Customs of Spring Festival: Time, Customs and Customs.

The sky and people change quickly every day, then the solstice of winter, the solstice after winter, and after the weather warms up, spring comes back. On the occasion of the arrival of the Year of the Horse, the residents of the Pan-Chinese community are decorated with colorful lights, full of excitement and a peaceful and warm scene. The following are some folk customs and traditional habits summarized by residents during the Spring Festival for your reference.

First, clean the dust.

"On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, dust sweeps the house" is intended to sweep away all bad luck and bad luck. This custom has placed people's desire to break through the old and create new ones and their prayers to bid farewell to the old and usher in the new. Whenever the Spring Festival comes, every household should clean the environment, clean all kinds of utensils, remove bedding curtains, sweep six yards, dust cobwebs and dredge culverts in open channels. There is a happy atmosphere everywhere, full of joy and hygiene, and greet the Spring Festival cleanly.

Second, post Spring Festival couplets.

Every Spring Festival, no matter in urban or rural areas, every household should choose a pair of red Spring Festival couplets and stick them on the door to add festive atmosphere to the festival. There are many kinds of Spring Festival couplets, which can be divided into door heart, frame pair, cross string, spring strip and bucket square according to the place of use. The "door core" is attached to the center of the upper end of the door panel; The "frame pair" is attached to the left and right door frames; "Cross-dressing" is attached to the crossbar of the door; "Spring strips" are posted in corresponding places according to different contents; "Doodle brocade", also called "door leaf", is a square diamond, which is often attached to furniture and screen walls.

Third, stick grilles and the word "Fu"

Window grilles not only set off the festive atmosphere, but also integrate decoration, appreciation and practicality. With its unique generalization and exaggeration, window grilles show auspicious things and good wishes to the fullest, adding luster to the festival. The word "Fu" symbolizes good luck and wishes for a happy life and a bright future. In order to fully reflect this yearning and wish, some people simply put the word "Fu" upside down, indicating that "Fu has arrived" and "Fu has arrived". Others elaborate the word "Fu" into various patterns, such as longevity, longevity peach, carp yue longmen, abundant grains, dragons and phoenixes, and so on.

Fourth, New Year pictures.

Hanging New Year pictures during the Spring Festival is also very common in urban and rural areas. Thick black and colorful New Year pictures add a lot of festive atmosphere to thousands of families. New Year pictures are an ancient folk art in China, which reflects people's simple customs and beliefs and places their hopes on the future.

Five, shou sui

Keeping the Lunar New Year's Eve is one of the most important activities, and the custom of keeping the Lunar New Year's Eve has a long history. In ancient times, observing the age has two meanings: the old man's observing the age means "resigning from the old", which means cherishing time; Young people keep their age in order to prolong the life of their parents. Since the Han Dynasty, the time for the alternation of the old and new years is generally at midnight.

Six, firecrackers

There is a folk saying in China called "Open the door and set off firecrackers". That is to say, when the new year comes, the first thing for every household to open the door is to set off firecrackers to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Setting off firecrackers can create a festive and lively atmosphere, which is an entertainment activity in festivals and can bring happiness and good luck to people.

Seven, New Year greetings

On the first day of the new year, people get up early, put on the most beautiful clothes, dress neatly, go out to visit relatives and friends, and wish each other good luck in the coming year. There are many ways to pay New Year greetings, some of which are led by the same clan leader from door to door. Some colleagues invited several people to pay New Year greetings; Others get together to congratulate each other, which is called "collective worship".

Eight, lucky money

When paying New Year greetings during the Spring Festival, the younger generation should first pay New Year greetings to their elders and wish them a long and healthy life. The elders can distribute the lucky money prepared in advance to the younger generation. It is said that lucky money can suppress evil souls, because "old" and "special" are homophonic, and the younger generation can spend a year safely with lucky money. There are two kinds of lucky money, one is to put the colored rope in the shape of a dragon at the foot of the bed, which is recorded in "Yanjing Year"; The other is the most common, that is, parents wrap the money distributed to their children in red paper. Lucky money can be distributed in public after the younger generation pays New Year's greetings, or it can be secretly put under the child's pillow by parents when the child falls asleep on New Year's Eve. It is still popular for elders to give lucky money to younger generations.

Nine, steamed rice cakes

Because of its homophonic "high age" and diverse tastes, rice cakes have almost become a must-have food for every household. The styles of rice cakes are square yellow and white rice cakes, which symbolize gold and silver and express the meaning of making a fortune in the New Year.

X. jiaozi

Eating jiaozi on New Year's Eve is the custom of northerners. According to the old custom, as early as the day before New Year's Eve, that is, the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, the family will start to pack jiaozi and eat jiaozi on New Year's Eve and early morning. These two jiaozi meals are very special. Coins, candy, rice cakes, red dates, chestnuts and other mascots should be randomly packed. Eating coins means not worrying about money in the coming year, and children will grow up after eating rice cakes. Eating candy means sweetness. Everyone laughed and ate, but the children didn't want to eat jiaozi. They just compared who ate more mascots. Because the word "he" in dough mixing means "he"; Jiaozi's "Jiao" and "Jiao" are homophonic, and both "He" and "Jiao" have the meaning of reunion, so jiaozi is used to symbolize the reunion of acacia; It is very auspicious to make friends with older people; In addition, jiaozi is shaped like an ingot, and eating jiaozi in the New Year also has the auspicious meaning of "making a fortune". All the families get together to pack jiaozi, so it's fun to celebrate the Spring Festival.

Eleven, New Year's Eve ancestor worship

On New Year's Eve, you should eat jiaozi, but it is more important than jiaozi to worship your ancestors, which is the most important thing on New Year's Eve. Before the arrival of New Year's Eve, every household should display genealogy, ancestor statues, memorial tablets and so on. On the wall in the middle of the home, there is an altar and a set of offerings. Firecrackers must be set off before New Year's Eve. Men in the family must worship their ancestors. Children and women are not allowed to participate. Sacrificing ancestors requires kowtowing, which is also very particular. Generally speaking, according to the family generation, the elders bow down in turn, with solemn expressions and neat clothes.

XII. Taboo

Since New Year's Eve, even if we enter the New Year, there are many taboos in speaking and living. For example, garlic can't be called garlic, and "garlic" and "scattered" are homophonic. How can it be said that Chinese New Year pays attention to reunion, so garlic has to say "harmony and food"; When things are done, you can't say "done" or "gone", but should say "not much" or nothing; Eat peanut skin, melon seed skin, etc. You can't clean it with a broom because it will wash away good luck and wealth. After setting off firecrackers and sending them to the gods on the third day, you can move the broom and add water tanks; You can't use a knife and fork. Some people can't even take medicine. Besides, swearing or fighting is taboo. In short, it is forbidden if it is out of tune with the festive atmosphere of the New Year.