Wenling people’s customs during the Spring Festival

A brief summary is as follows:

"New Year's Eve", "Posting the Door God",

"Posting Spring Festival Couplets", "Posting blessing words, pasting window grilles, "Post New Year pictures, hang thousands", "keep up the New Year's Eve", "set off firecrackers", "eat New Year's Eve dinner", "give New Year's money", "receive the gods", "step on evil spirits", "sacrifice ancestors", "send the God of Wealth", "drink "Tusu Wine", "New Year's Dinner"

The explanations of each custom are as follows, there are too many, I'm afraid you don't have the patience to read...

If you can't stand it, don't read it... At least I was dumbfounded -

"New Year's Eve"

New Year's Eve refers to the night of the last day of the twelfth lunar month every year, which is connected with the Spring Festival (the first day of the first lunar month). The word "Chu" in "New Year's Eve" means "to go; to change; to change". The meaning of New Year's Eve is "the end of the month and the end of the year." People have to get rid of the old and replace the old with the new. means, it is the last night of the whole year in the lunar calendar. Therefore, the activities during this period are centered around eliminating the old and bringing in the new, eliminating disasters and praying for blessings.

At the end of each year during the Zhou and Qin Dynasties, a "Dan Nuo" ceremony would be held in the palace to beat the drums to drive away the ghosts of plague and disaster, which was called "Zhu Chu", and later also called the day before New Year's Eve. It is the Little New Year's Eve, that is, the Little New Year's Eve; New Year's Eve is the Great New Year's Eve, that is, the New Year's Eve.

"Sticking to the Door God"

Zhuxian Town Wooden Wood New Year Paintings Face the Door God and Whip Him Right Up

There is a custom of sticking to the Door God during the New Year in various parts of our country. The original door god was carved into a human form of mahogany wood and hung next to the person. Later, the portrait of the door god was painted and posted on the door. The legendary brothers Shen Tu and Yu Lei specialize in controlling ghosts. With them guarding the door, evil spirits big and small dare not come in to cause harm. After the Tang Dynasty, there were paintings of the fierce generals Qin Qiong and Yuchi Jingde as door gods, and there were also paintings of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as door gods. There is one door god statue on the left and right door respectively. Later generations often painted a pair of door gods as civil and military. There are three types of door gods: the first type is the "door god", which is usually posted on the car door or the entire door. It is about four or five feet high and two or three feet wide. The second type is the "street door god", which is usually posted on the small street door. It is about two feet high and one foot wide. These two door gods are two gods, one with a black face and one with a white face. White left and black right, white good and easy, black ferocious and evil, each holding a yue. The third category is the "house door god", which is slightly smaller and more limited than the street door god. It also has two gods, black and white, but there are also two gods, black and white, who are seated. The most common thing on the door of the house is a picture of "Qilin delivering his son", two dolls painted with powder and grease and combed with prince crowns, each riding a Qilin. This kind of door god was supposed to be posted on the door of the newly married house to bring good luck, and later it became a New Year decoration on ordinary street doors.

"Posting Spring Couplets"

Spring couplets are also called "door pairs" and "spring posts". They are a type of couplets. They are named because they are posted during the Spring Festival. One source of Spring Festival couplets is Taofu. At first, people carved human figures in peach wood and hung them by the door to ward off evil spirits. Later, they painted the image of the door god on the peach wood, and then simplified it to inscribing the name of the door god on the peach wood board. Another source of Spring Festival couplets is spring stickers. The ancients often posted the word "Yichun" on the Beginning of Spring, which later developed into Spring Festival couplets. The real popularity of Spring Festival couplets began in the Ming Dynasty, related to Zhu Yuanzhang's advocacy. According to the "Miscellaneous Theory of Hairpin Cloud Tower" written by Chen Shanggu of the Qing Dynasty, one year when Zhu Yuanzhang was preparing to celebrate the New Year, he ordered that a Spring Festival couplet be posted on the door of every house to celebrate. Originally the Spring Festival couplets were inscribed on peach boards, but later they were rewritten on paper. The color of peach wood is red, and red has the meaning of good luck and warding off evil spirits, so the Spring Festival couplets are mostly written on red paper. However, the temple uses yellow paper, and the mourning system (when mourning is not completed) uses white, green, and yellow colors. White paper is used in the first year, green paper in the second year, yellow paper in the third year, and red paper is used after the fourth year of mourning. Paper. Because the Manchu people were still white, the Qing court Spring Couplets used white paper, with blue edges wrapped on the outside and red stripes on the inside.

"Pasting blessing characters, pasting window grilles, pasting New Year pictures, pasting hanging thousands"

These all have the folk custom function of praying for blessings and decorating the residence. New Year pictures are an ancient folk art in my country. They reflect the customs and beliefs of the people and express people's hopes for the future. New Year pictures, like Spring Festival couplets, originated from the "door god". Spring couplets developed from the names of Shen Tu and Yu Lei to text, while New Year pictures still developed along the direction of painting.

With the rise of woodblock printing, the content of New Year pictures is no longer limited to door gods, but gradually invites the God of Wealth into the home, and then in some New Year painting workshops, "Three Stars of Fortune, Luxury and Longevity", "Blessings from Heavenly Officials", " Colorful New Year pictures such as "A bumper harvest", "Prosperous livestock", "Welcome the Spring and receive blessings" can satisfy people's good wishes of celebrating the good year. Because Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty advocated posting Spring Festival couplets during the Spring Festival, New Year paintings became popular due to his influence. There are three important production areas of New Year paintings across the country: Taohuawu in Suzhou, Yangliuqing in Tianjin and Weifang in Shandong, forming the three major schools of New Year paintings in my country. In the early years of the Republic of China, Shanghai Zheng Mantuo combined the calendar with New Year pictures. This is a new form of New Year pictures. This two-in-one New Year picture later developed into a wall calendar. Hanging Qian is to use auspicious words engraved on red paper, with a long ruler, and stick it in front of the door to complement the peach charms. Those with figures of the Eight Immortals on them were hung in front of the Buddha. It is mostly used by thousands of households, but less used by aristocratic families. The yellow paper is three inches long and the red paper is more than an inch long. It is a "small hanging thousand" and is used by shops. The earliest hanging Qiandang was made of coins (copper coins). Like New Year's money, it has the effect of suppressing victory.

Setting up a heaven and earth table

This is a temporary offering table specially designed for New Year’s Eve. Generally, homes that do not have a large Buddhist hall attach great importance to the Heaven and Earth Table, because they usually make less offerings to the Buddha, and at the end of the year a large reward is given to the gods and Buddhas. In addition, this table is mainly used to receive the gods. The content of the Heaven and Earth Table is different from that of the permanent Buddhist hall. In addition to the usual hanging money, incense candles, five offerings, and large offerings, most of the idols enshrined there are also temporary, such as: "hundred percent", It is a woodcut version of a picture album of gods and goddesses; "Eighteen Buddhas and Gods in the Three Realms of Heaven and Earth" is a watercolor-printed woodcut on a large yellow paper with a complete code of the three stars of fortune, longevity, and fortune. Some of the above statues were burned immediately after receiving the gods, such as "100%". Some have to wait until Powu or even the Festival of Lanterns to burn them. The location of the heaven and earth table is not uniform. If the main room is spacious, it can be placed in the house. If there is no space in the house, it can be placed in the courtyard. Legend has it that this night is when the gods from the sky descend to the realm, so there is a custom among the people to receive the gods.

"Shou Sui"

Chinese people have the habit of keeping the year old on New Year's Eve, which is commonly known as "staying up for the New Year". The New Year's Eve dinner starts with the New Year's Eve dinner. This New Year's Eve dinner should be eaten slowly, starting from the time when the lanterns are turned on. Some people have to eat until late at night. According to Zong Mao's "Jingchu Years' Records", the custom of eating New Year's Eve dinner has existed at least in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The custom of keeping the year old includes not only a feeling of nostalgia for the passing years, but also a good hope for the coming New Year.

"Set off Firecrackers"

At midnight, the New Year's bell rings, and the sound of firecrackers shakes the sky over the entire land of China. In this "three yuan" moment of "the yuan of the year, the yuan of the month, and the yuan of the time", some places still build a "vigorous fire" in the courtyard to show that the energy is strong and prosperous. Around the blazing fire, the children set off firecrackers and jumped happily. At this time, there were bright lights inside the house, brilliant sparks in front of the court, and loud noises outside, pushing the lively atmosphere of New Year's Eve to its climax. . Poets and writers of all ages have always praised the coming of the New Year with their most beautiful verses. Wang Anshi's poem "Yuan Ri":

The sound of firecrackers marks the end of the year,

The spring breeze brings warmth to people.

Thousands of households are as bright as the sun.

Always replace old talismans with new ones.

Describes the festive scene of our people celebrating the Spring Festival. The sound of firecrackers is a symbol of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, and an expression of festive mood. Business family. Setting off firecrackers has another meaning: they set off firecrackers on New Year's Eve in order to make a lot of money in the new year. However, according to old customs, you should be the first to honor the God of Wealth, and the last to set off firecrackers. Legend has it that if you want to make a fortune, the firecrackers should be fired until the end to be considered sincere.

"Eating New Year's Eve Dinner"

While the children are playing and setting off firecrackers, it is also the busiest time for the housewives in the kitchen. The New Year dishes have been prepared a few days ago. , and the New Year’s Eve dinner is always cooked by the chef on New Year’s Eve. In the north, dumplings for the New Year's Day are also made on the 30th night. At this time, every chopping board was busy chopping meat and chopping vegetables.

At this time, the sound of chopping boards came from every house, the sound of firecrackers came from the streets and alleys, the "crackling" sound of abacus and the mellow sound of accounting reports came from the small shops, mixed with the laughter everywhere, one after another. , filled with ears, intertwined into a cheerful New Year's Eve movement.

Eating New Year’s Eve dinner is the most lively and happy time for every household during the Spring Festival. New Year's Eve. The table is filled with sumptuous New Year dishes, and the whole family is reunited. Sitting around the table and having the reunion dinner together, the sense of fulfillment in my heart is really indescribable. People not only enjoy the table full of delicacies, but also enjoy the happy atmosphere. There are big dishes, cold basins, hot stir-fries, and snacks on the table. Generally, two things are indispensable, one is hot pot. One is fish. The hot pot is boiling, steaming, warm and sultry, indicating that it is prosperous; "fish" and "yu" are homophonic, symbolizing "abundance in auspicious celebrations" and "abundance every year". There are also radish, commonly known as cabbage, which is used to wish good luck; lobster, fried fish and other fried foods are used to wish prosperity for the family, just like "fire cooking oil". The last part is usually a sweet dish, wishing you a sweet life in the future. On this day, even if you don’t know how to drink, you can drink a little.

There are many types of New Year’s Eve dinners, which vary from north to south, including dumplings, wontons, noodles, yuanxiao, etc., and each has its own specialties. Northerners are accustomed to eating dumplings during the Chinese New Year, which means "Geng Sui Jiao Zi" (Geng Sui Jiao Zi), the transition between the old and the new. And because the white flour dumplings are shaped like silver ingots, serving them on the table symbolizes "making a fortune in the new year, and the ingots rolling in". When making dumplings, some people also wrap a few coins that have been sterilized in boiling water, saying that whoever eats them first will make more money. The custom of eating dumplings was passed down from the Han Dynasty. According to legend, the medical sage Zhang Zhongjing saw that the ears of the poor were rotten by the frost during the twelfth lunar month of winter, so he made a "Quhan Jiao Er Decoction" to treat frostbite for the poor. He used mutton, chili peppers and some cold-warming medicinal materials, wrapped them in dough to make ear-shaped "Jiao Er", cooked them in a pot, and distributed them to the poor. After eating, people felt their whole body warm and their ears warm. Later, people followed suit and it has been passed down to this day. Eating wontons during the New Year means taking the beginning of the new year. Legend has it that the world was in a state of chaos before it was created. Pangu created the world, and then there were four directions in the universe and long noodles, also called longevity noodles. Eating noodles in the New Year is a wish for a hundred years of longevity.

"Giving New Year's Money"

New Year's money is given by the elders to the younger ones. In some families, after the New Year's Eve dinner, everyone sits at the table and is not allowed to leave until everyone has eaten. After that, the elders give it to the younger generation, and encourage the children and grandchildren to learn and make progress in the new year and be a good person. In some homes, parents wait for their children to fall asleep and put them under their pillows at night. In other homes, children gather in the main hall, shout Happy New Year to grandparents, parents, and mom, kneel down in line, and then reach out for red envelopes. They even went to the grandparents' bedroom and ran to the edge of the bed together, shouting: "New Year's money, New Year's money!" The old man didn't think it was lively enough, so he pretended to be stingy, went from bargaining to besieging and groping, and finally dug out the ancestor's red envelope. After everyone looted everything, they dispersed. The old man was overjoyed when he saw this scene, thinking it was a good sign that everything would go well in the new year. Giving lucky money during the New Year reflects the care of the elders for the younger generation and the respect of the younger generation for the elders. It is a folk activity that integrates family ethical relationships.

There is a nursery rhyme that goes:

Samsung is in the south, and every family wishes New Year greetings;

The younger generation kowtows, and the older generation gives money.

If you don’t want money, just turn your face and leave.

"Joining the Gods"

Joining the Gods distinguishes the old and new years, but the time of receiving the gods is not uniform. Some ceremonies begin as soon as Zizheng arrives, some begin to receive the gods at "Zizheng" time, that is, at midnight, and some begin after "Zizheng". After offering sacrifices to the stove, all the gods returned to the heavenly palace and ignored the secular affairs of the world. At midnight on New Year's Eve, that is, when the new year came, they came to the human world again to take care of matters. The ceremony of receiving the gods is held in front of the heaven and earth table, and is presided over by the eldest member of the family. Because the directions in the heaven where the gods live are different, the directions from the lower world are naturally different. As for which god to pick up and where the god comes from, you must check the "Constitution" in advance, and then lead the whole family to hold incense and pick up the god according to the direction in the courtyard. . For example, the "Constitution" in the Xinwei year states: "The God of Wealth is due east, the God of Fortune is due south, the God of Nobility is northeast, the God of Joy is southwest, the God of Taisui is southwest, etc."

After kowtowing according to the direction, stand still until the incense is gone, kowtow again, and finally remove the incense roots, idols, ingots, etc., and put them into the money and grain basin that has been prepared in the courtyard for burning. When burning, burn pine branches, sesame straw, etc. together. Firecrackers went off during the reception, and the atmosphere was extremely intense.

"Stepping on the Evil Spirit"

After receiving the spirit, spread sesame straw from the street door to the house door, and people walk on it and make a crackling sound, which is called "Treading on the New Year" , also called "stepping on evil spirits". Since "broken" and "haunted" have the same pronunciation, it means starting to drive away evil spirits in the new year.

"Ancestor Worship"

In ancient times, this kind of etiquette was very popular. Due to the different etiquette and customs in different places, the forms of ancestor worship are also different. Some go to the wild to visit their ancestors' tombs, some go to the ancestral hall to worship their ancestors, and most of them place the ancestor's tablets in the main hall in sequence at home, display the offerings, and then the worshipers press the long The younger ones offer incense and kneel down in order. When the Han people worship their ancestors, they usually make fish and meat bowls, which are served in high bowls, which is quite similar to eating with bells and cauldrons. For southerners living in Beijing, ancestor worship is particularly grand. Most of them are eight bowls of dishes, with a hot pot in the middle and cups and chopsticks according to the spiritual position. On New Year's Eve, New Year's Day and New Year's Eve, the hot pot is fanned out and the dishes can be changed at any time. Banner people worship their ancestors, which is different from Manchuria and Mongolia. Mongolian Banner people offer yellow rice noodles fried in butter, which are fried in sesame oil and dipped in white sugar when they are removed, which gives them a different flavor. Manchurian bannermen worshiped their ancestors and offered walnut cakes, hibiscus cakes, apples, and plain wax sandalwood, which was extremely quiet and solemn. On New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, vegetarian rice dumplings are served, and on Yuan Yuan night, the Lantern Festival is served. Every morning and evening, incense is burned, kowtow is offered, and new tea is offered. Although there are different forms of ancestor worship, most of them are hung on New Year's Eve and the offerings are withdrawn on the night of the Lantern Festival. Relatives and friends who are close to you must also visit the ancestor hall when paying New Year's greetings. Not only should they be careful to follow the distant past, but they will never forget their intentions, because of the virtue of respecting their ancestors. , also saved by this.

"Giving the God of Wealth"

In the old days, since the opening of the Wealth Gate at midnight during the Spring Festival, people would send gifts to the God of Wealth. They would hold a piece of paper printed on the God of Wealth and shout outside the door: " Here comes the God of Wealth!" At this time, in order to welcome the God of Wealth, the owner of the house gave the visitor a reward. Of course, he always said some auspicious words when giving it to the God of Wealth. For example: "The gold and silver treasures are rolling in"! "There are a pair of golden lions on the left and a pair of golden phoenixes on the right"! Words like that. Another way is to dress up as the God of Wealth, wearing a red robe, a gauze hat, a fake beard, and a yellow bag for collecting money, followed by a few gongs and drums, going from house to house. Distribute statues of the God of Wealth in order to collect rewards. Every time he comes to someone's door, he sings: "The left compartment is full of gold and silver, and the right side is full of treasures." A lot of auspicious words are uttered, until the owner happily takes the red paper statue of the God of Wealth. , gave them some money, and these people who pretended to be the God of Wealth, thanked them repeatedly, beat hard for a while, and moved to another house amidst the sound of gongs and drums.

"Drinking Tusu Wine"

Tusu Wine is a medicinal wine. In ancient customs, the whole family drank Tusu wine on Yuan Day to dispel unhealthy energy. The method of making Tusu wine is: use one penny of rhubarb, one penny and five cents of platycodon, one penny and five cents of Sichuan pepper, one penny and eight cents of osmanthus heart, one penny and two cents of dogwood, and one or two pieces of saposhnikovia. Take it up at Yinshi, fry it with wine for four to five times and boil it. In ancient times, the way to drink Tusu wine was very unique. Most people always start drinking from the oldest ones; but when drinking Tusu wine, it is just the opposite, starting from the youngest ones. Probably the younger ones grow up day by day and drink first to show their congratulations, while the older ones drink later to show their retention as each year passes. The Song Dynasty writer Su Che's poem "Chu Ri" said: "I drink Tusu at the end of the year, and I am more than seventy years old before I know it." This is the custom. This unique drinking order often evoked various emotions in ancient times, so it left a deep impression on people.

"Every other year's meal"

In the north, some people also provide a bowl of rice, which is cooked before the new year and served during the New Year. It is called "the next year's meal" and is served every year. If there is leftover food, we can’t finish it all year round, so this year we will still eat the food from the previous year. This pot of rice and millet is usually cooked with a mixture of rice and millet. As the saying goes in Beijing, it is called "two rice rice" because it is yellow and white. This is called "gold and silver rice," which means "there is gold and silver, and the pot is full of gold and silver." In many places, the cakes, melons and fruits prepared during the observance of the year are all intended to bring good luck: eating dates (early spring), eating persimmons (all goes well), eating almonds (happy people), eating immortality fruit (immortality) ) and eat rice cakes (which get higher every year).

On New Year's Eve, the whole family ate, had fun, talked and laughed.

Answer: zhxr63 - Demon Realm Supreme Level 18 2-18 12:24

Spring Festival customs

A brief summary is as follows:

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"New Year's Eve", "Posting the Door God",

"Posting Spring Festival Couplets", "Posting blessing words, pasting window grilles, pasting New Year pictures, pasting thousands", "Staying New Year's Eve", "Setting off Firecrackers" , "eating New Year's Eve dinner", "giving lucky money", "receiving gods", "trampling on evil spirits", "worshiping ancestors", "sending the God of Wealth", "drinking Tusu wine", "every other year's meal"

Each The explanation of the custom is as follows, there are too many, I'm afraid you won't have the patience to read...

If you can't stand it, don't read it.. At least I've been dumbfounded - -

《 New Year's Eve》

New Year's Eve refers to the night of the last day of the twelfth lunar month every year, which is connected with the Spring Festival (the first day of the first lunar month). The word "Chu" in "New Year's Eve" means "to go; to change; to change". The meaning of New Year's Eve is "the end of the month and the end of the year." People have to get rid of the old and replace the old with the new. means, it is the last night of the whole year in the lunar calendar. Therefore, the activities during this period are centered around eliminating the old and bringing in the new, eliminating disasters and praying for blessings.

At the end of each year during the Zhou and Qin Dynasties, a "Dan Nuo" ceremony would be held in the palace to beat the drums to drive away the ghosts of plague and disaster, which was called "Zhu Chu", and later also called the day before New Year's Eve. It is the Little New Year's Eve, that is, the Little New Year's Eve; New Year's Eve is the Great New Year's Eve, that is, the New Year's Eve.

"Sticking to the Door God"

Zhuxian Town Wooden Wood New Year Paintings Face the Door God and Whip Him Right Up

There is a custom of sticking to the Door God during the New Year in various parts of our country. The original door god was carved into a human form of mahogany wood and hung next to the person. Later, the portrait of the door god was painted and posted on the door. The legendary brothers Shen Tu and Yu Lei specialize in controlling ghosts. With them guarding the door, evil spirits big and small dare not come in to cause harm. After the Tang Dynasty, there were paintings of the fierce generals Qin Qiong and Yuchi Jingde as door gods, and there were also paintings of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as door gods. There is one door god statue on the left and right door respectively. Later generations often painted a pair of door gods as civil and military. There are three types of door gods: the first type is the "door god", which is usually posted on the car door or the entire door. It is about four or five feet high and two or three feet wide. The second type is the "street door god", which is usually posted on the small street door. It is about two feet high and one foot wide. These two door gods are two gods, one with a black face and one with a white face. White left and black right, white good and easy, black ferocious and evil, each holding a yue. The third category is the "house door god", which is slightly smaller and more limited than the street door god. It also has two gods, black and white, but there are also two gods, black and white, who are seated. The most common thing on the door of the house is a picture of "Qilin delivering his son", two dolls painted with powder and grease and combed with prince crowns, each riding a Qilin. This kind of door god was supposed to be posted on the door of the newly married house to bring good luck, and later it became a New Year decoration on ordinary street doors.

"Posting Spring Couplets"

Spring couplets are also called "door pairs" and "spring posts". They are a type of couplets. They are named because they are posted during the Spring Festival. One source of Spring Festival couplets is Taofu. At first, people carved human figures in peach wood and hung them by the door to ward off evil spirits. Later, they painted the image of the door god on the peach wood, and then simplified it to inscribing the name of the door god on the peach wood board. Another source of Spring Festival couplets is spring stickers. The ancients often posted the word "Yichun" on the Beginning of Spring, which later developed into Spring Festival couplets. The real popularity of Spring Festival couplets began in the Ming Dynasty, related to Zhu Yuanzhang's advocacy. According to the "Miscellaneous Theory of Hairpin Cloud Tower" written by Chen Shanggu of the Qing Dynasty, one year when Zhu Yuanzhang was preparing to celebrate the New Year, he ordered that a Spring Festival couplet be posted on the door of every house to celebrate. Originally the Spring Festival couplets were inscribed on peach boards, but later they were rewritten on paper. The color of peach wood is red, and red has the meaning of good luck and warding off evil spirits, so the Spring Festival couplets are mostly written on red paper. However, the temple uses yellow paper, and the mourning system (when mourning is not completed) uses white, green, and yellow colors. White paper is used in the first year, green paper in the second year, yellow paper in the third year, and red paper is used after the fourth year of mourning. Paper. Because the Manchu people were still white, the Qing court Spring Couplets used white paper, with blue edges wrapped on the outside and red stripes on the inside.

"Pasting blessing characters, pasting window grilles, pasting New Year pictures, pasting hanging thousands"

These all have the folk custom function of praying for blessings and decorating the residence. New Year pictures are an ancient folk art in my country. They reflect the customs and beliefs of the people and express people's hopes for the future. New Year pictures, like Spring Festival couplets, originated from the "door god".

Spring couplets developed from the names of Shen Tu and Yu Lei to text, while New Year pictures still developed along the direction of painting. With the rise of woodblock printing, the content of New Year pictures is no longer limited to door gods, but gradually invites the God of Wealth into the home, and then in some New Year painting workshops, "Three Stars of Fortune, Luxury and Longevity", "Blessings from Heavenly Officials", " Colorful New Year pictures such as "A bumper harvest", "Prosperous livestock", "Welcome the Spring and receive blessings" can satisfy people's good wishes of celebrating the good year. Because Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty advocated posting Spring Festival couplets during the Spring Festival, New Year paintings became popular due to his influence. There are three important production areas of New Year paintings across the country: Taohuawu in Suzhou, Yangliuqing in Tianjin and Weifang in Shandong, forming the three major schools of New Year paintings in my country. In the early years of the Republic of China, Shanghai Zheng Mantuo combined the calendar with New Year pictures. This is a new form of New Year pictures. This two-in-one New Year picture later developed into a wall calendar. Hanging Qian is to use auspicious words engraved on red paper, with a long ruler, and stick it in front of the door to complement the peach charms. Those with figures of the Eight Immortals on them were hung in front of the Buddha. It is mostly used by thousands of households, but less used by aristocratic families. The yellow paper is three inches long and the red paper is more than an inch long. It is a "small hanging thousand" and is used by shops. The earliest hanging Qiandang was made of coins (copper coins). Like New Year's money, it has the effect of suppressing victory.

Setting up a heaven and earth table

This is a temporary offering table specially designed for New Year’s Eve. Generally, homes that do not have a large Buddhist hall attach great importance to the Heaven and Earth Table, because they usually make less offerings to the Buddha, and at the end of the year a large reward is given to the gods and Buddhas. In addition, this table is mainly used to receive the gods. The content of the Heaven and Earth Table is different from that of the permanent Buddhist hall. In addition to the usual hanging money, incense candles, five offerings, and large offerings, most of the idols enshrined there are also temporary, such as: "hundred percent", It is a woodcut version of a picture album of gods and goddesses; "Eighteen Buddhas and Gods in the Three Realms of Heaven and Earth" is a watercolor-printed woodcut on a large yellow paper with a complete code of the three stars of fortune, longevity, and fortune. Some of the above statues were burned immediately after receiving the gods, such as "100%". Some have to wait until Powu or even the Festival of Lanterns to burn them. The location of the heaven and earth table is not uniform. If the main room is spacious, it can be placed in the house. If there is no space in the house, it can be placed in the courtyard. Legend has it that this night is when the gods from the sky descend to the realm, so there is a custom among the people to receive the gods.

"Shou Sui"

Chinese people have the habit of keeping the year old on New Year's Eve, which is commonly known as "staying up for the New Year". The New Year's Eve dinner starts with the New Year's Eve dinner. This New Year's Eve dinner should be eaten slowly, starting from the time when the lanterns are turned on. Some people have to eat until late at night. According to Zong Mao's "Jingchu Years' Records", the custom of eating New Year's Eve dinner has existed at least in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The custom of keeping the year old includes not only a feeling of nostalgia for the passing years, but also a good hope for the coming New Year.

"Set off Firecrackers"

At midnight, the New Year's bell rings, and the sound of firecrackers shakes the sky over the entire land of China. In this "three yuan" moment of "the yuan of the year, the yuan of the month, and the yuan of the time", some places still build a "vigorous fire" in the courtyard to show that the energy is strong and prosperous. Around the blazing fire, the children set off firecrackers and jumped happily. At this time, there were bright lights inside the house, brilliant sparks in front of the court, and loud noises outside, pushing the lively atmosphere of New Year's Eve to its climax. . Poets and writers of all ages have always praised the coming of the New Year with their most beautiful verses. Wang Anshi's poem "Yuan Ri":

The sound of firecrackers marks the end of the year,

The spring breeze brings warmth to people.

Thousands of households are as bright as the sun.

Always replace old talismans with new ones.

Describes the festive scene of our people celebrating the Spring Festival. The sound of firecrackers is a symbol of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, and an expression of festive mood. Business family. Setting off firecrackers has another meaning: they set off firecrackers on New Year's Eve in order to make a lot of money in the new year. However, according to old customs, you should be the first to honor the God of Wealth, and the last to set off firecrackers. Legend has it that if you want to make a fortune, the firecrackers should be fired until the end to be considered sincere.

"Eating New Year's Eve Dinner"

While the children are playing and setting off firecrackers, it is also the busiest time for the housewives in the kitchen. The New Year dishes have been prepared a few days ago. , and the New Year’s Eve dinner is always cooked by the chef on New Year’s Eve. In the north, dumplings for the New Year's Day are also made on the 30th night. At this time, every chopping board was busy chopping meat and chopping vegetables.

At this time, the sound of chopping boards came from every house, the sound of firecrackers came from the streets and alleys, the "crackling" sound of abacus and the mellow sound of accounting reports came from the small shops, mixed with the laughter everywhere, one after another. , filled with ears, intertwined into a cheerful New Year's Eve movement.

Eating New Year’s Eve dinner is the most lively and happy time for every household during the Spring Festival. New Year's Eve. The table is filled with sumptuous New Year dishes, and the whole family is reunited. Sitting around the table and having the reunion dinner together, the sense of fulfillment in my heart is really indescribable. People not only enjoy the table full of delicacies, but also enjoy the happy atmosphere. There are big dishes, cold basins, hot stir-fries, and snacks on the table. Generally, two things are indispensable, one is hot pot. One is fish. The hot pot is boiling, steaming, warm and sultry, indicating that it is prosperous; "fish" and "yu" are homophonic, symbolizing "abundance in auspicious celebrations" and "abundance every year". There are also radish, commonly known as cabbage, which is used to wish good luck; lobster, fried fish and other fried foods are used to wish prosperity for the family, just like "fire cooking oil". The last part is usually a sweet dish, wishing you a sweet life in the future. On this day, even if you don’t know how to drink, you can drink a little.

There are many famous New Year’s Eve dinners, which vary from north to south, including dumplings, wontons, noodles, yuanxiao, etc., and each has its own specialties. Northerners are accustomed to eating dumplings during the Chinese New Year, which means "Gengsui Jiaozi" (Gengsui Jiaozi), the transition between the old and the new. And because the white flour dumplings are shaped like silver ingots, serving them on the table symbolizes "making a fortune in the new year, and the ingots rolling in". When making dumplings, some people also wrap a few coins that have been sterilized in boiling water, saying whoever eats them first will earn more money. The custom of eating dumplings was passed down from the Han Dynasty. According to legend, the medical sage Zhang Zhongjing saw that the ears of the poor were rotten by the frost during the twelfth lunar month of winter, so he made a "Quhan Jiao Er Decoction" to treat frostbite for the poor. He used mutton, chili peppers and some cold-repelling and warming medicinal materials, wrapped them in dough to make ear-shaped "Jiao Er", cooked them in a pot, and distributed them to the poor. After eating, people felt their whole bodies warm and their ears warm. Later, people followed suit and it has been passed down to this day. Eating wontons during the New Year means taking the beginning of the new year. Legend has it that the world was in a state of chaos before it was created. Pangu created the world, and then there were four directions in the universe and long noodles, also called longevity noodles. Eating noodles in the New Year is a wish for a hundred years of longevity.