The Spring Festival is the most distinctive traditional festival in China, which originated during the period of Yu and Shun. But do you know what customs there are during the Spring Festival? If you don’t know, come and find out with me~
Spring Festival customs
①Spring couplets and New Year paintings
Spring couplets and New Year paintings both originated from the ancient times to drive away ghosts custom. During the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties, every Spring Festival, every household would set up peach figures in front of their doors to draw divine tea and Yulei to drive away ghosts. Later it developed into the door god New Year pictures. Woodblock New Year pictures became popular in the Song Dynasty, and the content of the New Year pictures also expanded. The "Four Beautiful Pictures" that are still preserved today are the New Year pictures of that time.
Spring couplets appeared in the Tang Dynasty. Writing Spring Festival couplets became more popular in the Song Dynasty. Posting Spring Festival couplets has become popular all over the country in the Ming Dynasty. Spring couplets are a unique language art form and calligraphy art form in my country, and have spread to South Korea and other places. Spring couplets not only express people's wishes, but also add to the festive atmosphere.
②Light a prosperous fire
When the New Year comes, light torches, fires, or charcoal braziers in the yard. In ancient times, they were called "Ting Liao", "Shao brazier" and "Wanghuo". "phase", modern folk call it "creating a strong fire" or "lighting up treasure firewood". In ancient times, Ting Liao was used to ward off evil spirits or to offer sacrifices to gods and ancestors. Later, lighting a prosperous fire has developed to symbolize the prosperity of the whole family and express good hopes.
In 1738, Lang Shining painted a picture of "Hongli Snow Scenery", which shows the scene of Emperor Qianlong celebrating the New Year with his children. There was a brazier in front of Emperor Qianlong, and a young prince was loosening cypress branches into the brazier, which was called a "burning pine basin" at that time.
To make a fire in modern times, people usually light a pile of wood or charcoal. The stronger the fire, the better, which symbolizes the prosperity of the whole family in the New Year. A brazier is also used to burn pine, cypress, peach and apricot branches, and the whole family walks across the fire, symbolizing the burning away of old disasters and ushering in a new atmosphere.
③Firecrackers
The original purpose of firecrackers is to drive away ghosts and ghosts, or to welcome gods. Later, it developed into a symbol of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, and became the folk symbol that best represents the arrival of the new year.
The earliest reliable record of firecrackers can be found in the "Jingchu Sui Sui Ji" written by Zongmao of Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty: "The first day of the first lunar month is the day of the three yuan, which is called the Dragon Boat Festival. The cock crows and rises before the court. Firecrackers were used to ward off evil spirits from the mountains. "The firecrackers at that time were made by burning bamboo in the fire to produce a popping sound. The first thing I do when I get up in the New Year is firecrackers.
Gunpowder firecrackers appeared in the Song Dynasty, namely modern firecrackers, firecrackers, and firecrackers. With gunpowder firecrackers, firecrackers can be set off in areas without bamboo. Firecrackers then became a nationwide custom.
Later, the festive color of firecrackers gave people a further understanding of the symbolic meaning of firecrackers: welcoming the gods with festive firecrackers. The explosion of the firecracker itself is also a cultural symbol of "saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new". It can make people experience the difference between the old and the new more deeply, making life more artistic and beautiful.
The origin of the Spring Festival
The Spring Festival is the first day of the lunar calendar and is also an ancient traditional festival in my country. In ancient times, the "New Year" was celebrated not on the 29th or 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, but on the "Wax Day", which was later called "Laba". After the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the "wax sacrifice" was moved to the end of the year. During the Republic of China, the solar calendar was switched to the solar calendar, and the lunar year was called the "Spring Festival" because the Spring Festival usually falls around the "beginning of spring".
The Spring Festival is the grandest and liveliest ancient traditional festival in my country. Commonly known as "Chinese New Year". According to the Chinese lunar calendar, the first day of the first lunar month was called Yuanri, Yuanchen, Yuanzheng, Yuanshuo, New Year's Day, etc. in ancient times. It is also commonly known as the first day of the new year. It also has other names such as Shangri, Zhengchao, Sanshuo, Sanchao, Sanshi, and Sanyuan, meaning That is, the first day of the first lunar month is the beginning of the year, month and day. Spring Festival, as the name suggests, is a spring festival. With the arrival of spring, all agricultural products are renewed, and a new round of sowing and harvesting seasons is about to begin. People have enough reasons to sing and dance to welcome this festival.
The above is a brief introduction to a few customs about the Spring Festival and the origin of the Spring Festival that I know. Friends, what other customs do you know? Welcome to add, let’s meet in the comment area~