How to write a Spring Festival composition?

Festival process

As the proverb goes: Twenty-seven to kill the rooster, twenty-eight to make the noodles, twenty-nine to steam the steamed buns, thirty to stay up all night, New Year's Day Twist. There are two folk songs in the southeastern Shanxi region. One is "On the twenty-three, send the master to heaven; on the twenty-four, sweep the house; on the twenty-five, steam the dumplings; on the twenty-six, cut off the meat; on the twenty-seven, On the twenty-eighth, wash the hands; on the twenty-eighth, wash the hands; on the thirtieth, the door gods and couplets are posted together, which reflects the tight time and the intensity of preparations. The second is a nursery rhyme: "Twenty-three, after the sacrifice to the stove, the children clapped their hands and laughed. In five or six days, the New Year will come. The evil-proof box, the walnuts, the dots, dots, and two cannons. The five children passed the exam with table tennis. "The sound is loud and the fire rises higher than the sky" reflects the children's joy in looking forward to the New Year.

The 23rd and 24th of the twelfth lunar month

The 23rd and 24th of the twelfth lunar month are also called "small years" and are the days when people worship stoves. In the folk song "Twenty-three, Tanggua Guang" refers to the sacrifice to the stove on the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month every year. There is a saying that "officials, three people, four boatmen and five" means that the government holds sacrifices to the stove on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, ordinary people hold sacrifices on the 24th, and people on the water hold stove sacrifices on the 25th. Xiaonian is the beginning and foreshadowing of the entire Spring Festival celebration, and its main activities include two: sweeping the New Year and offering sacrifices to the stove. In addition, there is also the custom of eating stove sweets. In some places, they also eat fire roasting, sugar cakes, oil cakes, and drink tofu soup.

As early as the Song Dynasty, there were records of celebrating the Little New Year on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, but at that time the Little New Year was not divided into two days, so the custom of the Little New Year on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month has a longer history. So when did the change happen? This is coming to the Qing Dynasty. Starting from the Yongzheng period, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty worshiped gods at Kunning Palace on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month every year. In order to save money, the emperor also worshiped the Kitchen God. Later, the royal family and Baylor followed suit and offered sacrifices to the stove on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month. From then on, there began to be a distinction between the officials and the people celebrating the Small New Year on different days.

Worshiping the Stove

Worshiping the Stove in the Kitchen King’s niche 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 Lord Siming". Legend has it that he is the "Jiutian East Chef Siming Zao Wangfu Lord" conferred by the Jade Emperor. He is responsible for managing the kitchen fires of each family and is regarded as the protector of the family. worship. 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 alone, while others include two men and women. The goddess is called "Grandma Kitchen God".

The sacrifice of 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 Kitchen God 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. The other gods ascend 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 worship the stove. It is said that the Stove Lord looks like a pretty boy and is afraid of women offering sacrifices to the stove.

Folks pay attention to eating dumplings during the Stove Festival, which means "sending off dumplings and facing the wind". People in mountainous areas eat more cakes and buckwheat noodles. In the southeastern part of Shanxi Province, the custom of eating fried corn is popular. There is a folk proverb that says, "Twenty-three, don't eat fried corn, and New Year's Day - pour it all in one pot." People like to stick the fried corn with maltose, freeze it into large pieces, and eat it. It tastes crispy and sweet.

Steamed flower buns

After the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, every household will steam flower buns. Generally speaking, they are divided into two types: those used to worship gods and those used to visit relatives. The former is solemn and the latter is fancy. In particular, a large jujube mountain should be made to offer sacrifices to the Kitchen Lord. "A family steams steamed buns, and neighbors come to help." This is often a great opportunity for folk women to show off their dexterous skills. A steamed bun is a handicraft.

Writing Spring Festival Couplets

After the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, every household must write Spring Festival couplets. Folks pay attention to the fact that if there are gods, every door must be posted, and every object must be posted, so the Spring Festival couplets have the largest number and the most comprehensive content. The couplets in front of the gods are particularly particular, and they are mostly words of admiration and blessing.

Common divine couplets include the divine couplet of heaven and earth, "Heaven's grace is as deep as the sea, and the virtues of the earth are as heavy as mountains"; the divine couplet of land, "white jade grows from the soil, and gold comes from the earth"; the divine couplet of wealth, "the Lord of wealth in heaven, the god of fortune and fortune on earth"; the divine couplet of wells "A well can connect to the four seas, and a home can reach three rivers." The Spring Festival couplets in granaries, livestock pens, etc. all express warm celebrations and hopes, such as "The grain is plentiful and the livestock are prosperous"; "Rice and flour are as thick as mountains, and oil and salt are as deep as the sea"; "Cows are like southern tigers, and horses are like the North Sea. "Dragon"; "The big sheep will grow every year, and the little lambs will grow every month" and so on. In addition, there are some single couplets, such as "Look up to see happiness" posted in every room, "Go out to see happiness" posted on the opposite side of the door, "Prosperous Qi soaring to the sky" posted on the prosperous fire, "Full of gold in the courtyard" posted in the courtyard, and "Meeting happiness in the whole courtyard" posted on the tree. "The roots are deep and the leaves are luxuriant", the stone mill is pasted with "White Tiger and Good Luck" and so on. The couplets on the door are the facade of a family, and they are particularly important. They are either lyrical or scene-describing, rich in content, and full of witticisms.

Eat Zao Candy

Zao Candy is a kind of maltose with high viscosity. It is drawn into a long candy stick called "Guandong Candy" and is drawn into an oblate shape. The shape is called "Tanggua". Put it outside the house in winter. Because of the severe cold weather, the sugar melon solidifies and has some tiny bubbles inside. It tastes crispy, sweet and crispy, with a unique flavor. Real Kanto candy is extremely hard and cannot be broken when dropped. It must be split with a kitchen knife when eating. The material is very heavy and fine. The taste is slightly sour, and there is absolutely no honeycomb in the middle. Each piece weighs one tael, two taels, or four taels, and the price is also more expensive. There are two kinds of sugar melons, those with sesame seeds and those without sesame seeds. On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, when dusting and sweeping the house, sugar melons are made into the shape of melons or melons. The center is hollow and the skin is less than five minutes thick. Although the sizes are different, the transaction is still successful. In terms of weight, some large sugar melons weigh one or two pounds, but they are used as a pretense and few people buy them.

Sweeping the dust

After the Kitchen Festival is held, preparations for the New Year begin formally. Sweeping dust is the year-end cleaning. It is called "house sweeping" in the north and "dust dusting" in the south. Sweeping dust and doing hygiene before the Spring Festival is a traditional habit of the Chinese people. Thoroughly clean the outside and inside the house, in front of and behind the house, to welcome the new year cleanly. The custom of "dusting and sweeping the house on the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month" has a long history. According to "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals", China had the custom of sweeping dust during the Spring Festival in the era of Yao and Shun. According to folklore, since "dust" and "chen" are homophones, sweeping dust in the New Year has the meaning of "removing the old and spreading the new", and its purpose is to sweep away all "poor luck" and "bad luck". This custom entrusts people with their desire to destroy the old and establish the new and their prayers to say goodbye to the old and usher in the new.

The 29th and 30th of the twelfth lunar month (New Year's Eve)

Every year on the night of the last day of the twelfth lunar month, the last day of the lunar year (the moon is 30 days old and 29 days short), Call it "New Year's Eve." It is connected with the Spring Festival (the first day of the first lunar month) and is a day for people to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Since the big month in the lunar calendar has thirty days and the small month has only twenty-nine days, the date of New Year's Eve is also different. But this day is often called "New Year's Eve" regardless of whether it is the 29th or 30th. On New Year's Eve, the whole family reunites for the New Year's Eve dinner (the last meal of the year in the lunar calendar). After the New Year's Eve dinner, there is a custom of giving out New Year's Eve money and staying up late (keeping up the New Year's Eve), which means keeping up the New Year's Eve dinner from the last day of the Lunar New Year to the first day of the next year. one day.

During the Zhou and Qin Dynasties, at the end of each year, the palace would hold a "Da Nuo" ceremony to beat the drums to drive away the ghosts of plague and disaster, which was called "Zhuchu", and later also called the day before New Year's Eve. It is the Little New Year's Eve, that is, the Little New Year's Eve; New Year's Eve is the Great New Year's Eve, that is, the New Year's Eve.

Setting up a heaven and earth table

Legend has it that this night is when the gods in the sky descend to the realm, so there is a custom among the people to receive the gods. The Heaven and Earth Table is a temporary altar table specially designed for New Year's Eve and is mainly used to receive gods. Households that do not have a large Buddhist hall generally pay special attention to it because they usually make less offerings to the Buddha. At the end of the year, they have to pay a large reward to the gods and Buddhas. The content of the Heaven and Earth Table is different from that of the permanent Buddhist hall. Except for the hanging money, incense candles, five offerings, and large offerings, most of the worshiped idols are temporary, such as "100%", which is a woodcut A picture album of divine statues; "Eighteen Buddhas and Gods in the Three Realms of Heaven and Earth", a full-scale divine code printed with watercolor woodcut on large yellow paper with rough edges; portraits of the three stars of fortune, wealth and longevity, etc. Some of the above statues are burned immediately after receiving the gods, such as "100%", while others are not burned until the fifth day of the festival, or even during the Festival of Lights. The location of the heaven and earth table is not uniform. If the main room is spacious, it can be placed in the house; if there is no space in the house, it can be placed in the courtyard.

Eating New Year’s Eve dinner

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 is always cooked by the chef on New Year's Eve.

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, and the sound of abacus and accounts came from the small shops, mixed with the laughter everywhere, one after another, filled with ears, intertwined into a cheerful New Year's Eve movement.

Eating New Year’s Eve dinner is the most lively and happy time for every household during the Spring Festival. On New Year’s Eve, the table is filled with sumptuous New Year’s dishes. The whole family is reunited, sitting around the table and having the reunion dinner together. 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 prosperous; "fish" and "yu" are homophonic, symbolizing "abundance in auspicious celebrations" and "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 for the family, just like "fire cooking oil". The last part is usually a sweet dish, wishing you a sweet life in the future. Even if you don’t know how to drink alcohol on this day, you should drink a little bit.

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 New Year (the custom of eating dumplings was passed down from the Han Dynasty), which means "Gengsui Jiaozi", the alternation of 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. Eating wontons during the New Year means taking the beginning of the new year. Legend has it that the world was in a state of chaos before it was created, and that the four directions of the universe were created only after Pangu created the world. Long noodles are also called longevity noodles. Eating noodles in the New Year is a wish for a hundred years of longevity.

Watching the Spring Festival Gala

Although this is not an ancient custom, after entering the 1980s, due to the popularity of television, the Spring Festival Gala became an indispensable part of the Chinese people Cultural "Feast"! Every year, more than one billion people around the world watch the Spring Festival Gala on TV or the Internet!

Staying up late

Since the Han Dynasty, the transition time between the old and new years has generally been at midnight. Staying up late on New Year's Eve is one of the most important annual activities. The custom of keeping the year old has been around for a long time. The earliest record can be found in the "Feng Tu Zhi" written by Zhou Chu in the Western Jin Dynasty: On New Year's Eve, each person gives gifts to each other, which is called "giving the year old"; , the blessings are complete, which is called "dividing the year"; everyone stays up all night, waiting for the dawn, which is called "keeping the year old".

"One night is two years old, five o'clock is divided into two days." On New Year's Eve, the whole family gets together to have New Year's Eve dinner, light candles or oil lamps, sit around the fire and chat, waiting to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year. At this time, the all-night vigil symbolizes driving away all evil plagues and looking forward to auspiciousness in the new year. This custom gradually became popular. In the early Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem about "keeping the year old": "The cold leaves the winter snow, and the warmth brings the spring breeze." To this day, people are still used to staying up late on New Year's Eve to welcome the new year.

In ancient times, staying up late had two meanings: older people staying up late meant "saying goodbye to the old year", which meant cherishing time; young people staying up late meant staying up late to extend the life of their parents.

Receiving God

Receiving God is a distinction between the old and new years, but the time of receiving God is not uniform. Some ceremonies begin as soon as Zizheng arrives, some begin to receive the gods at "Zizheng" time, that is, at midnight, and some begin after "Zizheng". After offering sacrifices to the stove, all the gods returned to the heavenly palace and ignored the secular affairs of the world. At midnight on New Year's Eve, that is, when the new year came, they came to the human world again to take care of matters. The ceremony of receiving the gods is held in front of the heaven and earth table, and is presided over by the eldest member of the family. Because the directions in the heaven where the gods live are different, the directions from the lower world are naturally different. As for which god to pick up and where the god comes from, you must check the "Constitution" in advance and lead the whole family to hold incense in the courtyard to pick up the god according to its direction. For example, the "Constitution" in the Xinwei year states: "The God of Wealth is due east, the God of Fortune is due south, the God of Nobility is northeast, the God of Joy is southwest, the God of Taisui is southwest, etc." After kowtowing according to the direction, stand still until the incense is gone, kowtow again, and finally remove the incense roots, idols, ingots, etc., and put them into the money and grain basin that has been prepared in the courtyard to burn them, along with pine branches, sesame straw, etc. Firecrackers went off during the reception, and the atmosphere was extremely intense.

Trampling on evil spirits

After receiving the god, spread sesame straw from the street door to the door of the house, and people walk on it and make a crackling sound, which is called "trampling on evil spirits", also known as "trampling on evil spirits". It's called "trampling on evil spirits".

Since "broken" and "haunted" have the same pronunciation, it means starting to drive away evil spirits in the new year.

Here he comes!" At this time, the owner of the house welcomed the arrival of the God of Wealth and gave the visitor a reward. The person giving the gift to the God of Wealth should say some auspicious words, such as "The gold and silver treasures are rolling in!" "There are a pair of golden lions on the left and a pair of golden phoenixes on the right."

In addition, there are people wearing red robes, gauze hats, beards, and yellow bags on their bodies, pretending to be the God of Wealth, followed by a few gongs and drums, distributing images of the God of Wealth from house to house. , to ask for reward money. Every time they come to someone's door, they sing "The left compartment is full of gold and silver, the right room is full of treasures" and other auspicious words. It is not until the owner happily takes the statue of the God of Wealth and gives them some money that they thank them repeatedly. , and beat more vigorously for a while. Amidst the sound of gongs and drums, they moved to other houses.

The first day of the first lunar month

The first day of the first lunar month was originally called "New Year's Day". The original meaning of "Yuan" was "head", which was later extended to "beginning". This day is the first day of the year, the first day of spring, and the first day of the first month, so it is called "Sanyuan"; because this day is also the dynasty of the year, the dynasty of the moon, and the dynasty of the sun, it is also called the "Three Chaos"; And because it is the first new moon, it is also called "Yuan Shuo". The first day of the first lunar month is also known as Shangri, Zhengchao, Sanshuo, and Sanshi, which means the beginning of the year, month, and day.

Open the door and firecrackers

On the morning of the Spring Festival, when the door opens, firecrackers are set off first, which is called "opening the door and firecrackers." After the sound of firecrackers, the ground was filled with red, as bright as clouds and brocade, which was called "Full of Red". At this time, the streets were full of auspiciousness and joy.

New Year greetings

On the first day of the New Year, men all get up early, put on their most beautiful clothes, dress up neatly, and go out to visit relatives and friends, pay New Year greetings to each other, and wish each other happy New Year. I wish you good luck in the coming year. There are many ways to pay New Year's greetings. Some are led by the head of the same clan and several people go from house to house to pay New Year's greetings. Some are colleagues inviting a few people to pay New Year's greetings. There are also people who gather together to congratulate each other, which is called "group worship". Since it was time-consuming and laborious to pay New Year greetings at home, some upper-class figures and scholar-bureaucrats later used name stickers to congratulate each other, thus developing the later "New Year cards".

When paying New Year greetings during the Spring Festival, the younger generation should first pay New Year greetings to the elders and wish them longevity and health. The elders can 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, because "year" and "evil" "Homophonous" means that if the younger generation gets the lucky money, they can spend their first year in peace. There are two types of New Year's money. One is made of colorful ropes threaded into a dragon shape and placed at the foot of the bed. This record is found in "Yanjing Years' Notes"; the other is the most common, which is given by parents wrapped in red paper. Children's money. New Year's money can be given to the younger generation in public after paying New Year's greetings, or parents can secretly put it under the child's pillow when the child is asleep on New Year's Eve. Nowadays, the custom of elders distributing lucky money to younger generations is still popular.

Fortune telling

In the old days, the weather in the first few days of the New Year was cloudy and sunny to predict the fortune of the year. The theory begins with "Sui Zhan" written by Dongfang Shuo of the Han Dynasty, which states that eight days after the end of the year, one day is the chicken day, the second day is the dog day, the third day is the pig day, the fourth day is the sheep day, the fifth day is the cow day, the sixth day is the horse day, and the seventh day is the horse day. The sun is a human being, and the eighth day is a grain. If the day is sunny, the object will flourish; if the day is cloudy, the object will not prosper. Later generations followed this custom and believed that the weather from the first to the tenth day of the lunar month was auspicious with clear weather, no wind and no snow. Later generations developed from accounting for age into a series of sacrifices and celebrations.

Drinking Tusu wine

Tusu wine is a medicinal wine. In ancient customs, the whole family drank Tusu wine on Yuan Day to dispel unhealthy energy. The method of making Tusu wine is: use one penny of rhubarb, one penny and five cents of platycodon, one penny and five cents of Sichuan pepper, one penny and eight cents of osmanthus heart, one penny and two cents of dogwood, and one or two pieces of saposhnikovia. Take it up at Yinshi, fry it with wine for four to five times and boil it. 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. Probably the younger ones grow up day by day and drink first to show their congratulations, while the older ones drink later to show their retention as each year passes. Su Che, a writer of the Song Dynasty, wrote in his poem "Chu Ri" that "I drink Tusu at the end of every year, and I am more than seventy years old before I know it." This is what this custom is about. This unique drinking order often evoked various emotions in ancient times, so it left a deep impression on people.

Gathering Wealth

It is said that the first day of the first lunar month is the birthday of the broom. You cannot use a broom on this day, otherwise it will sweep away luck, lose money, and attract the "broom star", causing bad luck. . If you must sweep the floor, you must sweep from the outside to the inside. It is also not allowed to pour water or take out garbage outside on this day, for fear of losing money. Today, many places still have a custom of cleaning up on New Year's Eve. On New Year's Day, no brooms are taken out, no garbage is taken out, and a large bucket is prepared to hold wastewater, and no spilling is allowed on that day.

Go back to your natal home on the second day of the first lunar month

On the second day of the first lunar month (the third day of the first lunar month in northern areas), married daughters take their husbands and children back to their natal homes to pay New Year greetings. When a daughter returns to her parents' home, she must bring a big bag of biscuits and candies, and her mother distributes them to the neighbors and folks, just like during the Chinese New Year. If there are multiple daughters in the family, and these daughters do not come back on the same day, then they have to come one at a time. The gift is quite thin, just four biscuits. However, the affection it reflects is very strong. The true meaning is "little etiquette but heavy affection". It expresses the girl's deep longing for her fellow villagers. When the girl returns home, if there is a nephew at home, the aunt will have to dig into her pocket again. Although the money was given to her on the first day of the Lunar New Year, the meaning this time is different. This custom is called "eating the sun and the day" by Chaoshan people. As the name suggests, it is just for lunch, and the daughter must rush back to her husband's house before dinner.

Worshiping the God of Wealth (North)

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 will hold activities to worship the God of Wealth. Every family offers sacrifices to the God of Wealth they received on New Year's Eve. In fact, they burned the crude prints they bought. We will eat wontons at noon today, commonly known as "Yuanbao Soup". Sacrificial offerings include fish and mutton. Big business houses in old Beijing hold large-scale sacrificial activities on this day. The sacrifices must be made from the "five major sacrifices", namely whole pigs, whole sheep, whole chickens, whole ducks, red live carp, etc., in the hope of making a fortune this year.

The third day of the first lunar month

The third day of the first lunar month is the day when Nuwa makes sheep, so it is called "Sheep Day". On this day, people cannot kill sheep. If the weather is good, it means that the sheep will be raised well this year and the people who raise sheep will have a good harvest.

Burning the Door God Paper

In the old days, on the third day and night of the Lunar New Year, the pine and cypress branches during the New Year Festival and the Door God Papers hung during the festival were burned together to indicate that the New Year was over and that the new year was coming. Start making a living. As the saying goes, "Burn the door god paper, and you will find your own health."

Millet’s Birthday

Folks believe that the third day of the first lunar month is Millet’s birthday. On this day, sacrifices are made to pray for good luck, and rice is not allowed.

Xiaonian Dynasty

It is the Tianqing Festival. It was a court festival in the Song Dynasty. In the first year of Dazhong Xiangfu, Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, because it was said that a heavenly book had descended to the earth, Zhenzong issued an edict, designating the third day of the first lunar month as the Tianqing Festival, and officials and others took five days off. Later, it was called the Xiaonian Dynasty. It did not sweep the floor, beg for fire, or draw water, just like the Sui Dynasty.

Post "Red Mouth"

In southern China, "Red Mouth" (forbidden words) must be posted on the morning of the third day of the Lunar New Year. It is considered that this day is prone to quarrels and is not suitable for New Year greetings. The so-called "chikou" is usually a red paper about seven or eight inches long and one inch wide, with some words about peace and good fortune written on it (the content has a certain format, for example: "At the beginning of the first month of Jiaxu, 1994 AD" On three days, incense should be made in front of the gods and the front door should be nailed to cut off all the male and female thieves who steal Mars. All disasters will come to heaven and good luck. This garbage was accumulated on the first and second days of the first lunar month. It must be cleaned and dumped together on the third day of the lunar new year. Otherwise, it will be like draining the gold and silver treasures from the home. In short, posting "chikou" makes people psychologically feel that they can go out safely all year round, avoid quarrels with others or various unfortunate disasters, bring more wealth to their homes, and everything goes well.

"Send off the New Year"

The New Year send-off ceremony is usually held in the evening to send the gods and ancestors back to heaven.

The fifth day of the first lunar month

The fifth day of the first lunar month is commonly known as Powu.

There is a folk custom of eating dumplings, which means to attract wealth. According to the old custom, you have to eat "water dumplings" (called "boiled dumplings" in the north) for five days. Nowadays, some people only eat them for three or two days, and some eat them every other day. However, there is no one who does not eat them. In ancient times, they were eaten in the prince's mansion. This is true in small households in the streets, even when entertaining guests. Women no longer stay taboo and start visiting each other to pay New Year greetings and congratulate each other. Newly married women return to peace on this day. According to folk custom, many taboos five years ago can be broken 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. In addition to the above taboos, the five customs of Po Wu are mainly to send away the poor, welcome the God of Wealth, and open markets for trade.

Worshiping the God of Wealth (South)

Southerners worship the God of Wealth on the fifth day of the first lunar month. According to folklore, the God of Wealth is the God of Five Ways. The so-called five roads refer to east, west, south, north, and middle, which means that you can get wealth in any of the five ways. Every Chinese New Year, people open their doors and windows at 50:00 on the first day of the lunar month, burn incense, set off firecrackers, and light fireworks to welcome the God of Wealth. After receiving the God of Wealth, everyone also eats Lutou wine, often until dawn. Everyone is full of hopes of getting rich, hoping that the God of Wealth can bring gold and silver to their homes and make them rich in the new year. It is believed that the sooner you pick up the road head, the better. The earliest one to pick up the road head is the true god, which is particularly effective, so it is called "grabbing the road head". In some places, people really "rush to grab the road" on the fourth day of the first lunar month, and it has become a custom.

Sending the poor

"Sending the poor" on the fifth day of the first lunar month is a very distinctive annual custom in ancient China. Its meaning is to offer sacrifices to poor ghosts (poor gods). Poor ghost, also known as "poor son", according to legend, poor ghost is the son of Zhuan Xu. He is frail and short, and likes to wear rags and drink porridge. In the Hancheng area of ??Shaanxi Province, people are not allowed to go out on the fifth day. Fresh meat must be roasted in a pot, and madou must be stir-fried to make it crackle and make a sound. It is believed that this can eliminate poverty and bring wealth. In addition, in the old days, people had to eat very full on New Year's Eve or the fifth day of the first lunar month, which was commonly known as "filling the poor hole." The widely popular folk custom of sending the poor away reflects the traditional psychology of the Chinese people who generally hope to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, bid farewell to the old poverty and hardship, and welcome a better life in the new year.

Opening of the market

It is an old custom that during the Spring Festival, all shops of all sizes will be closed from the beginning of the new year, and the market will open on the fifth day of the first lunar month. It is customary to regard the fifth day of the first lunar month as the holy day of wealth. It is believed that choosing this day to open the market will definitely attract wealth.

The seventh day of the first lunar month

The seventh day of the first lunar month is Human Day, also known as "Human Victory Festival", "Human Festival", "Population Day", "Human Seventh Day", etc. Legend has it that when Nuwa first created the world, she created humans on the seventh day after creating animals such as chickens, dogs, pigs, cows, and horses, so this day is the birthday of humans. People's Day customs began to exist in the Han Dynasty, and they began to pay attention to them after the Wei and Jin Dynasties. In ancient times, people had the custom of wearing "Rensheng". Rensheng is a kind of headdress, also called Caisheng or Huasheng. Since the Jin Dynasty, people have cut ribbons to make flowers, cut ribbons to make people, or engraved gold foil to put them on screens or wear them in their hair. In addition, there is also the custom of climbing high to compose poems. After the Tang Dynasty, people paid more attention to this festival. Every year on Human Day, the emperor would give the officials colorful ribbons to win the festival, and he would also hold a high banquet for the officials. If the weather is fine on the seventh day of the first lunar month, the population will be safe and the going in and out will be smooth.

"Xuntian"

On this day, people eat spring pancakes and roll "box dishes" (a kind of cooked meat food), and spread pancakes in the courtyard to "xuntian".

Eating Qibao Soup

Qibao Soup is a soup made from seven kinds of vegetables. It is eaten during the day to get good omens and is said to be able to remove evil spirits and eliminate evil spirits. Cure all diseases. Different regions have different products, different fruits and vegetables, and different meanings. Guangdong Chaoshan uses mustard, kale, leeks, spring vegetables, celery, garlic, and cloves; Hakka people use celery, garlic, green onions, coriander, leeks and fish, meat, etc.; Taiwan and Fujian use spinach, celery, onions, garlic, Leeks, mustard greens, shepherd's purse, cabbage, etc. Among them, celery and onions indicate intelligence, garlic indicates calculation, and mustard indicates longevity.

Sending the God of Fire

In Shandong Peninsula, on the seventh day of the first lunar month, children will choose a wooden stick of about two meters and wrap it with wheat straw. Tied up, this is what is called "Vulcan". At dusk, one end of the "Vulcan" is lit at the door of the house, and the children hold the other end of the "Vulcan" and run away from home until it burns out. This activity means sending the "God of Fire" out of the house, so that there will be no fires in the house within a year and the house will be safe.