1, the origin of the Spring Festival
In ancient times, the first day of the year was called New Year, also known as Chen Yuan, Yuan Ri and Yuan Shuo. At the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, Dan began in the morning. Song Dynasty poet Wu wrote "Dream" and said, "The first day of the first month is called New Year's Day, which is commonly called New Year's Day. This is the first one. " After Qin Shihuang unified China, Meng Dongyue was the first month. "Zheng" should have been pronounced "Zheng" aboveboard. Why do people now habitually pronounce "Zheng" as "Zheng"? This began when Qin Shihuang proclaimed himself emperor. Because Qin Shihuang's surname is Zheng, and Zheng and Zheng have the same pronunciation, in order to avoid taboo, he ordered the whole country to pronounce Zheng as Zheng in the first month. From then on, people no longer called it "the first month", but read it as "the harvest of the moon". Learn well in the future and pass it on to future generations. By the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Sima Qian had written the solar calendar on the basis of the summer calendar, and designated the month of Meng Chun, the first month of the year, as the first month. From the Han Dynasty to the end of Qing Dynasty, the calendar of Xia Dynasty was always adopted. Therefore, people still call the lunar calendar the summer calendar, also known as the lunar calendar or the old calendar. 19 1 1 year, the Revolution of 1911 overthrew the rule of the Qing Dynasty and abolished the summer calendar. China began to adopt the Gregorian calendar, with Gregorian calendar 1 as New Year's Day every year. In this way, in order to distinguish the lunar calendar from the solar calendar, people only call the first day of the first lunar month the Spring Festival, not New Year's Day.
According to historical records, the annual harvest celebration ceremony originated in the Zhou Dynasty (BC1121-771). Although this ceremony was held in November of the lunar calendar, it has always been regarded as the origin of the New Year custom. In order to show the authority of the "son of heaven" and inherit the throne, ancient emperors often relied on their own calendars, so New Year's Day, month and day were inconsistent. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (BC 140-87) succeeded to the throne and decided to rebuild the calendar and unify the world. The calendar we adopt today was revised by several dynasties after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, but the first day of the first lunar month is the "New Year's Day", which was originally decided by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. & lt& lt erya >> The annotation of "Nian" is: "Summer is called Nian, and Shang is called Nian." Since the Shang dynasty, the full moon has been missing once in January, the first day is the new moon, and the fifteenth day is the hope. The beginning of each year starts at midnight on the first day of the first month and is called "New Year's Day" or "January Day". Legend has it that the Spring Festival in the Xia Dynasty was in February. In the first year of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, Sima Qian suggested the establishment of taichu calendar, and set the Spring Festival in the first month of Meng Chun. The determination and change of the Spring Festival also reflects the development and maturity of astronomy and calendar in China.
Lunar New Year, there are many other names, such as: Yuanri, Yuanshuo, Jacky, Chen Yuan, Zheng Dan, Xinzheng, Spring Festival, New Year and so on. Both refer to the first day of the year.
2, the legend of the Spring Festival:
A long time ago, at the foot of Dingyang Mountain, there lived a young man named Wannian. His family is poor and lives on firewood and medicine all day. At that time, the festivals were very chaotic, which made farmers uncertain about the agricultural solar terms and often missed the season. Wannian is a calculating young man, and he is determined to set the festival accurately.
One day, Wan Nian went up the mountain to get firewood, and when he was sitting under a tree to have a rest, he saw the movement of the shadows of the trees and was inspired. He made a sundial and measured its shadow to calculate the length of the day. But it can't be calculated when it is cloudy with rain and snow. He thought about making a timer to make up for the lack of sundial. One day, he went to the deep mountain to dig medicine, and saw the spring water on the mountain ringing rhythmically, and he began to understand. After returning home, I tried again and again and finally made a five-layer leaky pot. Since then, he has continuously measured the shadow of the sun and observed the leakage of water every day. Finally, it is found that every 360 days, the length of the weather will be repeated, with the longest solstice day in summer and the shortest solstice day in winter.
At that time, the son of heaven "ancestral home" was also anxious about the chaos of the festival, so he called hundreds of officials to discuss the matter. A Heng, a festival official in the imperial court, neither understands the laws of motion of the sun and the moon, nor devotes himself to studying them. When the emperor asked about the accident, he said it was because people accidentally offended God, so he had to pray for God's forgiveness. Hearing this, Zu Ti lent a bath, led hundreds of officials to worship heaven, and told all parts of the country to set up a platform to worship heaven.
This is painful for people everywhere. In order to repair the altar, we have to serve and donate money, which wastes people and money. Sacrifices come and go, with little effect, and the four seasons are chaotic. There is no way in ten thousand years to take his sundial and clepsydra to visit the son of heaven.
The son of heaven has been told for 10 thousand years, and he was overjoyed to hear the story that the sun and the moon have been running for 10 thousand years. Even if it is constructed, a Sun Moon Pavilion, a sundial platform and a leaky pot pavilion will be built in front of the Temple of Heaven. And send 12 boys to serve for ten thousand years. Ten thousand years, let six boys keep the sundial and six boys keep the leaky cauldron, accurately record and report on time.
I have been working day and night for three years. One day, the son of heaven sent Ah Heng to Riyuege to inquire about the calendar system, and the ten thousand-year report said, "Sunrise and sunset are 360, and we will start all over again. The vegetation is divided into four seasons and there are twelve laps a year. " After hearing this, Ah Heng was deeply justified. But he is a narrow-minded man with an empty stomach. He thought: if the calendar is set correctly after 10 thousand years, the son of heaven will definitely reuse it after 10 thousand years, and then he will not reuse me. So I decided to get rid of it.
Ah Heng found an assassin and asked him to assassinate him for ten thousand years. The assassin went to assassinate in the dead of night. But I saw guards around the attic, so I couldn't get close. So he hid in the shadow of a distant tree, pulled out his bow and arrow, and shot at Wannian, who was watching the stars in the attic. An arrow hit the arm for ten thousand years and fell to the ground with a "ouch" in ten thousand years. The boys were anxious to catch the thief, so the guards immediately went out, caught the assassin on the spot and sent him to the son of heaven.
After the son of heaven asked the truth, he immediately sent a command to arrest Ah Heng, put him in prison, and then went to Rige to visit Wannian. I was very moved to see the son of heaven come to see me personally after ten thousand years, and pointed to Shen Xing and said, "Shen Xing has caught up with silkworms, and the astrology has also recovered. When the children are handed in at night, the old days are over and it is spring again. I hope the son of heaven makes a festival. The son of heaven thought for a moment and said, "Spring is the beginning of a year, so let's call it Spring Festival.
From then on, Wan Nian observed the vegetation and wheat in Riyuege more carefully, calculated the time carefully, wetted the accumulated time at the end of the year, and worked out the calendar-solar calendar. In May of that year, the son of heaven went to the Temple of Heaven to worship heaven, boarded the Sun and Moon Pavilion, and presented fresh peaches for worship to the eternal god. Give a solar calendar in ten thousand years. The son of heaven was deeply moved by the long-lived eyebrows and beards that worked hard all the year round. The solar calendar is called the perpetual calendar, and the perpetual calendar is the birthday of the sun and the moon. Since then, people have also called the Spring Festival "Year". During the Chinese New Year, every household hangs Shou Xingtu, which symbolizes the longevity of the new year. At the same time, I also expressed my admiration for Wan Nian.
Winter goes and spring comes, year after year. Later, after long-term observation and careful calculation, it took 10 thousand years to calculate the accurate solar calendar. When he showed his successor the solar calendar, he was covered with silver whiskers. The monarch was deeply moved. In order to commemorate the achievements of 10 thousand years, he 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. This is the origin of the Spring Festival.
In the towns and villages in the north and south of China, it is generally the middle of the twelfth lunar month, and people begin to prepare for the Spring Festival. A few years ago, markets all over the country were bustling and lively. There are all kinds of things to eat, wear, use and play in the stalls of the new year's goods store, including "rice cakes" marked with red stamps, as well as festive items such as Spring Festival couplets, fireworks and candles. Years ago, the market was the richest and most complete in a year, and men, women and children rushed to buy some desirable goods. Especially for children, whenever they buy firecrackers, they often start to set off firecrackers sporadically before the Spring Festival to add atmosphere to the upcoming New Year. There is a song in Beijing that sings a year-end folk song:
Twenty-three, honeydew melon is sticky;
Twenty-four, housing Tomb-Sweeping Day;
Twenty-five, make tofu;
Twenty-six, cut meat;
Twenty-seven, killing chickens;
Twenty-eight, white hair;
Twenty-nine, full of fragrance;
On the 30 th, sit in the dark for one night;
It gets hot as soon as the New Year's Day comes out.
The lyrics depict people's busyness at the end of the year. Folk songs with similar contents are popular all over China.
3, the legendary:
In ancient times, there was a beast called Nian. It is several times bigger than the current elephant and dozens of times fiercer than the tiger. It eats people, eating dozens of people in one bite, and countless people are eaten by it. The people have suffered. One day, Nian came again, and a young man hated it very much. He said: "It is better to fight it than to let it eat. They are all dead anyway. " He rushed up with an axe and many young people followed him. But they are no match for Nian. All the young people were eaten by Nian. Since then, "Nian" has become more vicious, and all people are angry and hate.
The resentment in the sky shocked the white Venus in the sky, and the hatred in the earthquake shocked the king and bodhisattva in the underground. As soon as Taibai Venus and Wang Di Bodhisattva discussed it, they sent their ancestor Shennong to land to collect the new year. Shennong holds a whip, aiming at Nian's ass is a whip. The fierce Nian actually fell to a draw. Shennong ran a few steps, stepped on Nian's head and roared, "Bastard, you ate countless people and did terrible things. Today is your end. " Say, take out two melon bowls from the waist, aim at the word "year" and close them. Nian, bigger than an elephant, suddenly fell into a melon bowl. Shennong buried the bowl with Nian in the ground. When he left, he repeatedly told him: "This bowl is buried in the ground and will grow melons in the future. This melon can't be broken, so be sure to say it's not broken. " Later, a melon really grew in the place where the bowl was buried, and the people called it "North Melon" according to Shennong's "No" voice. The day when Shennong got rid of "Nian" happened to be December 30th of the lunar calendar, so people called this day "Nian", which means to avoid "Nian" and get rid of its meaning. On this day, the class consecrated the North Melon to show the suppression of evil, and beat gongs and drums and lanterns with bamboo poles to commemorate the merits of Shennong's ancestors.
Step 4 sacrifice the stove
In China, the Spring Festival usually begins with offering sacrifices to stoves. The folk song "Twenty-three, Melon Stick" refers to the sacrificial stove on the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month every year. There is a saying that "officials, three people, four boatmen and five", that is, in the twelfth lunar month, officials hold sacrificial stoves, 24 people hold them, and 25 curtilage boats hold them.
Sacrificing a stove is a kind of custom with great influence and wide spread among the people in our country. In the past, almost every kitchen had a kitchen god. People call this god "the Bodhisattva who commands life" or "the stove commands life". It is said that he is the "Nine-day East Chef Commanding the Kitchen Palace" sealed by the Jade Emperor, who is responsible for managing the kitchen fires of various families and is worshipped as the patron saint of the family. Kitchen shrines are mostly located in the north or east of the kitchen, with the idol of Kitchen God in the middle. Some people who don't have the niche of the Kitchen King even put the idol directly on the wall. Some gods only draw a kitchen god, while others have two men and women. The goddess is called "Grandma Chef". This is probably an imitation of the image of human lovers. Most of the statues of Kitchen God are also printed with the calendar of this year, which reads the words "Oriental chef is in charge", "guardian of the world" and "head of the family" to show the status of Kitchen God. On both sides, there are couplets of "Heaven says yes, the lower bound is safe", wishing the whole family peace.
Kitchen God has been staying at home to protect and supervise his family since last year's Eve. On the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the Kitchen God will ascend to heaven and report the good deeds or evil deeds of this family to the Jade Emperor in heaven. The ceremony of sending the kitchen god is called "sending the kitchen stove" or "resigning the kitchen stove". According to the report of Kitchen God, the Jade Emperor entrusted the family with the fate of good fortune and bad fortune in the new year. So for a family, Kitchen God's report is really interesting.
Sending stoves is usually held at dusk. The family went to the kitchen first, set the table, incense the kitchen god in the shrine on the kitchen wall, and present honeydew melons made of caramel and flour. Then tie the bamboo poles into paper horses and make them into animal feed. Sacrificing caramel to Kitchen God is to make his old man's mouth sweet. Some places still wrap sugar on the mouth of the kitchen god, saying, "Say more good things and don't say bad things." This is to block the kitchen god's mouth with sugar and tell him not to speak ill. In the Chronicle of the Old Times in the Tang Dynasty, there was an occasional record that "Siming (Kitchen God) got drunk by applying distiller's grains on the stove". After people coated the mouth of the kitchen god with sugar, they took off their idols and ascended to heaven with paper and cigarettes. In some places, sesame stalks and pine branches are piled in the yard at night, and then the statue of the kitchen god, which has been enshrined for a year, is taken out of the shrine and burned on the fire with paper horses and forage. The yard was brightly lit, and at this time the family kowtowed around the fire, burning and praying:
This year is the 23rd,
Send the kitchen god to the west.
With strong horses and forage,
Have a nice trip and arrive safely.
Melons are sweet and sweet,
Please speak kindly to the Jade Emperor.
The custom of sending stoves is very common all over China. Mr. Lu Xun once wrote the poem "It is one thing for the Boxer to send stoves":
A chicken glue is sweet and a gown is fragrant.
If there is nothing at home, there are only a few antelopes.
He said in the article "The Day of Sending Kitchen Stoves": "On the day when the chef ascended to heaven, there was still a kind of sugar on the street, which was as big as a citrus. We also have it there, but it's flat, like thick pancakes. That's the so-called' gum teeth'. The original intention is to invite the kitchen god to eat and stick his teeth, so that he can't adjust his mouth to speak ill of the jade emperor. " The allusion to "antelope" in Lu Xun's poems comes from The Biography of Yin Shi in the Later Han Dynasty: "When Xuan Di proclaimed himself emperor, Yin Zifang was the most filial and kind. Cooking in the morning of the twelfth day, seeing the kitchen god, the children have to worship and celebrate; There is an antelope at home, so it is worshipped. After the third one, he naturally became extremely rich. I know the third world, but I am prosperous. Therefore, I often recommend antelope to sacrifice the stove on the twelfth day. " Yin Zifang met the Kitchen God and sacrificed the antelope. Later, she got lucky. Since then, the custom of killing antelopes to sacrifice stoves has been handed down.
During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the offerings for offering sacrifices to stoves were quite rich. Fan Chengda, a poet in the Song Dynasty, gave a vivid description of the situation of folk sacrificial stoves at that time:
The ancient legend of December in the lunar calendar,
Kitchen God speaks to the sky.
Clouds, cars, wind and horses linger,
There are cups and plates at home.
The pig's head is cooked and the fish is fresh.
Gan Song bait with bean paste.
When a man tells his daughter to leave,
Drinking and burning money is good for you.
You can't smell the fight between a servant and a son,
Don't get angry when cats and dogs touch dirty things.
Send you to Tianmen to get drunk,
Spoons are long and short, not heavy clouds.
Seek profit and return points.
The sacrificial furnace on the 13th of the twelfth lunar month is closely related to the New Year in China. Because, a week later, on New Year's Eve, Kitchen God came to the world with the good and bad fortune that the family should get. Kitchen God is considered to guide the gods in the sky. Other gods have ascended to heaven after the Chinese New Year, and only Kitchen God will stay in other people's kitchens for a long time. The ceremony of welcoming God is called "receiving God", and the kitchen god is called "receiving kitchen". Generally, it is New Year's Eve to pick up the kitchen, and the ceremony is much simpler. At that time, just put on a new stove lamp and burn incense in front of the stove niche.
As the saying goes, "Men don't Yue Bai, women don't sacrifice to the kitchen". In some places, women don't sacrifice stoves. It is said that the kitchen god looks like a small white face and is afraid of women offering sacrifices to the kitchen stove, which is "suspected of men and women." The origin of Kitchen God has a long history. Among the folk gods in China, the qualification of Kitchen God has a long history. As early as the Xia Dynasty, he was already a great god revered by the people. According to the ancient book The Book of Rites, Kong Ying Da said: "Hitachi, Zhu Rong, the son of Zhuan Xu, is worshipped as the kitchen god." "Zhuangzi Sheng Da" records: "The stove has a bun." Sima Biao commented: "bun, kitchen god, dressed in red, looks like a beautiful woman." "Hold PiaoZi. "Wei Zhi" also recorded: "On a dark night, Kitchen God also accused the white man in the sky." These records are probably the source of Kitchen God. Also, or the kitchen god is a "suiren" who drills wood to make a fire; Or Shennong's "fire official"; Or "Su Liji" in "The Yellow Emperor Cooking Ren"; Or the kitchen god surnamed Zhang, the name list, the word Guo; Opinions vary.
After the spread of the custom of offering sacrifices to stoves, from the Zhou Dynasty onwards, the palace also included it in the sacrificial ceremony, and the custom of marking stoves became a fixed ceremony throughout the country.
After the Stove Festival, preparations for the Chinese New Year officially began. Every year from the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month to New Year's Eve, China folks call this period "Spring Festival" or "Dust Day". Dust removal is year-end cleaning, which is called "house cleaning" in the north and "dust removal" in the south. It is a traditional habit of our people to sweep the dust before the Spring Festival. Whenever the Spring Festival comes, every household should clean the environment, clean all kinds of electrical appliances, remove and wash bedding curtains, sweep six yards, dust cobwebs and dredge culverts in open channels. North and south of the great river, everywhere is filled with the atmosphere of being willing to engage in hygiene and welcoming the Spring Festival cleanly.
Step 5 clean the dust
The custom of "sweeping the house with dust on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month" has a long history. According to "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals", China had the custom of sweeping dust during the Spring Festival in the Yao and Shun era. According to the folk saying, because of the homonym of "dust" and "Chen", sweeping dust in the Spring Festival means "getting rid of the old and not being new", and its original intention is to sweep away all "bad luck". This custom has placed people's desire to break the old and create new ones and their prayers to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new.
6. Spring Festival couplets
Sticking Spring Festival couplets and changing door gods are important customs for China people to celebrate the Spring Festival. In the past, as soon as the Spring Festival arrived, temporary stalls selling Spring Festival couplets could be seen on the street. Shen Taidi, a scholar in Qing Dynasty, described the situation of selling Spring Festival couplets in Beijing before the Spring Festival, saying: "Older teachers sell more couplets. In advance, the words "books are in spring, ink is in the village", "learning books by borrowing paper" and "dyeing the years" were posted. Before paving, the red carpet on the table was high, the charcoal basin was inked, and the book door was hung horizontally. " This shows the grand occasion of posting Spring Festival couplets in the old days. Spring Festival couplets, also known as "opposite the door" and "spring stickers", are a kind of couplets. Because they are posted during the Spring Festival, spring is often written on red paper. The Spring Festival is coming, and thousands of families are sticking bright red spring stickers everywhere, which can really show the colors of spring.
How did the Spring Festival couplets come about? There is such a story in Shan Hai Jing. Legend has it that there is a beautiful Dushuo Mountain in the East China Sea of China, also known as Du Tao. There is a big peach tree on the mountain with a golden rooster on the top, which is made at sunrise. The northeast end of this peach tree is full of arched branches, and the top of the tree has bent down and touched the ground, just like a natural gate. There are all kinds of monsters living in Shuoshan. If you want to go out, you have to go through this gate of hell. The Emperor of Heaven was afraid that the ghost would come down to haunt the world, so he sent two gods to guard it, one named Shen Tu and the other named Lei Yu. The names of these two gods have special pronunciations. Shen Tu should read "sacred tree" and Lei Yu should read "jade law". The two gods will monitor the behavior of ghosts. He found out which ghost was doing evil, so he tied it up with straw rope and gave it to the tiger. Since then, from this story, the theory of ghost peach wood has been derived. So, at that time, people used two pieces of peach wood to carve the images of Shen Tu and Lei Yu or write their names on both sides of the door, calling them Fu Tao to show that they could ward off evil spirits. After the Tang Dynasty, it was gradually changed to Weichi Gong and Qin Baoshu. Legend has it that Emperor Taizong Li Shimin staged a coup in Xuanwu Gate, killing his younger brother, forcing his father Tang Gaozu Li Yuan to abdicate and become the emperor's father, and ascended the throne himself. From then on, Kevin·Z dreamed of the old dragon who cut many rivers. Every night, he seemed to hear ghosts throwing bricks at the house outside the sleeping officers, making strange noises. Emperor Taizong had no choice but to tell the ministers about it. Qin, the founding hero of the Tang Dynasty, volunteered to keep vigil at the palace gate to exorcise ghosts, and Weichi Gong, another great founding hero, was also willing to accompany the vigil. That night, wearing armor and holding weapons, they stayed at the door of the bedroom for one night. As expected, Emperor Taizong had a good sleep. After a few days, Emperor Taizong gradually recovered and could not bear to let the two generals keep vigil. So he ordered people to draw the mighty images of the two generals and put them on the doors. The story spread, and Weichi Gong and Qin were gradually regarded as door gods.
The evolution from Fu Tao to Spring Festival couplets is said to be in the Five Dynasties, when Meng Changjun, the late master of Shu in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, was on New Year's Eve in 964. Singer Xin wrote two auspicious words on the page. He didn't like the new work, because the words were not good, so he began to write it himself:
Xinnianna Qing Yu
Changchun jiajiehao
This is the earliest Spring Festival couplets in China. From then on, literati regarded Spring Festival couplets as elegant things, and the wind of Spring Festival couplets gradually spread. In the Song Dynasty, posting Spring Festival couplets has become a custom of gentry. Wang Anshi's poem "January Day", "Thousands of households always change new peaches for old ones", can illustrate this point. In the notes of the Song Dynasty, it was also recorded that literati liked to write Spring Festival couplets. For example, as recorded in Zhang Bangji's Mo Zhuang Man Lu, Su Dongpo was in Huangzhou, and when he was nearly 30 years old, he visited the king. When he saw his Taofu prescription, he wrote a book on it, saying, "The door is so big that thousands of people ride into it, and I don't know male huan." At the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhao, a famous painter, visited the Moon Appreciation Building in Yangzhou, and the landlord asked Zhao for Spring Festival couplets. Zhao wrote: "There are 3,000 guests in Yuen Long during the Spring Festival, and the first floor of Mingyue Yangzhou." The content of the Spring Festival couplets is different from that of the restaurant. The host was overjoyed and gave him a purple and gold basin. Spring Festival couplets written by Zhao have always been regarded as social gifts.
It is said that Spring Festival couplets are very popular among the people, and they are written in red paper, which became one of the customs after the Ming Dynasty. According to Chen's Miscellaneous Notes on the Cloud Tower, when Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Emperor, made his capital in Jinling, one year before New Year's Eve, he used his quick wits and ordered officials and literati to post Spring Festival couplets on the doors to show a new atmosphere. The next day, he traveled incognito and watched Spring Festival couplets entertainment among the people. After cruising for a while, he suddenly found that there was a family that didn't post Spring Festival couplets, so he asked his entourage to look for it. It turns out that the owner of that house is a castrated pig who can neither read nor write. Years ago, he was so busy that he didn't find someone to write for him. After hearing this, Mao sent someone to invite Four Treasures of the Study and waved happily: "Split the road of life and death with both hands and cut off the root of right and wrong with one knife." Handy, extraordinary tone. Attendants hold couplets and give them to eunuchs. Later, the owner of the castrated pig learned that it was a couplet made by the emperor's imperial relatives, so he framed it and hung it in nave as a family heirloom, burning incense and worshiping it every day. It is said that the official naming of the word Spring Festival couplets began with the Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. Since then, Spring Festival couplets have been widely popular in rural towns and villages and have been popular for a long time. The most commonly used Spring Festival couplets are "firecrackers to get rid of the old year, every family welcomes the new year", "people live longer with the years, and spring is full", "doors welcome the blessings of spring, summer, autumn and winter, and households collect wealth from east, west, north and south", and so on. Every household posted Spring Festival couplets years ago to decorate the Spring Festival with spring and celebration.
In ancient times, during the Spring Festival, people painted chickens on doors and windows. The gauntlet written by Dong Fangshuo, a Han Chinese, said: "On the first day of the first lunar month, the first lunar month accounts for chickens, the second lunar month accounts for dogs, the third lunar month accounts for pigs, the fourth lunar month accounts for sheep, the fifth lunar month accounts for cows, the sixth lunar month accounts for horses and the seventh lunar month accounts for people." Six Livestock Festival is over, and it's the seventh day of July. Why is it so popular? In ancient times, there was a popular book called Farming, in which there were three statements. One theory is that chickens are domesticated into poultry first, then dogs, and so on. Another way of saying it is that according to the size of livestock, the small ones rank first, so the chicken chops rank first and others rank last. There is also a saying that according to the distance between six animals and people, chickens and dogs are kept indoors, close to people, followed by pigs and sheep. Cattle and horses have other stalls, which are farthest from the room, so they are ranked behind. It seems that the latter seems to be the most reasonable. Why do people rank behind six kinds of animals instead? This problem is not mentioned in ancient books. Although the ancients did not discover the truth of evolution, human beings, as higher animals with tools and ideas, appeared later than lower animals, which is in line with the principle of biological evolution. People may draw chickens during the Spring Festival, because the first day is Chicken Day. The book Xuan Zhong Ji in Jin Dynasty mentioned the pheasant on Dushuo Mountain mentioned above, saying that it crowed when the first ray of sunshine shone on this big tree just after rising. When it crows, chickens all over the world crow with it. Therefore, the chicken cut during the Spring Festival is actually a symbol of pheasant. However, in ancient mythology, there is also a saying that chickens are deformed birds. It is said that during the reign of Emperor Yao, friends on the other side paid tribute to a bird that could ward off evil spirits. Everyone welcomes the arrival of birds, but the messengers who pay tribute don't come every year, so people carve a wooden bird, cast it in bronze and put it on the door, or paint on the doors and windows to scare away monsters and make them afraid to come again. Because birds look like chickens, they will gradually draw a chicken or cut window flowers and stick them on doors and windows, which will become the source of paper-cutting art in later generations. China paid special attention to chickens in ancient times and called them "birds with five virtues". "Biography of Korean Poetry" says that a crown on the head is Wende; There is a distance behind the foot to play, which is martial arts; It is brave for the enemy to dare to fight before; It is benevolence to have food to welcome the same kind; Vigilance and dawn are beliefs. Therefore, people not only cut chickens during the Chinese New Year, but also set the first day of the New Year as Chicken Day.
7. New Year pictures
During the Spring Festival, people not only paste Spring Festival couplets and cut window grilles, but also like to hang New Year pictures in the living room and bedroom. A New Year picture adds a festive atmosphere to every household. New Year pictures are an ancient folk art in China. They reflect people's customs and beliefs and place their hopes on 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. The earliest collection of New Year pictures in China is woodcut New Year pictures of the Southern Song Dynasty, which shows four ancient beauties: Wang Zhaojun, Zhao, Ban Ji and Lvzhu. However, the most popular picture among people in China is the New Year picture of marrying a mouse. This painting depicts an interesting scene in which a mouse marries a bride according to human custom. His paintings are lively in composition. This painting left an indelible impression on Lu Xun. As he said, this entertaining "Marry a Mouse" not only aroused the interest of adults, but also had a stronger artistic appeal to children. According to folklore, New Year's Eve is an auspicious day for mice to get married. People should put some food under the bed and in the kitchen as gifts for the groom of the mouse to pray for a bumper harvest next year. Some grandmothers often tease their children before they go to bed and say, "Hide your shoes quickly, and don't let mice steal them as sedan chairs." This is the origin of words. Therefore, the New Year's picture Marry a Mouse can especially arouse the children's voices. 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 later developed into a calendar, which became popular all over the country. Now, on the eve of the Spring Festival, people often give each other New Year pictures or calendars to celebrate the New Year.
Whenever the Spring Festival comes, people always like to stick large and small "Fu Zi" on the lintels and cabinets, and some even deliberately turn the "Fu Zi" upside down. The word "Fu", in turn, sounds like "Fu arrived". This custom of pasting the word "Fu" was recorded as early as the Song Dynasty, and what we expect at the beginning of the new year is "spring". "Everything is done by Han Feizi" says: "Wealth is enough for a lifetime." Ancient books also say: "the blessed are rich", "the blessed are rich", "the blessed are good" and "the blessed are auspicious". People attach the word "Fu" to the New Year's greetings, and there is also a story of "bangs hitting toads" among the people. Liu Hai, five generations, was an official of the Prince of Yan. After learning Taoism, I became an immortal. According to legend, he is an elf boy with neat short hair hanging from his forehead, riding a golden toad and dancing with a string of money in his hand. He is a "blessing god" in traditional culture. The golden toad is a fairy spirit, and the ancients thought it would make them rich. Liu Hai plays the role of golden toad, making money step by step, which means that the financial resources are extensive and colorful. In the past, people often invited Liu Hai to play paper-cutting and painting at home, seeking wealth and blessings.
8. New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve, which used to be called New Year's Eve, means that the old year ends here and the new year comes next year. This is the last night of the lunar calendar. During the Zhou and Qin Dynasties, a ceremony of "exorcism" was held in the palace at the end of each year to beat drums to drive away epidemic ghosts, which was called "banishment", and later the day before New Year's Eve was called "small exorcism". New Year's Eve is New Year's Eve, that is, New Year's Eve.
New Year's Eve is the most unforgettable night of the year. New Year's Eve is the most lively and noisy night. As soon as it was smeared, children or young men had already set off firecrackers with incense, ringing in the east and ringing in the west, boldly amplifying firecrackers. The young one put his hand over his ear and leaned out from a distance, while the other children put their hands over their ears and waited nervously and anxiously. This scene can be remembered even when people are old.
9. New Year's Eve dinner
When children are playing with firecrackers, it is also the busiest time for housewives in the kitchen. Chinese New Year's food is cooked a few days ago, and the New Year's Eve dinner is always cooked on 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 every household's chopping board, firecrackers in the streets and alleys, the "scratching" abacus sound of shops and shops, and the cadence of reimbursement are mixed with laughter and laughter everywhere, echoing with joy and interweaving into a cheerful movement on New Year's Eve.
Speaking of the anvil sound on New Year's Eve, Deng Yunxiang's "Yanjing Local Records" recorded a very bleak story on New Year's Eve: in the old society, the poor lived a hard life, and the New Year's Eve was a pass. There is a family whose husband hasn't brought money back until late at night. "There is no bottle of millet at home, and there is no new year's goods. The woman let her children sleep at home and could do nothing. She was in great pain when she heard the chopping block next door. I wonder if her husband can bring back some money or something. I don't know how to spend this year tomorrow, and I'm afraid there is no chopping block at home to make people laugh. So she cut the chopping board with a knife, smashed and chopped it, and shed tears ... This story made people listen. It's really hard.
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, 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, 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. In ancient times, people paid great attention to the quality of wine when drinking during the Spring Festival. Some wines are gone now, leaving only many touching names, such as fermented grapes, Wei Lan wine, Yichun wine, Mei Huajiu, peach blossom wine and Tu.