What does it mean to be old?

Keeping the old age is a folk custom in China on New Year's Eve, which is also called wasting time and staying up late. It refers to family reunion on New Year's Eve and staying up late to welcome the Lunar New Year.

In the traditional concept, many people think that the node of the life cycle is the Lunar New Year, that is, the Spring Festival, not the birthday. On New Year's Eve, you should keep your age. After midnight, when the new year comes, you will be one year older.

The custom of observing the old age not only expresses farewell and nostalgia for the fleeting years, but also expresses good hope for the arrival of the new year.

The ancients wrote in the poem "Shousui": "Invite Shousui Arong's family to spread red candles to green gauze; Thirty-six years have passed, and I am more willing to cherish my youth from this night. "It is human nature to cherish the years, so the great poet Su Shi wrote a famous sentence:" There will be no years next year, and I am worried about waste; "Do your best tonight, young people can still boast!" This shows the positive significance of celebrating birthdays.