What are the customs for New Year’s Day?

1. Ancient Chinese New Year's Day customs

In ancient times, New Year's Day was the first day of the first lunar month. It was to commemorate the day when Emperor Shun offered sacrifices to heaven and earth and the late emperor Yao. All dynasties held celebrations on New Year's Day. Ceremonies and prayers and other activities, such as offering sacrifices to gods and ancestors, writing Spring Festival couplets on doors, writing blessing characters, and dancing dragon lanterns. Folks have gradually formed the practice of offering sacrifices to gods and Buddhas, worshiping ancestors, pasting Spring Festival couplets, setting off firecrackers, keeping up the New Year's Eve, having reunion dinners, and many other activities. Celebrations such as building fires.

All dynasties in the past dynasties held celebrations, ceremonies and other activities on New Year's Day, such as offering sacrifices to gods and ancestors, writing couplets on doors, writing blessing characters, and dancing dragon lanterns. Folks also gradually formed rituals to worship gods, Buddhas, and ancestors. , pasting Spring Festival couplets, setting off firecrackers, staying up late, having reunion dinner and numerous "social fire" and other entertainment and celebration activities.

2. Modern Chinese New Year’s Day customs

After the founding of New China in 1949, January 1 of the Gregorian calendar was designated as New Year’s Day, because New Year’s Day was born during the Republic of my country. Of course, most of the celebration customs and habits are similar to those of the Spring Festival, or it can be said to be a pocket version of the Spring Festival. After all, New Year's Day is not a traditional festival in our country, although some traditional celebration methods are followed. For example, setting off fireworks, killing three lives, offering sacrifices to ghosts and gods, worshiping ancestors, etc.

New Year's Day is not important in the eyes of the Chinese, so the customs and customs of celebrating it are relatively simple. New Year's Day is an international holiday. Many countries have listed New Year's Day as a legal holiday. The same is true in China. After the founding of New China, New Year's Day was stipulated as a legal holiday for one day, and later it was changed to New Year's Day for three days. But across China, there are no prescribed customs to celebrate New Year's Day.

Extended information:

The legend of New Year's Day

It is said that during the ancient times of Yao and Shun, Emperor Yao worked diligently on the people and did a lot for the people. It was a good thing that he was very popular among the people, but because his son was incompetent and incompetent, he did not pass the throne of "Emperor" to his son, but passed it to Shun, who had both moral character and ability.

Yao said to Shun: "You must pass on the throne to me from now on, so that you can rest in peace after my death." Later, Shun passed the throne to Yu, who had done great work in controlling floods, and Yu also acted like him. Shun was so kind and loving to the people, he did many good things for the people, and he was very loved by others.

Later, people regarded the day when Emperor Shun worshiped Heaven and Earth and the late Emperor Yao after Yao's death as the beginning of the year, and the first day of the first lunar month was called "New Year's Day", or "Yuanzheng". This is the ancient New Year's Day.

Baidu Encyclopedia-New Year's Day