How did the ancients pay New Year greetings?

The Spring Festival is the biggest traditional festival in China, and it has become a traditional custom to celebrate the New Year during the Spring Festival. With the new year's greetings by telephone and SMS, the new year's cards are gradually out of our sight. So how did the ancients pay New Year greetings? Next, I will bring you how the ancient people paid New Year greetings, hoping to help you.

It has become a traditional custom to pay New Year greetings during the Spring Festival. In ancient times, people of some status would greet each other with "Happy New Year" in the form of New Year cards. People began to greet each other in Song Dynasty, which was the embryonic form of New Year cards. The design of the Ming dynasty was more exquisite, with blessings such as good luck and wishful thinking. The elders should send lucky money after accepting the new year greetings from the younger generation, because it is homophonic, and lucky money can suppress evil spirits and bless the younger generation for a year. In ancient times, the original meaning of the word "Happy New Year" was to pay New Year greetings to the elders, including kowtowing to the elders, congratulating the wishes of the New Year and greeting their lives. In case of friends and relatives of the same generation, you should also salute and congratulate.

In ancient times, if neighbors had too many relatives and friends, it was difficult to walk around the whole house. It's called "flying mail", and let the servant take the business card to pay a New Year call. There is a red paper bag with the word "Fu Jie" written on it in front of each house, which is the purpose of posting flying cards.

Mr. Meng, who lived in the capital for a long time in the Song Dynasty, wrote in Dream of China in Tokyo: "On the first day of October, Kaifeng Prefecture was closed for three days, and scholars celebrated each other early." In the Ming Dynasty, Lu Rong said in Volume V of Miscellaneous Notes on the Garden: "On New Year's Day in Beijing, people who cross the road from the official to Shu Ren for a few days are called' Happy New Year'."

Because the Spring Festival is short and the time required for New Year's greetings is relatively concentrated, it is difficult for upper-class people with extensive communication to be busy in the face of numerous New Year's greetings from all walks of life. This invented the method of "flying mail" to pay New Year greetings, and solved this problem satisfactorily.

Hui Zhou, a poet of the Song Dynasty, said in Qingbo magazine: "During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the servants were often stabbed with famous names."

This famous thorn is a piece of paper made of plum blossom stationery, which is two inches wide and three inches long, with the name, address and auspicious words to celebrate the New Year written on it.

Amin poet Wen Zhiming wrote in the poem "Chinese New Year": "I don't want to meet you, but I want to talk to you. I am full of famous articles; I also throw a few pieces of paper at people. The world is too simple and not too empty. " The "name thorn" and "name divination" mentioned here are the predecessors of today's business cards and New Year cards.

Facts have proved that this method is fast, convenient, practical and easily accepted, which not only saves time, but also embodies social civilization, so it is widely used. Even today, people still use greeting cards to convey friendship and contact feelings on New Year's Day and Spring Festival.

Since "flying post" can pay a New Year call, who will accept it? People can't always wait at the door. A famous servant with a thorn, because of his numerous tasks, is impossible and inappropriate to enter other people's homes. To this end, the person concerned posted a red paper bag on the wall in front of the door, which read "Fu Jie". A servant with a thorn comes here without knocking at the door. He stuffed the "airmail" into a red paper bag and left.

In the Qing Dynasty, the Yantai Moon Order described the Beijing New Year Festival: "It's the moon, the film flies, and the car goes empty." This became the social fashion at that time, and it was also a beautiful landscape. A word "fly" can show the busy and lively scenes of past films on the street. It is "you come and go, posting for others to convey friendship;" Modao Street is biting, and his forehead is already sweaty. "

Of course, for incoming posts and visitors who come to pay New Year's greetings, large families should register and keep in mind their friendship. Therefore, extended families also set up "door books" to make detailed records. For example, visitors or the owner, seniority or official position of the "flying post" and detailed residential address can be invited back. This is really called "reciprocity".

The ancients, who always paid attention to auspiciousness, paid more attention to auspiciousness during the wedding period during the Spring Festival in order to be lucky. There are four virtual "relatives" on the front page of the door book: one is an old man living in Changshou Lane, Baisui Street; Second, Master Yu, who has money, lives in Jinyinku Hutong, Yuanbao Street; The third is your infinite adult, who lives in the archway of Kuixingge University. Fourth, Fu lives in street happiness.

In addition, you can also make virtual characters according to your actual situation and expectations. For example, this sickly person can be a healthy old man who lives in Tuoding Lane, Kicking Mountain Street, in order to make a fortune. The ending is "Happy New Year to Fu Na, and a false auspicious person enters the church; I only hope that the next year will be a year of fire and I will live happily. "