Yuyao's Spring Festival custom

Although the Spring Festival falls on the first day of the first lunar month, various festivals are not limited to this day. From the beginning of New Year's Day, people began to "busy year" to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, reaching a climax on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Celebrations generally don't end until after the 15th day of the first month, which can be described as China people's New Year revelry.

The first day of the first month is the Spring Festival, and the summer calendar is called New Year's Day, Zheng Dan and January Day. This is a really big day. People get up early and wear new clothes, hats and shoes. Sacrifice to heaven and earth in the morning. After getting up, open the door with auspicious words and call it "open the door". Open the door and fire three shots, as soon as possible, to show the beginning of the new year. "Get up early and fire early", the louder the firecrackers, the more prosperous the New Year will be. If it is a "magnetic, magnetic" squib, it is unlucky. Immediately say "blow, blow, make a fortune this year" and then make up.

Hang up the gods of ancestors, display sacrificial boxes, and offer incense sticks and fruits for each family to worship. Eating "jiaozi" or "red bean paste rice cake" in the morning means "good reunion every year". In the old customs, the whole family is vegetarian and has a day off at home. They don't sweep the floor, make fires, kill animals, use knives, wash clothes, beat and scold children, and say unlucky things. Avoid saying "early" this year to attract more fleas; Avoid lighting and attract more mosquitoes and flies this year. Put a "door-closing gun" before going to bed and don't go out at night.

On the first day of the first month of each year, the first meal at home is red bean paste rice cake, which contains red beans, red dates and rice cakes. The only dish for the next meal is vegetarian dishes, such as pickles, bean sprouts, fried tofu and dried fragrant. But now I eat meat, too.

I still remember that when I was a child, my child had to get up early, and then my mother would prepare cups of sugar tea for my child and give it to my elders, who would give money for tea.

If the weather is fine on the first day of the first month, it is essential to sweep the grave. On this day, firecrackers and paper money are ready, and three generations of ancestors kowtow to pray for the new year. But now, from grade one to grade three, there is nothing to ask for.

Go up the mountain to sweep the grave, and be careful of fireworks. It's good to have a heart.

On the second day of the second year, I began to visit relatives, and the younger generation paid a New Year call to the elders, bringing a few bags of cakes with me. This is called "New Year call". Older people give "money" or "fruit" (sugarcane, water chestnut, etc. ) for younger children. Between colleagues and friends, they say "Happy New Year", congratulate each other with words like "Congratulations on getting rich", and make an appointment for each family to eat "the first month meal". If there are new relatives among relatives and friends, a "New Year's Eve" will be held, and the level of entertainment will be richer than the usual "first month dinner".

The third day of the first month is also called Red Dog Day, which is homophonic with "red mouth" and usually does not go out to pay New Year greetings. It is said that it is easy to quarrel with people on this day. However, this custom has long been out of date, because few people get together in the Spring Festival now, and it has faded a lot.

The fourth day of the first month is the day of offering sacrifices to the god of wealth. In the past, the boss wanted to "fire people". On this day, he came to worship God uninvited. The other party knew it well and packed up and left. There is also a legend that Kitchen God will come to check the household registration this day, so it is not advisable to travel far.

The fifth day of the first month is the God of Wealth Day, which is also commonly known as the "opening day" after the business owner "invited the God of Wealth". Buddhists walk seven bridges on the seventh night and worship temples on the eighth day.

In Yuyao, there are lion dances, dragon throwing and operas in the first month. Beggars come to sing Haruka on the beach, and "degenerate people" go to their masters for help. "Fallen people" is an ancient insult, and it is the person who accompanies them when they are engaged in haircuts and wedding ceremonies.

On the fifth day of the first month, which is also commonly known as breaking the fifth day, it is necessary to "catch up with the five poor", including "intellectual poverty, academic poverty, literary poverty, life poverty and friendship poverty". People get up at dawn, set off firecrackers and clean up. Firecrackers are set from the inside out, and as soon as they are set, they go outside the door. It is said that anything unlucky will be blown out. On this day, the popular folk food custom is to eat jiaozi, commonly known as "squeezing a villain's mouth", and the chopping board should jingle so that neighbors can hear it to show that the villain is being chopped.

In the first month, there was a custom of inviting troupes in Yuyao countryside. The villages take turns to perform plays, which not only creates a lively and joyful atmosphere for the Spring Festival, but also adds a joyful atmosphere for friends and relatives to celebrate the New Year and hold the first month banquet.