Our country has a long history of celebrating the New Year, and some relatively fixed customs have been formed in the inheritance and development. Many of them have been passed down to this day, such as making New Year goods, sweeping dust, sticking New Year reds, family reunion dinner, keeping the New Year's Eve, New Year's money, paying New Year greetings, paying New Year greetings, and dragon and lion dances.

, worshiping gods and ancestors, burning firecrackers, burning fireworks, whipping up spring festivals, praying for blessings, visiting temple fairs, serving lanterns and wine, admiring lanterns and other customs.

The Spring Festival in Shanxi generally begins on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month and ends on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival. In some places, it does not end until the second day of February.

There is a folk saying that "busy in the twelfth lunar month, busy in the first lunar month, and procrastinates until February", which is a true reflection of the many Spring Festival customs.

In recent years, visiting lantern festivals has become a family activity during the Chinese New Year. The whole family gathers to watch the lanterns in a lively manner, and even the cold winter wind does not dampen everyone's interest.

Speaking of lantern festivals, we have to mention the Lantern Festival in the ancient capital of Datong, Shanxi Province.

The most important thing is of course the mouth-watering food.

A plate of dumplings represents reunion, a carp represents abundance every year, and a plate of beef stew represents awesomeness... This table of reunion dinner, with 12 dishes, expresses the people's support for the new year.

With expectations and beautiful visions for the new year, eating dumplings wrapped with coins means that there will be good luck this year.

In addition to New Year's Eve dinner, dried fruits and sugar on the table are also essential.

On the 223rd day of the twelfth lunar month (Little Year), every household has to offer sacrifices to the Kitchen God, and everyone has to eat sesame candy, hoping that the Kitchen God’s mouth will be glued and unable to complain. At the same time, women will arrange for their children to finish eating the candy.

You can't talk nonsense after your mouth is muddled.

Shanxi is relatively rich in coal resources, which are closely related to the local people's daily necessities, food, housing and transportation.

Therefore, Shanxi’s Spring Festival customs are inseparable from coal.

Every Spring Festival and New Year's Eve, every household in northern Shanxi would use large pieces of coal to build a tower in front of their courtyard, called a fire, for good luck and prosperity throughout the year.