In fact, staying up late to welcome the New Year is not sleeping on the last night of the year. Presumably, everyone spent the night playing mahjong and cards with a relative in the Spring Festival Evening. To explore the origin of this custom, there is a small story among the people:
According to legend, in ancient times, there was a monster called Nian, who came out to eat people after dark every year, and crows returned to the mountains after dawn, so the folks took Nian's raging night as a gateway and called it Nian Guan.
In order to spend this year safely, every night, the people will prepare the New Year's Eve dinner in advance, close the doors and windows, and hide in the house to have the "New Year's Eve dinner" with the whole family. Because this New Year's Eve dinner has ominous meaning, it is very rich, and we should sacrifice to our ancestors before dinner, pray for their blessing and spend the night safely. No one dares to sleep after dinner, so they huddle together to chat and be brave. Later, everyone found that Nian was most afraid of red, fire and explosion.
Therefore, in fact, staying up late to welcome the new year is not sleeping on the last night of the year. Presumably, everyone spent the night playing mahjong and cards with a relative in the Spring Festival Evening. To explore the origin of this custom, there is a small story among the people:
According to legend, in ancient times, there was a monster called Nian, who came out to eat people after dark every year, and crows returned to the mountains after dawn, so the folks took Nian's raging night as a gateway and called it Nian Guan.
In order to spend this year safely, every night, the people will prepare the New Year's Eve dinner in advance, close the doors and windows, and hide in the house to have the "New Year's Eve dinner" with the whole family. Because this New Year's Eve dinner has ominous meaning, it is very rich, and we should sacrifice to our ancestors before dinner, pray for their blessing and spend the night safely. No one dares to sleep after dinner, so they huddle together to chat and be brave. Later, everyone found that Nian was most afraid of red, fire and explosion.
So every year on New Year's Eve, every family sticks red couplets and sets off firecrackers. Every household lights a candle and stands guard until the early morning of the New Year's Day to greet relatives and friends. This custom has spread more and more widely, and has become the most solemn traditional festival among the people in China.
The custom of observing age rose in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. People light candles or oil lamps and keep vigil all night, which symbolizes driving away all evil diseases and epidemics and looking forward to good luck in the new year. This custom has been handed down from generation to generation. On New Year's Eve, families put up red couplets and set off firecrackers. Every household lights a candle and stands guard until the early morning of the New Year's Day to greet relatives and friends. This custom has spread more and more widely, and has become the most solemn traditional festival among the people in China.
The custom of observing age rose in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. People light candles or oil lamps and keep vigil all night, which symbolizes driving away all evil diseases and epidemics and looking forward to good luck in the new year. This custom has been handed down from generation to generation.
2. Legend of the Spring Festival 2: On Calendar Making in Ten Thousand Years
According to legend, there was a clever young man named Wannian in ancient times, who was troubled by chaotic festivals all the year round and had a plan to set things right. One day, he was tired of chopping wood on the mountain. When he was sitting in the shade of a tree, he was inadvertently inspired by the shadow movement and designed a coffin that could measure the time of a day. Later, inspired by the dripping spring on the cliff, he made a five-story clepsydra to calculate the time. Over time, he discovered the laws of the four seasons.
As an ambitious young man, Wannian decided to share his worries for the country, so he took the sundial and the clepsydra to see Zu Ti, the king of Dan, and explained to him why the sun and the moon moved. Zu Ti was very happy after hearing this. He built the Sun and Moon Pavilion, the sundial platform and the Leaky Pot Pavilion in front of the Temple of Heaven. I hope to create a calendar in 10 thousand years to benefit the people of the world.
On one occasion, Zu Ti boarded the Sun Moon Altar and saw a poem engraved on the stone wall next to the Temple of Heaven:
Sunrise and sunset 360 degrees,
Start all over again.
Vegetation withers and flourishes in four seasons.
There are twelve circles in a year.
Wan Nian pointed to the astronomical phenomena and said to Zu Ti, "It's been twelve months now, the old year has passed and the new year has begun again. Please make a festival for you. " Zu Ti said, "Spring is the first year of a year, so let's call it Spring Festival". It is said that this is the origin of the Spring Festival. Later, in order to commemorate the achievements of 10 thousand years, the monarch named the solar calendar "perpetual calendar" and named it the birthday star of the sun, moon and moon. In the future, people will hang up the Shou Xingtu during the Chinese New Year, which is said to commemorate the venerable ten thousand years.
3. Legend of the Spring Festival 3: The origin of "lucky money"
Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a little demon named Chong who came out to harm children on New Year's Eve. As long as he touches the sleeping child's forehead with his pale hand three times, the child will have a high fever and talk nonsense; After a few days, the high fever subsided, and the clever child became delirious and dull!
People are afraid that "worship" will hurt children, so on this day, lights will be turned on all night to protect children. Later, a family named Guan got old. In order to protect this hard-won child, they forced the child to play that night, wrapped eight copper coins in red paper, and the child unpacked and wrapped them until he went to bed. But the couple dare not sleep and accompany the children. The wind suddenly blew in the middle of the night, and the "rushing ears" came again. When it proudly prepared to touch the child's forehead with its hand, a light suddenly burst out of the pillow, and "Chong Sui" was scared out of her wits and fled in a hurry. Later, the couple told everyone about the "copper wallet and red paper", and every household used this method every year to prevent "special", and the children were never hurt again.
It is said that these eight copper coins were exchanged by the Eight Immortals, which secretly protected the safety of children. The custom of "pressing" red envelopes has also spread to this day. Because "old" and "special" are homophonic, "special" naturally developed into "old".
4. Legend of Spring Festival 4: Sticking Spring Festival couplets and door gods
It is said that the custom of pasting Spring Festival couplets began in the post-Shu period about 1000 years ago, and the original form of Spring Festival couplets was what people called "peach symbols".
In ancient China mythology, there was a ghost world, in which there was a mountain covered with three thousand miles of peach trees, and there was a golden rooster on the tree. Whenever a rooster crows in the morning, ghosts who go out at night will come back. The two gods who are responsible for guarding the gates of the underworld are Shen Tu and Lei Yu. If ghosts do anything unnatural at night, they will immediately catch them and feed them to tigers. All ghosts are afraid of them. So people carved them into peach trees and put them at their doorsteps to ward off evil spirits and prevent harm.
Later, people simply carved the names of Shen Tu and Lei Yu on the mahogany board, thinking that this could also eliminate disasters. This kind of red board was later called "Fu Tao".
In the Song Dynasty, people began to write couplets on mahogany boards, one for killing evil spirits, the other for expressing good wishes, and the third for decorating the portal for beauty. They also write couplets on red paper symbolizing happiness and good luck, and stick them on both sides of doors and windows during the Spring Festival to express people's good wishes for good luck in the coming year. Because the doors of China's house are usually two opposite doors, the door gods are always paired.
After the Tang Dynasty, besides peace, people also regarded Qin and Weichi Gong, two military commanders in the Tang Dynasty, as gatekeepers. According to legend, Emperor Taizong was ill, heard ghosts screaming outside, and stayed up all night.
So he asked the two generals to stand by with weapons in their hands, and there was no ghost harassment the next night. Later, Emperor Taizong had the images of these two generals painted and pasted on the door, and this custom began to spread widely among the people.