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Traditional customs of New Year's Eve
Spring Festival: commonly known as Chinese New Year, it is the biggest traditional festival for Han people to enter the people. At the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, people rushed to buy new year's goods, rehearsed social fires in urban and rural areas, and prepared for the New Year. On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, you must eat "Laba porridge", that is, boiled rice, which is very fragrant and does not eat vegetables. Besides eating, people should also sprinkle some into the world to show their respect for God and pray for peace. The 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, commonly known as "the goddess of kitchen fire goes to heaven". Kitchen God is going to turn to her mother's family. Tell me about people's good and evil. Therefore, at night, he took down the statue of Kitchen God and incinerated it sincerely. He must offer "Kitchen God's dry food" for Kitchen God to take with him. After that, you must go to the grave to worship your ancestors and clean your house with a stick grille. On the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month, new couplets, door gods and Five Blessingg were posted, and they were cleaned up inside and out. In the evening, clean the house with the "vinegar altar god" (burn the round water hillock stone red, put it in a vinegar bowl and walk around the house and livestock circle), and then put a cannon to ask God. Generally, two memorial tablets of "Three Fortune Gods of Fu Lushou" and "Three Generations of Ancestors" are signed on yellow paper at home, and they are devoutly offered with incense, table, wine, horses and steamed bread. After that, the younger generation pays New Year greetings to the elders, and the elders send lucky money to the younger generation and eat pork elbow meat, commonly known as "biting ghosts". After playing cards and drinking, I stayed up until dawn, commonly known as "Shounian". On the first day of the first month, firecrackers were fired to "welcome the western gods" and people ate minced meat noodles. Then they went to various villages to pay New Year greetings to the elderly. On the fifth day of the first month, it is forbidden to sew, sweep the floor, cut knives and offend your tongue in order to pray for good luck in the year. On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, people usually eat noodles to stir up the dough, commonly known as "pestering the five poor", cleaning up the garbage inside and outside the hospital and washing dirty clothes, which is called "sweeping the five poor" The seventh day is commonly known as People's Day, eating longevity noodles, incense and shooting. According to legend, the first day of the first month is a chicken, the second day is a dog, the third day is a pig, the fourth day is a sheep, the fifth day is a cow, the sixth day is a horse, and the seventh day is a person. )

Lantern Festival (Shangyuan): 15th day of the first month. In some places, there is a saying that "the fifteenth day of the following year". Generally, after the ninth day, the community fire brigades in various towns and villages began to dispatch lions, dragon lanterns and dry boats. From one village to another. In larger villages, we rehearse the Shaanxi Opera, and every night, combined with the bonfire performance in the community, lights are decorated, firecrackers are ringing, gongs and drums are loud, and the scene is very lively. Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen men, women and children should go out to enjoy the tour, which is called "a tour of all diseases" to make people happy. In the old customs, lanterns are played during the Lantern Festival, so it is also called the Lantern Festival.

February 2 nd: commonly known as "the dragon looks up", every family fried beans to wake up the dragon god and pray for rain. People usually have their hair cut and shaved, which means that the farm work in the new year will start again, and it also contains the meaning of old cloth and new.

Flower dynasty: February 12 is the flower dynasty, also called Baihua birthday.

Social Day: A day when farmers offer sacrifices to the society to pray for the New Year. The fifth day after beginning of spring (around the vernal equinox) is called the Spring Club. The fifth day after beginning of autumn is the autumnal equinox.

Cold food: two days before Qingming. The Chronicle of Jingchu's Age says that after winter 150 days, the solstice is called cold food for three days without fire. Therefore, some people regard "150" as a synonym for cold food. But according to the same method, the first two days in Tomb-Sweeping Day are not necessarily 150 days, but sometimes 160 days.

Tomb-Sweeping Day: Five days before Tomb-Sweeping Day, he chose to worship his ancestors and repair his tomb. The day before Tomb-Sweeping Day, most people didn't go to the grave, saying that the paper money burned on this day would be pushed away by mesons.

Shangsi: It was originally scheduled for the first day of March (hence the name Shangsi). In the old customs, this day is used to remove ominous water, which is called repairing. But since Cao Wei, this festival has been designated as March 3. Later, it became a festival of drinking by the water and having a spring outing in the suburbs.

Bath Buddha Festival: According to legend, the eighth day of April is Sakyamuni's birthday. The Chronicle of Jingchu said that Jingchu bathed the Buddha with fragrant soup from various temples on April 8, and * * * was the Longhua Club.

Dragon Boat Festival: the fifth day of May. The Chronicle of Jingchu said that Qu Yuan threw himself into the river on May 5th, and people raced on this day to save Qu Yuan. (Later, the boat was made into the shape of Jackie Chan, which was called the Dragon Boat Race. There are many legends about the Dragon Boat Festival. After the Tang Dynasty, the Dragon Boat Festival was designated as a big festival, and there were often rewards. Willow branches are inserted on the doors of every household, and zongzi and fermented grains of sweet wine are eaten. Children carry purses and tie five-color lines on their hands and feet, which is called "wrapping flowers". Applying realgar to the nose and mouth or drinking realgar wine can prevent snake and scorpion bites.

Fu Ri: The third Geng day from summer to the future is called initial Fu, the fourth Geng day is called intermediate Fu, and the first Geng day after beginning of autumn is called final Fu, which is called dog days. It is said that crouching means avoiding the summer heat. It is also a big festival, because it is a sacrifice of Furi. Generally speaking, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon refers to the original Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Tanabata: July 7th. "Chronicle of Jingchu's Age" said that on the night of July 7th, it was the night of the gathering of Petunia and Weaver Maid, and the daughters tied ribbons and put on seven-hole needles to preserve the fruits in court, begging for ingenuity.

Zhongyuan: June 15th. Buddhist legend: Mulian's mother fell into the hungry ghost road, and the food mouth turned into fire. Manglietia asked the Buddha for advice. The Buddha told him to make a basin on July 15th to save his mother. Later generations regarded the Central Plains as Ghost Festival, and there were superstitious activities such as giving to hungry ghosts.

Mid-Autumn Festival: August 15th. People think that the moon is brightest at this time, so it is a festival to enjoy the moon. When the bright moon rises, every household presents fruits and moon cakes to the moon, which means celebrating the harvest. The whole family was reunited, and the neighbors gave each other mooncakes to congratulate them on their peace and happiness.

Double Ninth Festival (9th day): 9th day of September. The ancients thought that nine was a positive number and met nine every month, so it was called Chongyang. The ancients had the habit of climbing high and drinking on this day. According to "Continued Harmony", when Fei Changfang was in his room, Heng Jing said that there was a great disaster in Runan on September 9, and he took Cornus officinalis to drink chrysanthemum wine on the mountain to avoid the disaster.

October 1: commonly known as "sending a cold night", clothes and quilts are cut and pasted with paper and burned at ancestral graves or intersections outside the village for ancestors to spend the winter. Where conditions permit, there is also the habit of eating rotten buns.

Winter solstice: this is the winter solstice festival. The day before winter, solstice is called solstice. The ancients regarded the winter solstice as the starting point of solar terms. Since the winter solstice, the days have become longer day by day, which is called "winter solstice is sunny" The ancients also believed that when winter came, spring would follow.

Lari: Lari is the name of sacrifice. In Shuowen, "300 gods are wintering", we can see that the twelfth day of the Han Dynasty is the third day of wintering. However, the Chronicle of Jingchu's Age takes the eighth day of December as the twelfth month, and says that villagers beat drums and waist drums and turned them into King Kong Lux to drive away fatigue. The eighth day of December is a general explanation, and today there is still the custom of "Laba porridge".

New Year's Eve: The evening of the last day of the year. Except for old cloth, it means new. The last day of the year is called "New Year's Eve", so that night is called "New Year's Eve".

The origin of New Year's Eve refers to the night on the last day of the twelfth lunar month, which is connected with the Spring Festival (the first day of the first month). The word "except" in "New Year's Eve" is "go; Easy; "Alternating" means that New Year's Eve means "the month is poor and the old year is exhausted". People want to get rid of the old department and the old year, and the coming year means getting a new year. This is the last night of the Lunar New Year. " New Year's Eve is a time of year when people bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, and pray for disaster relief.

In the old society, it was also called "except for the sun", "except for the night", "except for the year", "the end of the year" and "the end of the year". Many people called it "New Year's Eve" or "New Year's Eve". In our country, people generally attach importance to the next day, which is called "Year-end". In the old days, businessmen regarded Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and New Year's Eve as the three major festivals in a year, and each festival had to be accounted for, with New Year's Eve as the most important. They should sort out the current accounts of the year, verify the profits and losses, and plan for the coming year. China's traditional customs, New Year's Eve and Spring Festival meet at the same time, with similar customs, are actually traditional festivals.

"New Year's Eve" means that the old year ends here and the new year begins in the morning, which is a good sign, indicating that the old is new. Wang Anshi's poem "January Day" said: "In addition to firecrackers in one year, the spring breeze is as warm as Tu Su. Thousands of families always trade new peaches for old ones. " "Dream of Liang Lu" says: "At the end of December, there is a common saying that' one day is poor, one year is end', which is called' except night'. Scholars, large and small, sweep the gate, clean the family, change the door gods, hang Zhong Kui, nail peaches and stick spring cards to worship their ancestors. At night, prepare sacrifices to greet the gods and pray for peace in the new year. " "Jiaxing County Records in Wanli Period": "In the twelfth lunar month, villagers danced in the city and held an ancient ceremony with Zhu Mo. On New Year's Eve, Yimen gods, Taofu, spring stickers, well prints, firecrackers, wine and fruit parties, and gongs and drums all night, which are called Shousui. " New Year's Eve began in the Southern and Northern Dynasties.

(Liang) Xu Shi's poem "* * * wife sits at night to see the age": "If you are not affectionate, don't drink more. Peaches in wine, bayberry in zongzi. When the curtain was opened, the candle turned to ashes. Don't doubt that your temple is heavy, and Guang Xiao will urge you. " On New Year's Eve, there are still customs of "saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new" and giving "lucky money". "Yanjing Age": "Each colored rope is put on, woven into a dragon shape and placed at the foot of the bed, which is called lucky money. The elders give their children lucky money. "

Hello song on New Year's Eve

Be busy on New Year's Eve, don't forget God.

Three heads and six eyes, please try first.

Let my family be together, and both people and money are empty.

Children go to school and learn quickly.

A family has a small population.

Agricultural income, grain Man Cang.

Raised at home, six animals thrive.

Pray for prosperity in the coming year.

Customs of New Year's Eve New Year's Eve and Spring Festival are connected, but the customs are different but related. The theme of New Year's Eve is to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, and have a happy reunion. The main customs and activities include ancestor worship, putting up Spring Festival couplets, eating New Year's Eve, giving lucky money, keeping the old age and setting off firecrackers.

【 Door-keeper 】 There is a custom of door-keeper all over China during the New Year. At first, the janitor carved mahogany into a human shape and hung it next to people. Later, it was painted as a janitor and posted on the door. The legendary brothers Shen Tu and Lei Yu specialize in ghosts. They guard the portal, so evil spirits dare not enter the portal to do bad things. After the Tang Dynasty, two brave soldiers, Qin Qiong and Wei Chijingde, were painted as gatekeepers, while Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were painted as gatekeepers. Every household has a door god, and later generations often draw a pair of door gods as martial arts. Door gods are divided into three categories: the first category is "door gods", which are mostly attached to doors or the whole door, about four or five feet high and two or three feet wide. The second kind is the "door keeper", which is attached to the small street door, about two feet high and one foot wide. These two door gods are two gods with a black face and a white face. White left black right, white easy, black evil, each holding a slap in the face. The third category is the "gatekeeper", which is slightly smaller and limited than the street keeper. It is also a black and white Er Shen, but there are also two black and white statues sitting like statues. At most, there is a photo of "Kirin sending the child" posted at the door, and there are two plump pink dolls with comb crowns, each riding Kirin. This kind of door god should have been stuck on the wedding door for good luck, and later it was also used as a New Year decoration for ordinary street doors.

[Sticking Spring Festival couplets] Spring Festival couplets, also known as "door couplets" and "Spring Festival couplets", are a kind of couplets, named after being posted during the Spring Festival. One source of Spring Festival couplets is Fu Tao. At first, people carved figures out of mahogany and hung them by the door to ward off evil spirits. Later, they painted the door god on the mahogany, simplified it and wrote the door god's name on the mahogany board. Another source of Spring Festival couplets is spring stickers. The ancients posted the word "Yichun" more and more at the beginning of spring, and gradually developed into Spring Festival couplets. The real popularity of Spring Festival couplets began in the Ming Dynasty, which was related to Zhu Yuanzhang's advocacy. According to Chen Shanggu's Miscellaneous Notes on Mao Yunlou in Qing Dynasty, one year when Zhu Yuanzhang was preparing for the New Year, he ordered every household to post a Spring Festival couplets to celebrate. At first, Spring Festival couplets were carved on mahogany boards, and later rewritten on paper. The color of mahogany is red, which means good luck and avoiding evil spirits, so most Spring Festival couplets are written in red paper. However, temples are made of yellow paper, and toilet paper is made of white, green and yellow. Use white paper in the first year, green paper in the second year, yellow paper in the third year, and red paper after the funeral in the fourth year. Because Manchu is still white, the Spring Festival couplets in the Qing court are made of white paper, with blue borders on the outside and red stripes embedded inside.

New Year pictures are an ancient folk art in China, which reflects people's customs and beliefs and places their hopes for the future. New Year pictures, like Spring Festival couplets, originated from "door gods". Spring Festival couplets developed from the names of Shen Tu and Lei Yu to figures, while New Year pictures still developed along the direction of painting. With the rise of block printing, the content of New Year pictures is no longer limited to the door gods, but gradually invites the god of wealth to their homes, and then in some New Year pictures workshops, colorful New Year pictures such as three stars of Fu Lushou, God bless the people, abundant crops, prosperity of six animals, greeting the spring and praying for blessings are produced to meet people's good wishes of celebrating and praying for the New Year. As Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of Ming Dynasty, advocated posting Spring Festival couplets, New Year pictures became popular, and three important producing areas of New Year pictures appeared in China: Taohuawu in Suzhou, Yangliuqing in Tianjin and Weifang in Shandong. Formed three schools of Chinese New Year pictures. In the early years of the Republic of China, Zheng of Shanghai combined the monthly calendar with the New Year pictures. This is a new form of New Year pictures. This two-in-one New Year picture was later developed into a calendar. Hanging 1000 is to carve auspicious words on red paper, with a long ruler and A Zhi, and stick it in front of the door, reflecting the symbol of peach. There are eight immortals hanging in front of the Buddha statue. Hanging thousands of households use more, and aristocratic families use less. Its yellow paper is three inches long and red paper is more than one inch long, which is a "small hanging thousand" and is used by shops. The earliest thousands of hanging coins were linked by making money (copper coins), which, like lucky money, had an overwhelming victory effect.

[Shounian] In China, people have the habit of observing the New Year's Eve, commonly known as "Enduring the Year". Watching the new year begins with eating New Year's Eve dinner. This New Year's Eve dinner should be eaten slowly, starting with lighting lanterns, and some families have to eat it until late at night. According to Zonggu's records of Jingchu's age, there was a custom of New Year's Eve dinner at least in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. The custom of observing the old age not only includes the feeling of farewell and nostalgia for the fleeting time, but also expresses the good hope for the coming New Year.

[Receiving God] Receiving God means dividing the old year into the new year, but the time of receiving God is not uniform. Some people begin to hold ceremonies as soon as their children arrive, some people begin to receive gods at midnight when their children are "right", and some people do so after their children are "right". After the sacrifice, the immortals from all walks of life returned to the Heavenly Palace, ignoring worldly affairs, and after New Year's Eve, that is, when the New Year came, they came to the world for deliberation. The ceremony of receiving gods was held at the table of heaven and earth, presided over by the oldest person in the family. Because immortals live in different directions in heaven, the lower bound naturally comes in different directions. As for who to meet and where to come from, we should check the "constitution book" in advance, then lead the whole family to hold incense in the yard and follow their instructions to meet the gods. For example, Xin Weinian's "Constitution Book" states that "God of Wealth is due east, God of Wealth is due south, you God is northeast, West God is southwest, and Tai Sui God is southwest". After kowtowing in the direction, stand still until the incense is exhausted, and then kowtow. Finally, take down the fragrant roots, idols and ingots, and put them into the money and grain basins already prepared in the yard for burning. When burning, pine branches and sesame stalks burn together. When the gods were closed, firecrackers exploded and the atmosphere was extremely strong.

[Eating New Year's Eve] When children are playing firecrackers, it is also the busiest time for housewives in the kitchen. All the dishes on the New Year's Eve were cooked a few days ago, and the chef always cooked the New Year's Eve. In the north, jiaozi on the first day of New Year's Day will also be wrapped up on the evening of 30th. At this time, everyone's chopping boards are busy chopping meat and vegetables. At this time, the sound of chopping boards from every household, firecrackers from streets and alleys, the sound of "scratching" abacus, and the cadence of reimbursement from shops and shops are mixed with laughter and laughter everywhere, echoing with joy and interweaving into a cheerful movement on New Year's Eve.

Eating New Year's Eve is the most lively and enjoyable time for every household in the Spring Festival. On New Year's Eve, a table of rich Chinese New Year's dishes, family reunion, sitting around the table and having a reunion dinner, I really can't tell you the sense of fulfillment in my heart. People not only enjoy the delicious food on the table, but also enjoy the happy atmosphere. There are big dishes, cold dishes, stir-fried dishes and snacks on the table. Generally, two things are indispensable, one is hot pot and the other is fish. The hot pot is boiling, steaming, warm and sultry, which indicates that it is thriving; "Fish" and "fish" are homophonic, which is a symbol of "auspicious celebration is more than enough" and also a metaphor for "more than enough every year". There are also radishes, commonly known as vegetable heads. Good luck. Lobster, fried fish and other fried foods, wish your family prosperity, such as "cooking oil with fire" Finally, I want a dessert. I wish you a sweet life in the future. On this day, even if I can't drink, I will drink a little.

There are many kinds of New Year's Eve dinners, including jiaozi, wonton, long noodles and Yuanxiao. , and each has its own emphasis. Northerners are used to eating jiaozi during the Spring Festival, which means "making friends when you are young". Because the white flour jiaozi is shaped like a silver ingot, the pots on the table symbolize the meaning of "getting rich in the New Year, and the ingots are rolling in". Some wrapped jiaozi and some coins sterilized with boiling water, saying that whoever ate first would make more money. The custom of eating jiaozi was handed down from the Han Dynasty. According to legend, Zhang Zhongjing, a medical saint, saw that the poor people's ears were frozen and rotten in the cold winter, so he made a kind of "cold-dispelling Joule soup" to treat frostbite for the poor people. He used mutton, peppers and some herbs to drive away the cold and warm, made ear-shaped "corners" out of flour bags, cooked them in a pot and distributed them to the poor. After eating it, people feel hot all over and their ears are hot. Since then, people have followed suit and spread it to this day. Eating wonton in the New Year is based on its original meaning. Legend has it that the world was in a chaotic state before it was created, and Pangu created a universe with four long faces, also called longevity noodles. Eating noodles in the New Year is to wish you a long life.

[Setting off firecrackers] When positron is turned on at midnight, the New Year bell rings and firecrackers resound through the land of China. In this "three yuan" moment of "year yuan, month yuan and time yuan", some places still set up "flourishing fire" in the yard to show the take-off and prosperity of Wang Qi. Around the blazing fire, the children set off firecrackers and danced happily. At this time, the bright lights in the house, the sparks in front of the court and the deafening noise outside the house pushed the lively atmosphere of New Year's Eve to a climax. Poets of all ages always praise the arrival of the New Year with the most beautiful poems. Wang Anshi's poem "January Day" says: firecrackers make one year old, and the spring breeze warms Tu Su. Every family has a primary school birthday. Always trade new peaches for old ones. It depicts the grand festival scene of China people celebrating the Spring Festival. Firecrackers are a sign of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, and also an expression of festive atmosphere. Businessman. Setting off firecrackers has another meaning: they set off firecrackers on New Year's Eve to make a fortune in the new year. But according to the old custom, respecting the god of wealth should be the first, and setting off firecrackers should be the last. Legend has it that if you want to get rich, firecrackers will ring at the end.

[ancestor worship] In ancient times, this custom was very popular. Due to different local customs and habits, the forms of ancestor worship are also different. Some go to the wild to sweep graves, and some go to the ancestral temple to worship their ancestors. Most of them put their ancestral tablets in the main hall in turn at home to show their worship, and then worshippers worship them in order of age. Han people worship their ancestors and make more fish tanks filled with high bowls, which means ringing bells. Southerners live in Beijing, and ancestor worship is particularly grand. Most of them are eight bowls of big dishes with hot pot in the middle, and cups and chopsticks are placed according to their positions. New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, Lantern Festival, hot pot fans, change dishes at any time. Manchu and Mongolian people sacrificed their ancestors. Mongolian flag bearer offered butter to stir-fry yellow wheat, fried it with sesame oil and dipped it in sugar when withdrawing the offering, which had a unique flavor. Manchu banner people offered walnut cakes, hibiscus cakes, apples and plain wax sandalwood to worship their ancestors, which was very quiet. On New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, vegetarian cakes will be made, and on the last night, Lantern Festival will be held. Burn incense and kowtow every morning and evening and offer new tea. Although the forms of ancestor worship are different, most of them are hanging shadows on New Year's Eve, and the confession was withdrawn on the last night of the Yuan Dynasty. They are close to their relatives and friends. When they visit the New Year, they should also knock on the ancestral temple. They should not only pursue the future cautiously, but also preserve their virtue of respecting their ancestors.

[Send the God of Wealth] In the old society, from the opening of the financial door at midnight during the Spring Festival, there were people who sent the God of Wealth, holding a piece of paper and shouting outside the door: "The God of Wealth is coming!" At this time, in order to meet the God of Wealth, the owner of the house gave a reward to the bearer and sent it to the mouth of the God of Wealth. Of course, it is inevitable to say something auspicious. For example: "Gold and silver treasures are rolling in"! There are a pair of golden lions on the left and a pair of golden phoenix on the right! And so on. There is also a man dressed as a god of wealth, wearing a red robe, a gauze hat, a fake beard on his mouth and a yellow cloth bag to collect money, followed by several drummers, who distributed the god of wealth from door to door in order to ask for a reward. Every time people go to the door, they sing, "The left compartment is full of gold and silver, and the right compartment is full of treasure." A lot of good luck words went on until the owner happily took over the red paper statue of the god of wealth and gave them some money. After thanking them, they knocked on the door for a while and went to another house with the sound of gongs and drums.

[Give lucky money] The lucky money is given by the elders to the younger generation. In some families, everyone is not allowed to leave the table after the New Year's Eve. After everyone has finished eating, the elders will give it to the younger generation to encourage their children and grandchildren to learn and improve in the new year. In some families, parents put their children under pillows after they fall asleep at night, and in more families, children gather in the main hall, shouting Happy New Year to grandparents and parents, and queuing up to bow down; Then reach for the red envelope. They even took back their grandparents' bedrooms and ran to the bed together, shouting "lucky money, lucky money!" " The old man felt that it was not lively enough, so he pretended to be stingy. From bargaining to siege, he finally dug up the red envelope of his ancestors. Everyone took them and roared away. The old man was overjoyed to see this scene and thought it was a good sign for all the best in the new year. Giving lucky money in 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 ethics. There is a nursery rhyme: Samsung is in the south, and every family pays New Year's greetings; The younger generation kowtows and the older generation gives money. If you want money, turn around and leave.

Origin:

According to legend, there was a monster named Nian in ancient China, with long tentacles and a ferocious face. Nian lived on the seabed for many years, and climbed ashore every New Year's Eve, devouring livestock and killing people.

Therefore, every New Year's Eve, people in the village fled to the deep mountains to avoid the harm of the "Nian" beast.

On New Year's Eve this year, people in Taohua Village were taking refuge in the mountains when an old beggar came from outside the village. He was leaning on crutches, carrying a bag on his arm, with elegant silver whiskers and staring at Matthew.

Some villagers sealed windows and locked doors, some packed their bags, some herded cattle and drove sheep, and people shouted hisses everywhere, which was a scene of panic. At this time, who still has the mind to take care of this begging old man?

Only an old woman in the village east gave the old man some food and suggested that he 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 looked at him carefully in surprise and found that he was handsome, energetic and different. But she continued to persuade and begged the old man to laugh without saying a word. My mother-in-law had no choice but to leave home and take refuge in the mountains.

At midnight, Nian beast broke into the village. It found that the atmosphere in the village was different from previous years: the old woman's house at the east end of the village had red paper on the door and bright candles in the room. The beast Nian trembled and let out a long whistle.

Nian stared at her mother-in-law's house for a while, then screamed and rushed over. As we approached the door, there was a sudden explosion in the yard. Nian trembled and dared not go any further.

It turns out that Nian was most afraid of red, fire and explosion. 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 the promise of begging for the elderly.

Villagers flocked to the old woman's house, only to find red paper on her mother-in-law's door, a pile of unburned bamboo still exploding in the yard, and several red candles still glowing in the house. ...

In order to celebrate the auspicious arrival, ecstatic villagers put on new clothes and hats one after another and went to their relatives and friends' homes to congratulate and say hello. The story soon spread in the surrounding villages, and people knew the way to drive away the "Nian" beast.

Since then, every year on New Year's Eve, every family has posted red couplets and set off firecrackers. Every household has a bright candlelight, so it is better to wait for the New Year. In the early morning of the first day, I want to say hello to my relatives and friends. This custom has spread more and more widely, and has become the most solemn traditional festival among the people in China.

Custom:

New Year's Eve refers to the night on the last day of the twelfth lunar month, which is connected with the Spring Festival (the first day of the first month). The word "except" in "New Year's Eve" is "go; Easy; "Alternating" means "the month is poor and the old year is exhausted", and people should get rid of the old year and welcome the new year. At this time, it is also the best time for children to understand the traditional Spring Festival and receive traditional education.

On this night, the family will do three things: offering sacrifices, eating New Year's Eve, and keeping the New Year.

offer sacrifices to ancestors

That is ancestor worship. China people will never forget their dead ancestors during festivals, and the Spring Festival is no exception. At this time, we will offer food or flowers to express our wishes, which is a common ceremony adopted by Chinese in our country. The form of ancestor worship may vary according to different religious beliefs, but the significance of commemorating ancestors is the same.

This traditional activity is very meaningful to children. This activity can not only let children know about their families, but also educate children to respect their ancestors and elders.

Family reunion dinner on New Year's Eve

Eating New Year's Eve is the most lively and enjoyable time for every household in the Spring Festival. On New Year's Eve, there was a big dinner, and the whole family got together, sat around the table and had a reunion dinner. The sense of accomplishment in my heart is beyond words.

Note on New Year's Eve:

There are generally two things on New Year's Eve, one is hot pot and the other is fish. The hot pot is boiling, steaming, warm and sultry, which indicates that it is thriving; "Fish" and "fish" are homophonic, symbolizing "more happiness and more celebration" and also meaning "more than one year". There are also radishes, commonly known as vegetable heads. Good luck. Lobster, fried fish and other fried foods, wish your family prosperity, such as "cooking oil with fire." Finally, dessert, I wish the future sweet.

All kinds of New Year's Eve dinners.

There are many kinds of New Year's Eve dinners, including jiaozi, wonton, long noodles and Yuanxiao. , and each has its own emphasis.

Northerners are used to eating jiaozi during Chinese New Year, which means "making friends when young". Because the white flour jiaozi is shaped like a silver ingot, the pots on the table symbolize the meaning of "getting rich in the New Year, and the ingots are rolling in". Some wrapped jiaozi and some coins sterilized with boiling water, saying that whoever ate first would make more money. The custom of eating jiaozi was handed down from the Han Dynasty.

There is a custom of eating wonton in the South during the Spring Festival, which is based on its original meaning. Legend has it that the world was in a chaotic state before it was created, and Pangu created the universe.

Long noodles, also called longevity noodles. Eating noodles in the New Year is to wish you a long life.

Recommended recipes for the Spring Festival:

More than a year.

Ingredients: Yellow croaker, tomato sauce, sugar, vinegar, minced beef, chopped green onion, garlic and diced bamboo shoots.

Method: Cut the yellow croaker with a cross knife, fry it until it is 80% ripe, take it out, leave the bottom oil in the pot, add the above seasoning, thicken it and pour it on the fish.

New year rice cake

Ingredients: red rice cake, white rice cake, sugar, water and shavings.

Method: Change the red and white rice cakes into rectangular blocks, dip them in Ru powder and oil them, then take them out and put them on a plate. Put sugar water in the pot, and thicken the rice cake after saccharification.

Ten Jin Taiping Yan

Ingredients: 10 quail eggs, meat swallows, mushrooms, shin flowers, winter bamboo shoots, celery, belly slices, radish, salt, monosodium glutamate, Shaoxing wine and sesame oil.

Method: Mix quail eggs and meat swallows, pour them into a bowl, slice the above raw materials, scatter them in water, take them out, pour Shao wine and sesame oil on them, and put them on the raw materials.

Fried mustard and spring rolls are also essential for New Year's Eve. Mustard symbolizes wealth.

Basheng hotpot

Ingredients: shin flower, shrimp, fresh squid, oyster, moth, sashimi, sturgeon strips, shredded celery, mushrooms, vermicelli, etc.

Method: Boil the delicious hot pot and rinse it into the pot at will.

When eating New Year's Eve, you should not forget the family members who prepared this feast, because it takes several days from preparation to production, and at the time of New Year's Eve, these families are still busy having fun for others.

stay up late or all night on New Year's Eve

The custom of observing the old age not only includes the feeling of farewell and nostalgia for the fleeting time, but also expresses the good hope for the coming New Year. The ancients wrote in the poem "Shousui": "Invite Shousui Arong's family to spread red to blue gauze with candles; Thirty-six years have passed, and I cherish the years since this night. " It is human nature to cherish the years, so the great poet Su Shi wrote a famous sentence: "There will be no years next year, and I am worried about waste; Try to do it tonight, and the teenager can still boast! "This shows the positive significance of New Year's Eve. At this time, parents may wish to read these famous poems to their children and explain them so that they can understand their meanings.

"One night for two years, five hours for two years." That night, the family got together and the table was full of tea and fruit. In the new year, a large plate of apples is indispensable, which is called "Ping An". In the north, some families will provide a pot of rice, which was cooked years ago and provided for China New Year. It's called "annual meal", which means that there are leftovers every year, which can't be eaten all year round, and this year we still eat the grain of the previous year. This bowl of New Year's Eve dinner is usually cooked with rice and millet. As the saying goes in Beijing, it is called "two rice" because it is yellow and white. This is called "golden rice with gold and silver, gold and silver everywhere".

In addition, in many places, cakes and melons prepared to celebrate birthdays have attractive meanings, such as:

Eat dates-spring comes early;

Eat persimmons-everything goes well;

Eat almonds-happy people;

Eat longevity fruit-live forever;

Eat rice cakes-getting taller every year.