The Spring Festival is an ancient festival in my country and the most important festival throughout the year. How to celebrate this festival has formed some relatively fixed customs and habits over thousands of years of historical development. There are many It is still passed down to this day!
Spring Festival:
In primitive society, there was a ceremony of "December Festival": after the autumn harvest, people would worship their ancestors to thank the gods for their blessings and ancestors' shade, and to pray for another good harvest in the coming year. . Over time, it became a custom. Since the time of Yao and Shun, people have been celebrating the Spring Festival.
The Spring Festival falls at the beginning of the year, which is the first day of each year. In ancient times, the times at the beginning of the year were different. The beginning of the year in the Xia Dynasty was on the first day of the first lunar month, in the Shang Dynasty it was the first day in the twelfth lunar month, in the Zhou Dynasty it was the first day in the eleventh lunar month, and in the Qin Dynasty it was the first day of the tenth lunar month. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty re-established the first day of the first lunar month in the lunar calendar. At the same time, the "Taichu Calendar" is adopted, which stipulates that the first day of the first lunar month is New Year's Day, commonly known as "New Year". In addition, it is also called "Zhengdan", "Kainian", "Kaisui", "Fangsui", "Huasui", etc. Among many names, "New Year's Day" is the most common and longest lasting.
After the victory of the Revolution of 1911, the Nanjing Provisional Government adopted the Gregorian calendar and designated the first day of the first lunar month of the Gregorian calendar as New Year's Day. In this way, the Spring Festival became the title of the first day of the first lunar month. In fact, the name Spring Festival has existed since ancient times, and it refers specifically to the beginning of spring. Since the first day of the first lunar month is called the Spring Festival among the people, the beginning of spring is no longer called the Spring Festival.
How to eat during the Spring Festival in old Beijing:
Beijing folk song: "Tanggua is used to sacrifice the stove, and the New Year is coming." The first food to enter the festival is the sugarmelon, Guandong sugar, etc. used to "sacrifice the stove" Snacks, made from colloidal maltose, are sweet and slightly sour. In an era when life was not so affluent, this was an excellent delicacy. Moreover, the presence of Tanggua and Guandong sugar at home indicates that the Spring Festival is not far away. Of course, the "Kitchen Lord" does not eat the fireworks of the world. This kind of "bribery" in the hope that the "Kitchen Lord" will "say good things to God and ensure peace in the lower world" has naturally become a favorite among children.
Old Beijingers pay special attention to "Celebrating the New Year", so they have this saying: "Children, don't be greedy, it's the New Year after Laba Festival, Laba porridge, drink it for a few days, blah blah blah twenty-three, two Thirteen, sticky melons, twenty-four, clean the house, twenty-five, fried tofu, twenty-six, stew mutton, twenty-seven, kill the rooster, twenty-eight, make the dough, twenty-nine, steam the steamed buns, Stay up all night on the 30th, twist and turn on the New Year's Day..." ballad. Laba porridge, fried tofu, stewed mutton, etc. listed in the folk song are all delicacies of old Beijing during the Spring Festival. Today, these are commonplace meals, but in the 1950s and 1960s, they could only be enjoyed during the Chinese New Year.
There are only the above kinds of food during the Spring Festival, which is certainly not rich. For example, pastries used to worship gods and ancestors in ancient times - Mi Gong, Saqima, etc. are not only the food of Manchu and Mongolian ethnic minorities in Beijing. , is also a must-have food in Beijing people’s homes. Some well-off Beijingers still had the custom of eating fish on New Year's Eve. The fish must be carp. It was originally used as a sacrifice to the gods, but later it was associated with the auspicious saying of "good luck and good fortune". Fish is both a delicacy and an offering.
As for the dumplings on New Year's Eve, the dumplings with vegetarian fillings are used to worship the gods, while everyone eats the dumplings stuffed with meat. People who are not well-off use a mixture of meat and vegetables as fillings. Even for the poorest families, there is no shortage of "procedures" for eating dumplings during the Chinese New Year. In addition to the well-known delicacies such as dumplings and rice cakes, people in "old Beijing" also make "douerjiang" - a cold dish made of pork skin, dried tofu, soybeans, green beans, water mustard, etc., with a color like Amber, similar to "aspic". There is also "mustard dumpling", which is a cold dish used to accompany wine and appetizers. People eat a lot of greasy food during festivals, which tends to cause fire and phlegm. These cold dishes can make up for this shortcoming.
When all kinds of meat and vegetable dishes are prepared, Beijingers also prepare candies, dried fruits, melon seeds and "mixed fruits". The so-called "mixed fruits" are today's assorted preserved fruits. In those days, these snacks were delicacies for people to sit around the fire and bid farewell to the New Year.
Today, almost all the offerings and traditional foods in the name of worshiping ancestors and gods have been preserved, but they are not so eye-catching.
As for today's Spring Festival, the dining table can only be summed up by the word "abundant". Sichuan and Shandong cuisine and fresh seafood will appear on ordinary people's New Year's Eve dining tables. People who believe in "new style" will also go to big restaurants to "have a meal" to welcome the New Year!
Eat Laba porridge in Laba:
On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the most important thing for every household is to cook Laba porridge. There are several different theories about the origin of Laba porridge: some say it is to worship Shennong, some say it is to commemorate Yue Fei, and some say it is passed down from Zhu Yuanzhang. But the most widely spread is the saying in memory of Buddha.
According to the Buddhist "Pu Yao Sutra", after Sakyamuni escaped from the palace and became a monk in Mount Jiasi, he studied the classics and spent six full years in the mountains. When he graduated from school, it happened to be the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month in China, which is also known as the "Day of Sakyamuni's Enlightenment" by ordinary Buddhists. According to the "Cause and Effect Sutra", Sakyamuni had no time to take care of his personal food and clothing due to six years of asceticism. He only ate some wheat and wheat every day and was deprived of food and clothing all year round. When he finished his studies and graduated, he was already in rags and emaciated. Exhausted, he walked down Mount Jiatu, sat on the banks of the Nilian River, and begged the villagers. The cowherd women in the village used bowls of milk to feed the milk, cooked it and gave it to Sakyamuni to eat, which restored Sakyamuni's health quickly. After the rise of Buddhism, in order to commemorate this event, this day was designated as a day for the ancient Indian people to "fast monks" and provide food and drink to the poor. After Buddhism was introduced to China, giving alms on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month gradually turned into the custom of cooking "Laba porridge". "Tianzhong Ji" written by Chen Yaowen of the Ming Dynasty said: "On the eighth day of December in Tokyo in the Song Dynasty, all the major temples in the capital sent Qibao and five-flavor porridge." The "Qibao and five-flavor porridge" mentioned here refers to "Laba porridge". Some Buddhist temples in my country cook "Laba porridge" to commemorate the story of the shepherd woman who rescued Sakyamuni by the Nilian River.
In addition to cooking Laba porridge to worship the Buddha, common people also use it as gifts for relatives, friends and neighbors.
Laba porridge was cooked with red beans and glutinous rice in ancient times. Later, the ingredients gradually increased. Zhou Mi of the Southern Song Dynasty wrote "Old Martial Arts": "Porridge made from walnuts, pine nuts, milk mushrooms, persimmon mushrooms, persimmon chestnuts, etc. is called 'Laba porridge'". To this day, people in the vast areas south of the Yangtze River, northeast, and northwest of my country still retain the custom of eating Laba porridge.
There are many ingredients used in Laba porridge, usually kidney beans, peas, adzuki beans, cowpeas, mung beans, millet, rice, sorghum rice and other beans and rice are mixed together, and dried fruits such as dates and chestnuts are added After boiling it, when drinking it, add brown sugar, white sugar, rose, osmanthus and other seasonings. For those who are particular about it, glutinous rice, barley rice, water chestnut rice, chicken head rice, and lotus seed meat are mixed together to make porridge, and then covered with candied fruit, lychee meat, cinnamon meat, pine nuts, peach kernels, green silk, and red silk. It's really beautiful and delicious to put out various patterns. Eating a steaming bowl of Laba porridge in winter is both delicious and nutritious, and can indeed increase happiness and longevity.
In addition to making Laba porridge, there is also a folk custom of soaking Laba garlic. Also on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, I put the peeled garlic cloves into a jar, fill it with vinegar, seal it, and leave it in a warm place until I eat New Year's dumplings on New Year's Eve, then I open it and enjoy it. The soaked garlic cloves are green in color, like emeralds, and taste sour but slightly spicy, giving them a unique flavor.
It is said that "if you don't drink porridge during Laba, you will be poorer next year." In the Qing Dynasty, the Laba porridge eaten in the palace was cooked by the lamas of Yonghe Temple and paid tribute.
The Shang Dynasty of our country already had the theory of Kitchen God. There is a record in "Zhuangzi Dasheng" that "the stove is harmful". Sima Biao's annotation said: "The god of the kitchen bun, dressed in red, looks like a beautiful woman." "Huainanzi Ji Lun Xun" said: "Emperor Yan made fire. When he died, he became the stove." Gao You's annotation said: "Emperor Yan and Shennong, Use the virtue of fire to spread the virtue of fire to the world, and sacrifice your ancestors to the Kitchen God. "At that time, worshiping the ancestors and the Kitchen God was of a commemorative nature. It is said that Zao Lord understands the good and evil in the world in every household. The old couplet says: "God speaks good things, and returns to the palace to bring good luck." When will Kitchen King return to the palace? Probably before the Spring Festival. In the new year, I want to bless this family with good luck and peace every year. This is a good wish.
Zao Lord is also the god of fire.
The name of the God of Fire is Zhurong, or Huilu. Zhu Rong In the legend, Zhu Rong was transformed by fire and was named Red Emperor, so later generations of fire officials thought of him as such. When he was first regarded as an imperial beast, he was the fire official, and later generations respected him as the god of fire. The god of fire originally brought benefits to mankind and has become synonymous with fire. Old Beijingers worship the Kitchen God and the God of Fire, because since ancient times, the weather around the Spring Festival is dry and there are more fires. Caution with fire is very necessary.
In ancient times, on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, yellow sheep were used to sacrifice stoves in the palace. This stove-sacrifice ritual continued until the end of the Qing Dynasty. Folks use offerings such as sugar melons, Guandong sugar, and sugar cakes to worship the Lord Zao; they use clear water and fodder to worship the Lord Kitchen's horses. It is said that every day on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the Kitchen King rides up to heaven to report good and evil deeds to the Jade Emperor. At the end of the day on the 23rd, every household would set up a pole in the courtyard and hang a sky lantern. The male owner would kneel down and pray, saying words of concealment of evil and promotion of good. Women were strictly prohibited from officiating, and women could only clean the stove in the inner room. After the sacrifice, the statue of Kitchen God was removed and burned together with the paper ingots and so on. On this day, there are a lot of firecrackers, which is commonly known as the New Year.
There is a Beijing proverb: "Laba rice porridge is used to deliver messages, Guandong sugar is fatal, and boiled dumplings are life-saving." This means that Laba will bring the news that the Spring Festival is coming, and creditors will press for debts at the end of the year. The 23rd is the most critical time to press for debts, so it’s the fatal Guandong candy. When eating dumplings at midnight on New Year’s Eve, creditors generally stop coming according to the rules.
Some poor families do not have enough to eat, so they have no money to buy Guandong sugar to worship the stove. Therefore, there is a folk song in old Beijing that says, "The Stove Lord, whose real name is Zhang, gives a bowl of cold water and three sticks of incense. If you are poor this year, you will eat Guandong sweets next year."
In the past, there were many Kitchen God temples in Beijing, and every household worshiped the Kitchen God. Except for ethnic minorities, almost all Han people have the custom of worshiping the Stove King.
The Kitchen God is the god worshiped by folk stoves, and is also called Kitchen Lord, Kitchen King, and Kitchen Lord. In order to express their gratitude to the inventor of fire, primitive people worshiped his ancestors every summer. Summer symbolizes fire, and the stove also represents fire. In northern my country, there is a custom of offering candies to the stove on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month.
As the saying goes: "Twenty-three, sugar melons are sticky; twenty-five, sweep away the dust." Sweeping dust is not only beneficial to environmental sanitation, but also beneficial to fire prevention, because if some combustible garbage is completely removed, a fire factor is eliminated.
[Edit this paragraph] Twenty-Four House Cleaning:
House sweeping, it is said that "the old stove prince cannot be allowed to carry the dirt to the sky."
In the Tang Dynasty, the trend of "sweeping the year" was prevalent. According to the record of "Meng Liang Lu" written by Wu Zimu of the Song Dynasty: "At the end of December... no matter how big or small, everyone will sweep the door, remove the dust, and clean the courtyard... to pray for a happy new year." The experience is passed down from generation to generation, forming the Spring Festival. The custom of cleaning the house beforehand. Even small and poor families have to clean their houses. This is not only a preparation to welcome the gods' lower realms, but also an important move to clear away filth, bad luck and poverty.
There is a common folk saying in old Beijing: "Twenty-three, sugar melons are sticky; twenty-four, house cleaning day..." In fact, people do not sweep houses on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, but on the tenth of the twelfth lunar month. Five days later, before worshiping the stove on the 23rd, choose an auspicious day in the imperial calendar that is "suitable for cleaning the house" and start cleaning the house
Cleaning the house is indeed a troublesome but necessary task. The master of a large household directs his servants to do the work; for ordinary households, the whole family, young and old, move all the indoor furniture and furnishings to the courtyard and wipe them clean, especially the copper work on them must be polished. For the indoors, the main steps are to clean away the dust and cobwebs on the ceiling in the corners, tear off the old New Year paintings on the walls, and then paste the New Year paintings on them after painting or pasting them; tear off the old window grilles on the glass windows, wipe them clean and wait for New Year's Eve Put up new window grilles; especially Buddhist halls and ancestral halls must be carefully tidied up and cleaned. Sacrificial vessels such as incense burners, wax sticks, flower tubes, sea lantern bowls, and offering bowls must be polished. Old couplets in front of the Buddha, hanging money, etc. must be polished. Uncover and incinerate.
General families only do it for half a day or one day, while households with more houses do it in separate houses and courtyards for three to five days.
After cleaning the house, people also "choose auspicious times" to go to the bathhouse or take a foam bath at home, and shave their heads to express getting rid of the old and welcoming the new.
After cleaning the house, the whole family begins to prepare for the New Year. They buy scented wax paper, make offerings, write couplets, cut window grilles, buy hanging money, New Year pictures, firecrackers... and prepare for the New Year.
[Edit this paragraph] Staying up till the end of the twelfth lunar month:
The 30th day of the twelfth lunar month is New Year's Eve.
In the past, most families in old Beijing had Buddhist niches or statues all year round. At the end of the year, they had to make offerings. The offerings are varied, including fried pasta, moon cakes and snacks, apples and tangerines, assorted preserved fruits, yellow and white rice cakes, dumplings and steamed buns, everything is available. In addition to the offerings, there are also offerings such as incense burners and wax skewers placed on the offering table, and a futon is placed on the ground in front of the offering table for use when praying and kneeling.
It is said that from the evening of the New Year's Eve to the early morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, the gods will go down to the lower world to examine the good and evil in the world. Among these gods are the God of Wealth and the God of Earth. On the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the Kitchen God who "God said good things" also returned to the world at this time and continued to be his "head of the family". At this time, people must be respectful, act cautiously, burn incense and kowtow, asking the gods to take care of them in the new year.
The New Year’s Eve evening is the most enjoyable time for old Beijingers. First, the whole family gathers together for a reunion dinner, enjoying the most sumptuous meal of the year. Most of the dishes include stewed fish, stewed meat, stewed chicken, meatballs, braised pork and other meat dishes. There are also fresh and refreshing cold dishes, such as spicy dishes made with manjing and Dahongpao radish, as well as sweet and spicy cabbage, Mustard modun'er or something. The staple food is dumplings, usually stuffed with mutton, cabbage or pork and leeks. When eating dumplings, never forget to use "Laba vinegar" as a seasoning. If the year is off, New Year's Eve will be on the 29th of the twelfth lunar month. Common people call this day "New Year's Eve". Of all the festivals, New Year's Eve is the busiest and happiest day in old Beijing.