Taixing Folk Customs The first day of the first lunar month is the Spring Festival, also known as the lunar year, commonly known as "New Year". It is the most solemn and lively ancient traditional festival among the people. As the New Year, the Spring Festival was called "Xinzheng", "Yuanri", "New Year's Day", "Zhengdan", "Sanyuan Day", etc. before 1912. After the Revolution of 1911, in order to change the feudal Zhengshuo and break the dynastic calendar, the Western calendar was implemented and the AD calendar was used to synchronize time with the world. Since the lunar calendar conforms to the agricultural season and is convenient for people's livelihood, our country implements the parallelization of the lunar calendar and the Gregorian calendar, and names January 1st of the Gregorian calendar as New Year's Day, and the first day of the first lunar month of the lunar calendar is called the Spring Festival. Folks in Taixing call the Spring Festival "Nian", and celebrating the Spring Festival is of course called "Chinese New Year". As the name suggests, the Spring Festival is a spring festival. Spring is coming, everything is renewed, and everything is renewed. So people have enough reasons to celebrate the "Nian" festival with singing and dancing. So, how did this year come about? According to legend, in ancient times there was a monster called "Nian" with a head with tentacles, a green face and fangs, and was extremely ferocious. This monster lives deep under the sea all year round, only climbing ashore every New Year's Eve to devour livestock and injure human lives. Therefore, every New Year's Eve, people help the old and the young, drive cattle and sheep to a safe place. On New Year's Eve this year, people in Taohua Village were going out in groups to seek refuge. Suddenly an old man begging came from outside the village. He was holding a cane and a bag on his arm. His silver beard was flowing, and his eyes were like bright stars. Wait and see. People ran away in a panic, shouting and screaming everywhere, but no one came to care for the old man. An old woman from Zhuangdong saw him and hurriedly gave him some food and advised him to run away quickly. But the old man was not in a hurry, stroking his beard and saying with a smile: "Mother-in-law, please let me stay at your house for one night. I will drive this ferocious beast away today!" The mother-in-law looked at the old man in shock and saw that the old man had fair hair and a childlike face, and was very energetic. , Immortal style, extraordinary spirit. But she continued to persuade, but the beggar old man laughed and refused to answer. The mother-in-law had no choice but to leave her home and take refuge. In the middle of the night, after a strong wind, the monster "Nian" broke into the village and attempted to plunder. But it found that the atmosphere was different from previous years: the house in the east of the village was brightly lit, with red paper posted on the door, and there were moving figures. The Nian beast roared wildly, kicked off its four legs, jumped up with its huge body and pounced towards it. It was too late, but soon, there was a sudden "ping ping pong" sound in the courtyard, shaking the heaven and the earth. The Nian beast was shocked and trembled all over. . It turns out that this Nian beast is most afraid of the color red, fire and explosions. At this time, the door of the mother-in-law's house opened wide, and an old man wearing a big red robe was seen laughing. Nian Beast was so frightened that he thought he had suffered a disaster, so he turned around and ran away for his life. From now on, I never dare to disturb the human world again. The next day was the first day of the first lunar month, and people who had taken refuge went home one after another. They were very surprised to see that the village was safe and sound. The old woman suddenly realized what happened and told everyone about her encounter with the gods last night. When people came to their mother-in-law's house to take a look, they saw red paper on the door, a few big red candles in the house were still brightly lit, and the unburned bamboo in the yard was still crackling... People knew it was the blessing of gods, that is, A handful of earth is used as incense, and when one falls to the ground, he worships, thanking God! In order to celebrate the auspicious arrival, the ecstatic villagers put on the latest clothes, put on the most beautiful hats, took out the most beautiful wine and food, and enjoyed it to their heart's content. At the same time, neighbors, relatives and friends said hello to each other, sang and danced, and there was a scene everywhere. A sea of ??joy! The good news of Taohua Village spread to all directions, including the land of China. From then on, every New Year's Eve, every family reunited, pasted red couplets, and every household set off firecrackers and lit candles all night long to wait for the New Year and celebrate the New Year. Over time, it became the most solemn festival for people. Don't listen to myths and legends. In fact, as a farming society in our country, for thousands of years, the maturity of crops has meant the completion of a production cycle of "spring plowing, summer management, autumn harvesting, and winter storage". During the year after year, when the earth returns to spring, people relax and enjoy It makes sense to achieve fruitful results, seek new hopes, and celebrate the festival. At midnight on the first day of the first lunar month, as soon as the clock struck, the sound of firecrackers began, shaking the earth and announcing the official start of the longest traditional festival of the year. It is an old custom for the whole family to dress up and have brown sugar date tea and snow-white soft steamed buns in the morning to show family harmony and sweet life. Then set off firecrackers, light candles and burn incense, and open a household to "open the door to wealth." The head of the family should bring incense and candles to the land temple in the village as soon as possible to offer incense and beg the land master to bless the family in the new year. The population is safe, the grain is harvested, and the livestock are prosperous. . The younger generation pays New Year greetings to the elders and wishes the older generation good health and longevity. Starting from the beginning of the new year, clans, neighbors, relatives and friends "congratulate each other on getting rich and everything goes well". People wear red and green, their faces are full of joy, they hug their children and bow to each other. This is the case in both urban and rural areas. At noon and night on the first day of the Lunar New Year, you must eat "Old Year's Old Food", which is the leftover food from last year (New Year's Eve), which is called "eating old grain and burning old grass". There is more than enough every year to show that the family has abundant financial resources and a prosperous life. In the evening, before sunset, noodles are eaten. Because it is said that this is the day when a mouse marries a girl, lamps cannot be lit and must go to bed early. Starting from the second day of the first lunar month, people go to the homes of their uncles, father-in-law and other relatives and friends to pay New Year greetings. Most of the gifts are peach cakes, jujubes, fruits and other tea and food. Relatives and friends gather together in a harmonious atmosphere, have fun drinking and playing cards. The whole family entertained the guests with various sweets and tea, such as persimmons (meaning everything goes well), oranges (meaning good luck), dates (meaning early birth of a child), peanuts (called longevity fruit, meaning immortality), etc. The host and guest Both gave "red envelopes" to each other's children, and the atmosphere of joy and harmony filled both inside and outside. The fifth day of the first lunar month, also known as "Powu", is the day of the God of Wealth. It is said to be the birthday of the God of Wealth Bodhisattva.

Starting from midnight, every family sets off firecrackers to pay tribute to the "first incense", so it is also called "robbing the God of Wealth". Each shop prays devoutly, burns incense and worships, in order to prosper business and open for business. On this day, there are still people asking for "happy money". They come to the door with clay statues to "send the God of Wealth" and wish the owner's family a prosperous New Year. Come in!” The host happily gave him a hand. In the old days, there were businesses in Taixing and Huangqiao that carried water and sold it. They delivered water to their owners early on the first day of the fifth lunar month, which was called the "profit market", and the owners thanked them with "red envelopes". This day is full of "wealth" everywhere, showing a strong atmosphere of rolling wealth. On the seventh and eighth day of the lunar month, look at the "seven clusters of stars" (called the Pleiades in astronomy). At dusk, when the first quarter moon is in the sky, "seven clusters of stars" appear near the moon, but their positions vary every year. People often predict the harvest and harvest of the year based on their positions, thinking that "the upper corner of the warehouse is full, and the lower corner is dripping with water. The moon is full of swords and soldiers, and the back of the moon is the year of famine. "In the first month, there is also the custom of inviting "New Year's wine", also known as "spring feast". The banquet is held for newlyweds and children of the Fang clan, sometimes for several decades." This is where the saying "You treat me to winter wine, and I treat you to New Year wine" comes from. During the Spring Festival, relatives and friends take the opportunity of festive reunions to play mahjong, cards, poker, and chess together until the first half of the first lunar month. There are also dragon lantern dances, lion dances, unicorn singing, stilt walking, and God of Wealth dancing along the streets to the village, and there is an endless stream of artists. After liberation, each rural street has cultural and entertainment propaganda teams playing gongs and drums, boating on the lake, carrying flower poles, and "big tonic" "Vat", "Little Cowherding", beating "Taixing Flower Drum", and performances in turn. There are many onlookers, the atmosphere is warm, and the scene of singing and dancing will continue until the Lantern Festival. As time goes by, many old customs during the Spring Festival have gradually disappeared, and new fashionable forms of New Year greetings are increasing day by day. Government agencies often hold group visits, New Year tea parties, get-togethers, etc., and local government leaders deliver "New Year messages" to model workers, family members of martyrs, senior citizens, retirees, and condolences to employees who work overtime, etc. After the 1980s, people began to use New Year cards, phone calls, telegrams, etc. instead of visiting their homes to pay New Year greetings. Today, people keep pace with the times, and it has become a common practice to pay New Year greetings in the form of phone calls, text messages, etc. Everyone hopes for peace and prosperity, and out of the mentality of seeking good luck and avoiding bad luck, there are many taboos. The first month of the new year is the first month of the new year, so there are more taboos. For example, from the first to the fourth day of the lunar month, no washing, cutting, needlework, or sweeping the floor are allowed. Words such as beating, killing, disease, death, destruction, damage, light, ghost, stealing, losing, poverty, and finishing are not allowed. Do not break pots, bowls, ladles, basins, etc. Once broken, immediately break it by saying "Sui Sui (broken) peace". Do not beat or scold children. Do not take out garbage or bad water (swill). Those who observe filial piety You are not allowed to go out to pay New Year greetings to others, you are not allowed to see a doctor, take medicine, spend money (giving New Year's money is not an exception), you are not allowed to borrow firewood from others, you are not allowed to kill animals, and you are not allowed to collect debts. If you have obituaries of relatives and friends in the first month, send them to Outside the door, one needs to tear off a corner as a way to break away bad luck, etc. Some taboos still exist today.