What You Should Know About Chinese New Year

The Spring Festival is one of the four traditional festivals in China. In China, the Spring Festival is also called the Lunar New Year, the New Year. This festival has a long history and has existed since ancient times. The origin of the Spring Festival contains rich cultural connotations, and it carries a rich historical and cultural heritage in its inheritance and development. During the Spring Festival, various activities to celebrate the Spring Festival are held all over China with strong local characteristics. The colorful celebrations embody the essence of traditional Chinese culture.
Spring Festival Encyclopedia

Spring Festival Folk Customs

Folk category

Traditional festival ceremonies and customary activities are an important part of festival elements and carry a rich and colorful cultural heritage of festivals. New Year’s Day (New Year’s Day) is an ancient festival in my country, and it is also the most important festival in the whole year. handed down so far. These activities can be roughly summarized into the following aspects: worship the gods to meet the seasons; worship the ancestors to maintain family affection; exorcise evil spirits for peace; recreation and relaxation. Headed by the Hundred Festival Year, the Spring Festival is the most solemn traditional festival of the Chinese nation. It not only embodies the ideology, belief, ideals and aspirations, life entertainment and cultural psychology of the Chinese nation, but also a carnival-style display of blessings, disaster relief, food and entertainment activities.
During the Spring Festival, various Lunar New Year activities are held all over the country. Due to different regional cultures, there are differences in customs content or details, with strong regional characteristics. The celebration activities during the Spring Festival are extremely rich and varied, including lion dance, floating color, dragon dance, wandering gods, temple fairs, flower street shopping, lantern viewing, gongs and drums, vernier flags, fireworks burning, praying for blessings, and spring festivals, as well as walking on stilts, running Dry boat, twist Yangko and so on. During the Spring Festival, there are many places such as sticking New Year’s Day, keeping the year old, eating group dinner, and paying New Year’s greetings. The Spring Festival folk customs are diverse in form and rich in content, and are a concentrated display of the essence of the life and culture of the Chinese nation.
The Spring Festival is a day to get rid of the old and clothe new ones. Although the Spring Festival is set on the first day of the first lunar month, the activities of the Spring Festival are not limited to the first day of the first lunar month. From the end of the new year, people have started to “busy the year”: offering sacrifices to the stove, sweeping the dust, buying New Year’s goods, sticking the New Year’s red, shampooing and bathing, putting on lanterns, and so on. All these activities have a common theme, that is, “civilization” The old welcomes the new”. The Spring Festival is a festival of joy, harmony and family reunion. It is also a carnival and eternal spiritual pillar for people to express their yearning for happiness and freedom. The Spring Festival is also a day for the ancestors to worship their ancestors and make sacrifices to pray for the new year. Sacrifice is a kind of belief activity, which is a belief activity created by human beings in the ancient times to live in harmony with the natural world.
Spring Festival is a festival for people to entertain and carnival. On the New Year’s Day, firecrackers and fireworks are all over the sky, and various activities to celebrate the New Year, such as farewell to the old year and welcome the new year, reach a climax. On the morning of the first day of the new year, each family burns incense and pays homage to the heaven and earth, sacrifices to ancestors, and then pays New Year greetings to the elders in turn, and then the relatives and friends of the same clan congratulate each other. After the New Year’s Day, a variety of colorful entertainment activities are launched, adding a strong festive atmosphere to the Spring Festival. The warm atmosphere of the festival not only permeates every household, but also fills the streets and alleys around the country. During this period, the city is full of lanterns, and the streets are full of tourists. It is very lively and unprecedented. The Spring Festival is not really over until after the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month. Therefore, the Spring Festival, which integrates prayer, celebration and entertainment, has become the most solemn festival of the Chinese nation.

Traditions

Organizing New Year’s gifts
Chinese New Year customs have a long history, and various New Year customs have been derived from all over the country. Although the customs vary from place to place, the preparation of New Year’s goods and the gift of New Year’s gifts are “must have for the New Year” in almost all parts of the country. Buying New Year’s goods, including food, clothes, wear, use, stickers (New Year’s Day), gifts (New Year’s greetings), etc., are collectively called “New Year’s Goods”, and the process of purchasing New Year’s Goods is called “New Year’s Goods”. new Year foods”. Organizing New Year’s goods is an important activity for Chinese people to celebrate the Spring Festival.
Cleaning
Among the folks, there is the custom of sweeping the dust (also known as sweeping the house) on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month on New Year’s Eve. The purpose of sweeping the dust is to sweep out all the bad luck and bad luck, in order to pray for a clean and auspicious year.
Cut the New Year’s Meat
A folk proverb says, “On the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, kill the pig and cut the meat for the New Year”, which means that the meat is mainly prepared for the New Year on this day. The so-called slaughtering of pigs is, of course, the killing of the pigs raised in their own homes; the so-called meat-cutting refers to the fact that poor people who do not raise pigs go to the market to buy meat for Chinese New Year. The “cutting meat” is included in the New Year’s ballad because the agricultural society and economy are not developed, and people can only eat meat during the annual festival, so it is called “nian meat”.
Annual red tape
On the twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth or 30th day of the new year, every household will “paste New Year red” (Nianhong is the collective name for the red festive elements pasted during the New Year, such as Spring Festival couplets, door gods, horizontal batches, New Year pictures, and the word “Fu”). It is a traditional Chinese New Year custom, which adds a festive atmosphere and expresses people’s good expectations for the new year and new life.
New Year’s Eve Dinner
New Year’s Eve Dinner, also known as New Year’s Dinner, Reunion Dinner, etc., especially refers to the family dinner on New Year’s Eve. The New Year’s Eve originated from the ancient year-end sacrificial ceremony, which is a reunion dinner after worshiping the gods and ancestors. The New Year’s Eve dinner is the highlight of the year, not only colorful, but also very particular about the meaning. Before eating the reunion dinner, worship the gods and ancestors, and then start the meal after the worship ceremony.
Keeping the New Year
Keeping the New Year’s Eve is one of the customary activities, and the custom of keeping the New Year’s Eve has a long history. The folk custom of keeping the New Year is mainly manifested in that all houses ignite the fire of the New Year, get together with the family, keep the “fire of the New Year” and not let it go out, and wait for the moment of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new year to welcome the arrival of the new year. On New Year’s Eve, the lights do not go out all night, which is called “lighting the light for the year” or “lighting the fire for the year”. All houses are lit with candles, and candles are specially lit under the bed. , It is said that after taking such photos, it will enrich the wealth of the family in the coming year. On New Year’s Eve, the whole family gathers together, eats the New Year’s Eve dinner, lights candles or oil lamps, sits around the fireplace and chats, and keeps a vigil all night, which symbolizes the drive away of all evils and diseases, and looks forward to a prosperous new year.
New Year’s Money
Lunar New Year money is one of the customs of the year. After the New Year’s dinner, the elders should distribute the pre-prepared Lunar New Year money to the younger generation. It is said that the Lunar New Year money can suppress evil, and the younger generation can live a year in peace with the Lunar New Year money. Lunar New Year money in folk culture means to ward off evil spirits and exorcise ghosts and bless peace. The original purpose of Lunar New Year money was to suppress evil and exorcise evil spirits. Because people think that children are vulnerable to sneaky attacks, they use lucky money to exorcise evil spirits.
Temple Fair
Visiting temple fairs is one of the folk activities during the Spring Festival. Guangfu Temple Fair and Beijing Ditan Temple Fair are also known as the two major temple fairs in China. It covers themed activities such as puppet gathering, Chinese unique skills, martial arts conference, Lantern Festival, etc. It includes rich contents such as blessing culture, folk culture, food culture, business and leisure culture.
New Year’s Greetings
Visiting the New Year during the Spring Festival is one of the traditional customs of the New Year. It is a way for people to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new, and to express their best wishes to each other. On the second and third day of junior high school, I began to visit relatives and friends, greet each other with New Year’s greetings, congratulate each other, and say congratulations on the new year, congratulations on getting rich, congratulations, and happy new year. The meaning of New Year’s greetings is to visit relatives and friends to communicate with each other, to congratulate each other on the New Year, to express their feelings for relatives and friends, and to express their best wishes for life in the new year. With the development of the times, the custom of New Year’s greetings is constantly adding new contents and forms.

Events during Chinese New Year

Busy Year (Small Year)

The busy year begins on the 23rd or 24th of December at the end of the year, also known as “little year”. Xiao Nian does not refer to a single day. Due to different customs in different places, the days called “Xiao Nian” are not the same. Before the Qing Dynasty, the traditional folk sacrifice day for the small year was December 24th. Since the middle and late Qing Dynasty, the emperor’s family held a ceremony to sacrifice to the sky on December 23rd. The people in the northern region follow suit and celebrate the new year on December 23; most of the southern regions still maintain the tradition of celebrating the new year on December 24. Xiao Nian is the beginning and foreshadowing of the whole Spring Festival celebrations. There are two main activities: sweeping the dust and offering sacrifices to the stove.
Traditional customs: offering sacrifices to the stove, steaming steamed buns, buying New Year’s red, eating stove sugar, and sweeping the dust.

Year 28

On the twenty-eighth of the new year, the old ones are removed and the old ones are removed. There is a saying in Guangdong, “the twenty-eighth of the new year, wash the sloppy”, which means that on the twenty-eighth day of the lunar calendar, the whole family should stay at home to clean up, stick the New Year’s red, and welcome the new year. In some places in the north, there is a New Year’s ballad: “On the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, steamed steamed buns with applique flowers” or “Twenty-eight, the noodles are made.” The so-called decals are to post New Year pictures, Spring Festival couplets, window grilles and various Spring Festival posters.

New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Eve is the last night of the year. The last day at the end of the year is called “Sui Chu”, which means that the old year will be removed and the new year will be replaced. In addition, that means to remove; Xi, refers to the night. “New Year’s Eve” means New Year’s Eve, also known as New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Eve, etc. It is the last night at the end of the year. New Year’s Eve is a day to remove the old and clothe the new, reunite the family, and worship ancestors. It is the traditional ancestor worship festival in China along with Qingming Festival, July and a half, and Double Ninth Festival. New Year’s Eve has a special meaning in the hearts of Chinese people. This is the most important day at the end of the year. No matter how far away, the wanderer has to rush home to reunite with his family, bid farewell to the old year with the sound of firecrackers, and welcome the new year with fireworks. On New Year’s Eve, ancestor worship and reunion dinner are held. After the New Year’s Eve dinner, there is the custom of distributing New Year’s Eve money and keeping New Year’s Eve.
Traditional customs: set up the heaven and earth table, worship ancestors, burn guns, eat New Year’s Eve dinner, pick up the gods, step on the evil spirits, pick up the god of wealth

The first day of the first lunar month

From the beginning of the new year, it has entered the theme of welcoming the jubilee and receiving blessings, worshipping the ancestors, and praying for a good year. On the New Year’s Day, firecrackers rang out, fireworks lit up the sky, said goodbye to the old year, and welcomed the new year. With the sound of firecrackers saying goodbye to the old year, fireworks fill the sky to welcome the new year. On the morning of the Spring Festival, the opening of the door is auspicious, and the firecrackers are first burned, which is called “opening the fire” to send off the old and welcome the new. After the sound of firecrackers, the ground is broken and red, and it is like a cloud of brocade, which is called “full house red”. On the first day of the first lunar month, New Year’s greetings. In the morning, each family burns incense and pays homage, worshiping heaven and earth, offering sacrifices to ancestors, and worshipping the New Year God. They then greeted the elders in turn, and then congratulated each other with relatives and friends of the same clan. On the first day of the new year, people all get up early, put on the most beautiful clothes, and go out neatly to wish a prosperous new year.
Traditional customs: open fire, pay New Year’s greetings, pray for the New Year, pay New Year’s greetings, account for the new year, gather wealth.

The second day of the first lunar month

The second day of the new year is the first day of the new year. In the morning, worship the gods of heaven and earth. After the ceremony, fire cannons and paper treasures, and then eat “New Year’s dinner”. This meal “New Year’s dinner” is usually prepared with hair dish, lettuce, fish, etc., which is intended to take the meaning of making money and making a profit. The daughter who got married on this day went back to her mother’s house and asked her husband and husband to accompany her, so it is commonly known as “the day of welcoming the husband.” The daughter who goes back to her parents’ home must bring some gifts and red envelopes to share with her parents’ children, and have lunch at her parents’ home, but must rush back to her husband’s home before dinner.
Traditional customs: worship God, New Year’s dinner, etc.

The third day of the first lunar month

In ancient times, people in southern China used to post “Chikou” (forbidden mouth) on the morning of the third day of the new year. The so-called “chikou” is generally a red paper strip about seven or eight inches long and one inch wide, on which is written some words of safe and auspicious entry and exit. In short, sticking “red mouth” is to make people feel that they can go in and out safely throughout the year, without quarrels or various unfortunate disasters.
Traditional customs: burning door god paper

The fourth day of the first lunar month

The fourth day of the new year is the day of offering sacrifices to the God of Wealth, welcoming the gods and welcoming the gods. It is said that the fourth day of the first lunar month is the day when Nuwa made sheep, so it is called “Sheep Day”. On this day, people cannot kill sheep. If the weather is good, it means that the sheep will be well raised in this year. will have a good harvest.
Traditional customs: welcome the gods and the gods, pick up the five roads, eat zheluo, and throw the poor.

The fifth day of the first lunar month

On the fifth day of the first lunar month, according to folk customs, it is the birthday of the Five-Road God of Wealth. Therefore, we must welcome the God of Wealth into our home and bless our family with a new year of wealth and abundance. At the same time, it is also a day to send the “poor” away, so there is a saying “send the poor out”. This day is also commonly known as “Broken Five”, which means that many taboos of the previous days are now over. In addition to the above taboos, breaking the five customs is mainly to send the poor, welcome the god of wealth, and open the market for trade. People in the north have the custom of eating dumplings, which means to attract wealth and treasure. Legend has it that the fifth day of the first lunar month is the “Cow Day”.
Traditional customs: offering sacrifices to the God of Wealth (southern), sending the poor, and opening the market.

The sixth of the first lunar month

The sixth day of the first lunar month is “horse day”, which is called Liuliu Dashun. On this day, every household should throw out the garbage accumulated during the festival, which is called sending the poor ghost. The sixth day of the Lunar New Year is also the opening day of the market, when shops and restaurants officially open for business, and firecrackers are set off, which is no less than the situation on New Year’s Eve.
Traditional customs: send the poor and open the market.

The seventh day of the first lunar month

The seventh day of the first lunar month is Ren’s Day, that is, a person’s birthday, and people usually do not go out to pay New Year’s greetings. From the documents of the Han Dynasty, there were written records of people’s festivals and customs, and they began to pay attention after the Wei and Jin Dynasties. In ancient times, people had the custom of wearing “rensheng”. Rensheng is a kind of headgear, also known as Caisheng and Huasheng.
Traditional customs: smoke the sky, eat Qibao soup, send the god of fire.

The eighth day of the first lunar month

The eighth day of the new year is the start day, and the distribution of start-up profits is the first thing for Guangdong bosses to do on the first day after the Chinese New Year; Before the eighth day of the new year, visiting relatives and friends to pay New Year’s greetings is basically completed. Cultural performances. Legend has it that the eighth day of the first lunar month is the birthday of millet. On this day, the weather is cloudy and the year is poor.
Traditional customs: Shun the stars, wander the gods, do the head of the house, release life and pray for blessings.

The ninth day of the first lunar month

The ninth day of the first lunar month is the sun. Legend has it that this day is the birthday of the Jade Emperor, the highest god in the heavens, commonly known as “Tian Gongsheng”. It is said that “Tiangong” is the “Jade Emperor”, and Taoism calls it “Siyu”. He is the highest god in the heavens. The main customs are offering sacrifices to the Jade Emperor, Taoist temples, etc. In some places, women prepare fragrant flower candles and fasting bowls in the sun, and place them in the open air at the entrance of the patio and alley to worship the sky and ask God for blessings.

The tenth day of the first lunar month

On the tenth day of the first lunar month, some areas in the south have the custom of turning on the lights, and a feast is held. On this day in Henan, every family pays tribute to the stone and burns incense. They believe that “ten” is a homophonic word for “stone”. Therefore, the tenth day is the birthday of the stone. On this day, no stone tools such as grinding and grinding can be moved, and even sacrificial stones are set up. Fear of damage to crops. Also known as “stone immovable” and “ten immovable”; one must eat buns for lunch, and it is believed that eating cakes will bring prosperity to wealth within a year. In Shandong Yuncheng and other places, there are gods who carry stones.

The eleventh of the first lunar month

On the eleventh day of the first lunar month, “Son-in-law Day”, this day is the day when the father-in-law entertains the son-in-law. In addition to eating for one day on the tenth day of the ninth day, there is still a lot of food left over from the ninth day of the ninth day, so the family does not need to spend any more money, so they use the leftover food to entertain their son-in-law and daughter. The folk song is called “Eleventh”. please son-in-law.”

The twelfth of the first lunar month

On the twelfth day of the first lunar month, there is a lantern shed, a lantern reception, a fasting head, a ritual ceremony, a standard cannon, etc. From now on, people start to prepare to celebrate the Lantern Festival, buy lanterns, build lanterns, make rituals, and standard cannons. There is a nursery rhyme saying: “On eleven people shouting, twelfth building a light shed, thirteen people turning on the lights, fourteen people turning on the lights, fifteen lines and a half moon, sixteen people finishing the lights.”

The thirteenth and fourteenth of the first lunar month

On the 13th and 14th of the first lunar month, lion dances, floating colors, wandering gods, visiting temple fairs. There is a legend that the 13th day of the first lunar month is “the birthday of the lamp head”. On this day, the folks will light the lamp under the kitchen stove, which is called “lighting the stove lamp”.

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month (Lantern Festival)

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the main customary activities are lantern viewing, lantern tours, boat escorting, gun burning, fireworks burning, green picking, and Lantern Festival celebrations. The festivals and customs of the Lantern Festival are very distinctive, and the festival period and festival activities have also been extended and expanded with the development of history. Since ancient times, the custom of Lantern Festival has been dominated by lively and festive lantern viewing.