1. Chaoshan New Year customs begin in the twelfth lunar month. The twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month is the day when "the master goes to heaven". The so-called "Master" is a god who stays in the home and protects the family's safety. He must "report his duties" to heaven from the 24th of the twelfth lunar month to the fourth day of the first lunar month. On this day, every household will "worship the master" and ask the master to "say good things to God".
After the master went to heaven, every household would clean up in order to sweep away all the unsatisfactory results of the past year, and he himself should also be clean, including washing his hair, taking a shower, and getting a haircut, etc., so as to eliminate misfortune and eliminate diseases.
2. One or two days before the New Year, every household will start to prepare staple foods for the New Year. The most important thing is to make cakes, such as red peach cake, rat shell cake, sweet cake, vegetable cake. Tou Cake, etc., also prepare chicken, duck, goose, fish, pork, etc. With the development of the times, more and more people now choose to buy kueh products in the market.
3. On New Year’s Eve, it’s natural to have a family reunion dinner! Before the reunion dinner, one must "worship the ancestors" (sacrifice the ancestors) and invite the ancestors to eat first. Afterwards, the family sat together and had New Year's Eve dinner, ushering in the beautiful moment of family reunion.
When eating vegetables, you should eat them from beginning to end, which means longevity. When eating fish, you should deliberately leave some leftover, which means there will be more than enough every year. There is also a must-have dish for New Year's Eve dinner, which is the "heavy-tasting" blood clam, which has the meaning of getting rich. Eating it with blood is hard for others to accept, but Chaoshan people never tire of it.
After the New Year’s Eve dinner, the whole family will gather together to “stay up late”, commonly known as “staying up late”. Traditionally, it is believed that staying up late on New Year's Eve is to pray for the longevity of one's parents. At midnight, firecrackers begin to be set off to celebrate the coming of the new year.
4. On New Year’s Eve or the first day of the Lunar New Year, the younger generation will pay New Year greetings to their elders, and the elders will distribute lucky money, commonly known as "pressing the belly and waist", which means that from beginning to end of the year, their pockets will be full of money. Rich and prosperous. The younger generation with income should also give money to their elders. In some families, parents will put a large-denomination banknote in the child's belly pocket before the child goes to bed, and then take the banknote back after waking up.
5. During the Spring Festival, Chaoshan people also go to the homes of relatives and friends to pay New Year greetings. A Chaoshan proverb says: "If you are interested in greeting the first and second day of the new year, you have no intention of greeting the third or fourth day of the new year." It means that the earlier the New Year greetings are, the more sincerity they show.
People who pay New Year greetings usually bring two large oranges (Chaozhou oranges, homophonic to "Daji") to the host, and the host also gives two large oranges in return. Lucky words. There is a joke like this. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, people only put two big oranges in their trouser pockets when they go out. After visiting each house to pay New Year greetings, they still have two big oranges in their trouser pockets. Therefore, some people jokingly call the New Year greeting custom at the beginning of the year the "Orange Changing Movement."
6. On the second day of the first lunar month, a married daughter should take her husband and children back to her natal home (called "home queen" in Chaoshan dialect) to pay New Year's greetings. Daughters and sons-in-law who return to their parents' homes must bring gifts.
Extended information:
Taboos
Because the first month is the beginning of the year, Chaoshan people often regard it as a sign of good or bad luck in the new year. It is the omen period, so there are many "taboos" during the Chinese New Year.
Broken", "bad", "no", "death", "light", "ghost", "kill", "disease", "pain", "lose", "poor", etc. It is forbidden to say any unlucky words.
It is also forbidden for babies to cry, because crying is a sign of illness and misfortune, so even if the child gets into trouble on this day, it is forbidden. Hit him or scold him to prevent him from crying. In terms of behavior, be very careful when handling cups, plates, bowls, and dishes. If they are accidentally broken, it is just a formality to collect water. Customs are also slowly being phased out, because during the Spring Festival, firecrackers are set off, people come and go, and there are a lot of paper scraps and garbage on the ground. It is really unethical to not clean up. Therefore, from the perspective of paying attention to hygiene, many young people will not pay attention to these traditions. Taboos and customs are not very particular.
On this day, creditors are not allowed to come to collect debts, because it is considered unlucky for both borrowers and lenders to collect debts on this day. It is also taboo to take things from other people's pockets. Having your pockets emptied may lead to the risk of being "emptied" throughout the year.
Avoid the death of someone, and do not attend funerals, as this will bring bad luck to the family. At the same time, avoid getting a haircut on this day. Because people always like to associate haircuts with funerals on this day. It is even forbidden to kill animals on this day. Killing animals is considered to lead to disasters such as knife disasters, military disasters, and blood disasters. However, nowadays, people's living standards have improved, and they eat better. To keep things fresh and to eat quickly, there is no need to worry.
In terms of diet, it is strictly forbidden to take medicine on this day. Otherwise, it is considered that it will lead to illness and constant medication for a year. There are several sayings about not eating meat for breakfast on the first day of the Lunar New Year: one is that if you eat this meal, its function is equal to one year; the other is a metaphor that means you should be diligent and frugal in running your home, and you should not be extravagant and wasteful.
Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia: Chaoshan Spring Festival