First, the custom of off-year: offering sacrifices to the stove to sweep the dust.
North-South differences: the twelfth lunar month in the north is twenty-three and the twelfth lunar month in the south is twenty-four.
Legend has it that the middle and small years are the days when the kitchen god goes to heaven. On this day, every household will take off the old image of Kitchen God that has been smoked for a year, and at the same time "please" bring back a new one, put it on the altar and put it on the offering.
Off-year has different concepts and dates in different places. The northern part is the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, and the southern part is the 24th of the twelfth lunar month. No matter on the 23rd or 24th, people should start sweeping dust, washing clothes, washing pots and pans, cleaning thoroughly, making windows bright and clean, and preparing for a clean New Year, which also means that the New Year should have a new atmosphere.
Second, the custom of New Year's Eve: New Year's Eve, keep the old.
North-South differences: the conservative era in the north and the stove in the south.
On New Year's Eve, the whole family get together for New Year's Eve dinner. The elders gave the children lucky money, and the family sat silently. At midnight, firecrackers exploded and the activities to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new reached a climax. Each family pays New Year greetings to elders of different generations in turn, and then congratulates each other with relatives and friends.
On New Year's Eve, no matter adults or children, they should say auspicious words, not unlucky ones. In addition, the lights are generally not turned off all night at home, especially in the room where ancestors are supported.
In the south, there is a custom to surround the stove on New Year's Eve. After New Year's Eve, the family will sit around the fire, eat melon seeds, watch TV and chat while eating, and tell the ups and downs of the year.
In the north, on New Year's Eve, the whole family will sit around and watch the Spring Festival Gala while wrapping jiaozi. For good luck, northerners often wrap coins, sugar, peanuts, dates, chestnuts and minced meat together in New Year's jiaozi.
Third, the custom of the first day: open the door to set off firecrackers and pay a New Year call.
North-South differences: jiaozi is eaten in the north and rice cakes are made in the south.
Setting off firecrackers in the morning of the first day of junior high school is called "setting off firecrackers", which indicates that the new year will be smooth and prosperous. The younger generation should first pay New Year greetings to their elders. When people go out to meet, they should also congratulate the New Year with a smile and say "Congratulations on making a fortune" to each other.
In addition, according to legend, the first day of the first month is the broom birthday, so you can't use a broom on this day, otherwise you will sweep away your luck and break your money. If you must sweep the floor, you must sweep it from the outside to the inside.
In the north, people pay attention to eating jiaozi on the first day of school, which means "alternating the old with the new and making friends when young". Because the shape of jiaozi is quite like an ingot, when it is cooked, the pot is served, which symbolizes the good omen of "making a fortune in the New Year, and the ingot is rolling in".
In the south, most people make rice cakes and glutinous rice balls. The homonym of rice cakes is "Gao nian", which means good luck. Tangyuan is also called "Tuanzi" and "Zi Yuan", which means "family reunion".
Fourth, the second day custom: go back to your mother's house.
The difference between north and south: the north eats noodles and the south eats New Year's dinner.
On the second day of New Year's Day, the married daughter goes back to her parents' house and asks her husband to go with her, so it is commonly known as "husband-welcoming day". On this day, the daughter who goes back to her parents' home must bring some gifts and red envelopes to her children and have lunch at her parents' home. In the past, my family would choose this day to take a family photo.
As the saying goes, "jiaozi had two faces on the first day". The picture is smooth, which means smooth and smooth. There are many studies on the face. Jiaozi noodles should be cooked on the first day, and the noodles must be cold soup, that is, the noodles are cooked and soaked in cold water, which is called cold soup.
In the south, Guangdong, Macao and other regions have to have a New Year's Eve dinner on the second day of junior high school, especially business people. In addition to the well-meaning first dish that must be eaten at the New Year's Eve, some families will chop some barbecue and take red skin as a symbol of health. Some people will put Flammulina velutipes and lettuce together, which means "wealth" and "money everywhere".
Fifth, the fifth day custom: chop the villain to meet the god of wealth.
North-South differences: firecrackers are set off in the north and Perry in the south.
It is commonly said that to break the five-year plan, people want to see the God of Wealth and "catch up with the five-year plan", including "poor in intelligence, poor in learning, poor in literature, poor in life and poor in communication". People get up at dawn, set off firecrackers and clean up. Firecrackers were set off from the inside out, and as soon as they were set off, they went outside the door, blowing out all the unlucky things. On this day, the popular folk food custom is to eat jiaozi, commonly known as "squeezing people's mouths".
In some areas in the north, when shops open after the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, they will set off firecrackers, which is called "ghost collapse" and take away the bad luck of the past. In the south, people who do business on the fifth day of the fifth year should worship God to open a shop, and the big faction is to give employees a start.
Besides, there will be performances such as yangko dancing and stilt walking in the north, and dragon and lion dancing in the south, but no matter what kind of celebration, it is to make us have a happier and more peaceful Spring Festival!