Legend 1: The Story of Nian Beast In ancient times, there was a monster called Nian, which was the body image of a dog. Every time it's Lunar New Year's Eve, come out and make trouble. Many people suffer from it, and people are very scared at this time of year! However, with the passage of time, people later discovered that Nian was afraid of the sound of firecrackers exploding, so every time it came out, people set off firecrackers to scare it and told it not to go down the mountain to hurt people. So people can spend this time safely, and therefore call this time "Spring Festival".
Legend 2: The day when the God of Wealth meets during the Spring Festival is the fifth day of the first month. It is said that this is the birthday of the God of Wealth. From the first day, we should be ready to meet the god of wealth. On the fourth night, every family will hold a banquet to celebrate the birthday of the God of Wealth and welcome him.
Who is this God of Wealth? Legend has it that in the Song Dynasty, the people thought that Cai Jing, the prime minister, was rich, so they said that he was born as a god of wealth, and because he was born on the fifth day of the first month, the people worshipped Cai Jing as a god of wealth. Later, after the fall of Cai Jing, the people changed their name to Zhao in the Song Dynasty, so the people named it ""and worshipped it.
Legend 3: The story of Laba porridge "Don't be greedy for children, after Laba is the year. Laba porridge, drink for a few days ",which is a new year's song in the north. After Laba, it's the Spring Festival. Drinking a bowl of Laba porridge will kick off the Spring Festival, and you can start buying new year's goods!
The custom of drinking Laba porridge on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month originated in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty. It is said that when Zhu Yuanzhang was in trouble and suffering in prison, he was cold and hungry. Zhu Yuanzhang actually found some seven or eight kinds of whole grains such as red beans, rice and red dates from the mouse hole in prison. Zhu Yuanzhang cooked these things into porridge. Because it was the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhu Yuanzhang called this pot of miscellaneous grains porridge Laba porridge. I enjoyed a delicious meal. Later, Zhu Yuanzhang pacified the world and became the emperor facing south. In order to commemorate that special day in prison, he designated it as Laba Festival and officially named the miscellaneous grains porridge he ate that day Laba porridge.
Legend 4: In ancient times, there was a young man named Wanli who thought that the festivals at that time were chaotic and wanted to create a method of punctuality and accuracy. When Wanli went up the mountain to cut firewood, he was inspired by the shadow of trees and the dripping spring on the cliff, and created a coffin for measuring the shadow of the sun to determine the time and a five-story clepsydra for calculating the time.
Wanli knew that Zu Ti, the monarch at that time, was worried because of the uncertain weather, so he volunteered. Zu Ti stayed after hearing the method of Wanli, hoping that Wanli could calculate the exact time in the morning and evening, and create a calendar to benefit all the people.
A few years later, Zu Ti visited Wanli, and when he saw the poems about the weather burned on the altar of Sun and Moon, he knew that legislation had been made. Wan Nian pointed to the astronomical phenomena and said to Zu Ti, "The Spring Festival is about to begin again. Please make a festival for your majesty. " Zu Ti said, "Spring is the beginning of a year, so it is called the Spring Festival." It is said that this is the origin of the Spring Festival.
The customs of the Spring Festival
1. Post Spring Festival couplets before New Year's Eve. For every household, other door decorations can be ignored, but a pair of bright red and jubilant Spring Festival couplets must be affixed. No matter in urban or rural areas, every household should choose a pair of bright red Spring Festival couplets and stick them on the door to increase the festive atmosphere of the festival, which also indicates a good omen for the coming year.
2. It's a tradition in China to have dinner in jiaozi. Jiaozi must eat on New Year's Eve, so every family will get up early to wrap jiaozi. Many jiaozi bags only contain a few peanuts or other nuts. Whoever eats this kind of jiaozi indicates good luck and good luck in the new year.
3. New Year's Eve is the most important day in a year, and it is also a day for family reunion. On New Year's Eve, the whole family get together, eat New Year's Eve, and wait for the time to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Every family has a very rich New Year's Eve dinner. In addition to the whole family getting together for dinner to show harmony and reunion, it is also necessary to offer sacrifices to ancestors and pray for the blessing of their gods before eating.
These are the four legendary stories about the Spring Festival. What else do you know, my friend?