Chunsheng (pick a gift box)

During the Spring Festival, a distinctive folk activity in Chaoshan is "patting a spring student". "Chunsheng" here refers to a local bamboo gift basket with three or four floors and a cover, which is usually used in pairs, so "Cong Chunsheng" is also called "Cong Chunsheng".

On New Year's Day, the bride's family will give presents to her married daughter. In the past, these gifts were always put in a pair of Da Chun bowls and sent by the married woman's brother. When my brother-in-law arrives, my in-laws will kill chickens and geese and treat them warmly. There is a folk saying that "my uncle is coming to hunt chickens", which is a custom.

Among the gifts given by my brother-in-law, besides oranges, there must be dozens of sugarcane, which probably means secretly wishing my daughter a higher life. The richness of gifts is determined by the family's economic situation, but generally, newly-married daughters should prepare rich gifts, otherwise they will be looked down upon by their in-laws; Those who have been married for a long time, even those who are mothers-in-law, are not so particular. Daughter's family received these things and distributed them to relatives and neighbors, which formed a major feature of Chaoshan Spring Festival custom.

During the Spring Festival, firecrackers crackled. In addition to paying New Year's greetings, many old ladies, carrying flower baskets and red plates, shouted from door to door, "Eminem, have something to eat (aunt, snacks are coming)." Because every family has a daughter-in-law, every family has to go out.

From this custom, we can see the fashion of Chaoshan people getting close to their neighbors. In addition, if there are separated brothers in the family, the people who send them are distributed according to households. However, the married daughter can't go back to her family this day. The first time I went to my parents' house, the general idea was that my parents' house was not good.

Go back to your mother's house (eat at night during the day)

On the second and third day of the first month, the married daughter returned to her family with her husband and children. When a daughter returns to her mother's house, there must be a big bag of biscuits and sweets distributed by her mother to her neighbors, just like the scene of the New Year. If there are many daughters at home, and these daughters don't come back that day, then we will share it, and the gift is quite thin, just four biscuits. However, it reflects a strong feeling. The real "courtesy is light and affection is heavy" expresses the girls' ardent yearning for the villagers.

When the girl goes home, if there is a nephew at home, menstruation has to pay again. Although she gave the lucky money on the first day, this time it has a different meaning. This custom is called "eating midnight snack" among Chaoshan people. As the name implies, it's just lunch, and the daughter must get back to her husband's house before dinner.

Some taboos in Chaoshan Spring Festival

Don't say bad luck, don't do bad luck.

Because the first month is the beginning of a year, Chaoshan people often regard it as a sign of good or bad luck in the New Year, so there are many "taboos" during the New Year.

In terms of language, all unlucky words such as "broken", "bad", "nothing", "death", "light", "ghost", "killing", "illness", "pain" and "poverty" are taboo. Don't cry either, because crying is "not winning the first prize", which indicates illness and disaster. Therefore, even if the child is in trouble on this day, he can't beat and scold, so as not to cry endlessly.

In terms of behavior, you should be extra careful not to break cups, plates, bowls and plates. On the first day of the first month, creditors are not allowed to come to collect debts, because people think that collecting debts on this day is unlucky for both borrowers and borrowers. Also avoid taking things from other people's pockets. People think that pulling out a pocket on the first day of the first month may lead to the danger of being "hollowed out" for one year.

In terms of diet, it is strictly forbidden to take medicine on the first day of the first month. Otherwise, I think it will lead to illness all year round and take medicine constantly; On the first day of the first month, meat is forbidden for breakfast. One theory is that if you eat vegetarian food, its effect is equivalent to one year. Another way of saying it is that vegetarianism is a metaphor for managing the family diligently, not extravagance and waste.

On the first day of the first month, avoid death and funeral, because it will bring bad luck to the family. At the same time, don't have a haircut on this day, because people always associate a haircut with a funeral on this day. Killing is also taboo on this day. Killing is considered to lead to disasters such as knife disaster, soldier disaster and blood disaster. However, now people's living standards have improved, and they have no scruples about eating fresh food for quick appetite.

The custom of sweeping the floor during the Spring Festival is gradually being eliminated now, because firecrackers are set off during the Spring Festival, people come and go, and there is a lot of paper scraps on the ground. It is really harmful not to clean it. Therefore, starting from paying attention to hygiene, many young people are not very particular about these traditional taboo customs.