Every year, family members keep up the year old. What is the origin of keeping up the year old?

Watching the New Year's Eve at the age of thirty is commonly known as staying up all year long. Why is it called staying up all year? There is such an interesting story that has been passed down from generation to generation among Chinese folk: According to legend, in the ancient prehistoric times, there was a ferocious monster, which people called Nian.

Every New Year's Eve, the Nian beast will crawl out of the sea to harm people and animals, destroy farmland, and bring disasters to people who have worked hard for a year. In order to avoid the Nian beast, people would close their doors early on the 30th night of the twelfth lunar month before it gets dark. They would not dare to sleep and wait for dawn. In order to kill time and strengthen their courage, they drank alcohol. Wait until the Nian beast stops coming out on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year before you dare to go out.

When people meet each other, they bow to each other, congratulate each other, and are glad that they were not eaten by the Nian beast. After many years of this, nothing happened, and people have relaxed their vigilance against the Nian beast.

On the night of the 30th of one year, the Nian beast suddenly rushed to a village in the south of the Yangtze River. Almost all the people in the village were eaten by the Nian beast, except for a newlywed family with red curtains and red clothes. The two of them were safe and sound. There were also a few children who lit a bunch of bamboos and played in the courtyard. The fire was bright red, and the bamboos made a crackling sound after burning. The Nian beast turned here and turned around and ran away when he saw the fire.

Since then, people have known that the Nian beast is afraid of red, light and noise. At the end of the year, every household will put up red paper, wear red robes, hang red lanterns, beat gongs and drums, and set off firecrackers. The Nian beast did not dare to come again. In the "Book of Songs·Xiaoya·Ting Liao", there is a record of the light of Ting Liao. The so-called Ting Liao is a torch made of bamboo poles. After the bamboo poles burn, the air in the bamboo joints expands, and the bamboo cavity bursts, making a crackling sound. This is the origin of firecrackers.

But in some places, villagers don’t know that the Nian beast is afraid of red, and they are often eaten by the Nian beast. This incident later spread to Ziweixing in the sky. In order to save people, he determined to destroy the Nian beast. One year, when he waited for the Nian Beast to come out, he knocked it down with a fireball, and then locked it to a stone pillar with a thick iron chain. From then on, every New Year, people always burn incense and ask Ziweixing to come down to the next world to ensure peace.

Extended information:

Staying up late is a Chinese folk custom on New Year's Eve, also known as staying up late, staying up late, or staying up late. It refers to the family reunion on New Year's Eve and staying up late to welcome the arrival of the Lunar New Year. Keeping the year old on New Year's Eve is one of the most important annual customs. The custom of keeping the year old has been around for a long time. The earliest record can be found in "Fengtu Ji" written by Zhou Chu in the Western Jin Dynasty: On New Year's Eve, each person greets each other with gifts, which is called "giving the new year"; "Dividing the year old"; everyone stays up all night waiting for the dawn, which is called "keeping the year old".

Keeping the year old on New Year’s Eve is one of the most important Spring Festival customs. The custom of keeping the year old has been around for a long time. The earliest record can be found in "Fengtu Ji" written by Zhou Chu in the Western Jin Dynasty: On New Year's Eve, each person greets each other with gifts, which is called "giving the new year"; "Dividing the year old"; everyone stays up all night waiting for the dawn, which is called "keeping the year old". ?

“One night is two years old, and the fifth watch 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 good luck 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.

New Year's Eve Dinner

The New Year's Eve dinner begins with the New Year's Eve dinner. Some people have to eat until late at night. According to Zong Mao's "Jingchu Years' Records", the custom of eating New Year's Eve dinner has existed at least in the Southern and Northern Dynasties.

New Year's money

When they watch the New Year's Eve, children will get New Year's money from their elders. It is said that the New Year's money can suppress evil spirits, because "Sui" and "Evil" are homophonic, so the younger generation can get the New Year's money. Spending one year in peace also symbolizes having money all year round.

This custom began in the Song Dynasty. At that time, the New Year's money was specially made and could not be used for trading in the market. The coins with the smallest face value in ancient times were made of copper, so they were called copper plates and copper coins. Copper coins are round with a square hole in the middle, so literati jokingly called money "Brother Kong Fang".

There are words above and below the square hole on the front of the copper coin, mostly the year of the emperor when it was issued, and there are also words on the left and right: "Tongbao" or "Yuanbao". Copper coins issued in the Yuan and Qing dynasties often had "Mongolian" and "Manchu" written on the back.

The shape and size of New Year's money are similar to copper coins, but the front and back of the New Year's money are mostly patterns related to growth and lifespan. It was not until after the Revolution of 1911 that no one produced lucky money, and paper money appeared. Cash was used as lucky money, packed in red paper bags, called "red envelopes." Nowadays, the most popular mantra for children to greet the New Year is "Congratulations on getting rich, bring me the red envelope."

Why do we need to divide the New Year’s money on New Year’s Eve? What is the significance of this custom? For minors, they become one year older after New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Eve is also called New Year’s Eve. It is called "Sui", and "Sui" contains two meanings: one is the year, and the other is the age. Therefore, "Luo Sui" means suppressing the age of the year and saying goodbye to the old year.

Why do we use lucky money that is the same shape as copper coins to celebrate the New Year? Because in ancient times, copper coins were round in shape, representing the sky, and square holes in them, representing the earth. This is the so-called "round sky and square place". The emperor is the emperor, the emperor is the earth, the heaven and the earth are the largest, and they can suppress anything. So, in today's scientifically advanced and highly civilized society, why do we still follow the custom of sharing new year's money? Because this custom contains care for life and reminds adults and minors to cherish life and stay away from all behaviors that endanger life. : Drug abuse, violence, drunk driving...

Stepping on the New Year

Tape sesame stalks with ingot-shaped rolls made of yellow paper and pile them into a bundle, which is called a "treasure bowl." Then, the whole family would crush it with their feet, using the word "broken" to mean "year". They also borrowed the auspicious meaning of sesame seeds blooming day by day to wish the family prosperity and express their blessings and wishes for the new year.

Entertainment

In ancient times, on New Year’s Eve, families got together to eat New Year’s Eve dinner and talk and laugh. There are also some ordinary people who play pai gow, throw dice, bet on stud, play mahjong, etc. Modern Chinese people tend to watch TV programs as a family, such as the Spring Festival Gala, waiting for the arrival of the New Year.

Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia-Shou Sui