The folk customs in Chongqing urgently need extra points.

The most ethnic festival in the family is the Chinese New Year. The most national song and dance in the festival is "Sheba Day".

Sheba Day "Sheba" means "wave"; "Heaven" means "doing". In Tujia language, the verb-object inversion, "Sheba Ri" is literally translated as "waving" and freely translated as "waving dance" in Chinese. It is an activity of Tujia people's sacrifice and prayer, which is usually held on the first day of New Year's Day. Now it has developed into a comprehensive folk activity such as sacrifice, prayer, song and dance, socialization, sports competition and material exchange. "Wave" comes in different sizes. It is held every three to five years, which is called "big wave". "Big Hand" has a large scale, many sets and a long time. It lasted for seven or eight days and was held in front of the "Hand Wash Hall" together with fair trade, literature and sports activities. "Waving Arms Hall", in Tuwang Temple. "Xiaolang" is small in scale, with few events, usually one to three days, mostly held in the ancestral hall of this clan.

Tujia people in the wave activities recall the hardships of their ancestors' pioneering work, cherish the memory of their ancestors' achievements and show the life scenes of Tujia ancestors. The whole activity has a strong trace of ancestor worship.

Chinese New Year: Tujia people worship their ancestors very much and call the ancestor worship day "Chinese New Year". However, the time of "Chinese New Year" varies with surnames, clans and regions. For example, the surnames of You Shui He Xi Peng, Shi Di Peng, Bai, Li, Ma, Cai and Tian are March 3; Tian, the leading village in Youshui Town, April 8; Li's surname is the first day of July in Keda, Tan, Youshui and other townships. After the Chinese New Year, an ancestor worship ceremony will be held in the ancestral hall, first to the local king and then to the ancestors of the family. In the ancestral hall, firecrackers rang, shovels roared, horns rang, and "ho-ho" bursts. Its grand occasion is incomparable to other festivals, and later it gradually changed to family sacrifice. Sacrifice to the king of the earth, there are Peng Gong, Tian He Xiang Laoguan; There are also sacrifices to Ran Xuanwei, Tian Xuanwei, Yang Xuanwei and Ma. In offering sacrifices to their ancestors, Yang offered sacrifices to Yang Zai's heirs, Li offered sacrifices to the third ancestor of the word "Tian", and some of them were eight kings such as Peng and Xie. After the sacrifice, I visited the village, visited relatives and friends, and entertained guests with songs, which really lasted for three or five days.

Catch up with the Spring Festival: Tujia people generally celebrate the Spring Festival one or two days earlier than Han people, and some celebrate it six or seven days earlier, which is called "catching up with the Spring Festival". The time of "catching up with the Chinese New Year" varies according to the surname and clan. Take Youyang County as an example; Peng's surname is in Laozhai Township, and the twelfth lunar month has passed the "catch-up year"; Peng's surname is in Houxi Township, and the twelfth lunar month has passed "catching up with the New Year"; Li in Daxiang and Tanxiang passed the "Catch the Year" on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month. The way of "catching up with the New Year" is not exactly the same. During the Chinese New Year, Li in HKUST and Shatan Township is forbidden to kill chickens and pigs, and it is forbidden to light oil lamps at night. Only candles can be lit all night. When some Peng surnames are already "catching up with the Spring Festival", men have to cook in the morning. When the meal is ready and the ancestors are worshipped, wake the women and children up. After dinner, the whole family went out to play. Tujia people usually cook in one pot. After dinner, they cut the meat, add seasoning, layer after layer of meat, radish and so on. , a pot of cooking. When the "New Year's Eve" is ready, we must sacrifice to our ancestors first. When offering sacrifices, burn incense and candles, burn money and turn paper into paper, kneel three times and knock nine times, miss the merits of ancestors and pray for blessing.

In the year of the Communist Youth League, we should first feed fruit trees, plowshares, cowsheds, pigsty and henhouses, and stick "lucky money" to pheasants, grinders and hoes, so as to make crops flourish, livestock flourish, fruits flourish and financial resources flourish. * * jubilant mass articles * *

A. Say goodbye to the old and welcome the new to grab the silver water

Tip: In Zhongliangshan District, the custom of "grabbing silver water" is still preserved on New Year's Eve. In the laughter of you fighting for each other, a wonderful year began.

Keywords: silver water, wealth, war

[Fight for money]

Modaokan in Zhongliang Town, Shapingba District still retains the custom of grabbing silver water.

This is called robbing silver water. It was not water that turned into silver, but the first bucket of water on New Year's Eve. That well must be the one at the eastern end of the village, which means that good days will come from the east. The villagers believe that whoever can grab the first bucket of water from the well will get rich in the coming year.

At 0: 00 on New Year's Eve/KLOC-0, the villagers left their homes one after another and gathered at the well. Adults talk about their families, while children set off fireworks nearby, waiting for the arrival of the New Year.

Do you think this is a warm and touching emotional exchange picture?

No!

The location of the adult station is carefully selected, and the goal is to grab the silver water at the first time. All the "eighteen weapons" such as buckets, washbasins and water scoops are carried with you, ready to join the battle for silver and water at any time.

[New Year's Eve silver water enters the door]

Near midnight 12, the noise gradually died down, and everyone held their breath and waited for the countdown to 10 second. The nearest to the inner circumference of the well is the strong labor of each family, and the position of water loading tools is getting closer and closer to the wellhead, striving for an instant lead.

Villager Hu Qun described the suffocating wait like this: "My heart is beating faster and faster, my throat is too dry to move because of nervousness or excitement, and I can't hear breathing in my ears. I and the villagers next to me have become awkward. "

The New Year's bell seemed to break the spell by magic, and the "puppet" by the well immediately came back to life. Men are fighting for silver water, women are shouting men's names in the outer layer, and children are screaming and jumping excitedly in the outer layer to cheer for their fathers or uncles.

At this critical moment, no one will be polite, with bare arms and black elbows together. The men tried to push others away.

Filling the bucket first does not mean robbing the silver water, but also taking it home and pouring it into the water tank. Men carrying two buckets are flying on the ridge in the moonlight, shouting "Golden water and silver flow in" all the way, while women are laughing behind, and the children have already run home and waited.

A few minutes later, cheers came from every household in the village, announcing the success of robbing silver this year. Without referees, champions, bonuses and trophies, the villagers got a good wish for a happy life.

Small language: robbing silver water is a hard job. How can you fight with others without physical strength? Go to the gym tomorrow.

Halloween in the first month

Tip: Tujia children in southeast Chongqing always hope that every day is the first day of the first month and they can eat sweets and cakes sent by their neighbors.

Key words: children, candy, visiting.

Tujia custom: On the morning of the first day of the first month, children go door-to-door to pay New Year greetings to their elders in the same village. In the home where children receive New Year greetings, children should be given candy, cakes and snacks as gifts, and the children must be under 12 years old.

Western children will play tricks first and threaten to treat them or play tricks, while Tujia children can get gifts by saying "Happy New Year" sweetly and then greeting their elders' health.

The cleverness of children on weekdays is directly proportional to the number of gifts. Children who usually give adults a headache must be honest at this time. According to the custom of Tujia nationality, although each family should give gifts, there is no regulation on the type and quantity. If a child only gets a candy or even a melon seed as a gift, that child's parents will be ashamed to death.

After getting the presents, the children gathered in the dam to compare with each other. The child who gets the most presents must be all smiles. Next year's child, Faye Wong, will be his.

Xiaoyu: When I was a child, I was a good boy (alas, an egg flew in and swollen my face), and I got at least two "high marks" (friends who just threw eggs, please throw another chopped green onion, scrambled eggs with chopped green onion are still short of materials, thank you).

C. Three shots shocked Wushan

Tip: Mahjong players are afraid of shooting, but Wushan people are eager to shoot. What's going on here?

Keywords: shooting, signal, and finally madness

During the Spring Festival, the "three-eye cannon" (reported by this newspaper) is a traditional custom of the Gaoshan nationality in Wuxi during the Spring Festival. Because his new family moved to the county seat, Lao Huo of Ninghe Ancient Town in Wuxi County finally decided to go crazy.

Because the gunfire was too loud, Lao Huo chose the shooting point behind the house. Traditionally, Lao Huo held a gun in his left hand, leaving little time for a 20-cm-long lead bullet. His right hand lit the lead bullet with a cigarette butt, and his left hand stretched out quickly and steadily, pointing the gun at the sky. I saw lead with Mars hissing into the gun bore, and suddenly there was a bombardment and the earth shook. The flame drew a red line in the darkness, which was more than one meter long. Then according to this method, the last two shots are fired, and three shots are considered lucky.

Lao Huo told me that this year, the first shot was to move to a new house, the second shot was to make the whole family happy and healthy, and the third shot was to send the most primitive New Year firecrackers to readers and editors of urban hot news. Humorous, he also reminded everyone not to blame him for playing mahjong and shooting.

Xiao Yu: It turns out that shooting has a double meaning, and you have learned a lot!

D. On the Lantern Festival, fire is used as a lamp.

Tip: It is said that the Lantern Festival is like fire. On the fifteenth day of the first month of Fengjie every year, fire is used as a lamp, which is even more lively.

Keywords: New Year, blessing, lanterns,

In Fengjie countryside, there is a custom of burning fire on New Year's Eve. After New Year's Eve, the flame didn't go out until the fifteenth day of the first month.

On the Lantern Festival, the villagers began to "light". Instead of putting lanterns, the villagers bundled the prepared straw and lit it with the fire on New Year's Eve.

From the morning, fields, hillsides and even paths will become places where every household puts lights. Some people throw torches into cultivated land or into the cold roadside. Courageously running around the hillside with smoking straw, to make matters worse, they are riding motorcycles and dragging lit straw everywhere.

At noon, women tied straw in the house, while men lit it outside, held it gently and threw it in the front yard and behind the mountain. The lit straw fell on the cold ground, the flame was swallowed up by the earth, and the thick smoke seemed to express strong dissatisfaction with the land. In order to light more lights, every household is scrambling to throw torches, and busybodies throw firecrackers into the smoke pile from time to time, making grass and flowers splash.

According to the old people, the bigger the smoke, the better. Where there is smoke, there will be a bumper harvest in the coming year. The fire of the fifteenth day gradually decreased at night until the fireworks were swallowed up by the vast night.

Lighting a lamp is to pray for a pest disaster in the coming year. It is a gift for autumn, burning hope and releasing the best wishes for the coming year.

Small language: a lamp is like a fire, and a fire is like a lamp. I really want to feast my eyes.

E. tiring "turn around"

Hint: Hechuan and Vu Thang belong to Chongqing and Sichuan respectively, which are bordered by each other and have enclaves in their respective territories. People here will have a party during the New Year.

Key words: "boiled water", abdominal distension, queuing and other meals.

The people in the enclave don't go out on the first day of the New Year, and they go out at the beginning of the New Year's Day, commonly known as the "transition meeting".

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the villagers in Tian Zi Village in Hechuan got up very early, packed up new year's goods and sent them to their relatives one by one.

Go to a family, put down the burden and take out the prepared new year's goods. Although the relatives are polite, they are full of joy when holding gifts, and they quickly pull them into the house to drink "boiled water" (poached eggs). At least two bowls in one bowl, even number is auspicious.

When relatives are few, they will put down their burdens, sit in the yard and relax, thinking about where to go next. At the handover meeting, worship the elders first and then the "flat team". Fortunately, I can visit four or five houses in the morning, and just "boiling water" makes people feel bloated and round.

Relatives are lucky to get together; If you live separately, it won't cost much to distribute this gift for two days. The host who receives the gift usually explicitly "warns" the New Year greetings to come for lunch or midnight snack at noon or evening. The more families get this gift, the meal will have to wait in line for two or three days. Eating from one house to another is still a bit rampant in the countryside.

It seems that this transfer is tired first and then tired, which is really unbearable.

Xiaoyu: As the old saying goes, no bowl of rice is delicious.

Dancing for twelve years.

Tip: On the New Year's Eve of family reunion, there is no lively reunion dinner, only mysterious dance and the pious prayer of Tu Laosi (a Tujia mage). All this is because of a crying newborn baby. ...

Key words: newborn baby, please dance with God and lock up a hundred families.

Houxi Township in Youyang is a Tujia community. The geographical location here is remote and the mountain road is difficult to travel. It takes a day to go to the county seat.

Due to the inconvenient transportation, many Tujia traditional customs are still preserved here. Dancing on New Year's Eve is one of them.

If a child is born on the 30th of a year, he must be invited to dance at home. Every New Year's Eve, Tu Laosi will be invited to dance until the child reaches 12 years old.

Tian Jinghong of Houxi Township told the reporter: "Tujia people believe that children born on New Year's Eve gather all the aura and suffocation of a year, and indigenous teachers must be invited to dance with the gods to dispel the suffocation."

After eating and drinking, the toast began to dance with God. The child was wrapped up and watched by the parents.

First of all, the toast should put a portrait of Tujia in the room, then put on an official hat, put on a cassock and hang eight dresses around his waist. The utensils used are eight-treasure bronze bells, horns, tokens, bamboo sticks and necessary knives and staffs.

At about 8 o'clock in the evening, Tu Laosi kept waving around the wall of the room with a staff in his left hand and a knife in his right hand, muttering something, and then walked out of various dazzling dance steps, such as butterfly crossing the flower step, swallow returning to Xiang step, lion jumping rabbit step, plus exaggerated expressions and movements.

The instruments hanging on the toast make all kinds of sounds, one after another. After jumping for nearly half an hour, the local company will take a bowl of clear water, take a big sip and spray it on the four corners of the hall four times, which is clean and dull.

Children born on weekdays will draw a "ten" on their foreheads 40 days after birth to ward off evil spirits. For a child born at the age of 30, Mr. Tu Laosi can draw the word "ten".

At the end of the dance, some old four pictures will pretend to draw a few movements with their own knives next to the child's little face, indicating that they have driven away ShaQi for the child.

[A hundred silver locks keep you safe]

Hundreds of locks are the most obvious signs of children born in 30 years.

Baijiasuo is generally made of silver, with exquisite workmanship. /kloc-Never take it off under 0/2 years old. Some families, in order to prevent children from naughty damage to the lock, will drop beeswax on the lock and check whether it is damaged at any time.

Small language: poverty inherits the wind! How touching! Anyone who has a tissue, borrow one first, tears are running wild.

B. Heaven tasting ceremony of harmony between man and nature

Tip: Before dawn, the old man got out of bed softly and went out quietly with his bag on his back. This is not a thriller, but the new year's sacrifice ceremony for the elderly in Daba Mountain has begun.

Keywords: dense forest, darkness, Daba Mountain

In the village near Shaanxi in Chengkou County, there is another custom: in the early morning of New Year's Day, the old people at home climb mountains to worship heaven.

This custom has an elegant name: Pintian.

In the cold winter of Daba Mountain, the mountain wind roared and it was freezing. This is a test of the old man's will. The old man must overcome difficulties and reach the top of the mountain nearby.

It's called Pintian, but there is nothing complicated. The old man put pig's head meat, peanuts, water wine and other sacrifices on a slightly flat ground, and then performed the most important ceremony: meditation.

Find a flat land, sit cross-legged, put it on your knees, close your eyes and breathe evenly. The old man Pintian gave up his distractions and kept chanting the names of his family and what he wanted. Everything is fine!

The old man who lived a good life said that keeping a meditation posture for a long time made his body feel light and floating. When the whole person feels that the world does not exist, even the idea of meditation does not exist, and his request is answered by Heaven, the taste of Heaven is complete.

Finally, the old man bowed three times to the sunrise horizon, and then went down the mountain happily.

After returning home, the old man can't tell anyone whether he is successful or not, otherwise his wish can't come true.

Small language: For young people in the city, a warm nest is the most comfortable (go back to sleep and don't disturb)!

C. one day earlier than Han nationality

Tip: Tujia people have their own national characteristics, that is, "catch up with the new year."

Keywords: catching up with the Chinese New Year, leftovers, rice cakes.

Catching the New Year is the Spring Festival of Tujia people, which is the most grand festival of Tujia people, one day earlier than the Spring Festival of Han people. The leap year is the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, and the average year is the 28th of the twelfth lunar month.

There are two theories about the origin of catching the New Year.

One is that in a certain year, Tujia ancestors got the news that the enemy was attacking the Spring Festival and decided to celebrate the Spring Festival one day earlier. Thus, on the day of the Spring Festival, Tujia ancestors were in high spirits and wiped out the enemy in one fell swoop. After this day was established, it became a catch-up year.

Another way of saying it is: During the Jiading period of the Southern Song Dynasty, some people led the rebellion in Yuanjiang and Youyang, and the local king received the imperial edict and sent troops to suppress it. Due to the tight time, I can't wait for the New Year, so I decided to celebrate the New Year in advance.

According to the old rules, Tujia people can only eat leftovers until the fifteenth day of the first month after cooking on New Year's Day. The women get up at 5 o'clock in the morning to make a fire and cook, and put all the delicious food they didn't see on the table.

After a busy day, the family sat around the fire, eating sweet Ciba, drinking intoxicating rice wine and tasting delicious Tujia bacon. The flame in the stove rose very high, and everyone's face turned red, so Tujia people welcomed the arrival of the New Year.

Small language: The reporter was moved by the lively and festive Tujia New Year. I really want to go home and have a lively New Year!

D. Visit the pigsty door in New Year's greetings

Tip: Why do you even have to worship the pigsty door? Can you believe it?

Keywords: sacrifice, pigsty gate, head and tail

Wushan people who live in the east of Chongqing express their expectations for the coming year in a unique way of "worshipping the pigsty door" in the New Year.

Miaozhen, formerly known as Damiao, is located in the south of the Yangtze River, about120km away from Wushan County. Zhao Benlin, a local 60-year-old man, told us about the folk custom of "worshipping the pigsty door" during the Spring Festival.

Every year on New Year's Eve, the first thing Lao Zhao does when he gets up is to clean the pigsty, and then prepare sacrifices for the keeper of the pigsty. It's a strange sacrifice. It is a wax pig's head with a pig's tail in its mouth, indicating that this family has a head and a tail in the new year.

When worshiping the door god, the head of the family, Lao Zhao, walked in front with a pig's head, followed by his lover. The couple stood about two meters away from the pigsty door. Lao Zhao inserted three incense sticks at the door of the pigsty and burned a pile of paper money in the brazier next to the door of the pigsty. The sudden sound of firecrackers made the pigs in the pigsty tremble with fear.

At this time, Lao Zhao put his hands on his chest, bowed to the pigsty door three times, then put the plate on the pigsty door and read some auspicious words in his mouth, wishing the livestock prosperity in the coming year. When adults worship, children usually play behind Lao Zhao, stare at the pig's head and laugh, and say "it stinks" from time to time.

After the ceremony, the pig's head was put into the pot to cook, and the family happily ate the pig's head for the New Year.

Small language: Worship You Zhu and eat pigs, hee hee, human psychological activities are really hard to understand!

E. only pay New Year greetings to my mother-in-law.

Tip: it is not patriarchal, nor is it sexist.

Keywords: senior one, mother-in-law, turning a blind eye

The first day of the first month is the day when Tujia daughter-in-law returns to her mother's house, and the son-in-law must accompany her. This is the Tujia custom in southeast Chongqing.

If the two parties are not married, the man can also ask to go to the woman's house for the New Year. At this time, the woman will think carefully. If she agrees to the man's request, she agrees to marry him.

Tujia son-in-law is very cautious when visiting her mother-in-law. Tujia people don't like to compare with others, but there are two gifts that a son-in-law must bring when he comes to the door: a 6 kg glutinous rice cake made by a son-in-law himself and a complete pig's head. Ciba and pig's head represent the son-in-law's filial piety and good promise to his wife.

Everyone in the family can greet the young couple except the father-in-law. Not only will the father-in-law not come out to meet him, but he will turn a blind eye even if he sees his son-in-law at home. It is only when the son-in-law ignores the old father-in-law that he shows respect for the woman's family.

When the son-in-law enters the door, he should first give the big bus Zan and the pig's head to his mother-in-law, then kowtow to his mother-in-law and pay a New Year call to his wife. The mother-in-law will let the young couple have tea first, and then give the son-in-law a pair of shoes made by herself as a gift.

This pair of shoes is very learned. If the shoes are fine in workmanship and delicate in texture, it means that the mother-in-law is very satisfied with this son-in-law. If the shoes are of different sizes and the workmanship is not exquisite, it means that the mother-in-law has a problem with her son-in-law. The son-in-law is going to secretly cheer.

This Tujia custom is only preserved in several villages in southeast Chongqing.

Xiaoyu: Alas, it is not easy to be a hairy son-in-law these days!

F. Eat "begging" in the group year

Tip: In liangping county, it is a tradition to eat "begging" during the Spring Festival. Do you know what begging is and how to call it begging?

Keywords: reunion, begging, sacrifice

On New Year's Eve, descendants of immigrants from liangping county's Yuan Yi Town will go to their elders' homes for a reunion dinner. Begging for food before meals is a kind of worship and sacrifice for the deceased ancestors by later generations.

Before the reunion dinner, firecrackers were set off outside the house, and all the family members stood up and made no noise.

The head of the family first pours half a bowl of white wine, then holds several bowls of rice by himself, then puts chopsticks on the edge of the bowl, and then calls the names of the ancestors, such as "invite grandma to dinner, invite grandpa to dinner". At this moment, the old man with red eyes will quietly shed tears of missing. People in a room will also whisper to the host to express their nostalgia for their loved ones. The whole process takes about three or two minutes.

When begging, there is also a person in the corner who burns paper money for his ancestors, reads their names while burning, and informs them to check the "lucky money".

After the name is called, the head of the family holds the wine bowl in his hand, bends down, gently sprinkles the wine on the ground, and then pours the rice first scooped into the bowl back into the pot. After that, the family began to enjoy this sumptuous reunion dinner with chopsticks.

Years go by, and rice is called every year. No one can change the rules handed down by this ancestor. While enjoying the happiness of modern life, we should not forget our ancestors. Please eat is also a major feature of China reunion dinner.

Language: If our ancestors are wise, they will have a good time with their children and grandchildren.

Respondent: xcsgjv- juren level 5 2-6 15:27.

Spring Festival is the first day of the first lunar month, also known as lunar calendar, commonly known as "Chinese New Year". This is the biggest and most lively traditional festival in China. The Spring Festival has a long history, which originated from the activities of offering sacrifices to gods and ancestors in the beginning and end of the Shang Dynasty. According to the China lunar calendar, the first day of the first month is called Yuanri, and Chen Yuan, Jacky, Yuanshuo and the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month are New Year's Day. They take care of the silkworms in the fields after the Jade Emperor drives away the chaos.

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve refers to the night on the last day of the twelfth lunar month, which is connected with the Spring Festival (the first day of the first month). The word "except" in "New Year's Eve" is "go"; Easy; "Alternating" means that New Year's Eve means "the month is poor and the old year is exhausted". People want to get rid of the old department and the old year, and the coming year means getting a new year. This is the last night of the Lunar New Year. Therefore, the activities during this period are all around changing the old for the new, eliminating disasters and praying for blessings.

doorman

During the Spring Festival, there is a custom of putting up doors all over China. At first, the janitor carved mahogany into a human shape and hung it next to people. Later, it was painted as a janitor and posted on the door. The legendary brothers Shen Tu and Lei Yu specialize in ghosts. They guard the portal, and evil spirits dare not enter the portal to harm. After the Tang Dynasty, two brave soldiers, Qin Qiong and Wei Chijingde, were painted as gatekeepers, while Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were painted as gatekeepers. Every household has a door god, and later generations often draw a pair of door gods as martial arts. Door gods are divided into three categories: the first category is "door gods", which are mostly attached to doors or the whole door, about four or five feet high and two or three feet wide. The second kind is the "door keeper", which is attached to the small street door, about two feet high and one foot wide. These two door gods are two gods with a black face and a white face. White left black right, white easy, black evil, each holding a slap in the face. The third category is the "gatekeeper", which is slightly smaller and limited than the street keeper. It is also a black and white Er Shen, but there are also two black and white statues sitting like statues. At most, there is a photo of "Kirin sending the child" posted at the door, and there are two plump pink dolls with comb crowns, each riding Kirin. This kind of door god should have been stuck on the wedding door for good luck, and later it was also used as a New Year decoration for ordinary street doors.

paste up Spring Festival couplets

Spring Festival couplets, also known as "door-to-door" and "spring post", are a kind of couplets, named after being posted during the Spring Festival. One source of Spring Festival couplets is Fu Tao. At first, people carved figures out of mahogany and hung them by the door to ward off evil spirits. Later, they painted the door god on the mahogany, simplified it and wrote the door god's name on the mahogany board. Another source of Spring Festival couplets is spring stickers. The ancients posted the word "Yichun" more and more at the beginning of spring, and gradually developed into Spring Festival couplets. The real popularity of Spring Festival couplets began in the Ming Dynasty, which was related to Zhu Yuanzhang's advocacy. According to Chen Shanggu's Miscellaneous Notes on Mao Yunlou in Qing Dynasty, one year when Zhu Yuanzhang was preparing for the New Year, he ordered every household to post a Spring Festival couplets to celebrate. At first, Spring Festival couplets were carved on mahogany boards, and later rewritten on paper. The color of mahogany is red, which means good luck and avoiding evil spirits, so most Spring Festival couplets are written in red paper. However, temples are made of yellow paper, and toilet paper is made of white, green and yellow. Use white paper in the first year, green paper in the second year, yellow paper in the third year, and red paper after the funeral in the fourth year. Because Manchu is still white, the Spring Festival couplets in the Qing court are all wrapped in white paper, with blue edges outside and red stripes inside.

Setting off firecrackers

At midnight, the New Year bell rang and firecrackers shook the whole sky of China. In this "three yuan" moment of "year yuan, month yuan and time yuan", some places still set up "flourishing fire" in the yard to show the take-off and prosperity of Wang Qi. Around the blazing fire, the children set off firecrackers and danced happily. At this time, the bright lights in the house, the sparks in front of the court and the deafening noise outside the house pushed the lively atmosphere of New Year's Eve to a climax. Poets of all ages always praise the arrival of the New Year with the most beautiful poems.

Wang Anshi s Poem Yuan Ri;

Except for the one-year-old in firecrackers,

The spring breeze warmed the Tusu people.

Every family has a primary school birthday.

Always trade new peaches for old ones.

It depicts the grand festival scene of China people celebrating the Spring Festival. Firecrackers are a sign of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, and also an expression of festive atmosphere. Businessman. Setting off firecrackers has another meaning: they set off firecrackers on New Year's Eve to make a fortune in the new year. But according to the old custom, respecting the god of wealth should be the first, and setting off firecrackers should be the last. Legend has it that if you want to get rich, firecrackers will ring at the end.

Eat new year's eve dinner

When children are playing with firecrackers, it is also the busiest time for housewives in the kitchen. Chinese New Year's food is cooked a few days ago, and the New Year's Eve dinner is always cooked on New Year's Eve. In the north, jiaozi on the first day of New Year's Day will also be wrapped up on the evening of 30th. At this time, everyone's chopping boards are busy chopping meat and vegetables. At this time, the sound of chopping boards from every household, firecrackers from streets and alleys, the sound of "scratching" abacus, and the cadence of reimbursement from shops and shops are mixed with laughter and laughter everywhere, echoing with joy and interweaving into a cheerful movement on New Year's Eve.

New Year picture

Hanging New Year pictures during the Spring Festival is also very common in urban and rural areas. Thick black and colorful New Year pictures add a lot of prosperity and festive atmosphere to thousands of families. New Year pictures are an ancient folk art in China, which reflects people's simple customs and beliefs and places their hopes on the future. New Year pictures, like Spring Festival couplets, originated from "door gods". With the rise of block printing, the content of New Year pictures is not limited to monotonous themes such as door gods, but has become rich and colorful. Some New Year pictures workshops have produced classic color New Year pictures, such as Fu Lushou's Samsung, God bless the people, abundant crops, prosperous livestock and welcoming the New Year, to meet people's good wishes of celebrating and praying for the New Year. There are three important producing areas of Chinese New Year pictures: Taohuawu in Suzhou, Yangliuqing in Tianjin and Weifang in Shandong; Three schools of New Year pictures have been formed, each with its own characteristics.

The earliest existing collection of New Year pictures in China is the woodcut New Year pictures of the Southern Song Dynasty, which depict four ancient beauties: Wang Zhaojun, Zhao, Ban Ji and Lvzhu. The most popular folk painting is the Year of Marrying the Rat. It depicts an interesting scene in which a mouse marries a bride according to human custom. In the early years of the Republic of China, Zheng of Shanghai combined the monthly calendar with the New Year pictures. This is a new form of New Year pictures. This new year's picture, which was combined into one, later developed into a calendar and has been popular all over the country.

Night symbolizes driving away all evil diseases and epidemics and looking forward to good luck in the new year. This custom gradually became popular. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong, wrote a poem "Shou Sui": "Cold words and winter snow, warm with spring breeze". To this day, people are used to celebrating the New Year's Eve.

In ancient times, observing the age has two meanings: the old man's observing the age means "resigning from the old", which means cherishing time; Young people keep their age in order to prolong the life of their parents. Since the Han Dynasty, the time of alternation between the old and the new year is generally midnight.