Eid al-Fitr and Small New Year

 

Eid al-Fitr and Small New Year

 

Eid al-Fitr on the second day of the first lunar month

 

According to traditional saying, New Year's Eve bids farewell to the old, and New Year's Day welcomes the new. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, one must eat fast, and on the second day of the Lunar New Year, taboos such as fasting are lifted. This is a new beginning, commonly known as "the beginning of the new year."

The second day of the Lunar New Year is Eid al-Fitr, also known as the New Year's Day. Fish and meat bowls are made to offer sacrifices to gods and ancestors, and then the New Year's Eve dinner is eaten.

The custom at the beginning of the New Year is to have a "New Year's dinner". This meal is usually prepared with vegetables, lettuce, fish, etc., which is intended to make money and benefit. Modern people also have the New Year's dinner in restaurants. Some suburban villages still retain the custom of "releasing animals". They buy live carp, cover the fish eyes with red paper, worship gods and then release the animals in the river pond.

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-in-law are required to accompany them, so it is commonly known as "Sister-in-law's Day" and "Sister-in-law's Day". The aunts and uncles are going to pay New Year's greetings to their father-in-law and mother-in-law. On this day, a married daughter returns to her parents' home and asks her husband to accompany her, so it is commonly known as "Welcoming Son-in-Law Day". The daughter who returns to her natal family must bring some gifts and red packets to distribute to the children of her natal family, and have lunch at her natal family. Chaoshan people call it "eating day and day" when the uncle goes back to his parents-in-law's house for dinner on the second day of junior high school, which means having lunch. The uncle and his daughter must return to their home before dinner. In some areas, you may stay and have dinner due to travel reasons.

Starting from the second day of the Lunar New Year, I start visiting relatives and friends to pay New Year greetings.

New Year greetings are a way to visit relatives and friends during the New Year to congratulate each other on the New Year. New Year greetings are an important activity during the Spring Festival and a way for people to express their best wishes to each other. They visit relatives to see friends, pay New Year greetings to each other, congratulate each other, and say New Year greetings. Some words like congratulations on new happiness, congratulations on getting rich, congratulations, happy new year and so on. The significance of New Year greetings is to visit and communicate with relatives and friends, congratulate each other on the New Year, and express feelings for relatives and friends as well as best wishes for life in the new year.

Of course, New Year greetings are indispensable without a gift bag that represents your heart. In addition to the red element that represents prosperity, the gift bag also means good luck and good intentions.

 

Small New Year's Day on the third day of the first lunar month

 

The third day of the Lunar New Year is also called the "Little Nian Dynasty".

What is the "Little Nian Dynasty"? According to ancient records, on the third day of the Lunar New Year, people do not sweep the floor, beg for fire, or draw water, just like the New Year Dynasty.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, there is a custom of worshiping ancestors and gods, but usually people do not go out to pay New Year greetings.

In ancient times, among the people in southern China, "red mouth" was worn on the morning of the third day of the Lunar New Year. The so-called "red mouth" usually uses a red paper about seven or eight inches long and one inch wide, with some words about peace and good fortune written on it. In short, posting "chikou" makes people psychologically feel that they can go out safely all year round, avoid quarrels with others or various unfortunate disasters, bring more wealth to their homes, and everything goes well.

In ancient times in Hong Kong, people generally did not pay New Year's greetings on the third day of the Lunar New Year, because the third day of the first lunar month was "Red Dog Day", also known as "Red Dog Day". Red Dog is the god of wrath, one of the so-called Five Emperors of the ancient prophets, that is, the god of the south, Si Xia. According to folk custom, it is the day when the red tiger is angry and brings bad luck to the brother. Therefore, in the "Xiao Nian Dynasty", ancestors and gods should be worshiped.

"Red mouth" means "forbidden mouth". Because of the red mouth, we hope to avoid quarrels with others. Relatives and friends are not allowed to visit each other. ​

There is also the custom of not using a knife or scissors from the first to the third day of the Lunar New Year.

Folks also have the custom of burning door god paper on this day. In the old days, on the third day and night of the Lunar New Year, the pine and cypress branches during the New Year's Day and the door-god signs hung during the festival were burned together to indicate that the New Year was over and work had to begin again. As the saying goes, "Burn the door god paper, and you will find your own health."

 

Sheep Creation Day on the fourth day of the first lunar month

 

"Sui Zhan" says: The fourth day of the first lunar month is the day when Nuwa makes 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 raised well this year and the people who raise sheep will have a good harvest.

According to the old imperial calendar, the "three sheep (yang) kaitai" is often said to be a symbol of auspiciousness, and it is also a day to welcome the Kitchen God back to the people.