Chinese new year’s customs, New Year’s Day.
The first day of the first lunar month is the first day of the Lunar New Year, marking the beginning of a new year.
The Spring Festival is the most important and grand traditional festival of the Han nationality. There are many folk activities on this day, such as paying New Year greetings, setting off firecrackers and giving lucky money.
The custom of setting off firecrackers in the Spring Festival began in the Han Dynasty and has a history of more than 2,000 years.
Open the door to firecrackers
In the morning, people will set off firecrackers before going out to visit relatives and friends, which is called "opening firecrackers".
After the sound of firecrackers, the ground is full of broken red, which is called "full house red" Folks believe that the sooner the "opening firecrackers" are put, the better, symbolizing all the best in the New Year and a bumper harvest.
However, now many cities have restricted the discharge of fireworks and firecrackers. If you want to set off firecrackers, you must go to the designated place!
pay New Year calls
On the first day of New Year’s Day, people put on beautiful clothes and went out to visit relatives and friends to pay New Year greetings to each other.
Paying New Year greetings is a traditional folk custom in China, and it is a way for people to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, and express their best wishes to each other.
In ancient times, the original meaning of the word "Happy New Year" was to celebrate the New Year for the elderly. New Year greetings usually begin at home.
On the morning of the first day, after getting up, the younger generation should first pay a New Year call to their elders, wishing them a long and healthy life and all the best.
After the elders are worshipped, they should distribute the "lucky money" prepared in advance to the younger generation.
After paying homage to the elders at home, people should also greet the New Year with smiles when they meet out, and exchange auspicious words such as "Congratulations on getting rich", "Best wishes for the four seasons" and "Happy New Year". Neighbors, relatives and friends also visit each other or invite them to drink and entertain.
Steamed rice cake
Because of its homophonic "high age" and varied tastes, rice cakes have almost become a necessary food for every family during the Spring Festival.
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. The rice cakes in the north are mainly sweet, steamed or fried, and some people simply eat them with sugar.
The rice cakes in the south are both sweet and salty, 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.
Tiehua chicken
In ancient times, chickens were painted on doors and windows to drive away ghosts and evil spirits during the Spring Festival.
In ancient mythology, there was a saying that the chicken was a deformed bird of the Ming Dynasty. It is said that during the reign of Emperor Yao, friends paid tribute to a bird of the Ming Dynasty that could ward off evil spirits. Everyone welcomed the arrival of the bird of the Ming Dynasty, but not every year, people carved a wooden bird of the Ming Dynasty, cast it in bronze, or painted it on doors and windows to scare off monsters and make them afraid to come again.
Because the bird looks like a chicken, it will be gradually changed to painting a chicken or cutting window flowers and sticking them on the doors and windows, which will become the source of paper-cutting art in later generations.
In ancient China, chickens were paid special attention to, and they were called "birds with five virtues". Therefore, people not only cut chickens during the Chinese New Year, but also set the first day of the New Year as Chicken Day.
It is not advisable to sweep the floor and take out the garbage.
It is said that the first day of the first month is the broom birthday, so you can’t use the broom on this day, otherwise it will sweep away luck and ruin money, and attract the "broom star" and cause bad luck.
If you have to sweep the floor, you must sweep it from the outside to the inside. On this day, you can’t throw water on the garbage, for fear of breaking the money.
At present, this custom is still maintained in many places. On the New Year’s Eve, no brooms are put out, no garbage is taken out, and a large bucket is prepared to hold waste water, so that it is not spilled on the same day.
Original title: "Chinese New Year’s Day"
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