A brief discussion on traditional Chinese Spring Festival customs

 

A brief discussion on traditional Chinese Spring Festival customs…………Shenyang

 

The Spring Festival is the most solemn and grand traditional festival in China. It not only embodies the ideological beliefs, ideal wishes, life entertainment and cultural psychology of the Chinese nation, but is also a carnival-style display of blessings, disaster relief, food and entertainment activities.

The Spring Festival, in a narrow sense, refers to the first day of the first lunar month, and in a broad sense, it refers to the first to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

The Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year, has blended a variety of folk customs from many places into one during its historical development, forming some relatively fixed customs and habits. During the Spring Festival, the main content of the New Year is to remove the old and bring in the new, worship gods and ancestors, ward off evil spirits and fight disasters, and pray for a good harvest. The forms are rich and colorful, with strong regional characteristics.

 

age

 

The concept of "year" comes from the ancient calendar. "Sui" means "sheti", which is the original stem and branch, also known as "Tai Sui". In Jia, Taisui is called Yanfeng, in Yi, it is Zhanmeng, in Bing, it is Rouzhao, in Ding, it is Qiangyu, in Wu, it is Yong, in Ji, it is Tuwei, in Geng, it is Shangzhang, in Xin, it is Chongguang, and in Ren, it is called Chongguang. It is called Xuanxuan, in Gui it is Zhaoyang; in Yin it is Shetige; in Mao it is Shanlan; in Chen it is Zhixu; in Si it is Dahuangluo; in Wu it is Dunzang; in Wei it is Xieqia; in Shen it is Huitan is called Zuowei in You, Yimao in Xu, Dayuanxian in Hai, Kundun in Zi, Chifenruo in Chou. (The words come from "Erya·Shitian").

This set of chronology has far-reaching influence, and was used in calendars, arithmetic, calculations, naming and other aspects in later generations (the official history book "Zizhi Tongjian" compiled in the Northern Song Dynasty used this set of zodiac terms for the epoch). During the inheritance and development, later generations simplified this set of Shetiji terminology into one-character names of stems and branches.

The relative relationship between Sui Ji Sheti (original names of stems and branches) and the simplified stems and branches is recorded in works such as "Erya" and "Historical Records".

In the early days of observing and telling time, the year was determined based on the movement of stars. The handle of the bucket rotated once in a clockwise direction, which was called one year (photography). The Big Dipper rotates in a circle, the handle returns to Yin, the Qianyuan period begins, and the time returns to the New Year.

The Tianwei Jianyuan starts from Yin. For example, "Huainanzi Tian Wen Xun" contains: "The emperor Zhang four dimensions, transport them by fighting, the moon moves for one hour, and returns to its place. The first month refers to Yin, and the twelfth month refers to Chou. , One year old, it turns around, and it ends again and begins again."

The handle of the Big Dipper starts from the "Jian Yin" moon pointing due east-north, and then rotates clockwise, repeating the cycle; at the end of the year, the twelfth month points to the ugly side, and the first month returns to the Yin position again, and finally it starts again. , a new reincarnation begins.

In traditional farming societies, the beginning of spring, when spring returns to the earth and everything is renewed, is of great significance, and a large number of related New Year's Day customs and cultures have been derived.

Although the calendars used were different and the New Year's Day festival dates were different in the historical development, the festival framework and many folk customs have been inherited.

 

folk custom

 

The Spring Festival is a day for relatives to worship ancestors and pray for good luck. The sacrificial activities follow the rules of the ancestors, offering tribute, offering incense, bowing and saluting, and are solemn, solemn and meticulous. The custom of worshiping gods and ancestors is prevalent in the southern coastal areas. It inherits ancient customs. During the Spring Festival, many places hold grand and grand celebrations to offer sacrifices to the gods of heaven and earth, pray for blessings to welcome the new year, etc. The content is rich and colorful, lively and festive, and has a strong flavor of the new year. .

There are many customs and activities during the Spring Festival, such as sticking New Year's red cards, staying up late on the New Year's Eve, having a reunion dinner, paying New Year's greetings, etc., but each has its own characteristics due to different customs and customs. As far as Guangdong is concerned, it can be divided into several major regions: Central Guangdong (Pearl River Delta), Western Guangdong, Northern Guangdong, and Eastern Guangdong (Chaoshan and Hakka), each with its own unique charm. There is a saying in Guangdong, "On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, wash away the filth", which means that on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, the whole family should stay at home to clean, remove the old and make new cloths, and put up New Year's red (celebrating spring) to welcome the New Year. On New Year's Eve at the end of the year, worshiping ancestors, eating New Year's dinner, watching the New Year's Eve and visiting the flower market are the major events in Laoguang to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new.

On the first day of the new year, many towns, villages and villages start from the early morning to welcome the spring and receive blessings, worship Tai Sui and other gods, blast firecrackers, bid farewell to the old year, welcome the new year and other various New Year celebration activities reach their climax.

The second day of the Lunar New Year is the first day of the new year. Fish and meat bowls are made to offer sacrifices to the gods and ancestors, and then the New Year's dinner is eaten. The second day of the Lunar New Year is also the day when married daughters return to their parents' homes, and their husbands and sons must accompany them, so it is commonly known as "Welcoming Son-in-Law Day." Starting from the second day of the Lunar New Year, we start visiting relatives and friends to pay New Year greetings. Of course, New Year greetings are indispensable with gift bags that represent our sincerity. In addition to the red element that represents prosperity, the gift bags also have oranges and Lili, which symbolize good luck and good luck.

The fourth day of the Lunar New Year is the day to worship the God of Wealth. On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, shops and restaurants officially open for business, and firecrackers are set off, no less than on New Year's Eve. The seventh day of the Lunar New Year is National Day, so people generally don’t go out to pay New Year greetings. The eighth day of the Lunar New Year is the start of work day. Distributing start-of-work bonuses is the first thing that Guangdong bosses do on the first day of work after the Chinese New Year. The bonuses and bonuses mean that the bonuses and benefits will be prosperous throughout the year.

Visiting relatives and friends to pay New Year greetings is basically completed before the eighth day of the Lunar New Year. Starting from the eighth day of the Lunar New Year (in some places starting from the second day of the Lunar New Year), grand group large-scale New Year blessing and praying activities are held one after another. During this period, various folk cultural performances are accompanied, and the etiquette content is mainly: The main purpose of welcoming the gods, visiting the gods, and offering sacrifices is to repay the kindness of the gods and ancestors of heaven and earth, drive away evil spirits from the pure land, keep the environment safe, and pray for good weather, prosperity of all industries, and peace and prosperity for the country and the people. The festival activities last until the fifteenth or nineteenth of the first lunar month. (Chaoshan is called "Youshen Saihui" and "Yinglaoye", western Guangdong is called "Youshensaihui", "Youbodhisattva" and "Nianli", and Fuzhou is called "Yingshen"). A series of festival celebrations express people's longing for beautiful things. Yearnings and wishes for life.

The formation and shaping of Spring Festival folk customs is a process of long-term accumulation and cohesion of the history and culture of the Chinese nation, and it carries rich historical and cultural heritage in its inheritance and development.

 

ballad

 

Beijing: "Twenty-three, sticky melons; twenty-four, cleaning day; twenty-five, push millet; twenty-six, remove meat; twenty-seven, slaughter a chicken; twenty-eight, make noodles. ; Twenty-nine, steamed buns; thirty nights, stay overnight, twist and turn on New Year's Day."

Shandong: Laba porridge, boil it for a few days, it will be boiled twenty-three, twenty-three, sugar melon sticky, twenty-four, house cleaning day, twenty-five, coal-pushing rat (should be rice millet, see "Part 2" in the Beijing chapter Fifteen, push millet"), twenty-six, go buy meat, twenty-seven, slaughter the rooster, twenty-eight, white flour and hair, twenty-nine, steam the steamed buns, stay up all night on the thirtieth day, sister on the first day of the new year Pull your brother and twist it

Shaanxi: Twenty-three, sacrifice to the kitchen official, twenty-four, clean the house, twenty-five, grind tofu, twenty-six, cut the meat, twenty-seven, kill a chicken, twenty-eight, steam jujube flowers, twenty-nine, Went to drink wine, make dumplings on the New Year's Eve, stick out our buttocks and make random bows on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Northeast: Twenty-three is sticky with sugar melons, twenty-four is cleaning the house, twenty-five is making tofu, twenty-six is stewing meat, twenty-seven is killing chicken, twenty-eight is putting up window grilles, twenty-nine is going to drink wine, New Year’s Eve Make dumplings.

Children, don’t be greedy, it’s the New Year after Laba; cook rice porridge and drink it for a few days, it’s twenty-three; twenty-three, sticky melons; twenty-four, clean the house; twenty-five, frozen tofu; On the twenty-sixth, go buy meat; on the twenty-seventh, slaughter the rooster; on the twenty-eighth, make the noodles; on the twenty-nine, steam the steamed buns; on the thirtieth, stay up all night; on the first day of the new year, I will take you around the streets.

 

poetry

 

New Year's Eve

(Southern Song Dynasty) Wen Tianxiang

 

The world is empty, and the years are gone;

The end of the road is full of storms and rain, and the poor side is full of snow and frost.

Life is about to end with the years, and the body and the world are forgotten;

No more killing Su Meng, burning the midnight oil is still young.

 

yuan day

(Northern Song Dynasty) Wang Anshi

 

The sound of firecrackers marks the end of the year, and the spring breeze brings warmth to Tusu.

Thousands of households always replace old talismans with new peaches.

 

Spring Festival Gala

 

The Spring Festival Gala, referred to as the "Spring Festival Gala", is a variety show hosted by China Central Television every year on the eve of the Lunar New Year to celebrate the Lunar New Year. ​

In 1983, CCTV's hosting of the Spring Festival Gala should be said to be an accidental event. From the perspective of cultural development, the CCTV Spring Festival Gala pioneered a television variety show and triggered major changes in the content and expression methods of Chinese television media. Subsequently, local TV stations of all sizes across the country frequently followed suit and strived to innovate.

The CCTV Spring Festival Gala covers a variety of art forms such as sketches, songs, singing and dancing, acrobatics, magic, opera, cross talk dramas, etc., bringing the live audience and the audience in front of the TV into the carnival, creating a festival scene where "the whole world is celebrating, and the world is singing happily".

The party is broadcast live at 20:00 on New Year's Eve every year on the China Central Radio and Television Station's CCTV Comprehensive Channel, Variety Channel, Chinese International Channel, National Defense and Military Channel, Children's Channel, Agricultural and Rural Channel, etc.