Chinese new year customs of all ethnic groups

The Tibetan New Year begins on January 1st and ends on 15th, and lasts for fifteen days.

Tibetan New Year is the most grand and warm traditional festival for Tibetans. Because the whole people believe in Buddhism, the festival activities are filled with a strong religious atmosphere, and it is a national festival that entertains the gods and people, celebrates and prays.

The preparations for the New Year usually began in early December of the previous year. In addition to buying new year's goods for eating, drinking and having fun, every household should make a five-grain bucket called "Qiema", that is, stir-fried wheat grains and ghee are placed on the left and right sides of wooden boxes painted with colored patterns, and colored flowers made of highland barley ears and ghee are inserted on them. Also soak a bowl of highland barley seeds in water to make them grow one or two inches long in the New Year. The wheat seedlings of "Chema" are enshrined in the middle of the divine plan, praying for a bumper harvest in the coming year. Near the festival, men are busy cleaning the courtyard, while women carefully make "Kasai", a kind of crispy pasta, which is divided into ear-shaped, butterfly-shaped, strip-shaped, square-shaped, round and other shapes, painted with pigment and wrapped with sugar. It is not only a work of art to decorate the mystery, but also a delicacy to entertain guests. The variety and color of "Kasai" often become the symbol of the hostess's diligence, wisdom and enthusiasm, which is particularly eye-catching in festivals.

it's new year's eve on December 29th. On this day, it is necessary to put new curtains on the window lintel, insert brand-new prayer flags on the roof, and draw auspicious patterns with white powder in front of the door, room dyeing and kitchen to form a festive atmosphere. At night, the whole family sat together to have a routine "ancient meal", similar to the Han New Year reunion dinner. "Gutu" is to wrap stones, wool, peppers, charcoal, coins and other items in pimples. Whoever eats these things must spit them out in public, which indicates the fate and heart of this person. Stone stands for heartless, wool stands for soft-hearted, charcoal stands for black-hearted, pepper stands for unforgiving, and coins indicate prosperity. So everyone talked with each other and laughed, which set off a happy climax. Then, the whole family kneaded a witch and two bowls with Siba, and poured the leftover "Gu Tu" bones and other residues into the bowl kneaded with Siba. A woman holding a witch and leftovers ran and threw them outside. A man lit a mass of hay and followed closely, saying, "The devil comes out, the devil comes out!" " Let the hay burn to ashes with the witch and the leftovers. At the same time, the children set off firecrackers, which can be regarded as driving away demons and ushered in an auspicious new year.

On New Year's Day, housewives get up early. At about five o'clock, we will cook a pot of "Qiang Ku", that is, highland barley wine with glutinous rice, brown sugar and milk residue, and give everyone a bowl. Before the family got up, they drank "Qiang Ku" in the bed and continued to sleep with their heads covered. Housewives sit by the window and wait for the sunrise. When the morning dawns in the east, they hurriedly carry buckets to the river or wells to draw the first bucket of water for the New Year. Legend has it that the water at this time is the most holy and sweet, and whoever puts auspicious water first can avoid many disasters in the new year. At dawn, when the whole family put on new clothes and finished washing, the younger generation began to congratulate their elders on the New Year and say "Tashildler" to each other (good luck); Then start breakfast and drink highland barley wine to each other. In pastoral areas, housewives cook sheep's heads according to the number of family members, hold them in front of the oldest man with food cases, and he will distribute each person a sheep's head and a knife in order of age. Everyone around the stove peeled the head of the sheep and ate it, while wishing each other a harmonious family in the New Year and a prosperous population. On New Year's Day, guests are usually closed. The streets are deserted, and people only hold celebrations and Buddhist activities at home.

From the second day of January, friends and relatives began to pay New Year calls. Guests will say "Loza Tashildler" (Happy New Year) when they come to the door, and the host will hold "Chema" to greet the guests at the door. First, the guest picks up a pinch of sticky rice with his thumb, forefinger and middle finger, and throws some highland barley into the sky to show his respect for God. Then I picked up a pinch of glutinous rice and highland barley and sent them to my mouth to thank my host for his hospitality. Then sit down and drink and chat. From this day on, folk artists also went out to perform activities, singing Tibetan opera and "Zhega". Wealthy families make an agreement with folk artists in advance, come home to sing on time, and enjoy it with the guests. Artists who are not invited can also take the initiative to sing. Wearing a white mask and holding a wooden stick, the singer delights his host with improvised lyrics, such as how beautiful the hostess is, how wise the man is, and he will be lucky in the New Year, and so on, and generally he can get the reward of good wine and good meat. In the streets and villages, people also hold mass singing and dancing and Tibetan opera performances.

this kind of mutual visit and self-entertainment literary and artistic activities will last for three to five days, and then gradually turn into Buddhist activities focusing on entertaining the gods. In Lhasa, people mainly attend the Zhao Chuan Fa Conference. In Changdu in the east and Qiangtang grassland in the north, people begin to turn to the mountains to worship the Buddha and give incense to the temples, praying for good weather and peace in the New Year.

Qiang people

The most important traditional festival of the Qiang people is the Qiang New Year. The time is the first day of the tenth lunar month. Stop working and go out during the festival. Gather at home and make calves, lambs, chickens and other sacrifices with flour in various shapes to worship ancestors and gods. In some places, Duangong jumped into the sacred forest, slaughtered sheep and sprinkled blood to worship God in front of the altar, and the mutton was given back to each family, and then the family was invited to drink homemade wine, sing wine songs and dance in pots and pans to celebrate the harvest. Qiang nationality is a nation that can sing and dance well. Men, women and children will sing their own folk songs, whether in labor production, weddings or funerals, they will all sing and dance. Festivals are the best time to sing and dance. Therefore, on holidays, Qiang people should enjoy singing and dancing. Jiuge is a traditional singing form of "Zajiu" duet in New Year's Festival. When singing, the host and guest sit side by side and take turns to sing in pairs. The rhythm is slow and the melody is beautiful, the voice is loud and the cavity is tactful, with an elegant and simple style. The lyrics are long, expressing good luck, viewing congratulations and rewards, or telling family history and recalling ancestors' achievements. Festival singing is often accompanied by dancing. The forms are "Tiaoguozhuang", "Tiaojiazhuang" and "Pigudrum", among which "Tiaoguozhuang" is the most popular. When dancing, men and women change positions with each other, resulting in a warm and happy atmosphere of the festival. About half a minute later, one shovel finally got up again. Dozens of men and women attended, accompanied by singing and drinking, often singing and dancing. Qiangdi is the main musical instrument that accompanies singing and dancing. This is an ancient double-tube clarinet with six steps. In addition, there are small gongs, hand bells, suona, sheepskin drums, huqin, oral strings and other musical instruments. These musical instruments can play, play and pop up national music with unique style, which makes people in festivals extremely happy.