There are many customs during the Spring Festival:
1. Worshiping gods
Before and after the Spring Festival, the ancients worshiped many gods, including the 23rd or 20th day of the twelfth lunar month. On the fourth day of the lunar month, we worship the Kitchen God, on New Year's Eve we worship the three gods of fortune, wealth and longevity, on the second or fifth day of the lunar month we worship the God of Wealth, on the eighth day of the lunar month we worship Tai Sui, on the ninth day of the lunar month we worship the Jade Emperor, etc.
Of course, more important than worshiping gods is worshiping ancestors. They are the most important gods in the family, because without them, there would be no us.
2. New Year’s Eve dinner
New Year’s Eve dinner is also called reunion dinner, reunion dinner, and fire-circuit dinner.
The ancient custom of eating New Year’s Eve dinner on New Year’s Eve has been recorded as early as the Northern and Southern Dynasties. "The Chronicles of Jingchu" says that at the end of the year, every household prepares meat and vegetables to stay up late to welcome the New Year. The family gathers to drink and have a New Year's Eve dinner.
When modern people eat New Year’s Eve dinner, they usually worship gods and ancestors first in the afternoon or evening of New Year’s Eve, and then start the meal after the worship ceremony.
According to different customs in different places, China will prepare some foods with good meanings on the dinner table, such as fish, which means more than enough every year, glutinous rice balls, which symbolize reunion, and dumplings, which represent "mengsuijiaozi" and longevity. Noodles represent longevity, and rice cakes represent prosperity every year.
3. Shousui
Shousui is also known as Shousuihuo, Zhaosui, and Shousui. The ancients kept watch on New Year's Eve. All the houses lit candles and kept them all night long. The family chatted around the fire and stayed vigil waiting for the New Year.
The lights are brightly lit to drive away all evil plagues. The ancients used the custom of staying up late to express their expectations for the New Year and their cherishment of time.
4. Spring couplets
Spring couplets are a kind of Spring Festival decoration. They are written on red paper with calligraphy and then posted on the door or wall.
Spring couplets are generally divided into upper and lower couplets, and there is no limit to the number of words. The key is that the number of words in the upper and lower couplets must be equal. When writing Spring Festival couplets, we also pay attention to antithesis and oblique tone. The last word of the first couplet must be pronounced three or four times (oblique tone), and the last word of the second couplet must be pronounced one or two tones (flat tone).
According to ancient practice, when pasting Spring Festival couplets, the top couplet should be pasted on the right and the bottom couplet should be pasted on the left. They cannot be reversed.
The custom of Spring Festival couplets is generally believed to originate from the ancient peach charms or Yichun tie.
While posting Spring Festival couplets, people will also post red festive decorations such as door gods, horizontal batches, New Year pictures, blessing characters, window grilles, etc., collectively called New Year red.
5. New Year’s money
New Year’s money is also known as red envelope and profit.
Legend has it that in ancient times there was a ghost called evil spirits who came out to harm children on New Year’s Eve. A couple wrapped eight copper coins in red paper and placed them under their child's pillow. In the middle of the night, Sui entered the house and was about to grab the child's head with his hands. The copper coins under the pillow suddenly emitted a bright light, which scared Sui away. From then on, people followed the example of this couple and used the method of wrapping money in red paper to deal with evil spirits, which was called "lucky money", homophonic to "lucky money".
The ancients used the custom of using lucky money to express their intention to ward off evil spirits and protect peace.
New Year's money is usually given from elders to younger generations, especially to children and unmarried younger generations. Because of the special meaning of lucky money, the ancients believed that children who receive lucky money can spend their first year of life peacefully.