The eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Lapa congee "send a message"
This eat, eat is "Lapa congee".
Every year on the eighth day of the first month of the lunar calendar, the old Beijing family will simmer a pot of "Lahai congee", the raw materials are mainly beans, rice, jujubes, raisins, cinnamon and other kinds of dried fruits and grains, which means that "the five grains of plenty".
Boiled sticky, fragrant "Laba congee", in the old days is used to worship the deity "Zao Wang". In the past, when food was the order of the day, Zao Wang Wang's status was notoriously high.
Today, old Beijingers make a pot of Laha congee for their own families, and neighbors give it to each other for a taste, and then the family gets together and enjoys it with great joy.
Drinking this "Laha congee" which gives the year a "message", old Beijing has entered the New Year's agenda. They bought food, new clothes, new year's goods, and organized the house to welcome the arrival of the 30th day of the New Year.
A careful colleague also pointed out that this "send a letter" there is another layer of meaning: since the day of the Lahai Festival, "the beginning of the collection of accounts, the debt must be paid". In this way, both to those who put the debt of a reason to collect the debt, but also to those who owe a wake-up call, do not rely on not pay, it is not possible to boil this account into the next year's dinner? Sooner or later, it is best to pay off a handful of years ago, or a relaxed New Year.
The day, the old Beijingers will not forget to soak some garlic in vinegar, in order to prepare for the first day of the New Year to eat dumplings with food, this garlic is commonly known as "Laha garlic".
The custom of simmering "Laha congee" and pickling "Laha garlic" is still very popular in Beijing today.
My "outsider" who was born in Beijing was fortunate enough to taste the "Laha congee" sent by the old Beijing on Laha this year. The thick, sweet congee is wrapped in the first scent of New Year's Eve in Beijing.
The 23rd of Lunar New Year, "Sugar Melon Child Sticky"
The 23rd of Lunar New Year is the real opening of the curtain of the New Year of the old Beijing people, commonly known as "small year", the days chase ah chase, the serious "big year! The day of the chase, the serious "big year" is not far away.
This "small year", in the old Beijing folklore, there is a "twenty-three sugar melon child sticky" said. The so-called "sugar melon child" is a candy made of maltose.
On the 23rd day of the Lunar New Year, the old Beijing family to sacrifice the stove, Zaowangdi to coaxed happy, in front of the Jade Emperor, "mouth a sweet", will give this family to bring the blessing of the whole year, peace and prosperity; another said that the sugar melon is used to stick to the mouth of Zaowangdi to sugar seal, see the Jade Emperor simply do not say a word, to prevent him! The first is that it is not a good idea to use it as a tool to keep the Jade Emperor safe.
"Twenty-three sugar gourd children sticky; twenty-four sweep room day; twenty-five paste window; twenty-six stew meat; twenty-seven kill rooster; twenty-eight to the surface of the hair; twenty-nine steamed buns; thirty night to stay up all night; the first day of the New Year to twist a twist."
"Sweeping day" is cleaning, but it is not as simple as sweeping the floor and cleaning the windows when we were students. Old Beijing in addition to thoroughly clean the house and outside the house can not sweep those corners of the ash net, there are also change the New Year's paintings, painting and framing walls and other work to be done.
The scene of "gluing windows" is now very difficult to reproduce in downtown Beijing, so colleagues in the planning department suggested that it should be changed to "wiping glass". The old Beijing courtyard house are wooden windows, before New Year's Eve to paste on the white clean new window paper, the windows should also be pasted on the "Fu" characters, window flowers, paper cuttings, hung on the "auspicious knot" and other symbols of peace and prosperity of the handicrafts of the pendant.
Thinking back to the days when every household was red and colorful, it is not difficult to imagine the hustle and bustle of New Year's Eve. The most important part of this day is to put the red paper and black characters (gold characters) on the doors of your home. Once the spring couplets are up, the atmosphere of the New Year is suddenly strong.
"Stewed meat", "kill the rooster", "flour", "steamed buns", a day a The first step is to make sure that you have the right amount of money to pay for the food you eat. The smell of meat was an unspeakable temptation in the years when the diet was light. This quest to warm the body and mind is a living memory of my childhood, and I wonder if today's young people who espouse vegetarianism or everything that is diet-oriented can still appreciate it.
According to the rules of old Beijing, these sumptuous New Year's meals must be made in advance. The reason is that there is a taboo in old Beijing that you can't move the knife at the turn of the year, otherwise it's bad luck and will invite disaster.
In addition to the knife, even the clippers needle and thread do not move, lest the mouth, lest long needle eye. So many taboos, not early in the year before the food prepared properly. Until the "broken five" (after the fifth day of the first month of the Chinese New Year), you can not use the knife to chop meat and vegetables.
New Year's Eve is the culmination of the New Year, and all the buildup and preparation seems to be for the "carnival" of the day. But in the subtle and calm old Beijing here, this "carnival" because of the Beijing flavor of the home simple, and ready to add real.
On this day, the old Beijingers had to throw the leftover dregs of medicines out of the door and burn the prescriptions they were using in their own homes, which was said to "throw away a hundred diseases".
In addition, the family should prepare a banquet, wear new clothes, neighbors and friends visit each other to pay tribute to the New Year, the younger generation bowed to the elders, commonly known as "resignation". Especially newly married couples must be in the mother-in-law's home "resignation", otherwise it is disrespectful and unfilial.
The first day of the New Year, a twist
Watch the New Year's Eve until dawn, but can not go to bed. The first thing you need to do is to wash up and clean up, and then you have to bow to your elders and kowtow to them and send them your blessings.
The first day of the new year is the favorite of children, this bowing and kowtowing, can be exchanged for a new year's money red envelope. When I was a kid, my neighbor's kids would bow to each other and kowtow to each other, and they had a sense of economic consciousness, even if their heads were cracked, they were also economically minded. Later on, he really became an economist.
The New Year began on this day, and the children opened the New Year's red envelopes, which also opened the red-hot year.
Shanghai's New Year's Eve customs
Old times, once the Spring Festival beggars up.
There is a kind of beggar, they are not because of the poverty of the family to go begging, but for the practice of filial piety. According to legend, the elderly live to nine nine eighty-one years old, there is a ghost gate, only ate the "hundred rice" can be safe and sound through this pass. So the family has an old man filial piety men and women in the new spring on the first day out of the house to beg for food to their parents to eat. There is also a beggar commonly known as "hubbub", they beg in a funny way, some beggars wrapped in red paper hanging on bamboo poles, each to a door to say that the head of the food, business is good, begging for alms, which is called "send food".
Some with paper and bamboo wire made into a cow, to the door of the family to say all the good words, auspicious words, in order to ask for alms, which is called "send spring cow"; some holding a holly or cypress branches, hanging some small bells on the branches after the ancient money, said that the family will be like a money tree in the new year, as the money comes, which is called the "Money Tree". This is called "shaking money tree"; some beggars wearing Buddha shirts, wearing masks of gods, make-up into the appearance of the God of Wealth Bodhisattva to the family's mansion to run wildly jumping to show that the God of Wealth Bodhisattva came, which is called "jumping God of Wealth". Chongming people in the old society, although living in poverty, but encountered these enterprises beggars or charity good, give some dry food and other food, after the liberation of these enterprises have long been extinct.
The second day of the year early in the morning, the stores and craftsmen are burning incense to God, said "burning Festival", at noon ten, the owner of the store also set up a wine hospitality to the shopkeepers, together with the New Year to pray for a prosperous business. The fifth day of the year, rumored to be the birthday of the God of Wealth, the streets and alleys of the stores open for business, this day at noon every family to eat wontons, to show that the pocket money. In addition, in the countryside there are wooden head theater (now called puppet theater). The first to the fifth during the family visit friends and relatives, wish each other a happy new year, and give each other gifts. During the period, the temple incense far more than usual, especially on the morning of the first day of the year, on the temple to burn incense to worship Buddha's people in particular, and especially early, to catch up with the first incense burner, outside the city of Shou'an Temple and the town of Zhongxing Guangfu Temple is the most lively place.
The Lantern Festival
The fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar calendar is the Lantern Festival, also known as the Festival of the first yuan, commonly known as the first half of the first month, the people of the first month of the matter of the fifth to the twentieth Lantern Festival for the Lantern Lights period. In the old days, before the Lantern Festival, families with glutinous rice flour into various shapes of cakes, some shaped like the ancient silk ball, silver, and some shaped like chickens, ducks, carp, cotton bells, corn, peaches, rice piles and so on. At noon of the first half of the first month, every family eats wontons; in the afternoon, people also use these foods as offerings, go to the graves to worship their ancestors, sacrifices to the field, the evening, people in groups of three or five or to carry different shapes of lanterns, and then flinging fireballs, and then cross the three bridges, to enjoy the game. The custom of lighting lanterns on the half of the first month is very popular. The shape of the lanterns are rabbit lamps, carp lamps, pentagonal lamps, etc., where the lamps are hung is also very local flavor, such as the many red lamps lined up in zigzag or a variety of shapes, candles inside the lamps, hanging high with bamboo poles, which is called "pulling the red lanterns," in the countryside without the obliteration of the ditch between the things inserted between a bamboo pole and then hang the red lanterns, a night, light the candles, and suddenly seem to be the same as the red lanterns. At night, when candles are lit, it is like daytime, and when you look at it from a high altitude, it looks good, which is called hanging Choshi lamps. At the entrance of the bridge, a colorful building is tied up, and all kinds of strange lanterns are hung on it, which gives the place another flavor in the evening. In addition, on the night of the Lantern Festival, there are many other activities, such as running horse lanterns, tuning lions, flinging Tian Cai, inviting the three ladies to the pit, and the girls of the Lantern Festival.
As the saying goes, "If you eat two big ones, you'll have to find your own way". After the sixteenth day of the first month, the people celebrating their respective reintegration into the various industries, so that the activities of the Spring Festival is also over. After the liberation, the Lantern Festival, tend to simplify, but eat wontons, do silk dumplings, round and children play with the custom of the lamp still exists, and give a new meaning, especially in the county's streets, the Lantern Festival night hanging lanterns, fireworks are attracting a lot of men, women, children and young people, and some out of the house, on the street to see the lights. Strange fireworks, colorful, the night sky of the Lantern Festival illuminated colorful, it symbolizes the motherland's growing prosperity.
For more than a thousand years, our ancestors have been in this beautiful land, living, breeding, in their long-term production activities and daily life, and gradually formed a variety of customs and habits with strong local characteristics. These customs and habits unite the ancestors' pursuit and aspiration for a better life, and reflect their good qualities of simplicity, hard work and thrift. Of course, on the other side of the traditional customs are also mixed with some backward and ignorant contents. People's traditional customs with the development of production, social progress from barbarism to civilization, from ignorance to science. Some of the old customs contained in this article have been abandoned with the development of civilization and the progress of science, and some of them have been injected with new contents and have been inherited and carried forward. At the turn of the century today, we should be committed to the construction of new socialist customs, increase the construction of socialist spiritual civilization, to ensure the smooth progress of socialist modernization, in the celebration of the traditional festivals, we must not forget that the tree new winds, break the bad customs should be the conscious behavior of each of us in the construction of socialist spiritual civilization to make their own due efforts.
Shanxi New Year's customs
The Spring Festival folklore, much the same across the country.
Shanxi folk customs are simple and ancient, the Spring Festival with a strong local flavor and local characteristics. The head of the year. In ancient times, the "New Year" was not celebrated on the 29th or 30th day of the Lunar New Year, but on the "Lunar New Year", which was later called the "Lunar New Year". It was only after the Northern and Southern Dynasties that the Lunar New Year festival was moved to the end of the year. By the time of the Republic of China, the solar calendar, the lunar calendar "year" called the Spring Festival, because the Spring Festival - generally in the "spring", and therefore called it the Spring Festival.
Shanxi people still call the Spring Festival "New Year" and have passed down a story about it. In ancient times, there was a beast called "Nian", which came out to eat people on the night of the coming winter and the new spring. It would come out to eat people and make people feel uneasy. People in the fight with the "year", found that this ferocious beast is most afraid of fire and noise, so people thought of a way, once the "year" appeared, it will be burning a big fire, put into the bamboo, "the year! "A see the blazing fire, heard the bla bla blasting firecrackers, will escape without a trace. Later, it gradually formed a New Year's Eve reunion. The custom of observing the New Year, hanging red lanterns, posting couplets, setting off firecrackers and eating New Year's dinner.
Shanxi countryside on the twenty-third day of the lunar month that is into the New Year's Eve, the twenty-third day of the lunar month called "over the small year". Some places in the countryside called "sacrificial stove", that is, sacrificing the master of the "Zao Wang", in order to seek food and clothing. After the New Year, people make preparations for the Spring Festival. In general, farmers kill pigs and slaughter sheep, grind rice and flour, make bean curd, buy vegetables, hang vermicelli, and prepare all the food needed for the New Year. Lunar month 27 to 29 for the Guanzhi people steamed bread time. Households are short several cages of steamed buns, to eat until after the first month of the fifteenth, "before the first month of the fifteenth do not roll out the noodles," the custom. Women go to the street for the elderly and children to buy clothes and shoes and socks, the elderly to buy red paper, New Year's paintings, coins, white linen paper and other ceremonial items for the New Year.
Two days before the big year, Shaanxi, whether Guanzhong, southern Shaanxi, northern Shaanxi, or urban and rural areas, to "sweep the house", city people called cleaning. House in front of the house, kiln outside the race, even the corners should be cleaned in the net. The windows and rooms are re-pasted with white paper and large red windowpane stickers. On the morning of New Year's Eve, every house puts up couplets and door gods, and hangs New Year's paintings in the house. The year is finally upon us.
Entering the month of Lunar New Year, people began to be busy until the 30th day of Lunar New Year, when the New Year officially began. Before dinner on New Year's Eve, families must put the house, courtyard, clean up the front and back of the house, tidying up, paste a good big red couplets (there are funeral clothes of the family paste yellow or green couplets) and the door god, window, etc., the door and the hall, bedrooms, stoves, livestock pens, etc. should be pasted with the appropriate couplets. When everything is ready, they start to light candles, burn incense, set off firecrackers and offer sacrifices to their ancestors. After that, the whole family **** get together at a table to eat "reunion dinner", commonly known as "reunion year". In the evening, the house lights, the stove fire, young and old stay up all night, around the stove "to observe the New Year", commonly known as "sitting on the root of the New Year". At the same time, the family size in order to take a bath, change new clothes, dumplings, ready to meet the arrival of the New Year. To the son time (equivalent to the present 23:00 - 1:00), all the firecrackers, meaning "catching the star", "welcome the God of Wealth", and some also set up incense, kneeling rituals. It is said that whoever has the first firecrackers, the God of Wealth will visit whoever has the first home. Then, it is the younger generation for the elders kowtow to pay tribute to the New Year, the elders will also be prepared in advance "New Year's money" to the children. Those who live apart from each other will start to pay their respects to each other and stay up all night until the first morning of the new year.
Ankang people from the first day of the year to the first ten, and to watch the weather to predict whether the six animals are prosperous custom. Legend has it that every day the weather has a prediction. That is: the first view of the chicken, the second view of the dog, the third view of the sheep, the fourth view of the pig, the fifth view of the cow, the sixth view of the horse, the seventh view of the people, the eighth view of the valley (crops), the ninth view of the fruit (fruit trees), the tenth view of the vegetables. Commonly known as "ten clear days in the new year, the year of joy and peace, ten cloudy days in the new year, grain and rice as expensive as gold".
New Year's Lanterns
Month to lanterns, families welcome the New Year, all kinds of lanterns constitute a major landscape of Shaanxi New Year's customs.
Xi'an on the fifteenth day of the first month, "Zhang Lantern", can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. On the fifteenth day of the first month, ancient times called this day for the first yuan festival, the night of this day called the "night of the yuan", also known as the "Lantern Festival", the emperor of the Han dynasty every night of this day, that is, to make the lanterns and lanterns, and out of the palace to enjoy the lanterns, and the people of the same music. Since then, Xi'an Lantern Festival lantern tradition has emerged, which shows that people can live in the "Wen Jing Zhi Rule" like social stability, good food and clothing, and has been handed down to this day. The city wall and Revolutionary Park in Xi'an hold lantern exhibitions almost every year. In recent years, Xi'an city wall lantern exhibition is bigger and bigger every year, from publicizing the traditional Chinese culture of abandoning evil, respecting the old and loving the young, wishing the year "good weather", the society "good luck", the people "good fortune, fortune, health and longevity", to reflecting the traditional culture of the city wall. "
The typical stories of the thirteen dynasties built in this city are reflected, constituting a pleasing picture of folklore and history, the audience not only from the lanterns can be read back to Xi'an's dynastic history, but also can feel the rich folk culture of the Sanqin place.
In the northern Shaanxi province, on the 15th day of the first month of the "turning lights". The villages and towns are in the open space to build a good nine-quadrangle, people are going to "turn nine-quadrangle", also known as "turn the lights". Nine curved square by 361 sorghum stalks planted into a square figure, stalks hanging 367 oil lamps (now replaced by colored lamps), square without repeating the road, some people call it nine curved Yellow River array. At night, the gongs, drums and suona play, you can turn nine songs. "Turn nine qu" from the first month of the fourteenth until the first month of the sixteenth, three nights in a row. There is a local saying that "turning nine songs" will keep you alive for ninety years. "Playing flowers" is also a characteristic activity of the Lantern Festival. This is a kind of native fireworks, the copper and iron dissolved into copper water and iron water, and then poured on the board with wet sand, thrown into the sky, in the downward fall, will be broken. This ancient firework is more interesting than some of the current fireworks.
Lanterns are the traditional folk crafts of Long County, lanterns in strange shapes, sky lanterns, dragon lanterns, gossip lamps, flower basket lamps, flower drum lamps, toadstool lamps, cabbage lamps, red gauze lamps, fire cans lamps, horseback lanterns, beaded lanterns and so on. During the Spring Festival, friends and relatives pay tribute to each other to give each other lanterns. Uncle to nephew to send lamps, has to be sent to the age of twelve, the last year to send lamps called "finish lamps". Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month, the most lively, the street lights, the lights of the county city decorated with colorful, fire trees, buy lights, watching the lights of the flow of people coming and going. Households have to hang sky lanterns in the yard, hanging door lamps, and even live in the building of the family, but also to hang the lights on the balcony. Children walk the streets in groups with lanterns, called "Touring Lanterns", while adults carry fire pots of lamps and bring offerings to the ancestral tombs to pay homage to their ancestors, called "Ancestral Hanging Lanterns".
Taiwanese New Year customs
Like the rest of the motherland, Taiwan's Spring Festival, also known as New Year's Day, is the most lively and longest festival in the country.
It usually starts on the 16th day of the 12th month of the lunar calendar, and ends on the 15th day of the first lunar month, when the Lantern Festival (Shangyuan Festival) is over, and lasts for a whole month.
The "tailgate" is the first, fifteenth, or third day of each month. On the first and fifteenth or second and sixteenth days of each month, Taiwanese merchants pay homage to the God of the Earth, called "making teeth". February 2 for the initial do teeth, called "first teeth"; December 16 do teeth is the last do teeth, so called "tail teeth". The last tooth is the "end" of the year's activities for merchants and the "precursor" of the Spring Festival activities for ordinary people. On this day, ordinary people in Taiwan have to burn the gold of the Land God in order to sacrifice to the God of Fude (i.e., the Land God), and also set up benches in front of the door to offer bowls of five flavors and burn sutra garments and silver paper in order to worship the Lord of the Earth's foundations (the worship of the foundations of the houses). Businesses and firms also feast their employees today to reward them for their hard work over the past year. In the past, if a boss was not going to renew the employment of an employee in the coming year, he would point a chicken's head at the employee during the feast, implying termination of employment. However, this custom is now extinct. In addition to the tailgate dinners, which have become increasingly popular in recent years, it is traditional for the whole family to gather together to "eat the tailgate". The main foods are rice crackers and kari-buns. Rummy cake is made by wrapping bean sprouts, shredded bamboo shoots, beans, garlic, dried egg, tiger moss, peanut powder, eggplant sauce, and other ingredients in a rummy cake crust. The food wrapped in Karibao is delicious local food such as three layers of meat, pickled vegetables, dried bamboo shoots, cilantro, and peanut powder.
Send the gods. The 24th day of the 12th month of the lunar calendar is the day of sending off the gods, when families hold Zaozao ceremonies to send Zaozao and other gods to heaven.
The god of the stove is commonly known as "Zaojun", also known as "Sifu Zhenjun", "Zaojun Gong", "Protecting the House of Heavenly Father ". "Zao Wang" and so on. His full name is "East Kitchen Sifu Jiuling Yuanwang Dingfu Shenjun", so some people also call it "Nine Heavenly East Kitchen Smoke Lord". In the early days of Taiwanese folklore, every kitchen had a large "stove". According to legend, there was a god of the stove, who was sent by the Jade Emperor on January 4 of each year to monitor the behavior of each family until December 24, when he returned to Heaven to report to the Jade Emperor on the good and bad deeds of each family.
New Year's Eve: Resignation of the New Year, Debt Avoidance Theater, Hearth and Furnace, and New Year's Watch. New Year's Eve, also known as the 30th day of the Lunar New Year, is one of the most important days of the Lunar New Year in Taiwan, and there are quite a few customs. First, the New Year's greetings are made and the "hall is decorated", i.e., new prints and scrolls are put on the hall dedicated to the statue of "Goddess Guanyin" and other deities. In the afternoon, the "New Year's Eve" ceremony is held. Five sacrificial animals and various kinds of rice cakes are placed on the offering table for the gods, and then the ancestors are worshipped, performing the three-kneeling and nine-kowtowing rituals to express gratitude to the gods and ancestors for their blessings during the year, and to pray for more blessings in the New Year. In front of the God's table, there is also "spring rice", i.e., a small bowl with rice in it, on which flowers made of red paper are inserted. There are three bowls in front of each god and one bowl on the stove. These flowers are also called "Chunzai flowers" or "rice spring flowers", and the rice is called "New Year's rice. (In Minnan language, "Chun" and "leftover" harmonize, meaning that how to eat can not be finished, there are still leftovers). Three piles of tangerines and some red dates are placed in front of the table. The red dates mean that the year will be good. The oranges will not be taken down until the Lantern Festival, and as the saying goes, "The Shang Yuan Mei (night) will be demolished." Finally, there is also the burning of gold paper and the setting off of firecrackers to end the New Year's Eve ceremony.
The Debt Avoidance Theater and the Debt Collection Lantern are festive activities to avoid debtors coming to the door to collect debts during the New Year's Eve. On New Year's Eve, all temples in Taiwan offer sacrifices to the gods to perform the plays. Anyone who is in debt for the New Year's Eve and cannot repay it runs to the temple's stage and hides in the crowd to watch the play. According to the custom, the debtor can not ask him to collect the debt. If the debt collector hard to "avoid debt theater" under the stage to find someone to ask for money, will cause public anger, by the crowd to the beatings, making a fool of themselves. This theater will be performed all night long until the next morning on the first day of the Lunar New Year. The debtor will then have a smooth New Year. However, the debtor also has a way to deal with, that is, on the first day of the New Year, wearing old clothes, carrying a lantern to the door to collect the debt, pretending that they are from the 30th night of the New Year to chase the debt to the present has not yet returned home, the lantern is still in the hand, can not be considered as "New Year's Day to collect the debt," this lamp is called "debt collection lamps This kind of lamp is called "debt collection lamp". However, unless the grudge is very deep, the debtor generally will not easily use the "debt collection lamp".
On the night of New Year's Eve, also known as New Year's Eve, family members who go out to make a living have to rush back to their hometowns for a reunion, and if they can't make it back, they have to vacate a seat and put the person's clothes on it to show that the reunion is taking place. The whole family together around the table to eat the most sumptuous dishes of the year, under the table to set a roaring fire oven, the side of the furnace to put some copper coins, to show that the warmth of spring, prosperity. Around the stove when eating generally have symbolic meaning. Such as must eat "longevity vegetables" (mustard made, said longevity), "leek" ("leek" and "long") Harmony, eat one by one, from head to tail, do not eat horizontally, do not bite off, life can be "long long long"). In addition, we should also eat radish (i.e., head of vegetables) to express good luck; eat "whole chicken" to express the blessing of the whole family ("chicken" and "family" resonance); eat "ark shell" to take its strong fertility; and eat "arkshell" to take its strong fertility. "After eating arkshells, the shells should be put under the bed to show that they will give birth to arkshells and arkshell grandchildren; eating fishballs, shrimpballs, meatballs, to take the meaning of "three yuan and the first" (the pill and yuan are homophonous, and the three yuan is the scholar, will be the first, the first, and the first); eating all the dishes do not need to be sliced with a knife, and they should be cooked in their original form.
There is a proverb in Taiwan that says "two nine old", which means that New Year's Eve is a day of great luck. In the past, it was common to adopt women with different surnames as "child brides" in Taiwan. When they were raised to the age of 17 or 18, they were married to their own sons. Wealthy families more in the twenty days after the banquet hosted friends and relatives, held a wedding. Family in general, the family reunion on New Year's Eve, the child bride and son round room, commonly known as "sent to do the pile", "room" domain "to do adult". Usually married to choose the auspicious day of the zodiac, to avoid touching the gods, but the day of New Year's Eve, the gods have been sent to heaven, this time to choose the child bride and son "sent to do the pile", there is no need to worry about suffering the wrath of God.
Wenzhou New Year's Eve customs
New Year's Eve is a very important holiday for the Chinese people.
Everywhere has its own New Year's Eve customs, and Wenzhou also has its own unique New Year's Eve culture.
The winter solstice to eat dumplings
The winter solstice is called "to day", commonly known as the "winter festival". On the morning of this day, every family eats soup dumplings or mochi. Dumplings are filled with sweet sugar or sesame, and there are also salted meat dumplings. And mochi to first cook the glutinous rice, pounded tough into a block shape, and then placed in the sugar in the bean flour rolling so that it sticks full of bean flour, that is, mochi, mochi for the winter solstice snacks, commonly known as "ring mochi". Eat mochi, dumplings, symbolizing reunion and celebration, folk "eat the winter solstice pill, even if a year old" said.
Tan soy sauce meat and eel replica
Wenzhou people used to start tanning soy sauce meat and eel replica around the eleventh month of the lunar calendar. The raw lean pork, raw chickens and ducks are soaked in soy sauce and then dried in the sun for consumption, which has a unique flavor. In the past, during the month of sun-drying, the rafters of every house were densely studded with iron nails on which soy sauce meat, soy sauce duck, and soy sauce chicken were hung. Self-made soy sauce meat, soy sauce chicken flavor and quality, so even if the market has ready-made to sell, people are still willing to do their own sun. Eel is a specialty of Wenzhou, Wenzhou people generally go to the market to buy some larger eel, cut open the light sun, it became our mouth "eel replica bags", eel replica bags than fresh eel is also delicious, is the New Year's Eve dinner with wine.
Pounding rice cakes
Also known as "pounding sugar cake" with glutinous rice mixed with some indica rice, plus brown or white sugar, steamed, put in a mortar and pounded tough, and then made into a rectangular shape, Rui'an called "slow food". If placed in different patterns of the printing plate, can be pressed into such as peony, peach, Kuixing, God of Fortune, Scholar, and carp, unicorn and other patterns of sweet cakes, also made into a Yuanbao-shaped, the maximum weight of about 3 kilograms, inserted with silver flowers can be placed on the long table in the middle of the hall, and each room can be placed on. This is also known as "do rice cake", that is, the meaning of the year high rise.
Sacrificing the stove
On the 24th day of the 12th month of the lunar calendar, families also pay homage to Zaofo. It is said that this is the day when the king of the stove goes up to the sky to report to the Jade Emperor on the merits of mortals. It is said that the god of the stove is a glutton, and as long as there is candy to eat, his mouth will be sealed, so all the sacrifices to the stove are made with maltose, so that the king of the stove will not say anything bad about the king of the stove in front of the Jade Emperor.
Dusting new
Annual lunar December 24 around, along the waxing "dusting new" custom, Wenzhou city households to sweep the dust and drive dirt, powder wall decorative room, polyester with the sun, each family took the opportunity to wash away the dirt piled up in the home a year to prepare for the spring of the dry and clean.
Posting Spring Festival couplets
Another common custom of the New Year is to post Spring Festival couplets. As early as in the Song Dynasty, posting Spring Festival couplets has become a popular custom, the Song Dynasty, the Spring Festival couplets known as peach symbols, the ancients believe that the peach can drive away the ghosts and evil spirits, so often set up in front of the door of the items made of peach wood as a decorative, known as peach decorations, and then slowly transmuted into peach symbols that Spring Festival couplets. In the past, the Spring Festival couplets are written in black characters on red paper with ink, and in recent years, the market has become popular with the Spring Festival couplets printed in gold on big red paper, which is quite popular among people. On New Year's Eve, each family's main door, house pillars and windows on both sides of the red paper pasted with spring couplets, commonly known as the "door to". The lintel with four words, commonly known as the "cross-patch", single door sticker "Daji" two words. The main house, the hall, the study, as well as pigs, sheep, cows, are pasted with different contents of the Spring Festival couplets, the content of most of the prayers for good luck and peace and a good harvest in all walks of life.
The New Year's Wine
On New Year's Eve, the whole family will gather together and have a meal, or invite friends and relatives to eat and drink together, called "New Year's Wine". Because New Year's Eve is the dividing line between the old and the new year, eat a year-old wine, meaning that the old and the new year is divided by this night. Therefore, this meal regardless of rich or poor, should try to do some sumptuous. Wenzhou people are very concerned about eating the "year-end wine", also known as "New Year's Eve dinner".
Eating a year-old wine is very auspicious. In the past, the banquet would use ten red bowls with red sand, holding ten kinds of cold dishes, called "ten full". In addition to chicken, meat, there should be peanuts (knot), mandarin oranges (Daji), carp (jump Dragon Gate), tofu (family clean), etc., and each bowl must have a piece of thinly sliced round carrot head on the top, to show that the color. Eat over the New Year's Eve wine, we find their own entertainment, and often stay up all night, commonly known as "keep the year", also known as "looking forward to the New Year's Eve".
Open the door cannon
The first thing to do in the early hours of the first day of the first month of the year, the first thing to do is to fight "open the door cannon", the whole city a firecrackers, symbolizing to send the old to welcome the new and to receive the rich, commonly known as "to receive the year". Playing the "door cannon" also has the practice, generally is the first small firecrackers a string, called "hundred children gun"; and then put a double sound big firecrackers, big firecrackers only three hair, meaning that can lift the year's plague plague obscurity, and said to receive the New Year. Requirements for three rounds are loud, loud and clear sound, the most auspicious.
Welcome to the New Year
The first morning of the first day of the first month, first in their own homes, the younger generation in order to the elders bowing salute, said "New Year's Eve". From the second day of the first month, neighbors and friends and relatives, to and from the festival. According to old habits, Wenzhou people do not walk relatives on the first day of the first month. Worship time is generally the second to the tenth, some also extended to the first month of the lunar calendar fifteen. Before the 1950s, the gift of New Year's Eve is relatively simple, mostly cinnamon, lychee, jujube, jujube, brown sugar, persimmon cakes, etc., with a special straw paper wrapped in red paper sealed on the top, it is known as the "paper pong package".
Wearing new clothes
On the first day of the first month, people have to wear new clothes, but also contains the meaning of the old and welcome the new. Because the folk to red to symbolize good luck, children wearing big red clothes, young women of course, full of red, even the old woman also tied a big red dress. Nowadays, people in the dress has been a big change, the color is not limited to red, become more colorful, style has become a variety of.
After the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar, which is the Lantern Festival, the year is over.
In recent years, people's lives have become more colorful, the way to celebrate the New Year has also changed, some families choose to travel in the first month, and some young people are becoming more and more indifferent to New Year's Eve, and their enthusiasm for New Year's Eve is not as great as that of some Western festivals. In this regard, Pan Yigang still believes that: "The Spring Festival is not represented by any festival, the change of concept is only proof of the improvement of civilization."