Compared with later generations, the rich and prosperous Tang Dynasty still had a curfew, and the night was usually deserted. But on New Year's Eve every year, it is the most lively activity of Chang 'an people who have been banned by curfew for one year: exorcism.

Exorcism is a traditional activity in China to exorcise ghosts and welcome gods. In China folklore, "Nian" is a fierce monster. The so-called "Chinese New Year" is to beat the monsters away. Since it's "monster hunting", of course, we have to go out in groups. So there was a long-standing "exorcism" activity. In the Tang Dynasty, it was an unprecedented New Year's Eve scene.

In Chang 'an City in the Tang Dynasty, every New Year's Eve, a couple of men and women usually lead the dance with masks of old ladies and gentlemen, that is, "Nuo Weng" and "Nuo Mu", surrounded by thousands of cheerful children wearing masks, that is, "protecting children and protecting women". A "exorcism brigade" is mighty and dancing in Chang 'an.

In this happy moment, if you want to have fun, the key is to look at the rhythm of the leaders of the exorcism brigade: you must sing exorcism words well.

The original exorcism poem on New Year's Eve in the Tang Dynasty was unearthed in the Dunhuang suicide note: when you came to the palace gate, you saw a group of devils, with a black pier inside, with their bodies straight and their heads crouched ... Needless to say, you have to walk thousands of miles south and how far north! A group of monsters are just ahead, and one of them is lying on the roof ... Let's kick this guy out thousands of miles away and catch him and expel him from the north! In exciting music, this opening is of course quite rhythmic. The revelers also sang and danced and enjoyed themselves in the wild.

Of course, what really makes them happy is not the imaginary "monster": this is a hard year, a year of depression and unhappiness. On this New Year's Eve, spread it out heartily and throw it in the coming year!

Two: playing dumb (Song Dynasty)

Compared with Datang, where the curfew is strict, and Song, where the commodity economy is developed, the Spring Festival is of course much more lively. According to "Tokyo Dream Record", before New Year's Eve and since the twelfth lunar month, the market in Bianjing City has been quite lively. "Safflower, leek, lettuce, mint, walnut" and other vegetables are very popular, and they are all essential ingredients for New Year's Eve. In addition, until New Year's Eve, every household should keep preserved bacon and twelfth lunar month, and some can eat them until the next summer.

Moreover, from the twelfth lunar month to New Year's Eve, the streets and alleys of Bianjing City gradually became lively. The climax of the Spring Festival in the Song Dynasty is the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month. However, on New Year's Eve, a light shed was set up opposite the palace gate of Bianjing City, and colorful lanterns were in full swing. The "preheating" of the market has also begun. Under the promenade on both sides of Yujie Street, there are acrobatic song and dance storytelling performances on the mat every day, which is more and more lively every day. Therefore, on New Year's Eve, many people will also "make an appointment with friends and go to Tianjie to watch the dance team in the evening to enjoy Yuan Xi in advance"-see the fresh ones first.

But on New Year's Eve, there was a family New Year's Eve ceremony in the Song Dynasty: after New Year's Eve, the whole family often sat around the fire and stayed up all night, thus "guarding" the New Year. But what makes people laugh most is the children in the Song Dynasty: at this time, children will run out in droves and sing children's songs happily in the street. Usually it is "selling dementia, selling you stupid, selling you stupid." That is to say, at the moment when I bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year, I forgot all the "dementia" of the old year. At the beginning of the new year, I am a smarter and stronger child.

Times are changing and time flies, but children's desire to grow up smart and healthy has never changed.

Three: "preheating" blockbusters

The New Year's Eve of the Ming Dynasty is also quite lively. For example, the custom of "observing the age" in the Ming Dynasty is even more complicated: on the 24th of each year, it is necessary to replace the keeper of Fu Tao, and on New Year's Eve, it is even more necessary to worship the ancestor's god, and to set the pine tree as high as the house, and then light it to the sky, which is the custom of "burning the brazier". In the city on New Year's Eve, there are often fireworks all over the sky. According to the records of the Ming Dynasty, it is simply "as bright as sunset cloth". In addition, light a lamp under the bed and pray for good luck in the coming year.

However, compared with these fiery scenes, it is also New Year's Eve, and another lively activity during the Spring Festival in the Ming Dynasty is also quietly "warming up": the "New Year's Eve blockbuster" and various festival operas in the Ming Dynasty.

The drama of Ming Dynasty is more developed than that of Song Dynasty, and the theater activity is the highlight of Spring Festival. In the Ming Dynasty Palace alone, there were more than 500 troupes all year round. On New Year's Eve, I never rest and rehearse overtime. Then, from the first day of the first month, there are big plays every day, not only The Journey to the West's Romance of the Three Kingdoms and other themes, but also various "big productions": special effects scenes with various mythological themes can be done on the stage of the Ming Dynasty. All kinds of dazzling scenes are smashed with money. At this time, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty will personally order operas, and the operas with Yue Fei as the theme are often the favorite of the emperors.

The play in the palace is lively and the people are not bad. By the Ming Dynasty, operas were performed all over the country, often in the twelfth lunar month. Stages began to be arranged in various places, and troupes also entered a state of tension. Even the big inns all over the country are preparing for the opera performances during the festival. As long as the guests are willing to pay, they can enjoy the luxurious theater box after staying in the hotel.

There are also many folk theaters. For example, in the economically developed Linqing area, there are more than 40 theaters and more than 50 troupes. During the Spring Festival in Jiangyin, there are often three or four days of drama, which attracts tens of thousands of viewers. Once, because of the loud shouts, the new local officials in Jiangyin were surprised and mistakenly thought that Haikou was causing trouble, which was a big joke during the Spring Festival of the Ming Dynasty.