Spring Festival customs

Spring Festival Customs

The Spring Festival is an ancient festival in my country and the most important festival of the year. How to celebrate this festival has been formed over thousands of years of historical development. Some relatively fixed customs and habits were established, many of which are still passed down to this day.

1. Sweeping dust

"On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, dust the dust and sweep the house." According to the records of "Lu Spring and Autumn Annals", my country had the custom of sweeping dust during the Spring Festival in the era of Yao and Shun. According to folklore: because "dust" and "chen" are homophonic, sweeping dust in the New Year means "removing the old and spreading the new", and its purpose is to sweep away all bad luck and bad luck. This custom entrusts people with their desire to destroy the old and establish the new and their prayers to say goodbye to the old and usher in the new. Every Spring Festival comes, every household has to clean the environment, wash all kinds of utensils, remove and wash bedding and curtains, sweep the Liulv courtyard, dust away dirt and cobwebs, and dredge open ditches and ditches. Everywhere is filled with the joyful atmosphere of doing hygiene and welcoming the New Year cleanly.

2. Spring couplets

Spring couplets are also called door pairs, spring posts, couplets, couplets, peach charms, etc. They describe the background of the times and express emotions with neat, dual, concise and exquisite words. Good wishes are a unique literary form in our country. Every Spring Festival, every household, whether in urban or rural areas, selects a red Spring Festival couplet and pastes it on the door to add a festive atmosphere to the festival. This custom began in the Song Dynasty and became popular in the Ming Dynasty. By the Qing Dynasty, the ideological and artistic quality of Spring Festival couplets had been greatly improved. Liang Zhangju’s Spring Festival Couplets monograph "Three Couples on the Threshold" has a detailed introduction to the origin of the couplets and the characteristics of various works. All discussed.

There are many types of Spring Festival couplets. According to the place of use, they can be divided into door centers, frame pairs, horizontal drapes, spring strips, bucket squares, etc. The "door center" is affixed to the upper center of the door panel; the "frame pair" is affixed to the left and right door frames; the "horizontal stripe" is affixed to the crossbar of the door; the "spring strips" are affixed to the corresponding places according to different contents; "Dojin" is also called "door leaf", which is square and diamond-shaped, and is often posted on furniture and screen walls.

3. Paste window grilles and paste the word "福" upside down

In the folk, people also like to paste various paper-cuts - window grilles on the windows. Window grilles not only enhance the festive atmosphere, but also integrate decoration, appreciation and practicality. Paper-cutting is a very popular folk art in my country and has been loved by people for thousands of years. Because it is mostly pasted on windows, it is also called "window flower". With its unique summary and exaggeration techniques, window grilles vividly express auspicious symbols and good wishes, decorating the festival with prosperity and splendor.

At the same time as pasting Spring Festival couplets, some families have to paste large and small "福" characters on their house doors, walls, and lintels. Posting the word "福" during the Spring Festival is a long-standing folk custom in my country. The word "福" refers to blessing and luck, expressing people's yearning for a happy life and their wishes for a better future. In order to more fully reflect this yearning and wish, some people simply paste the word "福" upside down to express "happiness has arrived" and "blessing has arrived". Folks also use the word "Fu" to make various patterns with detailed drawings, such as longevity star, birthday peach, carp jumping over the dragon gate, good harvest, dragon and phoenix showing auspiciousness, etc.

4. Posting New Year pictures

Posting New Year pictures during the Spring Festival is also very common in urban and rural areas. The thick black and colorful New Year pictures add a lot of prosperity and joy to thousands of households. New Year pictures are an ancient folk art in my country, reflecting the people's simple customs and beliefs and reposing their hopes for the future. New Year pictures, like Spring Festival couplets, originated from the "door god". With the rise of woodblock printing, the content of New Year paintings is no longer limited to monotonous themes such as door gods, but has become rich and colorful. In some New Year painting workshops, "Three Stars of Fortune, Luxury and Longevity", "Blessings from Heavenly Officials", "Five Grain" Classic color New Year pictures such as "Prosperous Harvest", "Prosperity of Six Livestocks", "Welcoming Spring and Receiving Good Luck" can satisfy people's good wishes of celebrating the good year. There are three important producing areas of New Year paintings in our country: Taohuawu in Suzhou, Yangliuqing in Tianjin and Weifang in Shandong. They have formed three major schools of Chinese New Year paintings, each with its own characteristics.

The earliest New Year paintings collected in our country today are the woodcut New Year paintings of the Southern Song Dynasty called "Slimming with the Dynasty and the Beauty of the Country", which depict four ancient beauties: Wang Zhaojun, Zhao Feiyan, Ban Ji and Luzhu. The most widely circulated among the people is a New Year painting of "Mouse Marriage". It depicts an interesting scene of a mouse marrying a bride according to human customs. 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, which is now popular all over the country.

5. Keeping the year old on New Year’s Eve is one of the most important annual activities. The custom of keeping the year old has been around for a long time. The earliest record can be found in the "Fengtu Zhi" of Zhouchu in the Western Jin Dynasty: On New Year's Eve, each person greets each other with gifts, which is called "giving the new year"; "Dividing the year old"; everyone stays up all night waiting for the dawn, which is called "keeping the year old".

“One night is two years old, and the fifth watch is divided into two days.” On New Year’s Eve, the whole family gets together, has New Year’s Eve dinner, lights candles or oil lamps, sits around the fire and chats, waiting to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year. At this time, the all-night vigil symbolizes driving away all evil plagues and looking forward to auspiciousness in the new year. This custom gradually became popular. In the early Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem about "keeping the year old": "The cold leaves the winter snow, and the warmth brings the spring breeze." To this day, people are still used to staying up late on New Year's Eve to welcome the new year.

In ancient times, staying up late had two meanings: older people staying up late meant "saying goodbye to the old year", which meant cherishing time; young people staying up late meant to prolong the life of their parents. Since the Han Dynasty, the transition time between the new and the old year has generally been at midnight.

6. Set off firecrackers

There is a Chinese folk saying of "opening firecrackers". That is to say, when the New Year arrives, the first thing every household does when they open the door is to set off firecrackers to ward off the old and welcome the new with the beeping sound of firecrackers. Firecrackers are a specialty of China, also known as "firecrackers", "firecrackers" and "firecrackers". It originated very early and has a history of more than 2,000 years. Setting off firecrackers can create a festive and lively atmosphere. It is a festive entertainment activity that can bring people joy and good luck. With the passage of time, the application of firecrackers has become more and more widespread, and the varieties and colors have become more and more numerous. During major festivals and happy events, as well as weddings, house construction, openings, etc., firecrackers must be set off to celebrate and for good luck. Now, Liuyang in Hunan, Foshan and Dongyao in Guangdong, Yichun and Pingxiang in Jiangxi, and Wenzhou in Zhejiang are famous hometowns of fireworks in my country. The firecrackers they produce are of various colors and high quality, and are not only sold well across the country, but also exported to the world.

7. New Year greetings

On the first day of the New Year, people get up early, put on their most beautiful clothes, dress up neatly, go out to visit relatives and friends, and pay New Year greetings to each other. I wish you good luck in the coming year. There are many ways to pay New Year's greetings. Some are led by the head of the same clan and several people go from house to house to pay New Year's greetings. Some are colleagues inviting a few people to pay New Year's greetings. There are also people who gather together to congratulate each other, which is called "group worship". Since it was time-consuming and laborious to pay New Year greetings at home, some upper-class figures and scholar-bureaucrats later used various stickers to congratulate each other, and the later "New Year's greeting cards" developed from this.

When paying New Year greetings during the Spring Festival, the younger generation should first pay New Year greetings to the elders and wish them longevity and health. The elders can distribute the New Year's money prepared in advance to the younger generation. It is said that the New Year's money can suppress evil spirits, because "year" and "evil spirits" "Homophonous", the younger generation can spend one year peacefully after receiving the lucky money. There are two types of New Year's money. One is made of colorful ropes threaded into a dragon shape and placed at the foot of the bed. This record is found in "Yanjing Years' Notes"; the other is the most common, which is given by parents wrapped in red paper. Children's money. New Year's money can be given to the younger generation in public after paying New Year's greetings, or parents can secretly put it under the child's pillow when the child is asleep on New Year's Eve. Nowadays, the custom of elders distributing lucky money to younger generations is still popular.

8. Food customs during the Spring Festival

In ancient agricultural societies, from about the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, housewives would be busy preparing food for the New Year. Because pickling cured meat takes a long time, it must be prepared as early as possible. Many provinces in my country have the custom of pickling cured meat, among which Guangdong Province’s cured meat is the most famous.

Steamed rice cake. Rice cake has become a must-have seasonal food for almost every household because of its homophonic pronunciation of "year high" and its varied tastes. The styles of rice cakes include square yellow and white rice cakes, which symbolize gold and silver and convey the meaning of getting rich in the new year.

The taste of rice cakes varies from place to place. Beijingers like to eat red date rice cake, mince rice cake and white rice cake made from glutinous rice or yellow rice. People in Hebei like to add jujube, red beans, mung beans, etc. to rice cakes and steam them together. In northern Shanxi and Inner Mongolia and other places, it is customary to eat fried rice cakes with yellow rice flour during the Chinese New Year. Some are also filled with bean paste, date paste and other fillings. Shandong people steam rice cakes with yellow rice and red dates. Northern rice cakes are mainly sweet and can be steamed or fried. Some people even eat them dipped in sugar. The rice cakes in the south are both sweet and salty. For example, the rice cakes in Suzhou and Ningbo are made from japonica rice and have a light taste. In addition to steaming and frying, it can also be sliced ??and fried or cooked in soup.

The sweet rice cake is made of glutinous rice flour with ingredients such as sugar, lard, rose, osmanthus, mint, and sujiang. It is carefully made and can be steamed directly or dipped in egg white and fried.

The night before the actual Chinese New Year is called Reunion Eve. People who have traveled far away from home have to rush home thousands of miles away. The whole family will sit together to make dumplings for the New Year. The dumplings are made by mixing the dough first. Make dumpling skins, and then use the skins to wrap the fillings. The content of the fillings is varied, including various meats, eggs, seafood, seasonal vegetables, etc. Eat with soy sauce of vinegar, minced garlic, and sesame oil as condiments. There are also ways to eat fried dumplings and baked dumplings (pot stickers). Because the word "和" in noodles means "合"; the characters "Jiao" and "Jiao" in dumplings are homophones, and "He" and "Jiao" also mean getting together, so dumplings are used to symbolize reunion and joy; they are also used to symbolize reunion. The meaning of Jiaozi is very auspicious; in addition, because dumplings resemble ingots in shape, eating dumplings during the Chinese New Year also has the auspicious meaning of "bringing in wealth and treasure". The whole family gathers together to make dumplings, talk about the New Year, and have fun.

9. Poems about the Spring Festival

Tian Jiayuan Day

(Tang Dynasty) Meng Haoran

Last night the fight returned to the north, today the new year starts in the east;

I am already strong, but I have no income and still worry about farming.

The father plows the mulberry field, and the shepherd boy follows the hoe;

The Tian family is responsible for the climate, and the mother-in-law said that this year will be good.

"Selling Dementia Ci"

(Tang Dynasty) Fan Chengda

On New Year's Eve, people don't sleep in the late hours, and they are tired of being dull and waiting for the new year;

The child calls out to walk down the long street, and there is a cloud of dementia calling people to sell.

"New Year's Eve"

(Tang Dynasty) Laihu

The matter of concern has become empty, and I miss you for thousands of miles in one night.

I am so sad that the sound of the chicken at dawn has stopped, and I will be haggard in the spring breeze.

Yuan Day

(Song Dynasty) Wang Anshi

The sound of firecrackers marks the end of the year, and the spring breeze brings warmth to Tusu;

Thousands of families Every day, every day, the new peach is replaced by the old charm.

Yuan Day Yu Lou Chun

(Song Dynasty) Mao Pang

One year the lotus drips all the water, and the blue well slaughters the Su and freezes the wine.

The cold weather in the morning is still deceiving, but the willows in the spring are slender first.

The beautiful woman advises you to live a long life, and the cypress leaves and pepper flowers bloom on your green sleeves.

In the depths of Zuixiang, we rarely know each other, and we only have old friends with Dongjun.

New Year's Eve

(Southern Song Dynasty) Wen Tianxiang

The world is empty, and the years are passing by;

The road is full of storms, and the poor side is full of snow and frost.

As time goes by, life is about to end, and the body and the world are forgotten;

There is no more killing of Su Meng, and the night is not yet young.

New Year's greetings

(Ming Dynasty) Wen Zhengming

I don't ask for a meeting, but a visit, and the famous papers come to the house to fill the house.

I also throw in a few pieces of paper with others. The world is too simple but not too empty.

Already united and newly established

(Ming Dynasty) Ye Yong

The wind and frost of heaven and earth are gone, and the weather of heaven and earth is harmonious;

New years are added to the calendar, Spring fills the old mountains and rivers.

The plum blossoms and willows are beautiful, and the pine trees are old;

Tu Su becomes drunk and laughs in the white cloud nest.

Gui has come together by chance on New Year's Eve

(Qing Dynasty) Huang Jingren

The laughter of thousands of families is delayed, and the worries are hidden from the outside,

quietly Li Shiqiao is unknown to people, and one star is like the moon for a long time.

New Year's Message from Fengcheng

(Qing Dynasty) Cha Shenxing

Skillfully cut flags to win the test of Silla, paint colors and gold to make moths;

From then on, I have no time for scissors for a month, and there are many needlework in my boudoir.

Jiawu New Year's Day

(Qing Dynasty) Kong Shangren

Xiao Shu's white hair was not full, but he could not sleep around the stove after watching the New Year's Eve.

Cut the candles to dry up the late-night wine, and spend all your money to buy spring money.

Listening to the burning of firecrackers brings out the childlike innocence, but seeing the peach charms exchanged makes me feel happy.

The drums and horns add plum blossoms, and we celebrate the New Year with joy at the fifth watch.

On New Year's Day, Liu Yazi's heart is full of love

Dong Biwu

*** celebrates the New Year with laughter, and the ladies of Hongyan give plum blossoms;

Toast glasses of Tusu wine to each other, and spread out to taste victory tea.

Only loyalty can serve the country, and there is no paradise for home;

Welcome to the festival with singing and dancing with the capital, and look at the gorgeous scenery of Yan'an from a distance.

Watching the flower market during the Spring Festival

Lin Boqu

We met on Main Street to see the flower market, but we leaned against the arcade like a gallery;

The potted plants were lined up, Grasses and woods are fragrant.

The lights are on all night long and people are singing, and the songs are ecstatic.

It is this year that the scenery is beautiful and the colors are red and purple, heralding spring.

Spring Festival customs of all ethnic groups in various places

1.. Tibetan people

Each ethnic group has its own unique culture and living habits. The Tibetan people are an ancient and enthusiastic people. A nation, in its long history, has also formed its own living habits and taboos in life.

1. When two friends who have reunited after a long separation greet each other or chat, you cannot put your hands on each other's shoulders.

2. You cannot step over or step on other people's clothes, nor put your own clothes on other people's clothes, nor can you step over others.

3. Women should not dry clothes, especially pants and underwear, where everyone passes by.

4. Do not whistle or cry loudly in the room.

5. The family is away from home and the guests have just left. Do not sweep the floor or take out the garbage at noon, after sunset and on the first day of the Tibetan New Year.

6. Outsiders cannot mention the name of the deceased in front of his relatives.

7. The work that should be completed this year cannot be left to next year, such as twisting wool, knitting sweaters, carpets, etc.

8. Don’t just walk into other people’s homes at dusk, especially when there will be pregnant women, newly delivered mothers, or seriously ill people, and strangers are not allowed to go.

9. Do not take out any property at home after noon.

10. If a stranger comes to mountains and cliffs and canyons that you have never been to before, you should not make any noise.

11. Do not step on or step on eating utensils, pots, bowls, pans, etc.

12. If two people at home go out at the same time and walk in opposite directions, they cannot leave the house at the same time. They must go out before and after and at separate times.

13. Women cannot comb or wash their hair at night, nor can they go out with their hair down.

14. When using brooms and dustpans, they cannot be passed directly by hand. They must be placed on the ground first, and then another person picks them up from the ground.

15. Whenever relatives and friends come to your home or visit you, they will give you some butter tea or highland barley wine as gifts. When the guests leave, they should clear out the things. They cannot empty them all and must leave them behind. Put some in it or replace it with some of your own stuff.

16. Bowls with chips or cracks cannot be used for eating or serving tea to guests.

2.. Yi Nationality

The Torch Festival of the Yi Nationality, which is also the Year of the Yi Nationality. In the eyes of the Yi people, fire symbolizes light, justice, prosperity, and a powerful force that can destroy all evil. The Torch Festival is a festival of joy, love and happiness for the Yi people. 3. Hong Kong New Year Customs

The Lunar New Year is a grand festival in our country’s tradition, and I believe that every Chinese person does not know it. However, celebrating the Lunar New Year in Hong Kong is completely different from traditional customs and atmosphere.

In recent years, few Hong Kong people have traditionally posted Spring Festival couplets and New Year pictures at home during the Lunar New Year. Instead, they have posted "Business is booming", "Business is prosperous", "Come in and out safely", etc. in some shops or homes. of Huichun. Even so, the original intention of posting Huichun is the same as posting Spring Festival couplets and New Year pictures. It means auspiciousness and hopes that everything will go well and be safe in the coming year.

In addition, lion dances, dragon lantern dances, etc. will also appear in some villages and walled villages in the New Territories. It is also difficult to see large-scale lion dances and dragon lantern dance performances on the streets of urban areas during the New Year. As for setting off firecrackers and firecrackers, they are strictly prohibited in Hong Kong. However, since 1982, a grand fireworks display has been held on Victoria Harbor every year on the second day of the Lunar New Year. This has become a part of welcoming the Spring Festival in the past ten years. program.

Hong Kong is known as a "food paradise". There are many customs related to eating during the Spring Festival. Most families will also have a "reunion dinner" during the Spring Festival. Usually, they have a banquet at home, and the whole family will have a family dinner on New Year's Eve. Up and down, inside and out, we gather together to enjoy dinner. As for the main attraction after dinner, the first choice is to visit the flower market. During the Lunar New Year, there are New Year’s Eve markets in many places in Hong Kong and Kowloon, among which the flower market in Victoria Park is the largest and busiest.

Hong Kong citizens are accustomed to visiting the flower market as a family after dinner. On New Year's Eve, there are even more people, shoulder to shoulder, everyone celebrating the festival together.

The happiest thing about celebrating the Lunar New Year in Hong Kong is the children collecting "lushies". When paying New Year greetings during the Spring Festival, you can hear the laughter of "begging" for lushies everywhere. "Lishi" originally meant "good things" and meant good luck and good fortune. It has also become an indispensable custom for spending time with relatives during the Spring Festival.

4. Macao’s annual customs

Macao’s annual customs are unique. "Xie Zao" is one of the most traditional Chinese customs preserved in Macao. On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, people in Macao call it "Thanks to the Kitchen God". According to Chinese tradition, Macau people also use kitchen sugar to treat the Kitchen God. It is said that the mouth of the Kitchen God is glued with sugar to prevent him from speaking ill of the Jade Emperor. I saw a portrait of Santa Claus on the kitchen stove of a Macanese family in Macau Flower Street. The strange thing is that there is a couplet on the side of the portrait of Santa Claus: "God speaks good things, and returns home with good luck."

Macau people celebrate the New Year on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month. The 28th day of the twelfth lunar month is jokingly called "easy to fat" in Cantonese. Most business owners treat their employees to a "reunion dinner" at the end of the year. To show good fortune and good luck. The flavor of the New Year in Macau can be truly felt from the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month.

On New Year’s Eve, staying up late and visiting the flower market are two major events for Macau people to bid farewell to the old year and usher in the new year. Staying up late means playing mahjong, watching TV, chatting about old times, and enjoying family happiness. Probably influenced by Western Christmas and Valentine's Day, Macau people also rush to buy some auspicious flowers and trees to welcome the New Year during the New Year. Now it has become a Macau customs. Macau holds a flower market on the New Year's Eve, mostly peach blossoms, daffodils, potted bamboos, and potted oranges. The flowers bloom, wishing prosperity and peace, and the flowers and trees signify a bright future in the new year. Macau's flower market is held for three days, and these three days bring endless comfort to Macau people who have been traveling all year long.

On the Spring Festival, Macau people pay attention to "profit", and "profit" means red envelopes. On this day, bosses see employees, elders see juniors, and even married people get "profit" when they see unmarried people. city". "profit market" is purely crisp to show good luck. Macau people call the second day of the Lunar New Year the "New Year's Day". It is customary to have a "New Year's" meal, which must contain norot, lettuce, and carp, with the intention of making money. Starting from the "New Year" day, the Macau government allows civil servants to "gambling" (gambling) within three days. After the "New Year", Macao completely returns to the traditional Chinese Spring Festival customs. Until the Lantern Festival, it is also a smoke festival, firecrackers, dragon and lion dances, and joy.

5. Interesting Customs of Taiwan’s Spring Festival

The Spring Festival is the most solemn traditional folk festival with a long history of the Chinese nation. In Taiwan, which is separated from Fujian Province by a river, its history, culture, customs, living customs, kinship, etc. are all in line with the mainland of the motherland, especially the southern Fujian region. Therefore, the Spring Festival customs of the people on the island are naturally in line with those of the people in the mainland of the motherland. Much the same.

Because the ancestors of Baodao residents (mostly Hokkien and Hakka) went to Taiwan for development, it is a long time ago and has gone through many vicissitudes of life. The Spring Festival customs there have gradually formed some unique patterns and colors.

6. Interesting Jiangsu Spring Festival Customs

In addition to the Spring Festival couplets, hanging New Year pictures, staying up late, lion dancing, New Year greetings and other customs that are the same as those across the country, Jiangsu folk also have Some unique customs are now compiled for the benefit of readers.

Suzhou people put cooked water chestnuts in their meals on New Year's Eve and dig them out when eating, which is called "digging for ingots". When relatives and friends come and go, they put two green olives in when making tea, which is called "drinking ingot tea" ",May you be happy and prosperous.

On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, people in Wujin hung the portraits of their ancestors in the middle hall, served tea, fruits and rice cakes, and the whole family performed New Year's greetings in turn, which is called "worshiping the shadow of gods." They swept the floor and were not allowed to sweep from the house. , for fear of sweeping away "wealth" and "good luck", we can only sweep from the outside in.

Jiangning people have the custom of "beating the sacred drum" during the Spring Festival. The big flag opens the way, and the gongs and drummers beat the drum vigorously to add to the fun. On the third day of the lunar month, they "play the night drum", on the seventh day of the lunar month, they "beat the seven drums", and on the 10th day of the lunar month, they "beat the sacred drum". From three to fifteen, "shirtless drumming" is played, and the atmosphere is lively.

Nantong people have the custom of planting sesame stalks, holly, and cypress branches at the door of their homes or in front of their halls, which means that life is blooming and green all year round.

Huaiyin people also have the custom of "baking their children's heads" on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. At night, children are taken to the open field to light torches to drive away diseases and evil spirits. While roasting, they sing: "Roast your head to wake up your brain. Roast your feet to straighten your steps. Roast your belly to prevent diarrhea. Roast your whole body." Disease is never seen.

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On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, fishermen in Wuxi have the custom of taking a boat to Xishan to worship the Yuwang Temple, pray for the water god's blessing, and worship Aobo Buddha, which is called "Shang?". After the Yuwang Temple was demolished, this custom gradually gradually Indifference.

During the Spring Festival, there are still many taboos in the old customs in Jiangsu, such as not using scissors on the first day of the year to avoid quarrels; not using kitchen knives to avoid death; not eating porridge for fear of death. When it rains when you go out, you don’t sweep the floor for fear of losing your wealth, etc. With the popularization of scientific knowledge, many unscientific customs have gradually been forgotten; however, healthy and beneficial entertainment and leisure activities have continued.

7. Guilin's Spring Festival customs from "Little New Year's Eve" to New Year's Eve

The Spring Festival enters Guilin's urban and rural areas at the bell of 0:00 on December 24 of the lunar calendar. This day is the "Little New Year's Eve" for Guilin people. , that is, "Celebrating the Little New Year". On the day of the Little New Year, people kill dogs and ducks to celebrate the coming of the Spring Festival. The sound of firecrackers on this day is accompanied by people's wishes to send the Stove Lord "good things from heaven". The sound of the explosion is heard by Gao Yu. People believe that the Kitchen God is the head of the family and is responsible for the good, evil, deeds, misfortunes and blessings of the family. Therefore, at the end of each year, the Kitchen God is sent to heaven to report blessings to the Jade Emperor. The ritual of offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God is mostly performed by the elders of the family. They put candy on the stove to worship the Kitchen God, praying that God will say good things and come down to earth to bring good luck. The purpose of using candy to worship the Kitchen God is to make the candy "stick" to the Kitchen God's mouth. , let his sweet mouth say good things. After the night falls on New Year's Eve, he will set off firecrackers to welcome the Kitchen God to earth. This is an ancient custom in Guilin to "celebrate the small year". Even setting off firecrackers now is only a remnant of the ancient custom. It's just a ceremony.

From the 24th to the 30th of the twelfth lunar month, people are busy buying new year's goods and cleaning their homes and rooms to welcome the new year cleanly. There are many kinds of traditional foods for the festival, and they contain good wishes: Steamed rice cakes on the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month. Rice cakes can be sweet, delicious, meaty or vegetarian. After eating rice cakes (high), your life and work will be prosperous in the new year.

Dinner on New Year’s Eve. People like to have family reunions, and the dishes must have "Yuanzi" and "Huanxi", which means reunion and joy. On this night, thousands of people stay at home to keep the charcoal fire red. The fire is booming, symbolizing the prosperity of life. When midnight comes, people of all ages are full of joy and welcome the New Year with the sound of firecrackers. The sound of firecrackers continues one after another until late at night, people are still sleepy and the fire is still burning. , even if you want to rest, you still won’t forget to put the fire in the brazier and leave the fire to light a good fire tomorrow morning. The fire in the New Year is like human life. It is a good thing for prosperity in the New Year and a prosperous family. Omen. People have such deep feelings for fire, perhaps because fire brings civilization and warmth to mankind. Love for fire is like loving your own life, especially during the New Year.

This is the case for a few people in China. Ethnic Spring Festival Customs

China is a multi-ethnic country. In addition to the Han people, there are 55 ethnic minorities. Although they have different languages, characters, and different lifestyles and customs, most of them have different ethnic groups. The Spring Festival is celebrated as a major festival of the nation.

8. Daur people: prosper every year

The Daur people in the north have the habit of paying New Year greetings. During the Spring Festival, people put on festive costumes and visit each house to congratulate each other. Every house has steamed cakes. As soon as New Year greeters come in, the host will treat them with steamed cakes. "Cake" is homophonic with "高" in Chinese. Treating each other with cakes means that each other's living standards will be further improved in the new year. During the festival, the Daur people also hold singing, dancing and sports activities that last for half a month.

9. Mongolian people: endless wine and meat

The Mongolian people in the north have a different scene during the Spring Festival. Before the festival, every household prepares rams and various kinds of food that grew that year. Dairy products and a few bottles of wine. On New Year's Eve, people put on beautiful Mongolian robes and the whole family sits on the floor in the middle of the yurt to welcome the new year. Drinking and dining begins at midnight. As a rule, you should eat and drink as much as possible. The more wine and meat left over, the better. This symbolizes that there will be endless food and wine in the new year, and you will have no worries about eating and drinking. On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, men and women wearing various costumes mount their horses and rush to "hot" (villages) in groups to string yurts one by one. When making packages, one must first kowtow to the elders and give blessings. Then the son-in-law of the host family toasts the guests who come to make packages, and people sing and dance.

10. Zhuang Ethnic Group: Welcome Heroes

The Zhuang ethnic group living in southern China calls the Spring Festival "New Year's Day". On this day, people congratulate each other no matter who they meet when they go out, thinking that this will be auspicious for the year.

Among the Zhuang people, there is also a custom of spending time in old age, which the Zhuang people call "eating the festival". "Eating Li Festival" is on the 30th of this month. According to legend, more than 100 years ago, a peasant armed force of the Zhuang ethnic group returned triumphantly after fighting against foreign invaders. At this time, the Spring Festival had passed, and in order to welcome them, the Zhuang people celebrated on this month. Let’s celebrate the Spring Festival for them on the 30th.

11. Buyi Nationality: The girl grabs the first load of water

The Buyi people living in the southwest border of China stay up all night on New Year’s Eve every year. At dawn, the girls rushed outside to fetch water. Whoever fetched the first load of water would be the hardest-working girl. The Jingpo people there like to hold target shooting activities before the Spring Festival, and the girls are the organizers and referees of this activity. They hung the embroidered purses on bamboo poles with threads, swayed them from side to side in the treetops, and asked the young men to shoot them. The girls will give wine as a prize to whoever shoots off his purse first. The purse usually contains a coin, a few grains of grain and a few decorative beads as a symbol of happiness.

12. Hani People: Swinging

A few days before the Spring Festival, the villages where the Hani people live have become lively, and the women are busy pounding rice cakes. Baba is a cake made from glutinous rice. The young men were busy going up the mountain to chop bamboo and prepare to set up the swing. The swing there is more than ten meters high. Hani people, regardless of gender, old or young, love to play on the swing. During the festival, everyone wears their favorite clothes to play on the swings, creating a lively and harmonious festival scene everywhere.

13. Dai Nationality: Throwing chaff bags

Dai young men and women like to throw chaff bags. During the Spring Festival, young men and girls throw chaff bags at each other to see who can throw them accurately. See who can catch it. When the play reaches a certain point, the girls will quietly steal the waist knife, turban or tied horse from the young man and run home. If the young man is interested, he will follow him. When the parents saw their daughter coming back with a turban and a horse, they hosted a banquet in honor of her.

In addition, April 13th every year is the Dai New Year, and it is also the most solemn festival of the Dai people - the Water Splashing Festival. They regard splashing water as a symbol of exorcism and good luck, and also regard it as a symbol of good luck and good luck. One day is regarded as the most beautiful and auspicious day.

14. Gaoshan Tribe: "Wirring around the Fireplace"

The Gaoshan Tribe living in Taiwan Province of China have a different style of celebrating the Spring Festival. On New Year's Eve, a family of old and young gathers around a round table with hot pot for dinner, which is called "circling the stove". Women who usually do not drink alcohol should take a symbolic sip of wine to show good luck. The vegetables eaten during "circling the stove" do not need to be cut with a knife. They are washed and boiled with the roots attached to express wishes for the longevity of the parents. If someone in the family goes out, a seat should be left vacant and the person's clothes should be placed on the empty seat to express the family's longing for him.

15. Manchu: Hanging flags to celebrate the New Year

The Manchu people are divided into four banners: red, yellow, blue and white. During the Spring Festival, people with red flags put red flags on their doors, people with yellow flags put yellow flags on their doors, people with blue flags put blue flags on their doors, and people with white flags put white flags on their doors. These hanging flags have beautiful patterns and bright colors, symbolizing the auspicious beginning of the year.

During the festival, boys set off firecrackers in groups, or ride various homemade wooden sledges, whizzing over hills and ice. Girls and young daughters-in-law wear newly made colorful clothes, gather in small groups, and play Galaha (pig or cow knee joints) together. On the evenings from the first to the fifth day of the lunar month, people also voluntarily organize to dance Yangko to celebrate the New Year. The Yangko team with a strong lineup not only performs in the village, but also performs in other villages. The onlookers often lean forward and backward with joy, forgetting their fatigue and cold. There were even enthusiastic spectators who followed the yangko team from house to house and did not return until dawn.

16. Bai Nationality: "Fang Gaosheng"

When the Bai compatriots in Yunnan celebrate the New Year, there is a celebration called "Fang Gaosheng". The so-called "high-sheng" method is to use a whole big bamboo, load gunpowder into the bamboo joints, and after lighting it, the whole big bamboo can collapse hundreds of feet into the sky, becoming a veritable "high-sheng". In some areas, Bai compatriots, like the Miao and Zhuang people, engage in the activity of "throwing hydrangeas" from the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival. Anyone who cannot catch the hydrangea will give a souvenir to the other person. Those who miss the ball many times but cannot redeem the souvenir will express their acceptance of the other person's love.

Seventeen. Dong Nationality: Lusheng Festival

Dong compatriots in Guizhou and Hunan have a popular mass activity of "Dong Year" (also called Lusheng Festival) during the Spring Festival. This kind of activity is similar to the "group worship" of the Han people, but it is more joyful and enthusiastic.

This kind of activity is usually organized by consensus between the two village leaders. The two teams officially held a Lusheng singing and dancing competition in the square. At this time, the audience in the two villages danced to the music and had fun.

Eighteen. Yi Nationality: Tingling Tiger

The Yi people in Maidichong, Shuangbai County, Yunnan Province have a special custom of "Tigger Festival" during the Chinese New Year. On the eighth day of the first lunar month, the whole country The adult men of the village gather at the ruins of the Earth Temple behind the village, kill dogs and offer "Mi Si" ("Mi" means soil, "Si" means owner, Mi Si means the god of the soil owner), and then the "Bimo" of the village offers sacrifices to the owner of the soil. Invite the Tiger God. Eight villagers dressed up as tigers and danced gracefully. The "tigers" had high ears, thick tails, tiger stripes all over their bodies, a Chinese character "王" painted on their foreheads, and a large copper bell hung around their necks, which looked majestic. After "Bi Mo" finished reciting the sacrifice to invite the Tiger God, the Tiger King led all the tigers into the village. During the entire Tiger Tiger Festival, the whole village, men, women and children, are immersed in the joyful atmosphere of welcoming tigers, seeing off tigers, watching tigers jump and driving away evil ghosts. The local people are convinced that only through the annual traditional Tiger Tiger Festival and respect After offering sacrifices to the Tiger God and praying for the blessings of their ancestors, all the villagers will have abundant harvests, a prosperous population, and become happier and happier year by year.

19. Sani people: eat glutinous rice balls

New Year’s Eve is called “Sirou period” in Sani language. It is very solemn to worship ancestors and eat New Year's dinner on New Year's Eve. In the afternoon, green branches are planted in front of every house, and a straw hat is hung on the branches. This is the silent notice: Keep out! No talking allowed! Even people at home are not allowed to speak loudly.

There is an interesting phenomenon in the Sani language: "Tangyuan" and "Celebrating the New Year" are the same word, called "Korsima". Because glutinous rice balls are a must during the New Year. Within half a month from the beginning of the first month, people indulge in joy. A bonfire party is held on the first night of the Lunar New Year, with duets of folk songs and Sanxianhu solos, simple and lyrical. The big three-stringed instrument was loud and exciting, and people sang and danced to the music.

On the second day of the lunar month, sacrifices are made to the mountain gods, and on the fourth day of the lunar month, Mars is sent to drive away disasters and show people's strength.

Every year on the afternoon of the second day of the Spring Festival, farmers will take the cow out, walk several times around the center of the village, and wear a red cloth with flowers on its forehead to show respect for its contribution throughout the year. He also feeds it rice and fatty pork to express his condolences to his close companion.

Sani people hold ancestor worship activities from New Year’s Eve to the fifth day of the lunar month. From their admiration and memory for their ancestors, we can discover the beautiful things in the nation's cohesion and traditional morality.