1, cut the window grilles. Cutting window grilles is one of many customs. There are all kinds of animal and plant anecdotes on the window grilles, such as magpies climbing plum blossoms, swallows wearing peaches and willows, peacocks playing with peonies, lions rolling hydrangeas, three sheep (Yang) opening Thailand, two dragons playing with pearls, deer crane (Liuhe playing with spring), five bats (Fu) celebrating longevity, rhinoceros watching the moon, lotus (Lotus) having fish (the rest) and Yuanyang playing with water.
2, paste couplets, blessings, door gods. On the afternoon of the day before the Spring Festival, children will paste couplets on the door with paste and brushes, and then let the adults below see if they are pasted correctly. Some are pasted on the crosshead of the lintel, and couplets are pasted on the left and right sides of the door. Others put blessings on doors, walls and lintels to express people's longing for a happy life, pray for peace in one year and add festive atmosphere.
3. Clean the dust. Cleaning before the Spring Festival is a traditional custom in China, and it is also a way to get rid of bad luck and welcome happiness. On the day of dusting, the whole family began to clean the house and yard together, scrub the pots and pans, remove and wash the bedding, and greet the New Year cleanly. According to ancient records, there was a habit of cleaning at the end of the year in ancient times, and people used the homophonic sound of "dust" and "Chen" to express their willingness to get rid of the old and welcome the new.
4. lucky money. In the old days, after offering sacrifices to ancestors and holding ceremonies to welcome the gods, the whole family would "bid farewell to the New Year" together. The younger generation will kowtow to the elders and wish them a long life, happiness and prosperity. The elders will give them red envelopes, which means "lucky money", which means "praying for the future", pinning their good wishes on their children's growth and hoping that they will grow up healthily.
5. Set off firecrackers. When the Spring Festival comes, the first thing for every household to open the door is to set off firecrackers to bid farewell to the old year and greet the new year with firecrackers to show good luck. This is also the Spring Festival activity that I often participated in when I was a child. I'm really happy and miss it.
6. Happy New Year. "Happy New Year" and "Happy New Year to you". On the first day of the first month, when people meet, they will exchange such New Year wishes with each other. There are three traditional new year greetings: first, worship. Minors should pay New Year greetings to their elders. The second is to bow and scrape. Generally speaking, the younger generation uses it to pay New Year greetings to their elders, commonly known as "Bai Ji". The third is boxing. Most of them are New Year greetings between peers. Legend has it that one day more than two thousand years BC, Shun became emperor and led his men to worship heaven and earth. Since then, people have regarded this day as the beginning of a year and called it the first day of the first month.
The Origin of the Spring Festival
The original meaning of Spring Festival and 2008 comes from agriculture. Because rice is usually cooked once a year, the word "year" is extended to the name of the year. In ancient times, the first day of the first month was called "New Year's Day". Until the victory of the Revolution of 1911 in modern China, in order to adapt to the farming season and facilitate statistics, the Nanjing Provisional Government stipulated the use of the summer calendar among the people. All walks of life implement the Gregorian calendar. The first day of the Gregorian calendar is New Year's Day, and the first day of the first lunar month is the Spring Festival.
Stories and legends of the Spring Festival
Once upon a time, there was a monster named Nian. It has horns on its head, which is very powerful. Nian beast usually hides at the bottom of the sea, and the Spring Festival is coming soon. Nian beast will climb out of the sea and eat cows, sheep, chickens, pigs and even people.
On one occasion, the people knew that Nian beast was coming, and they all took animals into the mountains to escape. At this moment, a white-bearded grandfather came. An old woman advised Grandpa White Beard to hide quickly. Grandpa with white beard said, I live here, and I'm not afraid of Nian beast. Only Nian beast is afraid of me.
It turns out that Nian beast is most afraid of red, noise and fire. From then on, everyone knew a good way to dare to walk the Nian beast. As the Spring Festival approaches, people will put up red couplets at the door, put up red blessings, put up red window grilles on the windows, set off firecrackers and set off fireworks.
The above is an introduction to the folklore, origin, stories and legends of the Spring Festival. Please leave a message below if you have anything to add ~ ~