Literally, "Yuan" means the beginning, and "Dan" means dawn. New Year's Day is the first day of the year, also known as the "New Year" and "Gregorian Year". New Year's Day is also called "Three Yuan", which is the Yuan of the year, the Yuan of the month, and the Yuan of the time. Let’s learn about the customs of New Year’s Day. 1. Eating eggs
Eating eggs is one of the customs on New Year's Day, which has appeared in Wu Jinjian's "Feng Tu Ji". "Feng Tu Ji" says, "On Zhengdan, you should swallow a chicken alive, which is called practicing form." Eggs are round and round. Eating eggs on New Year’s Day is not only nutritious and delicious, but also has a good meaning. The egg is a perfect oval, symbolizing reunion. Eating eggs represents the family's good wishes for reunion. 2. Set off firecrackers
Setting off firecrackers on New Year’s Day was first used to drive away evil spirits. According to traditional folklore, it is said that setting off firecrackers on New Year's Day is to drive away "mandrills". The mandrill is a ferocious one-horned ghost in ancient times, but it is most afraid of noise, so people used the blasting sound of burning bamboo to scare it away. After gunpowder became available, people put gunpowder into bamboo tubes to make firecrackers, and then made paper tubes, also called firecrackers or firecrackers. In addition, setting off firecrackers on New Year's Day can create a festive atmosphere. After the firecrackers are set off, the red color on the ground represents celebration, happiness and auspiciousness. Therefore, in this festive festival, firecrackers will be set off to celebrate. 3. Posting couplets and door gods
On New Year's Day, people will tear off the old couplets that have been posted for a year and replace them with brand new ones. Some calligraphers will hand-write couplets and write their expectations for the next year on the couplets, hoping that their wishes will come true next year. The custom of sticking door gods usually appears in rural areas. People are accustomed to putting large door god stickers on their thick wooden doors, which plays the role of driving away bad luck and opening the door to welcome the god of wealth. 4. Lion Dance
Lion dance is an excellent folk art in China. It was also called "Taiping Le" in ancient times and is a relatively unique culture in my country. In ancient times, people danced lions to ward off ghosts and evil spirits. On New Year's Day, people perform lion dances as a celebration. The lion dance on New Year's Day is usually quite lively, and a professional lion dance team will perform lion dance. Lion dance can be divided into north and south, and the south lion is also called the awakening lion. Performers dress up as dogs or other auspicious animals (such as Pixiu and lions) under the music of gongs and drums, and perform various morphological movements for celebration and auspiciousness. During the performance, the lion dancers use various moves to express southern martial arts, which is very masculine. 5. Eating rice cakes
Some areas in the south also have the habit of eating rice cakes on New Year's Day. Eating rice cakes has a long history. Volume 2 of "The Scenery of the Imperial Capital" in the late Ming Dynasty records that on New Year's Day of the first lunar month, "we eat jujube cakes to relieve excitement. Rice cake every day." "Wei County Chronicle" during the Jiajing period in Hebei Province in the north said that "steamed sheep cake" was eaten locally. The rice cake has a soft and glutinous texture and is also called sticky cake, which means year after year. In the south, it is made from glutinous rice, while in the north, it is made from glutinous rice. Eating rice cakes on New Year's Day became popular in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, especially in the south.
The above are the customs about New Year’s Day introduced to you today. What other customs do you know?