Various customs during the New Year in Dongsheng

1. Sacrifice to the Kitchen God The Kitchen God is said to be the "Jiutian East Chef Ming Zaofu Lord" conferred by the Jade Emperor. He is responsible for managing the kitchen fires of each family. Therefore, he is regarded as the protector of the family, and almost among the people. Every house has a "Kitchen God" statue. On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month every year, the Kitchen God would ascend to heaven and report to the Emperor the good or bad deeds of the family, and the Jade Emperor would then determine the good or bad fortune of the family in the coming year. Therefore, the Kitchen God is very crucial to the fate of the family. Therefore, when he ascends to heaven, the people will "give him the stove". The stove delivery is usually held in the evening. The family goes to the kitchen house and respectfully burns incense and puts out candy offerings. In some places, sugar is used to worship the Stove Lord. It is said that this will make the Stove Lord eat sweets and say more good things about the family. Then, people took off the statue of the Stove God and burned it in the stove. The Stove God ascended to heaven with the ashes. After delivering the stove, the family prepares for the New Year in earnest. People clean the room, wash utensils, unpack and wash bedding, sweep the courtyard, and happily welcome the arrival of the Spring Festival.

On New Year's Eve, each family has to pick up the stove and bring back the Stove Lord who has sent away.

2. Posting Spring Festival couplets Posting Spring Festival couplets is an important custom for our people during the Spring Festival. Farmers

No matter how poor they are in recent years, they will still spend a few dollars to buy a few paintings. The couplet is posted on the door frame, firstly to increase the festive atmosphere of the New Year, and secondly to pray for good luck in the coming year.

In ancient times, people believed that ghosts were afraid of peach wood. In order to prevent ghosts from entering the door, human figures hung a piece of peach wood on each side of the door, on which were engraved the names of two gods who were said to specialize in monitoring the behavior of ghosts. The image is called a peach charm and is changed every year to ward off evil and repay good fortune. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Meng Nan, a very talented king, emerged. Meng Li was the king of the Later Shu Kingdom. On New Year's Eve one year, he wrote two auspicious New Year's greetings on the Taofu board that matched the Labor Party: "New Year's greetings, the festival number is Changchun." Meng Qi's two New Year's greetings have become the earliest couplets in our country. Since then, the Chinese people's poetry style has been integrated with the festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival. Scholars and scholars have regarded writing Spring Festival couplets as an elegant event. By the Song Dynasty, it had become very popular. It is said that in the Ming Dynasty, under the initiative of Zhu Yuanjin, Spring Festival couplets became popular and gradually became a New Year custom. Regardless of poverty or wealth, whether literate or not, people would paste a red Spring Festival couplet on their doors.

3. Sticking to the Door God: Sticking to the Door God is also said to have originated from hanging peach charms. In the Tang Dynasty, Wang Yuchigong and Qin Shubao gradually evolved into "door gods". Every Spring Festival, people will post portraits of the two people on their doors to ward off disasters and suppress evil spirits. It is said that after Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, ascended the throne, there would be ghosts calling outside the palace every night. After the generals Qin Shubao and Yu Chigong learned about the situation, Kong Dong requested to guard the gate for Taizong. From then on, Taizong slept peacefully. He couldn't bear to let his two beloved generals guard him forever, so he asked a painter to draw their portraits and paste them on the palace road to drive away ghosts and ward off evil spirits. This is the door god. Since then, the two generals Wei and Qin have been regarded as door gods by the people, and they are posted and replaced every year.

4. Paste the word "福" During the Spring Festival, people also like to paste the word "福" on door lintels and boxes. Moreover, the word "福" should be pasted upside down, which means "luck has arrived". Every Spring Festival, the word "福", large and small, with different fonts makes the atmosphere of the Spring Festival more festive and lively.

5. Set off firecrackers. "The sound of firecrackers bid farewell to the old year." Every Spring Festival, people like to set off firecrackers to add to the festive atmosphere of the festival. Every year on the 30th of the twelfth lunar month, starting from midnight, firecrackers The sound of music came and went, and excited people got up early to welcome the arrival of the new year. There is also a legend about setting off firecrackers during the New Year. According to legend, in ancient times, there was a ferocious animal that was very cruel. People called it "Nian". The year appears every 365 days. Once the year appears, it will harm mankind and bring huge disasters to mankind. Nian comes out at night, so people turn off lights and put out fires and stay up all night to avoid disasters. Later, people discovered that wearing red clothes and burning bamboo to make explosive noises could drive away the New Year. Therefore, every year when the New Year is about to appear, people set off firecrackers to drive away disasters and avoid evil spirits; and to pray for good luck in the coming year.

Until now, setting off firecrackers is still an indispensable procedure when people celebrate the Spring Festival.

6. Eating New Year’s Eve dinner. Eating New Year’s Eve dinner is the most lively time at home during the Spring Festival. Chinese people attach great importance to the Spring Festival. Every Spring Festival, no matter how far away from home they are, people will make every effort to rush home. The reason why many people are so eager to go home for the Spring Festival is often because they are afraid of missing the New Year's Eve dinner. Because the New Year’s Eve dinner is a time for family reunion, the hard work of the year will be compensated by this New Year’s Eve dinner, and the year’s expectations will be realized by this New Year’s Eve dinner. Reunion and liveliness are the great wishes of millions of Chinese people.

At the New Year's Eve dinner, people enjoy all kinds of delicacies, and all kinds of delicious things are reserved for this day. On the New Year's Eve dinner table, there is one thing that cannot be missing, and that is "fish". "Fish" is the homophonic pronunciation of "surplus", and "fish every year" means "surplus every year" and "surplus for celebrations." In some places, it is popular to eat dumplings for New Year's Eve dinner because they are shaped like gold ingots; in some places, it is popular to eat long noodles, symbolizing longevity; in some places, it is popular to eat wontons, symbolizing a good start. ("wonton" and "chaos" have the same pronunciation).