Some customs and habits in China

The most solemn traditional folk festivals in China generally refer to New Year's Eve and the first day of the first month, also known as the lunar calendar, commonly known as "Chinese New Year" and "Chinese New Year". But among the people, the traditional Spring Festival refers to the sacrificial ceremony from the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month or the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month to the 15th of the first lunar month in La Worship, with New Year's Eve and the first day of the first lunar month as the climax.

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, Chen Yuan, Jacky, Yuanshuo and New Year's Day. Commonly known as the first day of the first month. It was changed to Gregorian calendar in the Republic of China. The first day of the Gregorian calendar is called New Year's Day, and the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar is called Spring Festival.

During the Spring Festival, Han people and many ethnic minorities in our country will hold various activities to celebrate. The main contents of these activities are offering sacrifices to gods and buddhas, paying homage to ancestors, saying goodbye to the old year and welcoming the new year, and praying for a bumper harvest. The activities are rich and colorful, with strong national characteristics.

2. Lantern Festival

The 15th day of the first lunar month is the traditional Lantern Festival in China. The first month is January, and the ancients called the night "Xiao". The fifteenth day of the year is the night of the full moon, so the fifteenth day of the first month is called the Lantern Festival. Also known as "Shangyuan Festival". According to the folk tradition in China, the moon is high in the sky and there are 10,000 lanterns on the ground on the festival night of Spring Festival, so people can watch lanterns, solve riddles on the lanterns, eat Yuanxiao and have family reunion.

On February 2nd, the dragon looked up.

According to folklore, every second day of the second lunar month is the day when the Dragon King, who is in charge of heavenly sexuality, looks up. After that, the rain will gradually increase. Therefore, this day is called the Spring Festival. There is a saying in northern China: "On February 2, the dragon looked up; Big warehouse is full and small warehouses are flowing. "Folk proverbs.

Whenever the Spring Festival comes, in most parts of northern China, every family carries lanterns to fetch water from wells or rivers in the morning, and when they get home, they light a fire, burn incense and offer offerings. In ancient times, people called this ceremony "attracting dragons". On this day, every household will eat noodles, fried cakes and popcorn, and compare "picking the dragon's head", "eating gentian", "golden beans blossom, the dragon king ascends to heaven, the clouds and rain rise, and the grains are abundant" to show good luck.

Four. Qingming Festival

Tomb-Sweeping Day is a traditional festival in China, and it is also the most important festival to worship ancestors and sweep graves. Grave-sweeping is commonly known as going to the grave and offering sacrifices to the dead. Most Han people and some ethnic minorities visit graves in Tomb-Sweeping Day.

According to the old custom, when sweeping graves, people should bring food, wine, fruit, paper money and other items to the cemetery, offer food to the graves of their loved ones, then burn the paper money, cultivate new soil for the graves, break some green branches and insert them in front of the graves, then kowtow and worship, and finally go home after eating and drinking. The poem Qingming written by Du Mu, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, said: "There are many rains during the Qingming period, and pedestrians on the road want to break their souls. Ask local people where to buy wine? The shepherd boy pointed to Xinghua Village. " Write about the special atmosphere in Tomb-Sweeping Day.

Dragon Boat Festival, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, is a traditional folk festival in China, also called Duanyang Festival, General Festival, Tianzhong Festival, Dachang Festival, Mulan Festival, Daughter's Day and Children's Day. It is one of the traditional festivals of the Han nationality. The Dragon Boat Festival is also called Dragon Boat Festival and Duanyang. In addition, there are many nicknames for the Dragon Boat Festival, such as: Noon Festival, Chongwu Festival, May Festival, Magnolia Festival, Daughter's Day, Zhongyuan Festival, Dila Festival, Poet's Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Ai Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and Summer Festival. Although the names are different, on the whole, the customs of people everywhere are more similar than different. Today, the Dragon Boat Festival is still a very popular grand festival among the people of China.

For more than two thousand years, the Dragon Boat Festival has been a traditional habit of China people. Due to its vast territory and numerous ethnic groups, some Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan, Miao, Yi, Zhuang, Buyi, North Korea, Dong, Yao, Bai, Tujia, Hani, She, Lahu, Shui, Naxi, Daur and Mulao. Its contents mainly include: daughter going back to her mother's house, hanging Zhong Kui statue, welcoming the ghost boat, hiding in the afternoon, sticking leaves in the afternoon, hanging calamus and wormwood, traveling in all diseases, wearing sachets, preparing sacrificial bowls, dragon boat races, competitions, hitting the ball, swinging, drawing children with realgar, drinking realgar wine, drinking calamus wine, eating poisonous cakes, salted eggs, zongzi and seasonal fresh fruits. Some activities, such as dragon boat racing, have made new progress, breaking through the boundaries of time and region and becoming international sports events.

6. Aunt's Day on the sixth day of June

June 6, please aunt. In the past, on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, rural customs invited married girls, old and young, to receive them well and then send them back.

According to legend, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there was a prime minister named Hu Yan in the State of Jin. He is a hero who protects and follows Wen Gong Zhong 'er into exile in other countries. He is very clever and respected by the state of Jin. Every time Hu Yan celebrates his birthday on the sixth day of June, there are always countless people giving him birthday gifts. In this way, HuYan slowly became proud. After a long time, people are not satisfied with him. However, Hu Yanquan is so powerful that people dare to get angry with him.

Hu Yan's daughter and in-laws were the heroes at that time. He was disgusted with what Hu Yan had done, so he called a spade a spade. But Hu Yan refused to listen to the well-meaning words and scolded her in-laws in public. Zhao was old and weak, and soon he died. His son hates his father-in-law and is determined to avenge his father.

In the second year, the summer grain in Shanxi suffered a disaster, and Hu Yan left Beijing to release grain. When he left, he said that he would definitely come back for his birthday on the sixth day of June. Hu Yan's son-in-law got the news and decided to hold a birthday party on the sixth day of June to kill Hu Yan and avenge his father. Hu Yan's son-in-law sees his wife. Ask her: "Does everyone in the world hate people like my father-in-law?" Hu Yan's daughter was also very angry with her father's behavior, so she replied smoothly: "Even you and I hate him. Why should we say others?" Her husband told the plan. On hearing this, his wife turned red and white and said, "I belong to your family, and I don't care about my mother's family." It's up to you! "

Since then, Hu Yan's daughter has been in fear all day. She hates her father for being arrogant and heartless to her in-laws. But then I remembered my father's kindness, and my own daughter was not immune from destruction. She finally ran back to her mother's house on the fifth day of June and told her husband's plan. Mother was frightened and quickly wrote to Hu Yan overnight.

Hu Yan's son-in-law saw his wife escape and knew that the secret was exposed. He stayed at home and waited for Hu Yan to clean himself up.

On the morning of the sixth day of June, Hu Yan personally came to her in-laws' house. When Hu Yan met his son-in-law, as if nothing had happened, Weng Xu and his wife immediately returned to the Prime Minister's office. At the birthday party that year, Hu Yan said: "I have been distributing food this year, witnessed the sufferings of the people, and I know that I have done something wrong in recent years. Today, my husband tried to hurt me. Although he was too vicious, he didn't do it. He is endangering the people and revenging his father. I will never blame him. My daughter saved her father's crisis and did her filial piety, which deserves my worship. " I hope my husband can take a look at me and make up for it for me, regardless of hatred! "Since then, Hu Yan has really changed, and Weng Xu is closer than before. In order to remember this lesson forever, Hu Yan invites her daughter and son-in-law to reunite every June 6th. The matter was publicized, and the people followed suit. They also took back their daughter on June 6, which should be good luck to eliminate disasters and avoid disasters. As we grow older, we become accustomed to each other, which has been passed down to this day. People call it "Aunt's Day".

Seven. Seven nights festival

In the past, July 7th was a very lively festival for people. At that time, young women were most interested in this day. They wear new clothes, worship double stars and seek wisdom.

In the Song Dynasty, children in Hangzhou often played the role of "Mohoro" on Tanabata, dressed in half-length flowered clothes and decorated with catalpa leaves, melons and fruits on their chests. Beauty and laughter, competing to put waterbirds such as wax mandarin ducks on the lake and float on the water. Women like to store little spiders in boxes and let them weave webs in the boxes. According to the density of the net, it is called "smart".

Needle piercing is one of the programs for little girls on Qixi Festival, which is said to have been popular in Han Dynasty. The Chronicle of Jingchu says: July 7th is the night when the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl get together, and it is evening when women wear colorful ribbons and seven-hole needles. Others changed "wearing" to "throwing". The form is to hold a bowl of water and put it under the starlight of Qixi night. Then throw the embroidery needle into the water and let it float on the water. The needle shadow under the starlight shines on the bottom of the bowl, which will produce floating shadow and change a lot. According to its shape, it can be inferred whether the needlework of the needle-throwing girl is clumsy or dexterous.

There is also a game show in which seven girls invite each other together in the garden on Qixi night, each covering her eyes with a towel, then looking up at the sky, facing the cowherd and the weaver girl, and predicting lifelong events according to what she saw. But how can you see the sky by covering your eyes? Naturally, this is not looking at a binary star, but dreaming with your eyes closed.

The mythical Tanabata, as a "Valentine's Day", should also be meaningful.

Eight. Mid-Autumn Festival

Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history. Like other traditional festivals, it develops slowly. The ancient emperors had a system of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. As early as in Zhou Li, the word "Mid-Autumn Festival" was recorded. Later, aristocratic scholars followed suit. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, people watch and worship the bright and round moon in the sky, pinning their feelings. This custom spread to the people and formed a traditional activity. Until the Tang Dynasty, people paid more attention to this Yue Bai custom, and the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival. Tang Taizong recorded the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th, which was popular in the Song Dynasty. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was as famous as New Year's Day and became one of the major festivals in China.

The legend of Mid-Autumn Festival is very rich, and fairy tales such as the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon, Wu Gang cutting Guangxi and Jade Rabbit smashing medicine are widely circulated.

Nine. the Double Ninth Festival

The ninth, 29th and 29th day of the ninth lunar month is very important, which is called "Double Ninth Festival". Because in ancient China, six was the number of yin and nine was the number of yang, so the Double Ninth Festival was called "Double Ninth Festival".

The origin of the Double Ninth Festival can be traced back to the early Han Dynasty. It is said that in the palace, on September 9th every year, you should wear Cornus officinalis, feed it with bait and drink chrysanthemum wine to live longer. After the love princess Qi of Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang was killed, the maid-in-waiting Jia was also expelled from the palace, and this custom spread to the people.

In ancient times, people had the custom of climbing mountains on this day, so the Double Ninth Festival was also called "Mountain Climbing Festival". According to legend, this custom began in the Eastern Han Dynasty. There are many climbing poems in the Tang Dynasty, most of which are the custom of writing the Double Ninth Festival. Du Fu's Seven Laws "Ascending the Mountain" is a famous article about climbing the mountain in Chongyang. There is no uniform rule for climbing mountains. Generally, we climb mountains and towers. There is also the custom of eating "Chongyang cake". Exquisite Chongyang cake should be made into nine layers, like a pagoda, with two lambs on it, which conforms to the meaning of Chongyang (sheep). Some people even put red paper flags on Chongyang cakes and light candles. This is probably replacing "crawling" with "lighting" and "eating cakes", and replacing Cornus officinalis with a little red paper flag.

X. laboratory animal breeders association

The most important festival in the twelfth lunar month is the eighth day of December, which was called "La Ri" in ancient times and commonly known as "Laba Festival". Since the pre-Qin period, Laba Festival has been used to worship ancestors and gods and pray for good harvest and good luck. It is said that Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, realized enlightenment on the eighth day of December, so Laba is also a Buddhist festival, called "Buddhist Enlightenment Festival".

Laba has the custom of eating Laba porridge on this day. Laba porridge is also called "Qibao Wuwei porridge". China has a history of drinking Laba porridge for 1000 years. It first started in the Song Dynasty. On the day of Laba, whether it is the imperial court, the government, temples, or the people's homes, Laba porridge will be cooked. In the Qing Dynasty, the custom of drinking Laba porridge became more popular. At court, emperors, queens and princes give laba porridge to civil and military ministers and attendants, and distribute rice and fruit to monasteries for monks to eat. In the folk, every household should also make laba porridge to worship their ancestors; At the same time, family members get together for dinner and give gifts to relatives and friends.

Xi。 Winter solstice festival

According to modern astronomical science, the sun shines directly on the tropic of Capricorn from the winter solstice, and the sun is most inclined to the northern hemisphere. The northern hemisphere has the shortest day and the longest night. After this day, the sun gradually moved to the north.

In ancient China, people attached great importance to the winter solstice and thought it was a grand festival. There is a saying that the winter solstice is as big as a year, and there is a custom to celebrate it. "Han Shu" said: "The sun shines on the winter solstice, and you are long, so congratulations." People think that after the winter solstice, the days become longer and longer and the sun rises. This is the beginning of a solar cycle and an auspicious day, which should be celebrated. The Book of Jin records: "On the winter solstice of Wei and Jin Dynasties, people from all over the world celebrated ... its appearance was not as good as that of Zheng Dan." Explain the ancient emphasis on the winter solstice.

Now, some places still celebrate the winter solstice as a festival. The northern region has the custom of slaughtering sheep and eating jiaozi and wonton from winter solstice, while the southern region has the custom of eating glutinous rice balls and long noodles from winter solstice on this day. There is also the custom of offering sacrifices to heaven and ancestors in winter solstice in various regions.