Generally, the Northern Lunar New Year is on the 23rd day of the Lunar New Year, and the Southern Lunar New Year is on the 24th day of the Lunar New Year. In addition, there are individual areas in the New Year's Eve or Lantern Festival.
Small year specific time:
Most areas of the north: waxing twenty-three
From the mid-to-late Qing Dynasty, the imperial family on the waxing twenty-three held a ceremony, in order to "save money", by the way, the zaowang master also worship, so the people of the northern region up and down the line is also one day ahead of waxing twenty-three small year. The first time I saw the movie, it was a very good one, but the second time I saw it, it was a very good one.
Most of the South: the 24th day of the Lunar New Year
As early as the Song Dynasty, there is a "Lunar New Year on the 24th day of the Lunar New Year" record, most of the South, still maintains the ancient tradition of the day of the Lunar New Year.
Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai: the day before New Year's Eve
Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai are accustomed to calling New Year's Eve "Big New Year's Eve", which corresponds to the night before New Year's Eve, which is called "Small New Year's Eve", and is also known as Small New Year. Historically, the night of the 24th day of the Lunar New Year, known as the 24th day of the 24th month to the Wu people, was the day of the delivery of the stove, so it was called the night of the small New Year's Eve.
Parts of Sichuan and Guizhou: New Year's Eve
In parts of southwestern China, people celebrate the Little New Year's Eve on New Year's Eve, while their Big New Year is mostly on the 14th or 15th day of the first month.
Nanjing area and other places: the 15th day of the first month (Lantern Festival)
Legend has it that after Zhu Di, the usurper of Ming Dynasty, seized power and took over the throne, the people of Nanjing were full of grievances against his cruelty and tyranny, and took the opportunity of the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month to reminisce about the leniency of the last emperor, and the Lantern Festival thus became the Small New Year in Nanjing.
Why does the New Year differ from place to place?
As early as in the Song Dynasty, there is a "Lunar New Year on the 24th" record, then the southern small year and the northern small year or the same day, are Lunar New Year on the 24th, to the Qing Dynasty, the Yongzheng years, every year the 23rd of Lunar New Year the emperor has to sacrifice the gods in the Kunning Palace, in order to save money on the way to the king of the zaobao also worshiped, since the emperor on this day! The people can only be pushed back a day, there is a "government three people four" saying, the official home of the small year is Lunar New Year's Eve, the people's home is Lunar New Year's Eve.
Although later there is no official people's say, but because the north is the political center, so the small year continued the "official three" tradition, while the south is far from the political center, the small year retained or "people four" tradition, this is the northern small year and the southern small year. This is the reason why the time of the Northern and Southern New Years is different.
North and South custom differences:
In the north, sugar melon, caramel, sugar and other food for the Zao Wang Wang's mouth smeared with food, gradually evolved into a child must eat snacks on New Year's. The day of the festival in addition to eating Zao Wang's mouth to eat, the children's snacks. In addition to eating stove sugar on this day, every Lunar New Year's Eve, the day of the stove, the northern cities of the bakery stalls business is very prosperous. In the south, there are no such customs on Lunar New Year. Cut and paste the window is the most prevalent folk activities in the northern small year. The content of a variety of animals, plants and other palindromes, such as magpies, peacocks play peony, three sheep (Yang) Kaitai and so on. Putting up the windowpane symbolizes that the new year is getting better and better.
Northern folk have "money or no money, shaved head for the New Year". The activities of the bath and haircut, mostly concentrated in the small year before and after. The South does not have the custom of bathing and haircutting on the New Year's Eve, the South is bathing and haircutting before New Year's Eve. Sacrifice the king of the stove is the south and the north **** have the custom. The day of the New Year is also the day of the folk sacrifice of the stove. In addition, a few days before the small year in the north and south, the family cleaned the house, meant to not let the king of the stove to take away the soil.