New Year Spring Festival couplets

The origin and legend of the Spring Festival

The concepts of Spring Festival and New Year originally came from agriculture. In ancient times, people called the growth cycle of the valley "year". Shuowen: Year, ancient books also: Xia and Shang Dynasties, the Xia calendar came into being, with the full and short moon as the month, and a year was divided into twelve months. Every month, the day when the moon can't be seen is the new moon, and the first day of the first month is called the beginning of a year, also known as the year. The title of the year began in the Zhou Dynasty and was officially set in the Western Han Dynasty, which continues to this day. However, in ancient times, the first day of the first month was called "New Year's Day". Until the victory of the Revolution of 1911 in modern China, in order to conform to the farming season and facilitate statistics, the Nanjing Provisional Government stipulated that the people would use the summer calendar, and organs, factories, mines, schools and organizations would implement the Gregorian calendar.

1949 On September 27th, New China was founded. At the first plenary session of the China People's Political Consultative Conference, the international use of the Gregorian calendar era was adopted, and the Gregorian calendar 1 month 1 day was designated as New Year's Day, commonly known as the Gregorian calendar year. The first day of the first lunar month is usually around beginning of spring, so the first day of the first lunar month is designated as the Spring Festival, commonly known as the Lunar New Year.

In the traditional sense, the Spring Festival refers to the La Worship sacrificial ceremony from the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month or the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month to the 15th day of the first lunar month, with New Year's Eve and the first day of the first lunar month as the climax. During the Spring Festival, a traditional festival, the Han nationality and most ethnic minorities in China will hold various celebrations. Most of these activities are mainly about offering sacrifices to gods and buddhas, paying homage to ancestors, saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, and praying for the new. The forms of activities are rich and colorful, with strong national characteristics.

One of the legends of the Spring Festival: staying up late for the New Year.

Keeping the old year is the custom of staying up late to welcome the new year on the last night of the old year. Also known as New Year's Eve, the common name is "Enduring the Year". Exploring the origin of this custom, there is an interesting story among the people:

In ancient times, there was a fierce monster scattered in the mountains. People call them nian. Its appearance is ferocious, its nature is ferocious, and it specializes in eating birds, animals and insects. It changes its taste every day, from kowtowing insects to living people, which makes people talk about "Nian". Later, people gradually mastered the activity law of "Nian", that is, every 365 days, people go to places where people live in concentrated communities to taste fresh food. The haunting time is after dark, and when the rooster crows at dawn, they return to the mountains.

After determining the date of the ravages of 2008, people regarded this terrible night as a gateway, and came up with a set of methods to close the New Year's Day: every family prepared dinner in advance, turned off the fire, cleaned the stove, then tied all the cowpeas, sealed the front and back doors of the house, and hid in the house to eat the "New Year's Eve" because this dinner was uncertain. In addition to inviting the whole family to have dinner together to show harmonious reunion, we should also worship our ancestors before eating and pray for their blessing to spend the night safely. After dinner, no one dared to sleep, so they sat together and chatted with courage. Gradually formed the habit of not sleeping on New Year's Eve.

The trend of observing the age rose in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and many scholars in the Liang Dynasty had poems about observing the age. "One night for two years, five hours for two years." People light candles or oil lamps and keep vigil all night, which symbolizes driving away all evil diseases and looking forward to good luck in the new year. This custom has been handed down from generation to generation.

Legend of the Spring Festival 2: On Calendar Making in Ten Thousand Years

According to legend, there was a young man named Wan Nian in ancient times. Seeing that the festivals at that time were chaotic, he had an accurate plan. But he couldn't find a way to calculate the time. One day, he was tired of chopping wood on the mountain and sat in the shade. The movement of the shadow inspired him. He designed a sundial to measure the time of the day. Later, inspired by the dripping spring water on the cliff, he began to make a five-layer clepsydra to calculate the time. Over time, he found that every 360 days, the four seasons would cycle once, and the length of the weather would be repeated.

At that time, the monarch was called Zu Ti, who was often troubled by the unpredictable weather. Ten thousand years later, he took the sundial and the clepsydra to see the emperor and explained to Zu Ti the truth about the movement of the sun and the moon. Zu Ti was very happy after hearing this and felt reasonable. So I left for ten thousand years and built the Sun and Moon Pavilion in front of the Temple of Heaven, as well as the sundial platform and the Leaky Pot Pavilion. I hope I can accurately measure the laws of the sun and the moon, calculate the exact time in the morning and evening, and create a calendar to benefit people all over the world.

On one occasion, Zu Ti went to learn about the progress of the perpetual calendar. When he boarded the altar of the sun and the moon, he saw a poem engraved on the stone wall next to the Temple of Heaven:

Sunrise and sunset 360, start again.

Vegetation is divided into four seasons, and there are twelve circles in a year.

Knowing that the perpetual calendar was created, I personally boarded the Sun Moon Pavilion to visit the perpetual calendar. Wan Nian pointed to the astronomical phenomena and said to Zu Ti, "It's been twelve months now, the old year has passed and the new year has begun again. Please make a festival for you. " Zu Ti said, "Spring is the first year of a year, so let's call it Spring Festival". It is said that this is the origin of the Spring Festival.

After years of long-term observation and careful calculation, he worked out an accurate solar calendar. When he showed his successor the solar calendar, he was covered with silver whiskers. The monarch was deeply moved. In order to commemorate the achievements of 10 thousand years, he named the solar calendar "perpetual calendar" and named it the birthday star of the sun, moon and moon. In the future, people will hang up the Shou Xingtu during the Chinese New Year, which is said to commemorate the venerable ten thousand years.

The Third Legend of Spring Festival: Sticking Spring Festival couplets and Door Gods

It is said that the custom of pasting Spring Festival couplets began in the post-Shu period about 1000 years ago, which is proved by history. In addition, according to the Jade Candle Collection and the Chronicle of Yanjing, the original form of Spring Festival couplets is what people call "Fu Tao".

In the ancient mythology of China, it is said that there is a ghost world, in which there is a mountain, a big peach tree covering three thousand miles, and a golden rooster at the top of the tree. Whenever the golden rooster crows in the morning, the ghost who travels at night will rush back to the ghost domain. The Gate of Ghost Domain is located in the northeast of Peach Tree District. There are two gods standing by the door, named Shen Tu and Lei Yu. If the ghost does something unnatural at night, Shen Tu and Lei Yu will immediately find it, catch it, tie it up with a rope made of Miscanthus and give it to the tiger. So all the ghosts in the world are afraid of Shen Tu and Lei Yu. So people carved them into peach trees and put them at their doorsteps to ward off evil spirits and prevent harm. Later, people simply carved the names of Shen Tu and Lei Yu on the mahogany board, thinking that this could also eliminate disasters. This kind of red board was later called "Fu Tao".

In the Song Dynasty, people began to write couplets on mahogany boards, one for killing evil spirits, the other for expressing good wishes, and the third for decorating the portal for beauty. They also write couplets on red paper symbolizing happiness and good luck, and stick them on both sides of doors and windows during the Spring Festival to express people's good wishes for good luck in the coming year.

In order to pray for the longevity of the family, people in some places still keep the habit of sticking up doors. It is said that there are two door gods posted on the gate, and all monsters will be afraid. In the folk, the door god is a symbol of justice and strength. The ancients thought that people with strange looks often had magical temperament and extraordinary skills. They are honest and kind, and it is their nature and responsibility to catch ghosts and demons. Zhong Kui, a ghost hunter who is highly regarded by people, is such a strange look. Therefore, the folk door gods are always glaring and ferocious, holding all kinds of traditional weapons in their hands, ready to fight against ghosts who dare to come to the door. Because the doors of China's house are usually two opposite doors, the door gods are always paired.

After the Tang Dynasty, besides peace, people also regarded Qin and Weichi Gong, two military commanders in the Tang Dynasty, as gatekeepers. According to legend, Emperor Taizong was ill, heard ghosts screaming outside, and stayed up all night. So he asked the two generals to stand by with weapons in their hands, and there was no ghost harassment the next night. Later, Emperor Taizong had the images of these two generals painted and pasted on the door, and this custom began to spread widely among the people.

Spring Festival is an ancient festival in China, and it is also the most important festival in a year. How to celebrate this festival has formed some relatively fixed customs and habits in thousands of years of historical development, and many of them have been passed down to this day.

sweep the dust

"On the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, dust sweeps the house". According to Lv 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 bad luck and bad luck. This custom has placed people's desire to break the old and create new ones and their prayers to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Whenever the Spring Festival comes, every household should clean the environment, clean all kinds of electrical appliances, remove and wash bedding curtains, sweep six yards, dust cobwebs and dredge culverts in open channels. Everywhere is filled with the joyful atmosphere of cleaning and welcoming the Spring Festival cleanly.

paste up Spring Festival couplets

Spring Festival couplets are also called door couplets, spring stickers, couplets, couplets and peach symbols. They depict the background of the times and express good wishes with neat, dual, concise and delicate words, which are unique literary forms in China. Every Spring Festival, no matter in urban or rural areas, every household should choose a pair of bright 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.

Stick the window grilles and the word "fu" upside down.

In the folk, people also like to stick various paper-cuts on the windows-window grilles. Window grilles not only set off the festive atmosphere, but also integrate decoration, appreciation and practicality. Paper-cutting is a very popular folk art in China, which has been loved by people for thousands of years. Because it is often pasted on the window, it is also called "window grilles". With its unique generalization and exaggeration, window grilles show auspicious things and good wishes incisively and vividly, and decorate festivals with colorful colors.

While putting up Spring Festival couplets, some people have to put large and small "Fu" characters on doors, walls and lintels. Sticking the word "Fu" during the Spring Festival is a long-standing folk custom in China. The word "Fu" symbolizes good luck and wishes for a happy life and a bright future. In order to fully reflect this yearning and wish, some people simply put the word "Fu" upside down, indicating that "Fu has arrived" and "Fu has arrived". Others elaborate the word "Fu" into various patterns, such as longevity, longevity peach, carp yue longmen, abundant grains, dragons and phoenixes, and so on.

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.

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

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".

On New Year's Eve, the whole family get together, eat New Year's Eve, light candles or oil lamps, sit around the stove and chat, wait for the time to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year, and keep vigil all night, which symbolizes driving away all evil diseases and epidemics and expecting 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 for the alternation of the old and new years is generally at midnight.

firecracker

There is a folk saying in China that "open the door and set off firecrackers". That is, when the new year comes, the first thing for every household to open the door is to set off firecrackers to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Firecracker is a specialty of China, also known as "Firecracker", "Firecracker" and "Firecracker". Its origin is very early, and it has a history of more than two thousand years. Setting off firecrackers can create a festive and lively atmosphere, which is a kind of entertainment in festivals and can bring happiness and good luck to people. With the passage of time, firecrackers are more and more widely used, and there are more and more varieties and colors. Every major festival and happy celebration, as well as marriage, building, opening, etc. We should set off firecrackers to celebrate and make good luck. At present, Liuyang, Hunan, Foshan and Dongyao, Yichun and Pingxiang, Jiangxi, Wenzhou, Zhejiang and other regions are famous fireworks towns in China. The firecrackers produced have many colors and high quality, which are not only sold well all over the country, but also exported to all parts of the world.

Pay new year's call

On the first day of the new year, people get up early, put on the most beautiful clothes, dress neatly, go out to visit relatives and friends, and wish each other good luck in the coming year. There are many ways to pay New Year's greetings, some of which are led by the same patriarch from door to door. Some colleagues invited several people to pay New Year greetings; Others get together to congratulate each other. This is called "group worship". Because it takes time and effort to pay New Year greetings at home, some elites and scholars later congratulated each other with stickers, thus developing the later "New Year cards".

When paying New Year greetings during the Spring Festival, the younger generation should first pay New Year greetings to their elders and wish them health and longevity. The elders can distribute the lucky money prepared in advance to the younger generation. It is said that lucky money can kill evil spirits, because "old" and "special" are homophonic, and the younger generation can spend a year safely with lucky money. There are two kinds of lucky money, one is to put colored rope in the shape of Jackie Chan at the foot of the bed, which was recorded in Yanjing year; The other is the most common, that is, parents wrap the money distributed to their children in red paper. Lucky money can be given in public after the younger generation pays New Year's greetings, or it can be secretly put under the child's pillow by parents when the child falls asleep on New Year's Eve. It is still very popular for elders to give lucky money to younger generations.

Eating custom in Spring Festival

In ancient agricultural society, housewives began to prepare food for the New Year from the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. Because curing bacon takes a long time, it must be prepared as soon as possible. Many provinces in China have the custom of curing bacon, among which Guangdong is the most famous.

Steamed rice cake, because of its homophonic "high year" and diverse tastes, has almost become a must-have food for every household. The styles of rice cakes are square yellow and white rice cakes, which symbolize gold and silver and express the meaning of making a fortune in the New Year.

The taste of rice cakes varies from place to place. Beijingers like to eat jujube rice cakes, 100-fruit rice cakes and white rice cakes made of glutinous rice or yellow rice. Hebei people like to add jujube, red beans and mung beans to rice cakes and steam them together. In northern Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and other places, it is customary to eat yellow wheat fried rice cakes during the New Year, and some people will also stuff them with bean paste and jujube paste, while Shandong people steam rice cakes with yellow rice and red dates. The rice cakes in the north are mainly sweet, steamed or fried, and some people simply eat them with sugar. There are sweet and salty rice cakes in the south, such as those in Suzhou and Ningbo, which are made of japonica rice and have a light taste. In addition to steaming and frying, you can also slice and fry or cook soup. Sweet rice cake is made of glutinous rice flour with sugar, lard, rose, osmanthus, mint, vegetable paste and other ingredients. They are fine in workmanship and can be steamed directly or fried with egg white.

The night before the real Chinese New Year is called Reunion Night. A wanderer who has left his hometown has to go home from thousands of miles away. During the Spring Festival, the whole family will sit around and wrap jiaozi. Jiaozi's practice is to use flour to make dumpling wrappers first, and then use leather bags to fill them. The contents of stuffing are varied, and all kinds of meat, eggs, seafood and seasonal vegetables can be stuffed. The orthodox practice in jiaozi is to cook it with clear water, remove it and mix it with vinegar, minced garlic and vegetables. There are also methods of frying jiaozi and baking jiaozi (fried dumpling). Because the word "he" in dough mixing means "he"; Jiaozi's "jiao" and "glue" are homophonic, and "harmony" and "glue" have the meaning of reunion, so jiaozi is used to symbolize the reunion of acacia; It is very auspicious to make friends with older people; In addition, jiaozi, which is shaped like an ingot, has the auspicious meaning of "making a fortune" when eating jiaozi in the New Year. All the families get together to pack jiaozi, so it's fun to celebrate the Spring Festival.

Spring Festival poetry

Tianjiayuan Day

(Tang) Meng Haoran

I returned to the north last night and set out from the east today;

I'm already strong, and I'm worried about agriculture without money.

Mulberry field cultivates father, lotus hoe follows shepherd boy;

Tian said that this year's climate is abundant.

Selling dementia

(Tang) Fan Chengda

On new year's eve, people don't sleep, tired of being depressed and forcing the new year;

Children are told to take the long street, and clouds are called to sell if they have dementia.

Except at night.

(Tang) Legu

It's a matter of unity being empty, and Wan Li is lovesick overnight.

Worried that the crow dies, you will see the spring breeze again.

The first day of the lunar month

(Song) Wang Anshi

In addition to the one-year-old firecrackers, the spring breeze sends warmth into Tu Su;

Thousands of families always trade new peaches for old ones.

Yuanri Yulouchun

Maopang (Song Dynasty)

Every year, the lotus drops leak, and Bijing Tu Su sinks the frozen wine.

Han Xiao is still cheating. She is slim in spring.

Beauty urges a long life, and cypress leaves and green peppers are covered with beautiful sleeves.

Deep in my hometown, I don't know each other, but I only stay with Dong Jun.

New Year's Eve

Wen Tianxiang (Southern Song Dynasty)

Dry kunkong, years go to the church;

The end of the road is stormy, and the poor side is full of ice and snow.

Life disappears with the years, and the body is forgotten;

There is no such thing as killing Su Meng. It's still early at night.

Pay new year's call

(Ming) Wen Zhiming

I don't want to meet, but I want to talk about it. The famous papers are all us.

I also throw some paper at people. The world is too simple and empty.

Is new and correct.

Julia (Ming)

The wind and frost in heaven and earth are exhausted, and the weather in Gankun is harmonious;

Add the New Year, and the old mountains and rivers will spring.

Mei Liufang is full of pride, sloppy and old;

Tu Sucheng was drunk and laughed at Baiyun.

Today is New Year's Eve.

(Qing) Huang Jingren

A thousand smiles are slow, and worries are hidden from the outside.

People standing high on the stone bridge seem to be on earth, staring at the sky, but seeing a star like a moon.

Fengcheng new year speech

(Qing) Check Shen Xing

Cleverly cut Silla and paint colorful gold like a moth;

Since then, the scissors have been idle for a month, and there are more sewing in the boudoir before the age of 20.

Wu Jia New Year's Day

(clear) hole

Xiao Shu's white hair is not full of ups and downs, and the old-age stove actually sleeps.

Cut the candles and dry the midnight wine, and spent all the money to buy spring money.

Listen to the childlike innocence of burning firecrackers and see the change of peach blossom characters.

Add a plum blossom to the drum horn to celebrate the New Year in Lian Xiao.

New Year's Day takes up the charm of Liu Yazi.

Dong

* * * Laughing and laughing for the New Year, Hongyan Lady sends plum blossoms;

Everyone toasted each other in the toast to express their wishes for the New Year. After all the people were not satisfied, they tasted the tea of victory together and talked about current affairs.

Only loyal to the country, there is no paradise at home;

Song and dance accompany Beijing to welcome the festival and overlook Yan' an scenery.

See the flower market during the Spring Festival.

Lin

Mickey met to see the flower market, but leaned against the arcade like a gallery;

Bundled potted plants are lined up, and the grass plants are woody and fragrant.

The lights are bright all night, and the songs are fascinating.

It was this year that the scenery was beautiful and colorful.

New year couplet

Heshunmen is blessed and safe, and a word is precious.

Spring is always full of flowers all year round: welcome the new year.

Spring blossoms in the world, and the four seasons are always on the scene: celebrate the Spring Festival.

Eternal years, contemporary beauty, eternal rivers and mountains, new criticism: Vientiane renewal

Living happily in the treasure land for thousands of years, Wang Fu took care of everything at home: welcoming the New Year.

Good luck every year, all the best, step by step, horizontal approval: good luck.

After a hundred years of revival, the mountains and rivers are peaceful.

The spring rain moistens everything, the red berries are embroidered little by little, and Qianshan is horizontal: the spring is full.

Get rid of the old habits, stress the four beauties, and cultivate a new style: farewell the old and welcome the new.

All corners of the country are spring, and Qian Shan is full of glory: Vientiane is updated.

Smooth sailing, all the best, and good luck.

Good luck all year round, treasures from all directions come into the house: home and everything.

Green bamboo is different from the other three points. Jing Hongmei is reporting to Wan Jiachun: Spring returns to the earth.

Prosperity is the source every year, and peace and longevity are more horizontal: good luck shines high.

A year of good luck rolls with colorful clouds from spring to the four seasons: all the best.

Feng Dan Cheng Xiang Long Xianrui Red Peach New Year's Eve Apricot Spring Festival Cross Approval: Fuman Ren Jian

Even after two years, I am happy for one night and one year. I am happy at the age of two: Congratulations on the New Year.

Huang Yingming, Liu Cuicui, Yan Zi, Spring Festival Cross Approval: Yanwu, Ying Ge

Flowers in spring contain laughter and firecrackers to increase the sound of joy.

Hanma Chen Jue An Waizhen won the bid for the new exhibition of Qing history, Jinyang opened Thailand to enrich the people and Zheng Qing: spring is full.

Finally, I wish my dear good friend:

The new year is coming 12. Comfortable in the morning, go out smoothly, have a path, be patient, be careful, make friends and keep people, be honest with others, have confidence in yourself, be crazy about your lover, go home, be safe at night, and achieve good results!

Wish you all the best!

^__^