1, make nine dynasties
Making a wish to send rice to the nine dynasties is the fertility custom culture in Hanchuan, Hubei Province. The celebration ceremony held on the ninth day after the birth of a child is called "Being Nine Dynasties". From the day the baby was born, on the ninth day, nine dynasties were held for the baby. In the past, many babies were born with salty tetanus (also known as umbilical wind), which generally occurred on the first day of birth and had a high mortality rate. On the eighth day, he didn't get sick, indicating that the child had passed the "customs", so he made a nine-dynasty celebration. Relevant relatives and friends will get together when they hear the news, and they will all come to "Meet the Moon Mother" to celebrate the birth of the baby, and also pray that the baby will live a long and healthy life and be rich and prosperous. Give noodles, sugar, cloth and other nutrients. On this day, the baby's grandmother will give the baby clothes, toys, beds, etc., and put a long life lock on the baby. Other relatives and friends will also send gifts one after another. Then the baby's grandmother will treat everyone to longevity noodles. Now, in addition to eating noodles, she will also give a big banquet to express her gratitude. On this day, mainly female guests.
On this day, grandma will send "Mi Zhu". In the old society, the rice wishes of extended families included clothes, shoes and socks for children aged one to ten, ten hens, several eggs, three pig bellies and three pig lungs, some glutinous rice and brown sugar, and other electrical appliances such as shaking nests, bedding, charcoal and stoves. It can be described as everything, especially rich. The rice is packed in a box, and the husband's family sets off firecrackers at the door to welcome it, and rewards those who carry the box with red envelopes and lucky money. At noon, my husband's family gave me a banquet. This is in stark contrast to later birthdays. On birthdays, although the gifts given by relatives and friends are expensive and small in quantity, and some are even symbolic gifts, the host still has to hold a big banquet to entertain the guests. So there is a local saying called "making money" and "losing money". Even poor families should send some food, clothes or hold a simple banquet on the day of the Nine Dynasties. During the Nine Dynasties, some people's uncles, aunts, first advisers and aunts were also present. On this day, a large-scale celebration will be held to name the newborn, and the host will host a banquet to entertain relatives who come to congratulate. Other relatives and friends didn't come to congratulate her on giving gifts until ten days later. This is not neglect, but a custom. There is also a saying in Wuhan that "the dead leave early and the living leave late". When relatives and friends give gifts, there is a red sticker above the gift, which reads "Mr. XX's joy in playing with his palm" or "the joy in playing with tiles". For these gift givers, the host does not entertain meals, but cooks a bowl of eggs in sugar water or sugar noodles for the guests. But it is not impolite to avoid giving gifts to each other, which is commonly known as "two exemptions".
2. Open the door and explode
In the early morning of the first day of the first month, when the bell of the old year struck twelve o'clock, every household in Hanchuan countryside scrambled to set off firecrackers. In an instant, isolated firecrackers, gunpowder and smoke were everywhere in the village yard. At dawn, the red paper of firecrackers covered the ground, reflecting the bright red Spring Festival couplets at the gate, showing a festive and peaceful atmosphere. Firecrackers, also known as firecrackers, originated from ancient people's resistance to the beast "Nian". Zongzhen Jingchu Chronicle says: "On the first day of the first month, chickens crow, and firecrackers are set off in front of the court to ward off evil spirits." Setting off firecrackers to celebrate the Spring Festival is to carry forward the legacy of our ancestors.
Step 3 offer sacrifices to ancestors
Sacrificing ancestors in the Spring Festival is an indispensable activity for people. As the New Year approaches, every household should clean up the ancestral tablets and dust them off. When offering sacrifices to ancestors, prepare incense paper candles and sacrificial wine pulp first, and offer them in front of the ancestral tablet, and then bow down and kowtow with incense. Some people pay homage to their ancestors, burn incense paper and set off firecrackers, which fully shows the traditional virtues of China people. All virtues are filial piety first.
4、? paste up Spring Festival couplets
If the origin of door gods is related to peach trees, then Spring Festival couplets come directly from peach trees. In the Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi said in a poem: "Firecrackers are one year old, and the spring breeze warms Tu Su. Thousands of households always exchange new peaches for old ones. " The peach symbol in this poem is the Spring Festival couplets at that time. According to Huai Nan Zi, a peach symbol is two small wooden boards cut from peach wood, which are more than one inch wide and seven or eight inches long. The names of "God Tea" and "Lei Yu" were written on it, nailed on the left and right sides of the gate, exactly the same as the object of worship of the door god. The purpose is to exorcise ghosts and evil spirits. Later, in order to save trouble, people changed the red board into two pieces of paper, painted Shentu and Leiyu, or simply wrote the names of Shencha and Lei Yu and posted them on both sides of the gate. Of course, this peach symbol is not a real Spring Festival couplets.
In the Five Dynasties, the court of Xishu began to write couplets on peach symbols to express some wishes. The History of the Song Dynasty and the Family History of Shu said that at the beginning of 965 A.D., Bachelor Xin of Yuchang, the Emperor of the Later Shu Dynasty, wrote a couplet saying, "Take it as a non-work and pretend to be a poem:' New Year's Day, Changchun'." It turned out that Meng Changjun thought the new couplets were not refined and lacked literary talent, so he wrote these two couplets, which were the earliest Spring Festival couplets in Chinese history.