Please tell me about Shaanxi New Year customs, the more the better. Thank you.

The Spring Festival in northern Shaanxi is hot, and everything is booming.

People in the Yellow Land attach great importance to festivals. There are many festivals throughout the year, but the most important one is the Spring Festival. People who have worked hard for a year put all their joy and hope in the New Year. Every year when the twelfth lunar month comes, people get busy. They say they are busy, but in fact it is women who are busy. Busy eating, busy dressing, busy washing and rinsing, all the work must be done by the aunts. Rolling rollers to press cake noodles, catching up with donkeys to grind tofu, steaming yellow steamed buns, making rice wine, rolling out mixed noodles, and frying fried cakes, all the New Year delicacies must be prepared before the end of the year. During the Chinese New Year, the whole family, old and young, inside and out, all have to change into new clothes. No matter how poor a family is, everyone needs to make a new coat. In addition, all bedding and clothing must be washed cleanly. There is also a custom here that during the Chinese New Year, children should be given a "Jujube sign". "Zao Paipai" is made of red dates and corn straw tied with red thread, with a copper coin hanging on top and a firecracker hanging on the bottom. It is hung on the child's back. This is a mascot to ward off evil and bless. Here, I also saw some people threading a "thimble" used for needlework with red thread and hanging it around their children's necks. This is also a mascot of blessings, called a "thimble that increases age." One more each year until the age of twelve.

New Year's Eve is here, everything is ready, post couplets, make vinegar charcoal, hang red lanterns, and clean the courtyard. Making vinegar charcoal is a unique custom, which is to put a piece of red-hot coal on an iron spoon and then pour vinegar on it. "Vinegar charcoal" should be carried out in every corner of the home, which means to drive away evil spirits. In fact, it is a scientific method of sterilization and disinfection. As night falls, the elderly always devoutly light incense and burn paper, and lead their curious grandchildren to kowtow. The older children were busy setting off cannons and lighting towers. The careful mother-in-law put charcoal and ice cubes beside the door, and set up a rolling staff and an ax behind the door. It is said that this is to suppress evil spirits, and it is called "Shou Sui" here. People always sleep very late on New Year's Eve. Generally, lights are kept on at home all night long, which indicates peace and longevity in all seasons. Putting some food in the pot is called "according to the pot", which means there will be no shortage of food throughout the year. Some old people couldn't sleep that night, so they climbed up to the top of the mountain quietly in the dark, facing the east and looking out. This is called "taste of heaven". According to the old man, the color of Xiaotian's color can indicate the success of this year's crops and the good or bad luck of the village. Whether it works or not, no one will delve into it. On the first day of the first lunar month, people get up at dawn. The first thing they do is to fire the "opening cannon", which means it's time to open the door. Then, the old people were busy welcoming the gods and receiving the Stove Lord. The children have already run out to pay New Year greetings. New Year greetings here are called "asking about health". When younger people meet their elders, they always "ask about health", such as "Grandpa is strong!" "Grandma is strong!" The elders will reply "Baby, be good!" which means to praise the children's health and progress. This kind of New Year greeting custom is not limited to children, but also to men who are married and have adopted children. It is also the same when meeting their elders.

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

Spring Festival folk customs are similar across the country. Shaanxi's folk customs are simple and simple, and the Spring Festival has a strong local flavor and local characteristics. The beginning of the year. In ancient times, the "year" was not on the 29th or 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, but on the "twelfth lunar month", which was later called "Laba". After the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the wax festival was moved to the end of the year. In the Republic of China, the solar calendar was switched to the solar calendar, and the "year" of the lunar calendar was called the Spring Festival. Because the Spring Festival generally occurs after the "beginning of spring", it is called the Spring Festival.

People in Shaanxi still call the Spring Festival "New Year", and a story about the New Year has been handed down. In ancient times, there was a ferocious beast called "Nian". Whenever the cold winter was approaching and the new year was approaching, it would appear. They come out to eat people and make people uneasy. During the fight with "Nian", people found that this ferocious beast was most afraid of fire and noise, so people thought of a way. Once "Nian" appeared, they lit a fire and threw it into the bamboo joints. There was a raging fire, and when I heard the banging firecrackers, I ran away without a trace. Later, New Year reunions gradually formed. The customs and habits of staying up late on New Year's Eve, hanging red lanterns, posting couplets, setting off firecrackers, and eating New Year's dinner.

In rural areas of Shaanxi, the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month is the beginning of the new year, and celebrating the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month is called "celebrating the small new year".

In some places in rural areas, it is called "Ji Zao", that is, worshiping the "Kitchen Lord" who controls good and bad luck, in order to provide food and clothing. After the New Year, people prepare for the Spring Festival. In ordinary farmers, they kill pigs and sheep, grind rice and flour, make some tofu, buy vegetables, hang vermicelli, and prepare all the food needed for the New Year. The 27th to 29th of the twelfth lunar month is the time for people in Guanzhong to steam steamed buns. Every household has several baskets of steamed buns, and they have to eat them after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. There is a custom of "not rolling out the noodles before the fifteenth day of the first lunar month". Women go to the streets to buy clothes and shoes for the elderly and children, while the elderly buy red paper, New Year pictures, ghost coins, white linen paper and other New Year ritual items.

On the two days before the New Year, Shaanxi, regardless of Guanzhong, southern Shaanxi, northern Shaanxi, or urban and rural areas, has to "sweep the house", and the city people ask for cleaning. Every house must be cleaned in front and behind, inside and outside the kiln, and even the corners must be cleaned. The windows were covered with white paper again and red window grilles were pasted on them. On the early morning of New Year's Eve, every household posts couplets and door gods, and hangs New Year pictures in the house. The new year has finally arrived.

As the twelfth lunar month enters, people begin to be busy until the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, when the New Year officially begins. Before dinner on New Year's Eve, every household must clean and tidy up the house, courtyard, front and back of the house, put up red couplets (those in mourning clothes put up yellow or green couplets), door gods, window grilles, etc., on the main door, main room, Corresponding couplets must be posted in bedrooms, kitchens, livestock pens, etc. When everything was ready, they began to light candles, burn incense, set off firecrackers, and worship ancestors. After that, the whole family gathers around the table to have a "reunion dinner", which is commonly known as "reunion dinner". At night, every house is brightly lit and the fire is roaring. Young and old stay up all night and "stay up" around the fire, which is commonly known as "sitting on the New Year's Eve". While keeping up the New Year's Eve, the whole family takes a bath, changes into new clothes, and makes dumplings in order to prepare for the arrival of the New Year. When it's Zi time (equivalent to 23:00-1:00 today), thousands of firecrackers are fired, which means "receiving the stars in the sky" and "welcoming the God of Wealth". Some even put incense burners on the table and perform the ceremony of kneeling and worshiping. It is said that whose house goes off the firecrackers first, the God of Wealth will visit first. Then, the younger generation kowtows to the elders to pay New Year greetings, and the elders also give the "New Year's money" prepared in advance to the children. People living in the same family began to rush to each other to pay New Year greetings, staying up all night until the morning of the first day of the lunar new year.

From the first to the tenth day of the lunar month, Ankang people still have the custom of watching the weather to predict whether the grains and livestock will be prosperous. It is said that there is a prediction about the weather every day. That is: observe chickens on the first day of the lunar month, dogs on the second day of the lunar month, sheep on the third day of the lunar month, pigs on the fourth day of the lunar month, cattle on the fifth day of the lunar month, horses on the sixth day of the lunar month, people on the seventh day of the lunar month, grains (crops) on the eighth day of the lunar month, and fruits (fruits) on the ninth day of the lunar month. Fruit trees), watch vegetables on the tenth day of the lunar month. It is commonly said that "the ten days of the New Year will be sunny, and the harvest year will be peaceful; the ten days of the New Year will be cloudy, and the rice will be as valuable as gold."

Lantern Festival is held in the first month of the year

Lantern Festival is held in the first month of the month, and every household welcomes the New Year. All kinds of lanterns constitute a major landscape of Shaanxi New Year customs.

Xi’an’s “lighting up of lanterns” on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. The fifteenth day of the first lunar month was called the Shangyuan Festival in ancient times, and the night on this day was called "Yuan Night", also known as "Yuanxiao". Every night on this day, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty would order lanterns to be put up, and he would go out of the palace to enjoy the lanterns and celebrate with the Lantern Festival. The people enjoy themselves together. Since then, the tradition of lighting up lanterns during the Lantern Festival in Xi'an has arisen. It shows that people can live a good year with social stability and plenty of food and clothing like the "Wenjing Dynasty", and it has been passed down to this day. Xi'an's City Wall and Revolutionary Park hold lantern shows almost every year. In recent years, the lantern display on the Xi'an City Wall has become larger and larger year by year. It promotes the traditional Chinese culture of abandoning evil and doing good, respecting the old and loving the young, and wishes "good weather" in the new year, "good luck" to the society and "good fortune" to the people. "Longevity" to typical stories reflected in the thirteen dynasties that established their capital here, forming a pleasing folklore and historical picture. The audience can not only read the historical records of Xi'an's dynasties from the lanterns, but also feel the uniqueness of the dynasties. It is rich in the folk cultural characteristics of the Sanqin region. In order to enrich the content of the lantern show, lanterns from other places were invited to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Xi'an this year. A large-scale lantern show from Zigong City, the southern city of lanterns, integrating sound, light, shape, color and movement, was unveiled at the city wall. Revolutionary Park once hosted the first large-scale Spring Festival Lantern Festival in Xi'an after the reform and opening up, and became the traditional venue for the Spring Festival Lantern Festival in Xi'an. In addition to the lantern show, Xi'an's Weiyang Lake, Dongjin Taoyuan, Banpo Lake and other amusement parks and resorts also introduced folk gongs and drums, fireworks and operas to hold amusement park activities on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

In northern Shaanxi, people have to "turn the lights" on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Every village and town has set up a square array of nine curves in the open space, and people go to "turn the nine curves", also called "turning the lantern".

The Nine-bend Square Formation consists of 361 sorghum stalks planted into a square pattern, and 367 oil lamps (now replaced with colored lanterns) are hung on the stalks. The square formation does not repeat the same route. Some people call it the Nine-bend Yellow River Formation. At night, gongs, drums, and suonas are played in unison, and nine tunes can be played. "Zhuan Jiuqu" runs from the fourteenth day of the first lunar month to the sixteenth day of the first lunar month for three consecutive nights. There is a local saying that "turn nine tunes" to live ninety. "Breaking flowers" is also a special activity of the Lantern Festival. This is a kind of earthen firework. Copper and iron are melted into molten copper and molten iron, and then poured on a wooden board with wet sand. They are thrown into the sky together and scattered as they fall downward. This ancient fireworks is more interesting than some of today's fireworks.

Flower lanterns are traditional folk handicrafts in Long County. The lanterns have unique shapes, including sky lanterns, dragon lanterns, Bagua lanterns, flower basket lanterns, flower drum lanterns, toad lanterns, cabbage lanterns, red gauze lanterns, cupping lanterns, and revolving horse lanterns. , beaded lanterns, etc. During the Spring Festival, relatives and friends send lanterns to each other to pay New Year greetings. The uncle gives lanterns to his nephew until he is twelve years old. The last year of giving lanterns is called "ending the lantern". On the 15th day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival is extremely lively. Thousands of houses are lit up on the streets. The lantern market decorates the county with colorful lights, and there is a bustling flow of people buying and viewing lanterns. Every household must hang sky lanterns in the courtyard and door lights on the doors. Even those who live in buildings must hang lights on their balconies. Children carry lanterns in groups and walk through the streets, which is called "Wandering Lanterns", while adults carry cupping lanterns and offerings to their ancestors' tombs to worship their ancestors, which is called "ancestral tomb hanging lanterns."

Spring Festival folk customs are similar across the country. Shaanxi's folk customs are simple and simple, and the Spring Festival has a strong local flavor and local characteristics. The beginning of the year. In ancient times, the "year" was not on the 29th or 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, but on the "twelfth lunar month", which was later called "Laba". After the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the wax festival was moved to the end of the year. In the Republic of China, the solar calendar was switched to the solar calendar, and the "year" of the lunar calendar was called the Spring Festival. Because the Spring Festival generally occurs after the "beginning of spring", it is called the Spring Festival.

People in Shaanxi still call the Spring Festival "New Year", and a story about the New Year has been handed down. In ancient times, there was a ferocious beast called "Nian". Whenever the cold winter was approaching and the new year was approaching, it would appear. They come out to eat people and make people uneasy. During the fight with "Nian", people found that this ferocious beast was most afraid of fire and noise, so people thought of a way. Once "Nian" appeared, they lit a fire and threw it into the bamboo joints. There was a raging fire, and when I heard the banging firecrackers, I ran away without a trace. Later, New Year reunions gradually formed. The customs and habits of staying up late on New Year's Eve, hanging red lanterns, posting couplets, setting off firecrackers, and eating New Year's dinner.

In rural areas of Shaanxi, the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month is the beginning of the new year, and celebrating the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month is called "celebrating the small new year". In some places in rural areas, it is called "Ji Zao", that is, worshiping the "Kitchen Lord" who controls good and bad luck, in order to provide food and clothing. After the New Year, people prepare for the Spring Festival. In ordinary farmers, they kill pigs and sheep, grind rice and flour, make some tofu, buy vegetables, hang vermicelli, and prepare all the food needed for the New Year. The 27th to 29th of the twelfth lunar month is the time for people in Guanzhong to steam steamed buns. Every household has several baskets of steamed buns, and they have to eat them after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. There is a custom of "not rolling out the noodles before the fifteenth day of the first lunar month". Women go to the streets to buy clothes and shoes for the elderly and children, while the elderly buy red paper, New Year pictures, ghost coins, white linen paper and other New Year ritual items.

Author: zcqid 2007-2-16 14:45 Reply to this statement

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4 Replies: Shaanxi New Year Customs

Two days before the New Year, Shaanxi, regardless of Guanzhong, southern Shaanxi, northern Shaanxi, or urban and rural areas, must " "Sweeping the house" is what city people call cleaning. Every house must be cleaned in front and behind, inside and outside the kiln, and even the corners must be cleaned. The windows were covered with white paper again and red window grilles were pasted on them. On the early morning of New Year's Eve, every household posts couplets and door gods, and hangs New Year pictures in the house. The new year has finally arrived.

As the twelfth lunar month enters, people begin to be busy until the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, when the New Year officially begins. Before dinner on New Year's Eve, every household must clean and tidy up the house, courtyard, front and back of the house, put up red couplets (those in mourning clothes put up yellow or green couplets), door gods, window grilles, etc., on the main door, main room, Corresponding couplets must be posted in bedrooms, kitchens, livestock pens, etc. When everything was ready, they began to light candles, burn incense, set off firecrackers, and worship ancestors.

After that, the whole family gathers around the table to have a "reunion dinner", which is commonly known as "reunion dinner". At night, every house is brightly lit and the fire is roaring. Young and old stay up all night and "stay up" around the fire, which is commonly known as "sitting on the New Year's Eve". While keeping up the New Year's Eve, the whole family takes a bath, changes into new clothes, and makes dumplings in order to prepare for the arrival of the New Year. When it's Zi time (equivalent to 23:00-1:00 today), thousands of firecrackers are fired, which means "receiving the stars in the sky" and "welcoming the God of Wealth". Some even put incense burners on the table and perform the ceremony of kneeling and worshiping. It is said that whose house fires the firecrackers first, the God of Wealth will visit first. Then, the younger generation kowtows to the elders to pay New Year greetings, and the elders also give the "New Year's money" prepared in advance to the children. People living in the same family began to run around to pay New Year greetings to each other, staying up all night until the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year.

From the first to the tenth day of the lunar month, Ankang people still have the custom of watching the weather to predict whether the grains and livestock will be prosperous. It is said that there is a prediction about the weather every day. That is: observe chickens on the first day of the lunar month, dogs on the second day of the lunar month, sheep on the third day of the lunar month, pigs on the fourth day of the lunar month, cattle on the fifth day of the lunar month, horses on the sixth day of the lunar month, people on the seventh day of the lunar month, grains (crops) on the eighth day of the lunar month, and fruits (fruits) on the ninth day of the lunar month. Fruit trees), watch vegetables on the tenth day of the lunar month. It is commonly said that "the ten days of the New Year will be sunny, and the harvest year will be peaceful; the ten days of the New Year will be cloudy, and the rice will be as valuable as gold."

Lantern Festival is held in the first month of the year

Lantern Festival is held in the first month of the month, and every household welcomes the New Year. All kinds of lanterns constitute a major landscape of Shaanxi New Year customs.

Xi’an’s “lighting up of lanterns” on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. The fifteenth day of the first lunar month was called the Shangyuan Festival in ancient times, and the night on this day was called "Yuan Night", also known as "Yuanxiao". Every night on this day, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty would order lanterns to be put up, and he would go out of the palace to enjoy the lanterns and celebrate with the Lantern Festival. The people enjoy themselves together. Since then, the tradition of lighting up lanterns during the Lantern Festival in Xi'an has arisen. It shows that people can live a good year with social stability and plenty of food and clothing like the "Wenjing Dynasty", and it has been passed down to this day. Xi'an's City Wall and Revolutionary Park hold lantern shows almost every year. In recent years, the lantern display on the Xi'an City Wall has become larger and larger year by year. It promotes the traditional Chinese culture of abandoning evil and doing good, respecting the old and loving the young, and wishes "good weather" in the new year, "good luck" to the society and "good fortune" to the people. "Longevity" to typical stories reflected in the thirteen dynasties that established their capital here, forming a pleasing folklore and historical picture. The audience can not only read the historical records of Xi'an's dynasties from the lanterns, but also feel the uniqueness of the dynasties. It is rich in the folk cultural characteristics of the Sanqin region. In order to enrich the content of the lantern show, lanterns from other places were invited to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Xi'an this year. A large-scale lantern show from Zigong City, the southern city of lanterns, integrating sound, light, shape, color and movement, was unveiled at the city wall.

Revolution Park once hosted the first large-scale Spring Festival Lantern Festival in Xi'an after the reform and opening up, and became the traditional venue for the Xi'an Spring Festival Lantern Festival. In addition to the lantern show, Xi'an's Weiyang Lake, Dongjin Taoyuan, Banpo Lake and other amusement parks and resorts also introduced folk gongs and drums, fireworks and operas to hold amusement activities on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

In northern Shaanxi, people have to "turn the lights" on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Every village and town has set up a square array of nine curves in the open space, and people go to "turn the nine curves", also called "turning the lantern". The Nine-bend Square Formation consists of 361 sorghum stalks planted into a square pattern, and 367 oil lamps (now replaced with colored lanterns) are hung on the stalks. The square formation does not repeat the same route. Some people call it the Nine-bend Yellow River Formation. At night, gongs, drums, and suonas are played in unison, and nine tunes can be performed. "Zhuan Jiuqu" runs from the fourteenth day of the first lunar month to the sixteenth day of the first lunar month for three consecutive nights. There is a local saying that "turn nine tunes" to live ninety. "Breaking flowers" is also a special activity of the Lantern Festival. This is a kind of earthen firework. Copper and iron are melted into molten copper and molten iron, and then poured on a wooden board with wet sand. They are thrown into the sky together and scattered as they fall downward. This ancient fireworks is more interesting than some of today's fireworks.

Flower lanterns are traditional folk handicrafts in Long County. The lanterns have unique shapes, including sky lanterns, dragon lanterns, Bagua lanterns, flower basket lanterns, flower drum lanterns, toad lanterns, cabbage lanterns, red gauze lanterns, cupping lanterns, and revolving horse lanterns. , beaded lanterns, etc. During the Spring Festival, relatives and friends send lanterns to each other to pay New Year greetings. The uncle gives lanterns to his nephew until he is twelve years old. The last year of giving lanterns is called "ending the lantern". On the 15th day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival is extremely lively. Thousands of houses are lit up on the streets. The lantern market decorates the county with colorful lights, and there is a bustling flow of people buying and viewing lanterns. Every household must hang sky lanterns in the courtyard and door lights on the doors. Even those living in buildings must hang lights on the balconies. Children carry lanterns in groups and walk through the streets, which is called "Wandering Lanterns", while adults carry cupping lanterns and offerings to their ancestors' tombs to worship their ancestors, which is called "ancestral tomb hanging lanterns."