Every Spring Festival, my parents and I go back to the countryside of Qionghai, Hainan to celebrate the New Year with my grandparents. There are many fun things to do during the Chinese New Year. My favorite is posting couplets.
I still remember Wang Anshi’s poem "Yuan Ri": "The sound of firecrackers eliminates the new year, and the spring breeze brings warmth to Tusu. Thousands of households always replace old talismans with new peaches." The poem is about people posting couplets during the Chinese New Year.
According to historical records, as early as before the Qin and Han Dynasties, Chinese people had the custom of hanging peach charms on the left and right doors during the New Year to drive away ghosts and ward off evil spirits. By the Five Dynasties, people began to write couplets on peach wood. After the Song Dynasty, the practice of hanging couplets during the New Year was quite common. In the Ming Dynasty, people began to use red paper instead of peach charms. Later, literati scholars regarded writing couplets as an elegant matter. After the Qing Dynasty, the practice of pasting couplets became very popular, and many famous couplets appeared.
The ancient custom of posting couplets is still popular in Qionghai countryside. During the Chinese New Year, every household in Qionghai posts couplets. During the Spring Festival this year, I volunteered to help my grandfather choose three couplets. At the gate, the couplet I chose is: Welcome the New Year and all the best
I wish you all the best in the festive season. The horizontal comment is: Spring fills the world. At the door of my grandparents’ house, the couplet I chose is: As time goes by, people live longer
Spring fills the world with blessings. The horizontal batch is: auspicious stars shine brightly. At my uncle's door, the couplet I chose was: Business is booming all over the world, and wealth is abundant reaching three rivers. The horizontal batch is: more than enough every year.
When pasting the couplets, I separated them into upper and lower couplets (according to the difference between the oblique and oblique characters of the last word in the upper and lower couplets - oblique tones are the upper couplet and flat tones are the second couplet) and applied paste. Grandpa moved a ladder and I handed him the couplet. He climbed up the ladder and stuck the couplet on the door frame. I stood aside, holding the stairs for Grandpa, and helping him see if the stickers were correct. By the time we posted all the couplets, it had already taken more than half an hour.
But our labor is not in vain. After posting the couplets, the whole yard became joyful, full of spring, and filled with the joyful atmosphere of the New Year.
No wonder the custom of posting couplets during the Spring Festival has been passed down from ancient times to the present!
I love posting couplets! I love celebrating the Spring Festival!