Chinese Spring Festival customs

Folk Customs

Traditional Folk Customs

Traditional festival rituals and related customary activities are important elements of festivals and carry rich and colorful festival cultural heritage. New Year's Day (New Year's Day) is an ancient festival in our country, and it is also the most important festival of the whole year. In the historical development, it has blended various folk customs from many places into one, forming some relatively fixed customs and habits, and many of them are still there. According to legend, it has been passed down to this day. The celebration activities during the Spring Festival are extremely rich and diverse, including lion dance, floating colors, dragon dance, wandering gods, temple fairs, flower streets, flower lantern viewing, gong and drum tours, vernier flags, burning fireworks, praying for blessings, and throwing spring flowers, as well as walking on stilts and running. Land boating, Yangko dancing, etc. The custom of worshiping gods (ancestors) is prevalent in the southern coastal areas. It inherits ancient customs. During the Spring Festival, many places hold grand and grand sacrificial offerings to the gods of heaven and earth, praying for blessings to welcome the new year, etc. The content is rich and colorful, lively and festive, and has the flavor of the new year. Rich. During the Spring Festival, sticking New Year's red cards, staying up late on the New Year's Eve, having a reunion dinner, paying New Year greetings, etc. are common in various places. However, due to different customs and customs, each detail has its own characteristics. The folk customs of the Spring Festival are diverse in form and rich in content, and are a concentrated display of the essence of the life and culture of the Chinese nation.

The Spring Festival is a day to get rid of the old and introduce the new. Although the Spring Festival is scheduled on the first day of the first lunar month, the activities of the Spring Festival do not end on the first day of the first lunar month. Starting from the 24th day of the New Year, people start to be "busy in the New Year": offering sacrifices to stoves, sweeping dust, buying New Year's goods, putting up New Year's greetings, washing hair and bathing, putting up lanterns and decorations, etc. All these activities have a common theme. The theme is "farewell to the old and welcome the new". The Spring Festival is a festival of joy, peace, and family reunion. It is also a carnival and an eternal spiritual pillar for people to express their yearning for happiness and freedom. Before the festival, people who have left their hometowns try their best to return home to reunite with their relatives and enjoy family happiness. On New Year's Eve, the whole family gathers together to have a "reunion dinner". The elders distribute "New Year's money" to the children, and then "stay up" to welcome the arrival of the New Year. During the Chinese New Year, relatives and friends visit each other to express their feelings towards each other and their best wishes for the new year.

The Spring Festival is also a day for relatives, ancestors, and blessings to pray for good luck. Sacrifice is a kind of belief activity. It is a belief activity created by human beings in ancient survival activities and expected to be in harmony with the nature of heaven and earth. All things are based on heaven, and humans are based on ancestors. People worship the gods (ancestors) in the Spring Festival, review the ecological world of "harmony between heaven and man" built by their ancestors, and remember and feel the sacred virtues of the gods (ancestors) in heaven and earth. and majesty, and never forget to shoulder the responsibility and mission entrusted to people today by the "order of heaven" to maintain human relations and be good. Only by being in awe can we achieve high goals. Because of this, during the very lively Spring Festival, the traditional cultural rituals of worshiping ancestors followed the ancestral rules, paying tribute, offering incense, bowing and saluting, solemnly, solemnly and meticulously. A series of festival ritual procedures unfolding in sequence represent the layer-by-layer display of the cultural connotations of the festival, making traditional festivals solemn and meaningful.

The Spring Festival is also a festival for people’s entertainment and carnival. As the New Year approaches the New Year, firecrackers go off and the sky is filled with fireworks. Various activities to celebrate the New Year, such as bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new year, reach their climax. On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, each family burns incense and pays homage to heaven and earth, and pays homage to their ancestors. Then they pay New Year greetings to their elders in turn, and then relatives and friends of the same clan send congratulations to each other. After the first day, various colorful entertainment activities are carried out, adding a strong festive atmosphere to the Spring Festival. The warm atmosphere of the festival not only permeates every household, but also fills the streets and alleys everywhere. During this period, the city is full of lanterns, the streets are full of tourists, and the Spring Festival is truly over. Therefore, the Spring Festival, a grand ceremony that integrates prayers, celebrations and entertainment, has become the most solemn festival of the Chinese nation.

Traditional customs

Organizing New Year goods

China’s New Year customs and culture have a long history. Various New Year customs have been derived from all over the country, and they are very different in the north and the south, each with its own characteristics. Although customs vary from place to place, preparing New Year goods and giving New Year gifts are “necessities for the New Year” almost across the country. Purchasing New Year's goods, including things to eat, wear, wear, use, stick (New Year's red), send (New Year's greetings) gifts, etc., is collectively called "New Year's goods", and the process of purchasing New Year's goods is called "New Year's goods". Doing New Year’s goods.” Selling new year's goods is an important activity for Chinese people during the Spring Festival.

Sacrifice to the stove

Sacrifice the stove on the 23rd/24th day of the twelfth lunar month. Folk sacrifices to stoves originated from the ancient custom of worshiping fire. "Release of Names": "Stove. Creates and creates food." The responsibility of the Kitchen God is to control the stove fire and manage the diet. Later, it was expanded to examine the good and evil in the world to reduce blessings and disasters.

Sacrificing stoves has a history of thousands of years among Chinese people. The belief in the Kitchen God is a reflection of the Chinese people's pursuit of the dream of "having enough food and clothing".

Sweeping the dust

In the folk, there is a custom of "sweeping the dust (also known as sweeping the house) on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month" on New Year's Eve. The folk proverb says "On the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, sweep the house." It is called "Dust Sweeping Day" among the people. Sweeping dust is the year-end cleaning. Every household has to clean the environment, clean all kinds of utensils, remove and wash bedding and curtains, sweep the Liulu courtyard, brush away the dirt and cobwebs, and dredge open ditches and culverts. There is joy everywhere. To create a clean and cheerful atmosphere for the New Year. According to folk wisdom, since "dust" is a homophony of "chen", the purpose of sweeping dust before the new year is to bring good luck to everything. , sweep away all bad luck, in order to pray for good luck in the coming year.

Pie Nianhong (Huichun)

On the 28th, 29th or 30th of each year, every household will "stick to the New Year red" (Pie Nianhong). Red is the collective name for the red festive elements affixed during the New Year, such as Spring Festival couplets, door gods, horizontal batches, New Year pictures, and the word "福"). Posting New Year red (Hui Chun) is a traditional Chinese New Year custom, which adds to the festive atmosphere and adds to the festive atmosphere. It expresses people's good expectations for the new year and new life.

Spring couplets: According to the records of literary works such as "Jade Candle Collection" and "Yanjing Chronicles", the original form of Spring Festival couplets is what people call it. "Peach Talisman". Another source of Spring Festival couplets is spring stickers. The ancients often posted the word "Yichun" on the first day of spring, and later gradually developed into Spring Festival couplets, which are also called door pairs, spring stickers, couplets, couplets, peach charms, etc. It describes the background of the times and expresses good wishes with neat, dualistic, concise and exquisite words. It is a unique literary form in China. Every Spring Festival, no matter in the city or in the countryside, every household in the city or in the countryside must select a red spring couplet and paste it on the door. The festival adds a festive atmosphere.

New Year pictures: Hanging 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 Chinese tradition. Folk art reflects the people's simple customs and beliefs, and expresses their hopes for the future. With the rise of woodblock printing, the content of New Year pictures is no longer limited to monotonous themes such as door gods.

Window grilles and the word "福": Among the people, people also like to paste various paper-cuts on their windows. Window grilles not only enhance the festive atmosphere, but also combine decoration, appreciation and practicality. , some people will paste the word "福" in large and small sizes on their house doors, walls and lintels. Folks also use the word "福" to be carefully drawn into various patterns, such as longevity stars, longevity peaches, and carps. Jumping over the dragon gate, having a good harvest, having auspicious dragons and phoenixes, etc.

New Year's Eve dinner

New Year's Eve dinner, also known as New Year's dinner, reunion dinner, reunion dinner, etc., especially refers to the family dinner at the end of the year and New Year's Eve. Dinner. The New Year's Eve dinner originates from the ancient year-end sacrificial ceremony, where people gather together to worship the gods and ancestors. The New Year's Eve dinner is the highlight of the year. It is not only colorful, but also very important. After the worship ceremony, the meal is usually served with chicken (meaning good luck), fish (meaning abundance every year), oysters (meaning good market), nostoc (meaning wealth), yuba (meaning abundance), lotus root (meaning wealth). It means wisdom), lettuce (meaning wealth), raw garlic (meaning calculation), sausage (meaning longevity), etc. for good luck. The Chinese New Year's Eve dinner is a family reunion dinner. It is the most sumptuous and important dinner at the end of the year.

Keeping the year old on New Year's Eve is one of the annual customs. The custom of keeping the year old has been around for a long time. The folk custom of keeping the New Year's Eve is mainly manifested in lighting the New Year's Fire in all houses, family gatherings, and keeping the "Sui's Fire" from extinguishing, waiting for the moment to bid farewell to the old and welcome the New Year. On New Year's Eve, the lights are kept all night long, which is called "burning lanterns to illuminate the New Year" or "lighting the New Year fire". All houses are lit with candles, and candles are specially lit under the bed. The lights are burned everywhere, which is called "illuminating the waste". , it is said that after being illuminated in this way, the wealth of the family will be abundant in the coming year. In ancient times, the customs in the north and south were different. In ancient times, the custom of staying up late in some places in the north was mainly to stay up on New Year's Eve. For example, "Fengtu Ji" written by Zhou Chu of the Jin Dynasty said: On New Year's Eve, everyone gave gifts to each other, which was called "giving gifts to the new year"; The gathering of young people with complete blessings is called "dividing the new year"; staying up all year long, waiting for the dawn, is called "keeping the new year up". 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, chats, and keeps vigil all night, which symbolizes driving away all evil plagues and looking forward to good luck in the new year.

New Year's money

New Year's money is one of the customs of the year. After the New Year's dinner, the elders will distribute the New Year's money prepared in advance to the younger ones. It is said that the New Year's money can suppress evil spirits, and the younger ones can be peaceful after receiving the New Year's money. Have a happy one year old. In folk culture, New Year's money means warding off evil spirits and exorcising ghosts, and bless peace. The original purpose of lucky money was to suppress evil and drive away evil spirits. Because people think that children are vulnerable to evil spirits, they use lucky money to ward off evil spirits.

Historically, there are many types of New Year's money, which are usually distributed by the elders to the younger ones during the countdown to the New Year, as a sign of support and containing the elders' concern and sincere blessings for the younger ones; the other is The "sui" in this new year's money given to the elderly by the younger generation refers to the age, and is intended to wish the elderly a long life. The earliest written record of New Year's money that can be traced back to the Han Dynasty was also called lucky money. It was not circulated in the market, but was cast into coins as ornaments and had the function of warding off evil spirits.

Wandering God

Wandering God is one of the traditional New Year customs. The Wandering God is also known as the holy driving parade, the traveling master, the Ying master, the traveling Bodhisattva, the traveling god competition, the annual calendar, the greeting of the gods, the new year greeting, the spring tour, the incense tour, the Bodhisattva's hometown tour, the carrying of the statue of the gods, the parade of the gods, etc., is It means that during the New Year period or other festive festivals, or on the Christmas day of the gods, people go to the temple to put the statues of the gods into the palanquin, and then carry them out of the temple to accept people's incense and worship, which means that the gods have descended. Folks, patrol the countryside and bless the peace of the country. The main purpose is to reward gods, eliminate disasters, pray for blessings, etc. Along the way, the Wandering God is accompanied by a variety of colorful performances such as gongs and drums, suonas, puppets, lion dances, dragon dances, floating colors, flags, traveling lanterns, music, acrobatics and band performances. It is a traditional folk activity that integrates worshiping gods, praying, celebrating and entertaining guests.

Wandering Gods, also known as "Wandering Gods Competition" and "Ying Laoye" in Chaoshan area, is a traditional folk activity in Chaoshan area; every year during the Spring Festival, each village and town takes turns to hold folk wandering gods in chronological order. The event was lively and lively. In western Guangdong, it is also called "You Lao Ye", "You Bodhisattva", or "Nian Li"; the so-called Nian Li means "tracing back to ancient times, there are regulations today, and there are regulations every year." In the Beiliu area, it is also called "Nianli". In the Pearl River Delta region, it is also known as the "Bodhisattva Village". People carry statues of gods and parade around the village to receive blessings. Also known as "Welcome to the Gods" in Fuzhou, the third to fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the time for the wandering gods, which has become one of the important activities of the "New Year" in the countryside; the wandering gods often unite villages, and sometimes several villages are united. , paraded through the village in groups amidst the sound of gongs, drums and firecrackers, and the people lined the streets to watch and greet them, and the scene was lively.

Blessings to the New Year

Blessings to the New Year is one of the annual activities. On the first morning of the new year, we welcome the new year and worship the "Sui God". "Sui" is also known as "Sheti" and "Tai Sui", which are the names of stars in ancient times. Tai Sui is also a god of folk belief. The year is based on the sixty-year cycle of the stems and branches. There are sixty gods. There is a year-old god on duty every year. The Tai Sui who is on duty for that year is called "Tai Sui on duty". He is the master of the year and is in charge of the year. Good and bad luck in the world. As stated in "San Ming Tong Hui": "The person who is too old is the master of one year old and the leader of the gods." Paying New Year greetings is the oldest traditional Chinese New Year custom. This ancient custom is still popular in Guangdong, especially in the Wuchuan area. On the first day of the new year, when we bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, we welcome the new year, worship the gods of the new year, and receive blessings. This traditional custom has been passed down from generation to generation since ancient times.

Temple fair

Visiting the temple fair is one of the folk activities during the Spring Festival. The Guangfu Temple Fair and the Beijing Ditan Temple Fair are both known as the two major temple fairs in China. It covers theme activities such as puppet gathering, Chinese unique skills, martial arts conference, and Lantern Festival Lantern Festival, and contains rich content such as blessing culture, folk culture, food culture, business and leisure culture.

New Year greetings

Visiting to pay New Year greetings during the Spring Festival is one of the traditional customs of the New Year. It is a way for people to bid farewell to the old year, welcome the new year, and express their best wishes to each other. On the second and third day of the Lunar New Year, we start to visit relatives and see friends, pay New Year greetings to each other, send blessings, and say congratulations on new happiness, prosperity, congratulations, and happy new year. The significance of New Year greetings is to visit and communicate with relatives and friends, congratulate each other on the New Year, express feelings for relatives and friends, and express best wishes for life in the new year.

With the development of the times, the custom of New Year greetings has constantly added new content and forms. New Year's cards that are popular in modern society have been implemented in ancient China. As early as the Song Dynasty, the families and relatives of the royal family, nobles, scholar-bureaucrats, and their relatives had used special New Year greeting cards, called "Ming Ci" or "Ming Tie".

Distributing Lishi

Distributing Lishi is one of the long-standing customs. "Lishi" is also written as "profitable market" or "profitable affairs".

Distributing profit and profit means that the whole year will be prosperous and prosperous. The word "profit market" has been around since ancient times. It was recorded as early as the "Book of Changes", with the meaning of benefiting from a small amount of money. The "Study of Common Proverbs" of the Yuan Dynasty also mentions the saying that "for good omen, one should seek a favorable market from the owner's house." It can be seen that a favorable market also has the meaning of good luck. According to the "Yi Miscellaneous Notes": "Business is beneficial to the market, and doing business is beneficial to the business." The businessmen send the name "profit market", which means that it is beneficial to do anything.

Burning firecrackers

Chinese people have a 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 burn firecrackers, and the beeping sound of firecrackers is used to drive away the old and welcome the new. Firecrackers are a specialty of China, also known as "firecrackers", "firecrackers", "firecrackers" and "firecrackers". Its origin is very early. Regarding the evolution of firecrackers, "Popular Choreography" records: "Firecrackers in ancient times were all fired with real bamboo, so the poems of the Tang Dynasty were also called firecrackers. Later generations rolled paper for it. It was called "firecrackers" ".

The original purpose of firecrackers was to welcome gods and drive away ghosts. Later, with its strong festive color, it developed into a symbol of bidding farewell to the old and ushering in the new. Burning firecrackers can create a festive and lively atmosphere, which is an important part of the festival. A kind of entertainment activity that can bring joy and luck to people.