How to celebrate the New Year in Quanzhou, Fujian?

China's traditional festivals are diverse in form and rich in content. They are an integral part of the long history and culture of our Chinese nation.

"Respecting God and congratulating Zheng" is the New Year custom in Quanzhou

New Year

From the first to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Quanzhou is called "New Year". After fifteen years, the "year" is considered to have passed. The folk song goes: "On the first day of the lunar month, on the second day of the lunar month, on the third day of the lunar month, Wu Ziniang (Zi Niang means women, women do not go to the streets on this day); on the fourth day of the lunar month, the gods fell to the ground (the Kitchen Lord reported back from the sky); on the fifth day of the lunar month, he scooped up fertilizer ( Digging out excrement, farming begins); Separating the loom on the sixth day of the lunar month (organizing the loom, separating the warp and weft threads, and women start weaving); Seven Yuan on the seventh day of the lunar month (one day, taking vegetables, fruits and other seven items to make the 'Qibao soup' ); the eighth day is complete (the rice cakes are eaten); the ninth day is the birth of God; the tenth day is a good food day (it means the weather is cold and it is better to drink at home); the eleventh day invites the son-in-law; the twelveth day goes to look for it (the woman returns to her parents' home to visit) ; Thirteenth, eat minced rice with mustard greens (minced rice is rice porridge. If you get tired of eating wine and meat for days, you change your taste); Fourteenth, tie a lamp shed; fifteenth, Shangyuan pills; Sixteenth, 'Di Ma' is born; Seventeenth, 'How can that be born'? (The festival has passed like this) "

Respecting God

As soon as Zizheng time (zero o'clock) comes, the sound of firecrackers is heard everywhere, and people set up cases in the halls of their homes. Offerings such as three animals, fruits, tea, and gold tea, burn three sticks of incense, light candles, worship the "God of Heaven", and honor the ancestors. This kind of sacrifice lasts until the fourth day of the lunar month.

Kaizheng

On New Year's Eve, the bell rings at 12 o'clock late at night, ushering in the dawn of the new year. While "respecting God" on the day of Zizheng, every household sets off firecrackers and opens the door to welcome the spring. Naxiang, commonly known as "Kaizheng".

He Zheng

In the early morning, everyone, men, women, old and young, got up, washed and put on new clothes that had been prepared. For breakfast, the family eats noodles with eggs and eggs, with the shells removed, which is meant to get rid of bad luck and welcome good luck. Noodles symbolize longevity and longevity. After breakfast, we go out to visit neighbors, relatives and friends, greet each other with smiles, and say "congratulations" to each other when we meet for the first time, commonly known as "congratulations", which also means New Year's greetings, until the Lantern Festival. When guests come to your door, you should offer candies, preserves, or drink sweet tea or coffee to "sweeten" the guests to show that they have a sweet start.

Group worship

Quanzhou Prefecture and Customs Chronicles written by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty quoted the county annals of the Song Dynasty as follows: "Yuanzheng congratulations, village elders meet together to worship, which saves the trouble of traveling back and forth. The county The Shou and County magistrates led their officials to meet at Gongwei, then at Chengtian Temple, and then at Pan Palace during the reign of Chunyou (1241-1252). It is a gift for a person to have wine and fruit. Now this ritual was abolished. "It was restored after liberation.

New Year's money

Underage juniors pay New Year greetings to their elders, and the elders give a "red envelope" as New Year's money.

Taboos

On the first day of the first lunar month, at the beginning of the new year, everything is based on Naji and good luck. There are many taboos:

Avoid drinking tea, avoid eating porridge, This way you can avoid getting caught in the rain while going out in the future.

Eat dry rice for breakfast, accompanied by vegetables cooked with whole leaves, commonly known as "longevity vegetables".

Do not beat or scold your children, do not quarrel with others, do not say unlucky words, and do not ask for money or debt.

Avoid cutting things with a knife to show your abstinence from killing. If all the food needs to be cut with a knife, it will be fully prepared on New Year's Eve.

Don’t use a broom to sweep the floor, as it means welcoming the New Year and receiving good fortune, for fear that it will be swept away.

Avoid wearing old clothes, wear new clothes, which is said to "get rid of the old and welcome the new"; avoid going barefoot, as it is unlucky to be stabbed in the foot when walking.

Don't break utensils, dishes, etc., otherwise all your blessings will be destroyed in the year; if you accidentally break them, throw the fragments into a well to suppress them.

The lights are not turned off on New Year’s Eve, the first night of the Lunar New Year, the fifth night of the Lunar New Year, and the Lantern Festival night, which means that the auspicious light will remain forever.