The following are some folk customs and traditional habits during the Spring Festival:
1. Sweeping dust
"On the twenty-third of the twelfth lunar month, dust and sweep the house", its purpose It is to sweep away all bad luck and bad luck. This custom entrusts people with their desire to destroy the old and establish the new and their prayers to say goodbye to the old and usher in the new. Whenever the Spring Festival comes, every household has to clean the environment, wash all kinds of utensils, remove and wash bedding and curtains, sweep the Liulv courtyard, brush away dust and dirt, cobwebs, and dredge open ditches and ditches. Everywhere is filled with the joy of doing hygiene and welcoming the new year cleanly. atmosphere.
2. Pasting Spring Festival Couplets
Every Spring Festival, no matter in urban or rural areas, every household must select a red Spring Festival couplet and paste it on the door to add a festive atmosphere to the festival. There are many types of Spring Festival couplets. According to the place of use, they can be divided into door centers, frame pairs, horizontal drapes, spring strips, and squares, etc. The "door center" is affixed to the upper center of the door panel; the "frame pair" is affixed to the left and right door frames; the "horizontal stripe" is affixed to the crossbar of the door; the "spring strips" are affixed to the corresponding places according to different contents; "Dojin" is also called "door leaf", which is square and diamond-shaped, and is often posted on furniture and screen walls.
3. Pasting window grilles and pasting the word "福" upside down
Window grilles not only enhance the festive atmosphere, but also integrate decoration, appreciation and practicality. With its unique summary and exaggeration techniques, window grilles vividly express auspicious symbols and good wishes, decorating the festival with prosperity and splendor. The word "福" refers to blessing and luck, expressing people's yearning for a happy life and their wishes for a better future. In order to more fully reflect this yearning and wish, some people simply paste the word "福" upside down to express "happiness has arrived" and "blessing has arrived". Folks also use the word "Fu" to make various patterns with detailed drawings, such as longevity star, birthday peach, carp jumping over the dragon gate, good harvest, dragon and phoenix showing auspiciousness, etc.
4. New Year Pictures
Hanging New Year pictures during the Spring Festival is also very common in urban and rural areas. The thick black and colorful New Year pictures add a prosperous and joyful festive atmosphere to thousands of households. New Year pictures are an ancient folk art in my country, reflecting the people's simple customs and beliefs and reposing their hopes for the future.
5. Staying up late on New Year's Eve is one of the most important annual customs. The custom of staying up late on New Year's Eve has been around for a long time. In ancient times, staying up late had two meanings: older people staying up late meant "saying goodbye to the old year", which meant cherishing time; young people staying up late meant staying up late to extend the life of their parents. Since the Han Dynasty, the transition time between the new and the old year has generally been at midnight.
6. Firecrackers
Chinese people have a saying of "opening firecrackers". That is to say, when the New Year arrives, the first thing every household does when they open the door is to set off firecrackers to ward off the old and welcome the new with the beeping sound of firecrackers. Setting off firecrackers can create a festive and lively atmosphere. It is a festive entertainment activity that can bring people joy and good luck.
7. New Year greetings
On the first day of the New Year, people get up early, put on their most beautiful clothes, dress neatly, go out to visit relatives and friends, and pay New Year greetings to each other. I wish you good luck in the coming year. There are many ways to pay New Year's greetings. Some are led by the clan leader and several people go from house to house to pay New Year's greetings; some are colleagues inviting a few people to pay New Year's greetings; and others get together to congratulate each other, which is called "group worship."
8. New Year's money
When paying New Year's greetings during the Spring Festival, the younger generation should first pay New Year's greetings to their elders and wish them longevity and health. The elders can distribute the New Year's money prepared in advance to the younger generation. Live in evil spirits, because "Sui" and "祟" are homophonic, so the younger generation can spend the first year of life peacefully after receiving the New Year's money. There are two types of New Year's money. One is made of colorful ropes threaded into a dragon shape and placed at the foot of the bed. This record is found in "Yanjing Years' Notes"; the other is the most common, which is given by parents wrapped in red paper. Children's money. New Year's money can be given to the younger generation in public after paying New Year's greetings, or parents can secretly put it under the child's pillow when the child is asleep on New Year's Eve. Nowadays, the custom of elders distributing lucky money to younger generations is still popular.
9. Steamed rice cakes
Because rice cakes are homophonic to "year high" and have various flavors, they have become a must-have food for almost every household. The styles of rice cakes include square yellow and white rice cakes, which symbolize gold and silver and convey the meaning of getting rich in the new year.
10. Dumplings
It is the custom of northerners to eat dumplings on New Year’s Eve. According to the old custom, as early as the day before New Year's Eve, which is the 29th day of the lunar calendar, the family has to start making dumplings. Dumplings are eaten on the night of New Year's Eve and the morning of New Year's Day. The dumplings for these two meals are quite special. They have to be randomly wrapped with coins, candies, rice cakes, red dates, chestnuts and other mascots. Eating coins means that you will not have to worry about money in the coming year. Children will grow taller if they eat rice cakes, and eating candies means sweetness. Sweet honey.