The custom of the Spring Festival: the daily custom from the 23rd lunar month to the evening.

sweep the dust

The folk proverb says, "On the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, dust and sweep the house". After holding the sacrificial stove, they officially began to prepare for the New Year. Dust removal is year-end cleaning, which is called "house cleaning" in the north and "dust removal" in the south. Cleaning the dust before the Spring Festival is a traditional habit of China people. On the day of dusting, the whole family began to clean the house and yard together, scrub the pots and pans, remove and wash the bedding, and greet the New Year cleanly. In fact, people use the homonym of "dust" and "Chen" to express their willingness to get rid of the old and welcome the new.

historical materials

According to ancient records, there was a habit of year-end cleaning in ancient times. According to Lu Chunqiu, China had the custom of sweeping dust during the Spring Festival in the Yao and Shun era. According to the folk saying, because of the homonym of "dust" and "Chen", sweeping dust in the Spring Festival means "getting rid of the old and not being new", and its original intention is to sweep away all "unlucky" and "unlucky". Volume 12 of Jia Qinglu records: "La will be disabled, so it is advisable to choose a constitutional book to sweep away the day and go to the court to collect dirt. Or 23 rd, 24 th and 27 th, commonly known as' dust'. " On the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, the house was thoroughly cleaned inside and outside. It can be seen that this custom has placed people's desire to break the old and establish the new, as well as their prayers to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. It is also the traditional virtue of the Chinese nation to pay attention to hygiene and prevent diseases in winter accumulated in the long history.

twelfth month of the lunar year

Make tofu

The folk proverb says, "On the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, grinding bean curd." In some places, there is also the custom of eating tofu residue before New Year's Eve. According to folklore, when the Kitchen God dies, the Jade Emperor will go to the lower bound to see if all the families are like the Kitchen God's performance, so all the families will eat tofu dregs to show their poverty and avoid the punishment of the Jade Emperor. Legend goes back to legend. In fact, eating tofu residue was actually inefficient in ancient times, and there was not so much delicious food (but sometimes people bought a big basket of tofu to satisfy their hunger and so on). ).

Jieyu yellow

Both the old custom and the new custom believe that the kitchen god goes to heaven, and the Jade Emperor himself descended to earth on December 25th of the lunar calendar to investigate the good and evil on earth and decide the fortune for the coming year. Therefore, every household gives its blessing, which is called "receiving the Jade Emperor". On this day, we should be careful in our daily life and words, strive for good performance, win the favor of the Jade Emperor and bring good luck for the coming year.

Rush out of chaos

It was not until New Year's Eve that Kitchen God was sent to welcome him back. During this period, there is no God's jurisdiction on the earth, and at all times, many people get married, which is called "expelling chaos". Luannian is a special period designed by people to adjust their social life. At the end of the year, people have leisure and savings. For those who have little energy to do great things, this is a good opportunity for recreation. Therefore, people invented this special time folk custom according to the needs of real life.

Zhao Tiancan

Zhao Tiancan, also known as "burning silkworm" and "burning field wealth", is a popular folk custom in Jiangnan area to pray for the New Year. December of the lunar calendar

On the 25th day, a long pole tied with a torch will stand in the field, indicating the new year with the flame, and the thriving flame indicates the bumper harvest in the coming year. This activity is held in some places on New Year's Eve.

Thousand Lantern Festival

Thousand Lantern Festival is a religious festival of Mongolian and Daur. Mongolian is called "Ganming Zhuola", which means Thousand Lantern Festival. On the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, I made "Ganming Zhuola" and lit it in the temple, thinking that the more I ordered, the more auspicious it would be. This festival custom is the most popular among Mongolians in Vilat, Xinjiang. local people

Eat roast beef and mutton on this day and hold traditional sports and entertainment activities.

twelfth month of the lunar year

As the saying goes, "On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, the pig is killed and the meat is cut" or "On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, the head is cut", which means that this day is mainly for preparing meat for the Chinese New Year. The reason why "cutting the annual meat" is written into the annual festival ballad is because the agricultural society and economy are underdeveloped, and people often eat meat at the annual festival, so it is called "annual meat".

December 27th.

In traditional folk customs, we should concentrate on bathing and washing clothes these two days to get rid of the bad luck of the year and prepare for the Spring Festival next year. There is a saying in Beijing that "twenty-seven washes sick, twenty-eight washes sloppy". Taking a bath on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month is "washing Fulu".

the 28th of the twelfth lunar month

There is a saying in the middle of the year: "On the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, cakes and steamed bread should be decorated with flowers" or "On the 28th, make noodles". The so-called decals are new year pictures, Spring Festival couplets, window grilles and all kinds of things posted during the Spring Festival.

Among them, the custom of pasting Spring Festival couplets originated from the ancient "Fu Tao". The ancients used peach wood as a wood to ward off evil spirits. The Book of Arts said, "Peach is the essence of five trees, so it also suppresses evil spirits." In the Five Dynasties, Meng Changya, the monarch of the post-Shu Dynasty, was good at literature. Every year, he made people write inscriptions for Fu Tao, which became the origin of Spring Festival couplets in later generations. The inscription on the Fu Tao "New Year's Qing Yu, Spring Festival Changchun" became the first "Spring Festival couplets" in China's recorded history. Later, with the appearance of papermaking, the custom of pasting Spring Festival couplets with red paper instead of mahogany appeared.

the 29th of the twelfth lunar month

offer sacrifices to ancestors

In the twelfth lunar month, it was said, "Please go to the grave and ask your ancestors for a big donation." Ancestor worship has a long history in China. Seeing death as death is not only an important symbol of filial piety, but also a virtue of respecting the elderly. The Spring Festival is a big festival, and the ceremony of paying homage to one's ancestors is particularly grand. In most areas, ancestors were invited on the morning of the 29th. According to Mao Cui's "Four-person Moon Order" in Han Dynasty, "On the first day of the first month, you should bow down to your wife and ancestors. On the day of worship, I drank wine, and my family, big or small, was humble, second only to my ancestors. My son-in-law's great-grandson presented Chili wine to my parents, saying that it was to celebrate their long life and happiness. " This shows that as early as the Han Dynasty, ancestor worship in China was already a very important activity in the Spring Festival.

What is New Year's Eve?

The day before New Year's Eve, known as "Little New Year's Eve", people hold a feast at home. When they visit each other, they are also called "Don't be old". Burning incense outdoors is called "Tianxiang", and it usually takes three days to burn it.

30 December

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 first day of the first month. The word "except" in "New Year's Eve" is "go; Easy; "Alternate" means "the end of the poor month, the end of the old year". People should get rid of the old year and welcome the new year. Therefore, the activities during the period are centered on resigning the old and welcoming the new, eliminating disasters and praying for blessings.

At the end of every year in the Zhou and Qin Dynasties, a ceremony of "dancing Zhong Kui" and "exorcising evil spirits" was held in the palace, and drumming was called "exorcism", and then it was called "exorcism" on the day before New Year's Eve, that is, New Year's Eve. New Year's Eve is New Year's Eve, that is, New Year's Eve.

doorman

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 keeper. Later generations often paint a pair of door gods as a skill and a martial art, pinning the good wishes of the working people of the Han nationality to ward off evil spirits and eliminate disasters and welcome good luck.

paste up Spring Festival couplets

Spring Festival couplets, also known as "door couplets", "couplets" and "peach symbols", are a kind of couplets, named after being posted during the Spring Festival. It depicts the background of the times and expresses good wishes with neat, dual, concise and exquisite words, which is a unique literary form in China. Every Spring Festival, no matter in urban or rural areas, every household should choose a pair of red Spring Festival couplets and stick them on the door to add festive atmosphere to the festival. This custom began in the Song Dynasty and was popular in the Ming Dynasty. By the Qing Dynasty, the ideological and artistic quality of Spring Festival couplets had been greatly improved. Liang Zhangju's monograph Poetry of Spring Festival couplets discusses the origin of couplets and the characteristics of various works. There are many kinds of Spring Festival couplets, which can be divided into door heart, frame pair, cross string, spring strip and bucket square according to the place of use. The "door core" is attached to the center of the upper end of the door panel; The "door frame pair" is attached to the left and right door frames; "Cross-dressing" is posted on the crossbar of the door; "Spring strips" are posted in corresponding places according to different contents; "Dou Jin", also known as "door leaf", is a square diamond, often attached to furniture and screen walls.

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. These all have folk functions of praying and decorating the residence. New Year pictures are an ancient folk art in China, which reflects people's customs and beliefs and places their hopes for the future.

Like Spring Festival couplets, it originated from the "door god". 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.

stay up late or all night on New Year's Eve

China people had the habit of New Year's Eve, commonly known as "endure the New Year". Watching the new year begins with eating New Year's Eve dinner. This New Year's Eve dinner should be eaten slowly, starting with lighting lanterns, and some families have to eat it until late at night.

Keeping the Lunar New Year's Eve is one of the most important activities, and the custom of keeping the Lunar New Year's Eve has a long history. The earliest record can be found in the Local Records of the Western Jin Dynasty: on New Year's Eve, all parties give gifts to each other, which is called "the year of giving back"; Wine and food are invited, which is called "not old"; Young and old get together to drink and wish a complete song called "age division"; Everyone stays up all night, waiting for dawn. This is the so-called "shou sui".

Since the Han Dynasty, the time for the alternation of the old and new years is generally at midnight.