New Year customs in northern Fujian

Organizing New Year’s Goods

The Chinese New Year is almost here, and every household is showing off its festive spirit. Everyone’s schedule is packed with things to do, such as buying New Year’s goods, buying new clothes, and enjoying a prosperous New Year. Activities such as dinner, visiting relatives to pay New Year greetings, visiting temple fairs, playing mahjong, setting off fireworks and lighting firecrackers all come one after another. In this small county town, the atmosphere of the Spring Festival is becoming more and more intense. The streets and alleys are decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, filled with red lanterns, beautiful Chinese knots, and many exquisite paper-cuts and writing materials made by folk artists. Spring couplets and so on. The supermarket was even more crowded, with citizens going out to buy various items needed for the New Year. This place seems to be the world of children, with all kinds of snacks, toys, and clothes available. On this day, adults will not refuse the children's various requests. Every child has a bright and happy smile on his face.

New Year’s Eve Dinner: Go for a gourmet feast

Every New Year’s Eve, I always go back to my home, and the family gets together and has a meal. On this day every year, our parents are always the busiest. They get up early to buy and choose vegetables without stopping for a moment. When it was time to eat, they were still busy in the kitchen, bringing steaming, delicious dishes to the table one after another. When we have almost eaten, they can sit down and eat a little. After we finished eating, we all set off fireworks together, and they were busy clearing away the dishes and cleaning them. Children will never grow up in the eyes of their parents. All parents in the world are trying their best to give the best to their children, but their children are not always able to accompany them. Thinking of this, I feel sad in my heart. It feels sour. Therefore, every year I come back, I cherish every minute and every second I spend with my parents and family.

Visit temple fairs and experience southern religious customs

Spring Festival temple fairs happen every year, and this year is no exception. Temple fairs in many places are nothing more than trying snacks and shopping for some gadgets. They are quite lively and the streets are bustling with people coming and going. But the temple fair in our hometown is a religious "baptism". Starting from the early morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, people have been going to the temple on the mountain one after another. People want to get the first incense of the New Year and pray for blessings and peace for their families. This kind of religious belief has gradually faded in the eyes of young people nowadays, but in my hometown there are still many young people who go to the mountain to pray for blessings every year, so this custom has been preserved.

There are three main halls and three small halls in the temple, which are dedicated to Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Maitreya Buddha, Monkey King, Four Heavenly Kings, Eighteen Arhats and other gods. People come here Naturally, people are burning incense and worshiping Buddha here, and everyone looks very pious. On the first day of the first lunar month, the temple will provide free noodles. Therefore, after burning incense and worshiping Buddha, everyone will go to the temple canteen to eat a bowl of hot noodles. Naturally, there will be a lot of noodles on this day. Volunteers came up the mountain to help. This is the big temple fair held in our small town.