New Year News

New Year Customs: New Year Customs in Various Places

1. Jiangsu Province

In addition to posting peach charms, door patches, and Spring Festival couplets, Wuxi also hangs clocks and elephants during the New Year. , to avoid being sneaky for a year. Legend has it that Zhong Kui is good at catching ghosts. This custom probably began in the Tang Dynasty. Many people in Wuxi still have the custom of hanging red couplets with auspicious phrases on their door lintels and hanging paper-cut door slips.

It is popular in Wuxi area to eat rice dumplings on New Year’s Day morning, which means reunion and promotion. In addition, noodles are eaten, which means longevity and everlasting spring. It is a custom in Wuxi that when children arrive during the New Year, the host must bring tea, snacks, and candies as gifts. Relatives and friends who have children who come to pay New Year greetings will be given lucky money. When a new son-in-law goes to his mother-in-law's house to pay New Year's greetings, he usually chooses the third day of the lunar new year. The third day of the Lunar New Year is called the Xiaonian Dynasty, and you cannot sweep the floor, beg for fire, or draw water, which is the same as the New Year's Day customs.

There is another custom in Wuxi that is slightly different from other places. That is, any birthday celebrations for 60th, 70th, or 80th birthdays are held during the Spring Festival instead of birthday celebrations. Many places have the custom of not sweeping the floor on New Year's Day, and this is also the case in Wuxi. It is believed that sweeping the floor will sweep away the wealth. Even if the floor is swept on the second day of the first lunar month, the garbage cannot be taken out. Instead, it is piled in the corner of the house until the first half of the first lunar month, which is called "gathering wealth."

It is a custom in the New Year's dynasty not to beg for fire or water from others, nor to use knives or scissors, nor to dump sewage or feces. Before going to bed on New Year's Day, we have to blast two or three blasts to close the door and close the firecrackers. People in Wuxi go to bed early on this day. If there are children who are too playful and refuse to go to bed, parents often coax the children and say: "Go to bed early and listen to the old bugs making love tonight."

2. Shandong Province

Confucius New Year Festival

There are some differences between the Confucius New Year Festival and the folk.

It is approaching the Spring Festival 10. The most lively scene in the busy New Year activities of Confucius Mansion is "Steaming Zhuang". "Steaming Zhuang" is to steam various steamed buns, dumplings and cakes for the New Year. At this time, the "fire-burning household" came again to light the fire and steam all kinds of steamed buns.

Making dumplings all night long on New Year’s Eve. Lamps and sandalwood powder were burned everywhere in the house, carpets were laid, colorful sheds were set up in the yard, and colorful ribbons were pulled. In the afternoon, I went to the main hall to salute, and after dinner, I went to the ancestral temple to say goodbye. Adults give "New Year's money" to their children, put it in a red paper bag with the words "Longevity" written on it, and place it next to the child's pillow. Each person prepares a cloisonné food box, in which are placed Ruyi, Small persimmons, oranges, etc.

On New Year's Eve, Duke Yan would personally go to Anhuai Hall to make offerings and worship the white-bearded old fairy. It is said that all the elves and ghosts in the Confucius Mansion are under the control of this old white-bearded fairy.

After midnight all people get up to worship the gods of heaven and earth. In the yard of the front room, a "Heaven and Earth Tower" was built with mats. Facing each direction, east, west, south, north, northeast, southwest and northwest, a table is placed. On the table is placed the tablet of the god. On the middle table is the tablet of the god of heaven and earth. Next to the "Heaven and Earth Tower", a "celestial pole" is erected, and the "sky lantern" is lit day and night, and has been lit for half a month.

When I wake up on the morning of New Year's Day, I don't speak for a while and touch the contents of the food box and the New Year's money with my hands. After getting up, worship the temple, the ancestral hall, and receive New Year greetings from servants. My family came to Confucius Mansion to pay New Year greetings. In the afternoon, the local "Dragon Lantern Festival" lion dance and other performances came to the Confucius Mansion, and the servants and "fireworks dealers" of the Confucius Mansion set off fireworks to celebrate the New Year.

3. Zhejiang Province

Shaoxing New Year Customs

In Shaoxing, as soon as it enters the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, people are busy preparing for the New Year: buying wine, spring festivals, etc. Making cakes, wrapping rice dumplings, dusting, killing chickens and geese, buying fish and meat, preparing clothes, shoes and hats for the New Year, buying gifts for relatives and friends, etc. It can be said that I am very busy, lest I don't plan well and make a joke. On the night of the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, every household would send the Kitchen God to heaven and offer a sticky candy to stick his teeth so that he could not report people's faults to the Jade Emperor. After sending gifts to the Kitchen God and before New Year's Eve, each family always chooses an auspicious day to bless. This is the most solemn festival of the year for every family. The statue of the worshiped god has the four characters of "Southern Dynasty Holy Sect". People in Shaoxing call it Blessing Bodhisattva and Great Bodhisattva. It is said that he is the emperor of Song Dynasty. After the demise of the Southern Song Dynasty, the surviving ministers were afraid of the despotic power of the Yuan Dynasty rulers and did not dare to publicly hold memorial ceremonies for the Song emperors, so they had to do it quietly in the dead of night. This kind of memorial with national consciousness was not only widely circulated later, but also added the meaning of thanking the gods for blessings and praying for happiness in the coming year. According to the old man's words, the Bodhisattva in heaven will not enter an unclean house. Therefore, before blessing, the hall, sacrificial table, sacrificial utensils, etc. must be swept and washed cleanly. After the "Five Animal Blessings" are cooked, they are placed on a large wooden red lacquer plate.

There are certain rules for how they are placed. For example, chickens and geese must kneel with their heads facing the God of Fortune to express welcome; a live carp is hung on the "gantry" with a red rope through its back spine, and red paper is used to cover its eyes. , which means "carp jumping over the dragon's gate". If the ceremony is held late at night, the atmosphere will be more solemn. Men kneel three times and kowtow nine times according to their seniority, while women and some men whose zodiac signs are taboo must avoid it. Not to mention the wealthy widow Xiang Lin, even the wives and ladies of the Lu family were deprived of the right to bless.

After blessing, worship the ancestors (commonly known as "please go back to the hall and make rice"). When blessing, the table is placed horizontally according to the wood grain of the tabletop, but when worshiping ancestors, it is changed to a straight position; when blessing, the sweeper salutes outward, and when worshiping ancestors, he kneels inward. After worshiping the ancestors, rice cakes or noodles are cooked with the juice of the blessing ceremony, and the name is "Sanfu", which means that the "blessings" given by God are given to the family. The New Year customs in Shaoxing are similar to those in other places. "Eating and drinking on New Year's Eve, especially wearing clothes" is the climax of the New Year.

4. Henan Province

New Year's Eve in Kaifeng

People in Kaifeng call the Spring Festival "New Year's Eve".

New Year’s Eve is commonly called New Year’s Eve, and every household must post Spring Festival couplets. Nowadays, on New Year's Eve, we visit relatives and friends, watch TV, and guess riddles until late at night. Some families get together to encourage each other, summarize the harvest of the past year, and formulate work and study plans for the new year. "Shou Sui" has given new content in the new era. When the midnight bell rings, people compete to set off the first firecrackers, which also means the determination and motivation of Kaifeng people to open up the future.

On the first day of the first lunar month, every family gets up early, changes into new clothes, and after washing, they first set off firecrackers and pay homage to the portraits of their ancestors. Then, the younger generation pays New Year greetings to the older generation, and the older generation wants to give the younger generation "New Year's money." The whole family ate New Year dumplings, and then began to visit relatives and friends’ homes for New Year greetings. In order to receive New Year guests, each family always has cigarettes, tea, melon seeds, peanuts, candies, etc. at home. According to Kaifeng's custom of "paying New Year greetings early and birthday greetings late", the New Year greetings will come to an end in the afternoon of the first day of the Lunar New Year.

The second day of the first lunar month is the day when the daughter returns to her parents’ home. On the second day of the lunar new year in the old days, in the villages around Kaifeng Chengguan, firecrackers, whistles, and whistles were heard, and mules, horses, and carts were coming and going in an endless stream.

The third day of the first lunar month is the day for worshiping graves and ancestors. Because the old imperial calendar said that this day is "unsuitable for everything", it is forbidden to visit relatives in Kaifeng on the third day of the lunar month. The fifth day of the lunar month is the Po Wu Festival. Folks believe that the fifth day of the lunar month is the first unlucky day after the new year. Relatives and friends are also prohibited from visiting each other. In addition to these two days, during the festival, people in Kaifeng have few free days to visit relatives and friends.

5. Sichuan Province

Sichuan Hakka Spring Festival Customs

The Hakka people attach great importance to the Lunar New Year. Every household hangs colored lanterns, posts door gods, and writes auspicious words on granaries and poultry and livestock pens to show good luck for the coming year's harvest. Hakka towns that have the conditions perform lantern dances from the first month to February. The types of lanterns include dragon lanterns, lion lanterns, clam lanterns, etc. This is the lantern custom of the Hakka people in their original place that has been passed down to this day.

In addition, a large-scale celebration will be held - dragon dance, which can be divided into colorful dragon, fire dragon, water dragon, out of joint dragon and Shangchuan dragon. Among them, Shangchuanlong is the most distinctive. The Shangchuan dragon was brought to western Sichuan by the Liu family immigrants from Jiangxi in the early Qing Dynasty. The Liu family members tie the dragon and dance it every year as a way to celebrate the new year and pray for good weather. The Shangchuan dragon is huge and majestic. It is operated and danced by thirty to fifty people. The dragon head weighs thirty to fifty kilograms. The dragon dance is highly skilled and has many ways.

6. Guangxi Province

Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

Dance the Spring Ox

Happy New Year with a pole

"New Year's Eve" The pounding hall is closed, and there is an abundance of grain and millet everywhere this year." This is an ancient proverb circulated by Zhuang people in Mashan, Du'an, Shanglin, Xincheng and other places in Guangxi. Today, instead of pounding bamboo, it is the farmer's shoulder pole, and wooden boards replace the large wooden trough. The ancient pounding hall is full of life in the form of entertainment with the shoulder pole.

From New Year's Eve to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month every year, the light and sweet sound of "Deng Deng Da, Deng Deng Da, Deng Deng Da Du Da" resounds throughout the Zhuang mountain villages.

The dance forms of carrying poles include double dance, four-person dance, multi-person dance, etc. Most of the dancers are even numbers. The performers hold poles in their hands and gather around a bench or rice pounding trough, sometimes hitting the bench and sometimes hitting each other's poles in a rhythmic manner. The shoulder pole can be used freely in the hand, and can be struck from the front, back, or side. The sound produced may be crisp or deep, and the sounds are different, forming a rhythm with a lively rhythm and ups and downs. As the poles keep hitting each other, the performers keep turning through the flowers, which is even more dazzling. Various skilled movements are performed easily amidst the sound of the poles hitting each other.

The dance vocabulary of "beating the pole" is rich in farming culture. The dance style is closely related to farming work. The performance contents include: plowing the field and planting rice, pouring water for plowing the field, harvesting and beating the field, pounding rice to taste new things, etc. . The life-oriented and labor-oriented characteristics of the artistic image are extremely prominent. It is firmly rooted in the soil of Zhuang family and will surely last forever.

7. Guizhou Province

Dong Year

Traditional festival of Dong people. Popular in Jiuzhai District, Jinping County, Guizhou Province. It is held every year on the 30th day of the 11th lunar month. According to local legend, a long time ago, there was a highly respected clan leader who refused to pay tribute to the Han people, so the Han people led people to surround the village. In order to safeguard the dignity of the nation and the safety of his fellow villagers, the clan leader stepped forward and was forced to guard the border by the Han people. Later, the leader was allowed to return home from the frontier, which happened to be the 30th day of the 11th month of the lunar calendar. The local people played the reed, the pipa, and the gongs and drums to visit the clan leader. Later generations called this day Dong Year. During the festival, in addition to making glutinous rice cakes, each family also kills pigs and sheep to celebrate. On New Year's Eve, people mainly eat meat and avoid eating vegetables. Cook more rice than usual to show that there is "more than enough leftover". Before dinner, the elderly place sacrifices at the shrine and "ancestor corner", burn incense and paper to worship their ancestors, invite them to celebrate the New Year, and ensure that the whole family is prosperous and happy. Then the whole family feasts. Married girls and their relatives and friends also come to congratulate during the Dong Year. The main entertainment activity on the festival day is bullfighting, and in the evening cannons are fired to entertain the winner. Young men and women find partners through activities such as playing in the mountains, singing antiphonal songs, and dancing on the Lusheng. Dong opera was also performed. These festival activities will continue until the Spring Festival.

8. Shaanxi Province

Spring Festival in Northern Shaanxi

People in the Yellow Land attach great importance to celebrating festivals. There are many festivals in a year, but most people The focus is still on the Spring Festival. There is a custom here that during the Chinese New Year, children should be given a "Jujube sign". "Zao Paipai" is made of red dates and corn straw tied with red thread, with a copper coin hanging on top and a firecracker hanging on the bottom. It is hung on the child's back. This is a mascot to ward off evil and bless. Some families use red thread to thread a "thimble" used for needlework and hang it around their children's necks. This is also a mascot of blessings, called a "thimble to increase age." One more each year until the age of twelve.

New Year's Eve is here, everything is ready, post couplets, make vinegar charcoal, hang red lanterns, and clean the courtyard. Making vinegar charcoal is a unique custom, which is to put a piece of red-hot coal on an iron spoon and then pour vinegar on it. "Vinegar charcoal" should be carried out in every corner of the home, which means to drive away evil spirits. In fact, it is a scientific method of sterilization and disinfection. As night falls, the elderly always devoutly light incense and burn paper, and lead their curious grandchildren to kowtow. The older children were busy setting off cannons and lighting towers. The careful mother-in-law put charcoal and ice cubes beside the door, and set up a rolling staff and an ax behind the door. It is said that this is to suppress evil spirits, and it is called "Shou Sui" here. People always sleep very late on New Year's Eve. Generally, lights are kept on at home all night long, which indicates peace and longevity in all seasons. Putting some food in the pot is called "according to the pot", which means there will be no shortage of food throughout the year. Some old people couldn't sleep that night, so they climbed up to the top of the mountain quietly in the dark, facing the east and looking out. This is called "taste of heaven".

On the first day of the first lunar month, people get up at dawn, and the first thing they do is to fire the "opening gun", which means it's time to open the door. Then, the old people were busy welcoming the gods and receiving the Stove Lord. The children have already run out to pay New Year greetings. New Year greetings here are called "asking about health". When younger people meet their elders, they always "ask about health", such as "Grandpa is strong!" "Grandma is strong!" The elders will reply "Baby, be good!" which means to praise the children's health and progress. This kind of New Year greeting custom is not limited to children, but also to men who are married and have adopted children. It is also the same when meeting their elders.

Walking New Year with Yangko is a unique custom in northern Shaanxi. During the Spring Festival, every village organizes a Yangko team to pay New Year greetings door to door, which is commonly known as "Yangmenzi" here. The first step in celebrating the New Year with Yangko is visiting temples, worshiping gods, and praying for good weather and good harvests, and then visiting every household to pay New Year greetings. Every time the yangko troupe visits a house, the umbrella head touches the scenery and improvises its own lyrics to bless the owner. For example, "Looking up after entering the gate, the six-hole stone kiln is in full display. The harvest is abundant, people are prosperous, and peace is guaranteed all year round."

9. Heilongjiang Province

Harbin Ice Lanterns Welcome the Spring Festival

Ice lantern art has a long history. The annual Ice Lantern Garden Party is a massive project. The raw materials require ice to be transparent and free of impurities. Ice sculptures enjoy a unique source of materials here. One of China's major rivers, the Songhua River, flows through the city of Harbin. The river water is naturally frozen and is crystal clear.

In the winter when the ice is three feet deep, when the surging river stops to take a breather, the workers first use electric saws to cut the ice on the river surface into pieces, then scoop out the ice, dig holes, install lights, pull wires, pour water, and carve. After a series of processes, a piece of ice and snow art can be carved. Each piece is the release of artists' understanding of life and art. The Ice Lantern Garden Party in Harbin attracts thousands of tourists every year, among which it is not difficult to find the excited eyes of many tourists from tropical countries. For these people who have never seen snow falling in the sky or ice on the ground, going to China to see the ice lanterns has become a big event they look forward to during the Spring Festival.

10. Fujian Province

New Year’s Eve Customs in Southern Fujian

New Year’s Eve customs in rural areas of southern Fujian appear to be different from those in cities. In rural farmhouses, there are many rooms and doors. In addition to pasting Spring Festival couplets, there are also two sugar cane plants with red paper circles on both sides of the door. They are called "men cane". The dialect "sugar" and "jia" are close sounds, which means entering. Beautiful scene. The table in the hall is set with New Year's rice, perennial vegetables, and steamed cakes, with "spring branches" tied with red and yellow paper, symbolizing that the food will be abundant all year round and bring good luck and wealth. Every family should stack potato vines and firewood branches outside the main door and light them until the smoke surrounds the fire. Men will jump over the pile of flames according to their seniority, and recite while jumping: "Jump in, you will make a fortune every year; jump out, you will have no worries." "You have no worries; if you skip to the east, you won't be able to eat enough grain; if you skip to the west, money will come rolling in." This is called the "passing fire group", which symbolizes burning away the evil spirits of the old year, eliminating misfortune and good luck, and ushering in a clean life. , a prosperous New Year. After "jumping the fire group", the hall must be cleaned with a new broom. After sweeping, the broom and the dustpan are put together, and the garbage is piled by the door. I hope that I can get out of the dustpan again and help make a fortune. At the same time, some unextinguished ashes from the jumping fire group should be collected and added to the charcoal stove, which is called "Tianwang", symbolizing greater prosperity. Parents and their children sit around the stove, which is called "watching the New Year around the stove". It is best to stay up all night. It is said that this is to extend the parents' longevity. At this time, the elders give the younger generation lucky money, which is called "dividing circles". With the progress of society and the acceleration of the pace of life, some cumbersome customs in rural areas of southern Fujian have been gradually abolished, but the custom of farmers looking forward to good years still remains. Especially "around the stove" in the cold winter of the twelfth lunar month, the whole family gathers around the warm stove to drink and talk, talking about the old year and looking forward to the future. How warm and happy it is.