year greeting is no longer fashionable.
The third type is New Year greetings between relatives, friends, neighbors and old friends. (Guangxu) "Folk Customs" (Volume 38) of "Zhangzhou Prefecture Chronicles" records: "After the sacrifice on the first day of the year, no one of high or low will wear new clothes, and visit relatives to celebrate the New Year. The owner pays Xinpan gold coins, and pedestrians look at each other on the road. On the fifth day It just stops." The old records of Longhai, Nanjing and other places also have similar records. This is a New Year greeting to relatives. When paying New Year greetings, the guest bows to the host, wishing the host all the best, a safe family, and prosperity in the New Year, and the host bows in return. A popular greeting in Fuzhou is "Qi Fa, Qi Fa". Some places pay special attention to the time of New Year greetings. There is a saying in Liancheng, "On the first day of the lunar month, the ancestor is the second son. On the third and fourth lunar days, the son-in-law is the son-in-law. On the fifth and sixth day of the lunar month, there is wine but no meat." It means paying homage to relatives on the first day of the lunar month, and paying homage to the father-in-law and uncle on the second day of the lunar month. If it is the third or fourth day of the lunar month to pay New Year greetings to the father-in-law and uncle, it would be a neglect and can only be a "wild son-in-law". If I go on the fifth or sixth day of the Lunar New Year, it will be even too late, so I apologize for the poor reception. If you take your children to pay New Year greetings to relatives, they will often get a piece of "New Year's money" and at least two red oranges. Therefore, there is a saying in Fuzhou: "Worrying New Year's greetings, even if you don't have oranges, you still have money." In Zhao'an, relatives and friends wish each other New Year's greetings. The first person to greet each other should loudly say "New Year's Eve as you wish", and the other party should reply "Everyone, everyone" to express that both parties are happy with each other. When celebrating the New Year, you should bring two red oranges, some candies, etc. The other party accepts the gift and returns the red orange to show that both parties are lucky. In the Sanming area, you must first go to the homes of your relatives and teachers to pay New Year greetings, otherwise it will be disrespectful. But the first family you go to should not be someone with the surname Wang (a homophone for "death") or Wu (a homophone for "nothing"). You should also avoid families with the surname Sang (a homophone for "mourning") and Jia (a homophone for "fake").
Students go to their teacher’s home to pay New Year greetings. When visiting, they bow their hands, say “New Year’s greetings” and “Congratulations”, and then leave immediately. Generally, they do not accept entertainment. If you go to a friend's home to pay New Year's greetings, you can be more casual. The host will wait for the guests with cigarettes, tea, candies, and oranges. Even if they are ordinary acquaintances, when they meet on the road, they will all say auspicious words such as "Gong Xi Fa Cai".
The time for New Year greetings is mostly from the first to the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, but there are exceptions. When the residents of Matsu Island celebrate New Year’s Eve, relatives and friends begin to pay New Year greetings to each other. In Zhangping, Ninghua, Youxi, Shaowu, Chong'an and other places, people do not go out to pay New Year's greetings on the first day of the Lunar New Year. The custom in Ninghua, Youxi and other places is that you can go to public places to have fun on the first day of the new year, but you don't go from house to house. Many of these customs no longer exist now.
In Ninghua, Shaowu and other places, people only start visiting relatives and friends’ homes for New Year greetings on the second day of the Lunar New Year. However, in some places in Xiapu, it is taboo to celebrate the New Year with relatives on this day. If there is an old man with the same surname celebrating his birthday, he should give him longevity noodles. In the past, birthday greetings were held at night in the first ten days of the first lunar month, which was called "Warm Birthday", but this is not the case now.
In Fu'an, the second day of the Lunar New Year is the festival day. You can do things like wash clothes and chop firewood, but you can't go to guests or receive guests. In Fuqing, the second day of the Lunar New Year is the day to mourn the deceased. Anyone who has a new bereavement should set up a memorial seat for the deceased so that relatives and friends can express their condolences. In Putian, Xianyou and some places in northern Hui'an, the second day of the Lunar New Year is the Day to Visit the Dead. It is said that in the 42nd year of Jiajing reign of Ming Dynasty (1563), Japanese pirates invaded and burned, killed and looted wantonly. After the national hero Qi Jiguang defeated the Japanese pirates, the people who took refuge in the mountains began to return home on the second day of February, only to see the Japanese pirates passing by with iron hoofs, corpses lying on top of each other, and devastation everywhere. Relatives, friends, and neighbors didn't know whose family had suffered a disaster or died, so they visited each other and helped bury their relatives. According to later generations, the second day of February was called the "Day of Exploration of the Dead". Later, this anniversary was changed to the second day of the first lunar month between "Little New Year's Eve" (New Year's Eve) and "New Year's Eve" (the fourth day of the first lunar month, see the "New Year's Eve" article below for details). From then on, every year on the second day of the first lunar month, people would not visit each other's homes to avoid the taboo of "exploring the dead". However, there are many inconveniences, so it is a common practice that anyone who visits the door on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year to pay New Year greetings will not violate the taboo if he visits the door again on the second day of the Lunar New Year. For this reason, there are particularly many people paying New Year's greetings on the first day of the Lunar New Year in exchange for freedom of movement on the second day of the Lunar New Year.
In the old days, Fuzhou floating residents (commonly known as "day people") had a special New Year custom: within a few days after the second day of the first lunar month, floating residents (both men and women, old and young, mostly under middle age) gathered together Women), dressed in costumes and carrying baskets, go to the streets and alleys of the city to sing songs to celebrate the New Year. Those who received the congratulations were given rice cakes, rice cakes and other foods as gifts. Regardless of whether the residents on the water are rich or poor, at least one person from each family must participate in the New Year greetings. It is said that this is like eating a meal from a hundred families, and it can ensure that the whole family is safe and sound throughout the year. The ditties sung are harmonious and pleasant to the ear, and are mostly related to local customs and New Year's auspiciousness, so they are very popular.
It is a Hakka custom in western Fujian that on the first day of the first lunar month, children under the age of 16 carry a cloth bag and go to each house in teams to "beat cakes", which also has the meaning of New Year greetings. Every time he arrives at a house, the master will give each person a piece of candy and a piece of cake. For those who are too young to arrive, their brothers and sisters will receive it on their behalf.
Nowadays, the custom of New Year greetings is still popular, and new content such as "group greetings" and New Year greetings by phone have been added. "Group worship" means collective New Year greetings.
Many units plan to gather together at a certain time around the New Year to congratulate each other, which not only enhances friendship, but also avoids the hassle of visiting each house. In addition, there are military and civilian "group worship" and military and political "group worship". In rural areas, returning cadres and students often hold "group worship" activities. Telephone New Year greetings have become a popular thing in recent years, mainly in cities and towns. As soon as the New Year bell rings, people pick up the phone to send New Year greetings to relatives and friends, which is both timely and convenient. With the increase in personal phone calls, the new custom of calling New Year greetings has become increasingly popular.
4. Recreation
There are many recreational activities during the Spring Festival. Large-scale recreational activities mainly include lion dance, dragon dance, stilt walking, dragon lantern dance, etc. Secondary ones include watching dramas, guessing lantern riddles, In addition, there are four-color tiles, mahjong, pai gow, and gambling for fun.
In Pinghe and Zhangpu, "young men or women dressed up as lions, eight immortals, bamboo horses, etc., shouting and dancing at the door, ringing gold and beating drums, making a lot of noise. The master works hard to get fruits. There is an auspicious home, so the place The result of hard work is twice as much as usual.”⑥. In Zhangping, during the old Spring Festival, a small band of three or five people formed temporarily (the main instrument is suona, accompanied by small drums and small cymbals), playing auspicious music from house to house, commonly known as "Gangpu Dazai". The host will set off firecrackers to greet the guests and give them red envelopes. Rich gentry families even have lion dance teams (commonly known as "lion fights") coming to pay New Year greetings, and they also set off firecrackers to greet them and give them red envelopes. Lion dance teams also dance in the streets or squares. In Qingliu, there are lion dance performances on the streets or in wealthy households. Every time I visit, I am very welcome, and I always give them red envelopes when I leave. In addition, some people invite singers to their homes to play and sing. In some rural areas, young farmers enjoy swinging. Years ago, they first built a simple swing frame with bamboo poles. From the first to the fifteenth day of the lunar month, they gathered together, either alone or in pairs, to compete in various swing competitions, attracting crowds of spectators. In Mingxi, there are also entertainments such as welcoming gods, dancing dragon lanterns, and lion lanterns during the Spring Festival.
In Fuzhou, the most popular entertainment for children during the old Spring Festival was playing "gong and drum board", and adults also played it. There are many modes of "gong and drum board", the common ones are "big board", "small board" and "andante". The "Gong and Drum Board" not only entertains itself, but also competes. Women go out in groups, go shopping, visit the West Lake and the White Pagoda, and some play four-color tiles or mahjong. In addition to listening to operas and commentaries, men's entertainment includes drinking and chatting, playing mahjong and playing Pai Gow. In the old days, playing cards was only an elegant thing for the upper class.
In southern Fujian, the Spring Festival entertainment content is rich. In addition to dragon and lion dances, there are also local dramas, songs and dances, such as Nanyin, Gezi Opera, Dagu Parasol Dance, Chegu Nong, and martial arts performances such as "Tao". Song Jiang" and so on. In Zhao'an, there is also a dancing bird, which uses bamboo strips as a skeleton, covers it with white cloth and colored paper, and decorates it in the shape of a bird, with a human figure inside performing the bird's dance.
After 1949, Spring Festival entertainment across the province became more colorful. In addition to traditional lion dances, dragon dances, dragon lanterns, land boats, etc., there were also various theatrical performances, garden tours, dances, Sports competition. There are new movies in movie theaters and exciting programs on TV stations. In rural areas, the cultural and sports departments also organize many cultural and sports activities. Some townships and villages spontaneously organize basketball, chess and other competitions. Since the 1980s, there has been a new trend, that is, rural people go to the city for fun during the Spring Festival, and urban people (especially cities) go out for mountain climbing. During the Spring Festival, Longyan's Denggao Mountain and Lianhua Mountain, Liancheng's Guanzhi Mountain, Changting's Wolong Mountain, and Yongding's Beimen Mountain and Donghua Mountain are particularly lively, and their grand occasion is even better than the Double Ninth Festival. This is especially true for Gushan Mountain in Fuzhou, Qingyuan Mountain in Quanzhou, and Wuyi Mountain in Chongan.
In recent years, the artillery attack game has become popular in rural areas of southern Fujian. The so-called "firecracker city" consists of strings of cannons (large firecrackers) hung from bamboo poles, which are set up in several places. The cannons are eight to twelve meters above the ground. Those who attack the "city" must throw lighted firecrackers at the volley of cannons, and the one who lights the volley of cannons wins. The prizes for "Storming the Cannon City" are very generous, and common ones include TV sets, radio cassette players, bicycles, etc. The level of the prize depends on the difficulty of attacking the "city" (that is, the height of the platoon of artillery from the ground). Before the attack on the "city" begins, the name of the prize is marked on the edge of each "city" with big red paper. This exciting game often attracts a large number of "siegeers" and more spectators.
The "attack on the artillery city" is usually carried out during the Spring Festival, and some days are also selected during the slack season. A village setting up a "gun city" must first raise funds to purchase prizes, arrange the venue, and then determine the time for "siege" and issue a notice. On the day of "attacking Cannon City", people from nearby villages came to the "battlefield" early. Most of the "attackers" were young people, and the firecrackers they brought were not five or ten packs, but boxes and boxes. After arriving, they selected the "city" to attack and occupied a favorable terrain. There was a huge crowd of people watching. When the host announced that the "siege" had begun, the various strongholds on the battlefield suddenly exploded with gunfire and smoke filled the air. Coupled with the shouts of the audience, the entire battlefield was boiling and extremely lively. The "attack on Cannon City" was very intense and lasted from morning to night. Some of those who could not capture the "gun city" on the same day continued the process the next day. The attackers spent boxes and boxes of "artillery shells" and persisted until the entire "artillery city" was captured before withdrawing their troops.
The results of "Assault on Cannon City" vary. For experienced people, two people cooperate, one person sends "cannonballs" and the other person "attacks the city". Sometimes, before a box of firecrackers is finished, the "city" is captured. They happily carried their prizes and returned in triumph. Even though the inexperienced ones spent several boxes of firecrackers, they didn't finish a "city". Even so, he was beaming with joy and showed no regrets.
5. Food customs
Fujian old customs are very particular about the diet on the first day of the first lunar month. The more common ones are "every other year meal" (year-old rice), noodles, rice cakes, and vegetarian food. Usually no new rice is cooked on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, and "every other year's meal" is eaten to seek auspiciousness of "more than enough every year"; eating noodles means longevity; rice cakes means growing taller every year; and eating vegetarian food is related to worshiping gods and Buddhas to show piety. , praying for a safe and happy year. There is a popular saying in the Jiangle area: "If you eat fast for one meal, there will be no disasters in all seasons; if you eat fast for one day, there will be no disasters."
Food customs vary from place to place. In the Fuzhou area, breakfast must be noodles, and it must be served with two "peace eggs", symbolizing longevity and peace throughout the year. In Xianyou, breakfast is noodles and spinach, which is called "Sui noodles". In Quanzhou, Hui'an, Fuding and other places, breakfast foods also include noodles. In Zhangzhou and Longhai, people eat sweet longevity noodles and red eggs to pray for peace and longevity. It is quite common to eat vegetarian food everywhere. In Shunchang, people eat "every other year's meal" with vegetarian dishes for breakfast, mainly carrots (full of red), tofu (satisfaction), mustard greens (long life), and dried noodles (meaning white beard and hair, long life). In the Nanping folk tradition, men get up to cook dim sum (longevity noodles) for breakfast on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Breakfast and lunch are vegetarian. In Chong'an (today's Wuyishan City), "the breakfast and lunch meals were vegetarian, and the evening banquet was like New Year's Eve"⑦. There are many people in Jianyang, Shaowu, Jiangle, Jianning, Datian, Yong'an, Yongding, Shanghang, Liancheng, Zhangping, Wuping, Zhao'an, Dehua, Nanjing, Fu'an and other places who are vegetarians. Among the people in Youxi, most breakfasts are vegetarian, including noodles and whole-boiled longevity vegetables. Some families also provide an extra set of tableware for the three meals on the first day of the new year in order to have a baby; if their son is weak, he will give an extra piece of chicken, saying that he will get a good wife. Folks in Shaxian County should eat garlic (all goes well), spinach (red heads are happy), and tofu (satisfaction) whether they are vegetarian or meat-based. In Zhangpu, most people eat leeks, spinach, celery and tofu fried in peanut oil for breakfast. Leeks and spinach are not cut, so they are called "perennial vegetables", which means fasting and longevity. Pinghe has a similar custom. Vegetarian food in Changting must include celery, garlic, onions, and leeks, which are homophones of "diligence, calculation, intelligence, and skill" for good luck. In some places, people pay attention to eating sweet foods on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year. In addition to eating rice cakes, they also drink sweet tea. In Youxi, drinking ginger sugar tea before breakfast is said to be "sweet". In Xiapu, "no matter rich or poor, everyone eats a bowl of glutinous rice soup, which is commonly known as 'Xingshi'. The word '獍' has the same pronunciation as 'Shi', which means it is auspicious"⑧.
Nowadays, the custom of eating on the first day of the Lunar New Year is still popular, but vegetarian food is rare. With the continuous improvement of living standards, people’s food on the table is richer and more sophisticated.