Traditional customs during the Spring Festival

Information about the Chinese New Year

The Lunar New Year is the beginning of the year and the most important festival of the year. The activities of this festival actually start from the evening of the previous day - New Year's Eve. Once upon a time in Jinan, on New Year's Eve, every family would put up peach symbols and spring stickers, scatter sesame straws all over the ground, and make arrangements with fruits to welcome the ancestors. It was the eve of the New Year's eve, and firecrackers were set off and people set up wine to keep the New Year's Eve." (" Licheng County Rural Survey Records·Customs") Some of these customs have been followed to this day.

When night falls, sumptuous meals are placed on every family’s dining table, and the whole family sits together to have a reunion dinner happily. Before the meal, we go to the street to burn paper, welcome the ancestors back home, and place them on the offering table with tablets written on them. On the wall behind the altar, there is also a large painting of the "family axis" with the image of the ancestors. After eating the "New Year's Eve dinner" and setting off the firecrackers to welcome the Spring Festival, the whole family gathered around the stove, eating melon seeds, chatting, and staying up all night. This is called "keeping the New Year's Eve up". At the time when the new year changes from the old to the new year in the "Fifth Update of the Year", eat "New Year's Dumplings" again. Dumplings are usually filled with vegetarian food, which means New Year Su

Su Jingjing. After eating New Year's dumplings, with the arrival of the new year, the younger generations began to kowtow to their elders to pay New Year greetings. The elders distributed the "New Year's money" to the children and happily accepted the blessings from the younger generations.

Early in the morning on the first day of the new year, the New Year greetings began. The children were wearing the new clothes they had just changed, and the adults were all neatly dressed. They went in groups to the homes of colleagues, neighbors, relatives and friends to pay New Year greetings. In the past, when the younger generation paid New Year greetings to their elders, they would kowtow to the altar table and shout: "New Year's greetings to so-and-so!" "Kowtow to so-and-so!" In recent years, they generally no longer kowtow when meeting acquaintances. They clasp their fists or shake their hands, and say auspicious words such as "Congratulations on getting rich" and "Happy New Year", creating a joyful atmosphere everywhere.

There are also many taboos on New Year's Eve and the first day of the Lunar New Year. For example, you cannot speak loudly on New Year's Eve, let alone say unlucky words; a married girl cannot return to her parents' home on the first day of the Lunar New Year, as it is believed that returning to her parents' home will make her family poor;

Break dishes and bowls on New Year's Eve and the first day of the Lunar New Year. Utensils are considered to be an unlucky omen. If you accidentally break something, you should quickly say "Blessed Sui Sui" to break it; you cannot eat noodles on the first day of the new year. It is said that you will eat noodles for a year. There are constant troubles; I don’t like sweeping the floor and taking out the trash on the first day of the new year, but I am afraid of sweeping out the treasures together.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, it is the day when married girls return to their parents’ homes. When a daughter takes her "grandfather" home to pay New Year's greetings, her parents' family should treat her warmly. "Uncle" is called "distinguished guest" and must sit on the first wife's table when eating and drinking. The daughter who returns home will accompany her mother and sisters whom she has not seen for a long time and have intimate conversations. Since many large families in the past had several generations living under the same roof, Guining's daughter often had two or even three generations living under the same roof, making the house very lively. The custom of girls returning to their parents' homes in the second grade of junior high school is still popular today.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, there was an old custom of "digging moon buds". At night, when a crescent moon hangs in the cold sky, some women will bring their children into the courtyard, kneel on the futon facing the new moon, hold a spoon for rice in their hands, and first Dig the moon buds a few times, then make a few gestures on your side, and say in your mouth: "When you dig the moon buds on the third day of the first lunar month, the wind and fire teeth will go with the wind, and they will never grow again." It is said that

Once you "dig", you won't have any more toothaches for a year. According to the old custom, the third day of the Lunar New Year is still the "Well Opening Day". In the early morning, people offer incense, vegetarian dishes, etc. on the well platform, remove the red paper that sealed the well on New Year's Eve, and start drawing water.

The fifth day of the first lunar month was formerly called "Powu". On this day, every family will make dumplings, which is commonly known as "Pinch Five"; the whole family will have a reunion dinner together and avoid saying unlucky words; children will set off firecrackers, which is called "sending off". Year". On the evening of the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, every household "sends off to the family hall": offering dumplings, kneeling to worship the ancestors, taking off the "family hall axis", and then going to the street to see the ancestors off, which means that the New Year has passed

.

The seventh day of the first lunar month is Human Day, which was called "Human Victory Festival" in the Tang Dynasty and "Human Seventh Day" among the people in Jinan.

It is said that the owner of a day is prosperous and healthy. People use the weather on that day to predict the harvest of this year. Zong Lin, a native of the Southern Dynasty, said in "The Chronicles of Jingchu": "The seventh day of the first lunar month is the human day. Seven kinds of vegetables are used as soup, and ribbons are cut to make people, or gold foil is engraved to make people, and they can be pasted on the screen and placed on the head.

The hair on the temples also creates the legacy of Hua Sheng and Xiang Xiang." These "Jingchu customs" from 1,500 to 600 years ago are also reflected in Jinan's old customs. In the past, on "Human Day", people in Jinan would hold celebration activities or participate in entertainment activities. People cut seven human shapes out of pentagonal silk or paper and stick them on screens or screen walls; some also carve human shapes out of thin metal and wear them on the temples. They also use seven kinds of vegetables to make cakes or eat "people's vegetables" and give each other gifts to express their congratulations. Women are not allowed to do needlework on "Human Day". It is said that "if people do needlework on Human Day, they will only pierce the mother-in-law's eyes."

The tenth day of the first lunar month is the birthday of Stone God, which is called "Shimo Day", "Tenth Son Day", "Shi Fudo", etc. On this day, it is not allowed to move stones, mills, mills, mortars and other stone tools, as it is believed that otherwise the crops will be damaged. On this day, it is also forbidden to dig rocks from mountains and build houses with rocks. There is also the custom of burning incense to the rocks and offering pancakes at noon. In other places, the custom of carrying the stone god is popular: on the night of the ninth day of the lunar month, an earthen jar is frozen on a smooth stone. On the morning of the tenth day of the lunar month, ten girls or young men take turns carrying the earthen jar. Cans running. If the stone never falls to the ground, it heralds a good harvest in the new year; if the stone falls to the ground, it heralds a bad harvest.

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival. The Lantern Festival is also called the Shangyuan Festival. Because viewing lanterns is an important activity on this day, it is also called the Lantern Festival. The Lantern Festival is a more important traditional festival after the Spring Festival, and is still widely celebrated by urban and rural people today.

In addition to watching lanterns, before and after the Lantern Festival, the streets and alleys of Jinan are full of people walking on stilts, running land boats, dancing dragons and lanterns, and playing lions. These activities reached their climax on Lantern Festival Eve. Among the various performance teams, the stilts team has the most spectacular lineup: in front of the team is a tall paper door lantern with the name of the stilts team written on it; in front of the door lantern is the leader carrying a red lantern. Behind is the gong and drum team, and further behind

is the stilt team of two pairs of people walking in the crosshairs. The team members stepped on wooden sticks more than 1 meter high and dressed up as Wu Song, Lin Chong, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Zangguan, Ugly Woman, etc. in the opera.

To the rhythmic beats of gongs and drums, they each showed their talents and performed various comic performances and difficult movements, sometimes making the audience laugh and sometimes arousing bursts of applause. In the past, the stilt teams in Dongshefang, Majiazhuang, Xiqinglong and other places in Jinan were most famous.

To put it simply:

Sacrifice to the stove, sweep the dust and paste Spring Festival couplets, paste the word "blessing" upside down on the door god's new year picture, New Year's Eve dinner (reunion dinner), worship ancestors and stay up until the end of the year, return to your parents' home on the sixth day of the lunar month to send poor pick-ups God of Wealth red envelopes (New Year's money) and oranges in the New Year

Let's set off firecrackers in the New Year to welcome the Spring Festival

Be more specific:

The twenty-third/twenty-fourth of the twelfth lunar month: [Sacrifice to the stove] [ Sweep the dust] [Eat stove candies]

The Spring Festival in our country usually kicks off with the sacrifice of the stove on the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month every year. There is a saying that "the officials, the people, the boatmen and the five", also That is, the government will hold a stove ceremony on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, generally the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, and the people on the water will hold a stove ceremony on the 25th. After the stove sacrifice was held, preparations for the New Year began formally. Every year from the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month to New Year's Eve, the people call it "Spring Welcome Day".

On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month: [Receive the Jade Emperor] [Drive the chaos of the year] [Photograph silkworms] [Thousand Lantern Festival]

After sending the Kitchen God to heaven, he did not welcome him back until New Year's Eve. During this time, there was no one in the world God governs it, and there are no taboos. There are many people getting married, which is called "chaosing the year". Luan Sui is a specific period of time that people design for themselves to adjust their social

life. At the end of the year, people have leisure and savings. This is a good time for people who rarely have the energy to take care of big things.

Twenty-seventh/twenty-eighth of the twelfth lunar month: [Bath]

According to traditional folk customs, bathing and laundry should be concentrated on these two days to get rid of the bad luck of the year and prepare for the coming year. During the Chinese New Year, there is a proverb in Beijing that goes "Twenty-seven to wash away guilt and twenty-eight to wash away sloppiness".

Taking a bath on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month is "washing fortune and fortune".

The twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month: [Little New Year's Eve] [Celebrating the New Year]

The day before New Year's Eve is called "Little New Year's Eve". A banquet is held at home, and people come and visit called "Farewell". ". Burning incense outdoors is called "tianxiang" and usually takes three days.

The 30th day of the twelfth lunar month: New Year’s Eve: [Post door gods] [Post Spring Festival couplets] [Keep the New Year’s Eve] [Eat New Year’s Eve dinner] [Set off firecrackers] [Sacrifice ancestors] [Give New Year’s money]

“New Year’s Eve The word "Chu" in "Chu" means "to go; to change; to change". New Year's Eve means "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.

New Year means New Year, which 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.

The first day of the first lunar month: [New Year greetings] [Open firecrackers] [Ownership] [Chicken stickers] [Wealth gathering]

This day is the first day of the year and the first day of spring , the first day of the first month, so it is called "Sanyuan"; this day is also the dynasty of the year, the dynasty of the month, and the dynasty of the sun, so it is also called the "Three Chaos".

In different historical periods, China has changed the time of the first day of the first lunar month according to its own cultural traditions and customs.

The second day of the first lunar month: [Sacrifice to the God of Wealth][The Legend of the God of Wealth]

In the north, the God of Wealth is worshiped on the second day of the first lunar month. On this day, both commercial shops and ordinary families must hold sacrifices. God of Wealth activities. Every family offers sacrifices to the God of Wealth they received on New Year's Eve. In fact,

incinerated the crude prints I bought. We will eat wontons at noon today, commonly known as "Yuanbao Soup". Sacrificial offerings include fish and mutton.

The third day of the first lunar month: [Burning the door god paper] [Millet’s birthday] [Little New Year’s Day]

The Little New Year’s Day is the Tianqing Festival. It was a court festival in the Song Dynasty. In the first year of Dazhong Xiangfu of Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, Zhenzong issued an edict to designate the third day of the first lunar month as the Tianqing Festival, and officials and others took a five-day holiday. Later, it was called the Xiaonian Dynasty. It did not sweep the floor, beg for fire, or draw water, just like the Sui Dynasty.

The fifth day of the first lunar month: [Sacrifice to the God of Wealth][Load God][Send farewell to the poor][Open the market]

The fifth day of the first lunar month is commonly known as Powu. One said that many taboos five years ago can be broken on this day. According to the old custom, we eat "water dumplings", which in the north are called "boiled dumplings". Women no longer stay taboo and begin to visit each other to express New Year greetings. The newlywed bride died on this day. It is said that it is not suitable to do anything on the fifth day, otherwise you will be in trouble during the year.

The seventh day of the first lunar month: [Human Day] [Spread pancakes] [Eat Qibao soup]

Legend has it that Nusnail was the first to be created. After creating animals such as chickens, dogs, pigs, cows and horses, Man was created on the seventh day, so this day is the birthday of mankind. People's Day began to be a custom in the Han Dynasty, and began to be taken seriously after the Wei and Jin Dynasties. In ancient times, people had the custom of wearing "rensheng". Because it is Human Day, there was a custom in ancient times that no executions were carried out on this day.

The eighth day of the first lunar month: [Grain Day][Shunxing]

Folks regard the eighth day of the first lunar month as the day when the stars descend to the lower realm. They make small lamps and burn them as sacrifices, which are called Shunxing. , also known as "sacrifice to the star" and "receive the star". It is also said that the eighth day of the lunar month is Guzi’s birthday. If the weather is sunny on this day,

it means there will be a bumper harvest of rice on this day; if it is cloudy, it means there will be a good harvest in the year.

The tenth day of the first lunar month: [Stone’s Birthday] [Congratulations on the Rat Marrying a Girl] [New Year’s Song on the Tenth Day]

In the old days, folk held rat sacrificial activities in the first month, also known as "Rat Marrying a Girl" "Mouse gets married." The specific date varies from place to place, including the seventh day of the first lunar month, the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, and the twenty-fifth day of the first lunar month.

In many areas, it is the tenth day of the first lunar month. The ways of worshiping rats vary from place to place.

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month: [Lantern Festival] [Giving children lanterns] [Welcoming Zigu] [Going away from all diseases] [Stealing Vegetable Festival] [Bawu Festival]

The Lantern Festival is also called Yuanxi and Yuanye are also called Shangyuan Festival because it is the first full-moon night in the new year. Because this festival has the custom of viewing lanterns in the past dynasties, it is also called the Lantern Festival. The formation of the Lantern Festival customs has a long process. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty worshiped "Taiyi" in Ganquan Palace on Xinye night of the first lunar month, which was regarded by later generations as the precursor to worshiping the gods on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

The customs of the Beginning of Spring: [Welcome the Spring in the Eastern Suburbs][Spring Posts][Spring Ox][Bite the Spring]

Welcoming the Spring on the Beginning of Spring is an important activity performed by the Chinese ancestors on the Beginning of Spring. . In the Zhou Dynasty, at the beginning of spring, the emperor personally led the three gongs and nine ministers, princes and officials to the eastern suburbs to welcome the spring and pray for a good harvest. After returning

he should reward the ministers, make virtues and order to benefit the people. Making it a Spring Festival celebration for all the people for generations to come.

A little more specific:

Sacrificing the stove

The Spring Festival in my country usually kicks off with the sacrifice of the stove. In the folk song "Twenty-three, Tanggua Guan" refers to the sacrifice to the stove on the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month every year. There is a saying of "officials, three people, four boatmen and five"

That is, Officials hold sacrifices to the stove on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, ordinary people on the 24th, and people on the water hold sacrifices to the stove on the 25th.

Sacrificing stoves is a custom that has great influence among Chinese people and is widely spread. In the old days, almost every kitchen had a "Kitchen Lord" statue in the kitchen. People call this god "Si Ming Bodhisattva" or "Zao Jun Si Ming". Legend has it that he was the "Jiutian East Chef Si Ming Zao Wangfu Jun" conferred by the Jade Emperor. He is responsible for managing the kitchen fires of each family. Worshiped as the protector of the family. Most of the Kitchen King's niches are located on the north or east side of the kitchen room, with the statue of the Kitchen King in the middle. Some people who don't have a niche for the Kitchen King stick the statue of the god directly on the wall. Some statues only depict the Kitchen God, while others include two men and women. The goddess

is called the "Grandma of the Kitchen God". This is probably an imitation of the image of a human couple. Most of the statues of the Kitchen God also have the calendar of that year printed on them, with words such as "Master of the East Chef", "Supervisory God of the World", "Head of the Family"

etc. to indicate the status of the Kitchen God. The couplets "God says good things, and the lower realms keep you safe" are pasted on both sides to bless the whole family.

For good or bad deeds, the ceremony of sending off the Kitchen God is called "Sending the Stove" or "Citing the Stove". Based on the report of the Kitchen Lord, the Jade Emperor handed over the good and bad fortunes that the family should receive in the new year to the hands of the Kitchen Lord. Therefore, for the family, the Stove Lord's report is indeed of great interest.

Sending stoves is usually held at dusk and into night. The family goes to the kitchen first, sets the table, offers incense to the Kitchen God in the shrine on the kitchen wall, and offers sugar melons made with malt sugar and noodles. Then tie bamboo strips into paper horses and fodder for livestock. Offering caramel to the Stove Lord is to sweeten his mouth. In some places, sugar is spread around the Stove Lord's mouth, and while applying it, he says: "Say more good things, and don't say bad things." This is to stuff the Stove Lord's mouth with sugar, so that Don't say bad things about him. In the Tang Dynasty work "The Chronicles of the Year under the Chariot", there is a record of "smearing wine dregs on the stove to make the commander (Kitchen Lord) drunk".

After people smeared the Stove Lord’s mouth with sugar, they took off the statue and went to heaven with the paper and cigarettes. In some places, sesame straw and pine branches are piled in the yard at night, and the statue of the Stove God that has been offered for a year is taken out of the shrine, along with the paper horse and straw, and set on fire. The yard was brightly illuminated by the fire. At this time, the family kowtowed around the fire and prayed while burning: This year is the 23rd again, and I send the Stove King off to the west.

There are strong horses, there is fodder, and the journey is smooth and safe. The sugar melon offered is sweet. Please say good things to the Jade Emperor.

When giving gifts to the Kitchen God, in some places there are still several beggars who dress up and go from house to house singing songs and dancing to the Kitchen God, called "giving the Kitchen God a gift", in exchange for food.

The custom of sending stoves is very common in the north and south of my country. Mr. Lu Xun once wrote the poem "The Gengzi Sending Stoves": Chickens are given glue and candies, and clothes are provided with petals and incense. If there is nothing growing in the house, there are only a few yellow sheep.

He said in the article "Sends to Zao Lord": "On the day when Lord Zao went to heaven, a kind of candy was sold on the street, the size of an orange. We also have this kind of thing, but Bian It's like a thick little pancake. It's called "glue teeth." The Jade Emperor said bad things. "The allusion to "Yellow Sheep" in Lu Xun's poem comes from "The Book of the Later Han·Yin Shi Zhuan": "During the reign of Emperor Xuan, those from Yinzi Fang were extremely filial and benevolent. In the morning, when the kitchen god appeared, he worshiped and celebrated again. He had a yellow sheep in his family, so he worshiped it. From then on, he became extremely wealthy and became prosperous in the third generation. Therefore, he often worshiped the stove god during the twelfth lunar month and recommended the yellow sheep. "Yin Zifang saw the stove god and killed the yellow sheep as a sacrifice. Later, he got good luck. Since then, the custom of killing yellow sheep to offer sacrifices to the stove has been passed down.

In the Tang and Song Dynasties, the offerings to the stove were quite abundant. Fan Chengda, a poet of the Song Dynasty, gave a very vivid description of folk sacrifices to the stove in his "Ci of Sacrifice to the Stove": According to ancient legend, on the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Stove Lord looked up to the sky and wanted to say something.

The clouds, the carriages, the wind, the horses, the little ones linger, and there are cups and plates at home for the feast. The pig's head is overcooked, the fish is fresh, and the rice bait is round with sweetened bean paste and spikenard. The man offers his daughter a drink to escape, and the king is happy to drink wine and burn money. Don't hear the fight between your maidservants, don't let the king hear it, don't be angry if the cats and dogs touch it. I will send you drunk and full to the gate of heaven. If you have a long spoon or a short spoon, don't repeat the cloud. I will beg for profit and return points.

The sacrifice to the stove on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month is closely related to the Chinese New Year. Because, on the eve of the New Year's Eve a week later, the Stove Lord came to the world together with other gods with the good and bad luck that the family should receive. The Kitchen God is believed to lead the way for the gods in the sky. Other gods will go to heaven again after the New Year, but only the Kitchen God will stay in people's kitchens for a long time. The ceremony to welcome the gods

is called "receiving the gods", and for the Kitchen God, it is called "receiving the stove". The ceremony of taking over the stove is usually on New Year's Eve, and the ceremony is much simpler. At that time, you only need to put on a new stove lamp and burn incense in front of the stove niche.

There is a saying that "men do not worship the moon, and women do not worship the stove". In some places, women do not offer sacrifices to the stove. It is said that the Stove Lord looks like a pretty boy and is afraid of women offering sacrifices to the stove. As for the origin of the Zao Prince, it has a long history. Among the Chinese folk gods, the Kitchen God is considered to be very old. As early as the Xia Dynasty, he was already a great god respected by the people. According to Kong Yingda Shu in the ancient book "Book of Rites · Ritual Utensils": "Zhuanxu's family had a son, Rili, who was Zhurong and was worshiped as the Kitchen God." "Zhuangzi. Dasheng" records: "The stove has a bun." Sima Biao commented: "The Kitchen God is in a bun, dressed in red, and looks like a beautiful woman." "Baopuzi. Wei Zhi" also records: "On a dark moon night, the Kitchen God also goes up to heaven to show off his sins. "These records are probably the source of worship to the Kitchen God. Also, it may be said that the Kitchen God is the "Suiren clan" who drills wood to make fire; or it is said to be the "Fire Officer" of the Shennong clan; or it is said to be "Sujili" who "the Yellow Emperor makes the stove"; The kitchen god's surname is Zhang, whose name is Ziguo. There are different opinions. There is a quite interesting story circulating among the people.

It is said that in ancient times there was a family named Zhang, two brothers, the elder brother was a plasterer and the younger brother was a painter. My brother's specialty is cooking pots. He invites guests from East Street and West Street, and they all praise him for his skill in setting up the stove. Elderly

Yuejiu became famous, and people from thousands of miles around called him "King Zhang Zao". It's strange that the Kitchen King Zhang always likes to meddle in other people's affairs no matter whose house he goes to build a stove. When he meets a noisy daughter-in-law, he tries to persuade her.

When he meets a fierce mother-in-law, he also tries to persuade her. He seems to be an elder. From now on, the neighbors would come to him if anything happened, and everyone respected him. King Zhang Zao lived for seventy years and died late at night on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month.

When King Zhang Zao died, the Zhang family was in chaos. It turned out that King Zhang Zao was the head of the family, and everything in the family was under his orders. Now that the eldest brother has passed away, the younger brother only knows poetry, calligraphy and painting. Although

he has Sixty years old, but never took care of housework. The daughters-in-law of several houses were clamoring for separation, and the painter was helpless and looked sad all day long. One day, he finally came up with a good idea. On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month,

the first anniversary of the death of King Zhang Zao, late at night, the painter suddenly called out to wake up the whole family, saying that the eldest brother had appeared. He led his son, daughter-in-law, and the whole family to the kitchen, where they saw the dark stove wall, and the flickering candlelight loomed over the faces of Stove King Zhang and his late wife. The family were shocked. Stayed. The painter said: "When I was sleeping, I dreamed that my eldest brother and sister-in-law had become immortals. The Jade Emperor named him the 'Jiu

Tiandong Chef Mingzao Wangfujun." Unfilial piety makes the family gods uneasy. My elder brother is very angry when he knows that you are splitting up the family. He plans to report it to the Jade Emperor and punish you in the lower realms on the 30th night of the year." My children, nieces and nephews heard this. After hearing this, he was so frightened that he immediately knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly. He hurriedly fetched the sweets that the Stove King liked to eat and put them on the stove, begging the Stove Lord for his forgiveness.

From then on, the uncles, brothers and wives who were often noisy no longer dared to act violently. The whole family lived in peace, and young and old lived peacefully. After this incident was known to the neighbors, they spread the news to tens of thousands, and they all came to Zhang's house to find out the truth. In fact, the Stove King on the kitchen wall on the night of the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month was drawn in advance by the painter. He pretended that his eldest brother appeared as a ghost to scare his children, niece and daughter-in-law, but unexpectedly, this method was really effective. So when the villagers came to see the painter to inquire about the situation, he had no choice but to fake it and give the painted Stove King portraits to his neighbors. As a result, it spread along the countryside, and every household's kitchen was pasted with a statue of the Kitchen King. As time went by, the custom of offering offerings to the Stove Lord on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month to pray for the safety of the family was formed. After the custom of offering sacrifices to stoves spread, starting from the Zhou Dynasty, the imperial palace also included it in sacrifice ceremonies, setting rules for offering sacrifices to stoves across the country, and it became a fixed ritual.

New Year’s Eve Dinner

New Year’s Eve is an extremely important day for the Chinese. On this day, people prepare to get rid of the old and welcome the new, and have a reunion dinner. In ancient China, some prison officials even let prisoners go home to reunite with their families for the New Year.

This shows how important the "New Year's Eve dinner" was to the ancient Chinese.

The annual reunion dinner fully demonstrates the mutual respect and love among Chinese family members. This mutual respect and love makes the relationship between the family closer. The reunion of the family often brings spiritual comfort and satisfaction to the head of the family

The elderly see their children and grandchildren in the house, and the whole family talks about their family life. The past care and efforts in raising the children have finally been in vain. What a blessing. The younger generation can also take this opportunity to express their gratitude to their parents for their upbringing.

When 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 must be cooked on New Year’s Eve. Make it. 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 sound of "crackling" abacus and the cadence of accounts reported came from small shops, mixed with Talking and laughing everywhere, one after another, filled the ears, intertwined into the joyful music of New Year's Eve

.

Speaking of the sound of knives and anvils on New Year's Eve, "Yanjing Local Records" written by Deng Yunxiang records a very desolate story on New Year's Eve: The poor in the old society lived in difficulty, and thirty nights was a barrier. In one family,

The husband had not come back with the money until late in the evening of his thirties. "The family had already run out of bottles of millet, and there was nothing for the New Year."

The woman put her child to sleep at home and was helpless. She could hear the sound of chopping boards next door and was in extreme pain. She wondered if her husband would be able to get some money or something back. She didn’t know how she would spend the new year tomorrow, and she was also afraid of her own family. There was no chopping board sound to make people laugh, so he took a knife and chopped the empty chopping board, and while chopping, tears were streaming down his face

This story made people listen. Sad indeed.

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 enjoying the reunion dinner, 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 booming; "fish" and "yu" are homophonic, which symbolizes "abundance in auspicious celebrations" and also means "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 to the family, just like "fire cooking oil". The last part is mostly a sweet dish, wishing you a sweet life in the future. Even if you don't know how to drink, you should drink a little on this day.

In ancient times, when drinking during the New Year, great attention was paid to the quality of the wine. Some wines are no longer available, leaving only many attractive wine names, such as "Grape Fermented Fermented Rice", "Lanwei Wine", "Yichun Wine",

"Plum Blossom Wine", "Peach Blossom Wine", "Tusu Wine" and so on. Among these wines, Tusu wine has the longest history and is the most common. But where did Tusu wine get its name? What is it made of

? There are always different legends.

Tusu is a grass name. Some people say that Tusu is a kind of house in ancient times. Because the wine is brewed in this kind of house, it is called Tusu wine. It is said that Tusu wine was created by Hua Tuo, a famous doctor in the late Han Dynasty.

The formula is made by dipping traditional Chinese medicines such as rhubarb, atractylodes, cinnamon twig, saposhnikovia, pepper, aconite and aconite into wine. This medicine has the effects of replenishing temperature and yang, dispelling wind and cold, and avoiding evils caused by epidemic diseases. Later

it was spread by Sun Simiao, a famous doctor in the Tang Dynasty. Every year in the twelfth lunar month, Sun Simiao always distributed a packet of medicine to his neighbors and told everyone that they could make wine with the medicine and drink it on New Year's Eve to prevent the plague. Sun Simiao also named his house "Tusu House". Later, passed down from generation to generation, drinking Tusu wine became a New Year custom. 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. That is to say, when the whole family gets together to drink Tusu wine, the younger ones start first, followed by the older ones, and each person drinks a little

one by one. 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. Some people don't understand the meaning of this habit. Dong Xun explained: "The younger ones get older, so they are celebrated; the older ones lose their years, so they are punished." This custom was still very popular in the Song Dynasty, such as Su Shi said in the poem "Outside the City of Changzhou on a Wild Day": "But I will bear the sorrow of poverty and grow strong.

In the end, I drank and slaughtered Su." Although Su Shi was poor in his later years, his spirit was very optimistic. He believed that as long as the body Health, even though I am old, I don't care about it. I don't have to refuse the final punishment of drinking Tusu wine. This unique

drinking order often made people feel all kinds of emotions in ancient times, so it left a deep impression on people. Until the Qing Dynasty, this custom still persisted. Although this custom is no longer popular on a large scale today, the custom of drinking these medicinal wines during festivals or ordinary times still exists.

There are many famous New Year’s Eve dinners, which vary from north to south, including dumplings, wontons, long 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", 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.

Keeping the year old

Chinese people have the habit of keeping the year old on New Year’s Eve. 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 records in Zong Mao's "Jing

Chu Sui Sui Ji", at least in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, there was a custom of eating New Year's Eve dinner.

The custom of staying up late on the New Year's Eve not only expresses a feeling of nostalgia for the passing years, but also expresses good hope for the coming New Year. The ancients wrote in a poem "Shou Sui": "Invite me to stay up until the end of the year.

In the Rong family, the wax torch passes red to the blue gauze; thirty-six years have passed by, but I cherish my years from now on." It is human nature to cherish the years, so the great poet Su Shi wrote a famous line in "Shou Sui": "If there is no years next year, my heart will be wasted. If I work hard today, my youth can still be praised!" It can be seen from this that The positive meaning of staying up late on New Year's Eve.

Staying up late at the age of thirty is commonly known as "staying up late". Why is it called "staying through the year"? There is such an interesting story that has been passed down from generation to generation among the people: According to legend, in the ancient times, there was a ferocious monster.

People called him "Nian". Every New Year's Eve, the Nian beast will crawl out of the sea to harm people and animals, destroy farmland, and bring disasters to people who have worked hard for a year. In order to avoid the Nian beast, people close their doors early on the night of the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month before it gets dark. They don't dare to sleep and wait for dawn. To kill time and to strengthen their courage, they drink alcohol. Wait until the Nian beast stops coming out on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year before you dare to go out.

People bowed to each other when they met, congratulated each other, and were glad that they were not eaten by the Nian beast. After many years of this, nothing happened, and people relaxed their vigilance against the Nian beast. One year on the eve of the 30th, the Nian beast

suddenly rushed to a village in the south of the Yangtze River. Almost all the people in the village were eaten by the Nian beast, except for a newlywed family with red curtains and red clothes. The two of them were safe and sound. There were also a few children who lit a pile of bamboos in the yard.

The fire was bright red, and the bamboos made a "pop-pop" sound after burning. The Nian beast turned here and was frightened when he saw the fire. Turn around and run away. Since then, people have known that the Nian beast is afraid of the color red, light, and noise.

At the end of each year, every household would put up red paper, wear red robes, hang red lanterns, beat gongs and drums, and set off firecrackers. The Nian beast did not dare to come again. In the "Book of Songs·Xiaoya. Ting Liao", there is a record of "Ting Liao's Light". The so-called "Ting Liao" is a torch made of bamboo poles. After the bamboo poles burn, the air in the bamboo joints expands, and the bamboo cavity bursts, making a crackling sound. This is also called "firecracker" The origin of. But in some places, villagers don't know that the Nian beast is afraid of red, and they are often eaten by the Nian beast. This incident later spread to Ziweixing in the sky. In order to save people, he determined to destroy the Nian beast.

One year, when he waited for the Nian beast to come out, he knocked it down with a fireball and locked it on the stone pillar with a thick iron chain. From then on, every New Year, people always burn incense and ask Ziweixing to come down to the next world to ensure peace.

On this night of "two years in one night, two years in the fifth hour", the family reunites and gathers together happily. The whole family sat together, and the table was filled with refreshments and fruits. When making offerings during the New Year, a large plate of apples is indispensable.

This is called "peace and peace". In the north, some families also provide a bowl of rice, which is cooked years ago and served during the New Year. It is called "every other year's meal". There is leftover rice every year, and you can't finish it all year round. You can still eat it this year

The meaning of annual grain. 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", which is to have yellow and white. This is called "gold and silver, the pot is full of gold and silver"

rice". 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), and eating longevity

Fruit (immortal), eat rice cake (get taller every year). On New Year's Eve, the whole family ate, had fun, talked and laughed. There are also ordinary people who play pai gow, throw dice, bet on stud, and play mahjong. The noise and laughter form the climax of New Year's Eve joy.

Firecrackers

At midnight, the New Year’s bell rings, and the sound of firecrackers rings across 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 "vigorous fires" in the courtyard

to show that the sky is full of vitality and prosperity. . 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 the house, making the New Year's Eve The lively atmosphere reached 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 "Yuan Ri"

Poetry: The sound of firecrackers marks the end of the year, and the spring breeze brings warmth to Tusu. Thousands of households are as bright as the sun. Always replace old talismans with new ones.