The Spring Festival is the most important festival in China. It has been popular in China for thousands of years. Despite the changes of the times for thousands of years, many customs of the Spring Festival are still widely spread. But as the saying goes, 'ten miles of different wind, a hundred miles of different customs'. Due to regional customs, the Spring Festival Customs in different regions are different. Spring Festival couplets, new year's Eve vigil, firecrackers, new year's greetings and other customs are the same customs all over the country, but there are also some customs with local characteristics rather than all over the country. The editor of this article will tell you about the customs of Nanjing people for the new year, and let's see what they don't have in your hometown.
Please, Kitchen God
Before the Spring Festival, people in Nanjing have to send stoves. At that time, every household has stoves. There is a saying that the king, the three people and the four, the royal or official is the 23 stoves in the lunar calendar. Our people are the 24 stoves in the lunar calendar. Every household also needs to invite the kitchen god, that is, paste the poster of the kitchen god. Put the painted side on the chimney and everyone said, 'Lord Zao goes to the west to help the people do good deeds. One says one and two says two'. Turn over the picture again on New Year's Eve and invite the kitchen god again. You have to pay tribute to whatever you have.
Dusting and sweeping
New year's Eve, also known as new year's Eve, is the busiest day for citizens. It dusts the floor, cooks New Year's dinner and pastes Spring Festival couplets. Because each family was a single family, the house was built relatively high, and there were beams on the roof, it was very hard to dust at that time. All the rubbish must be cleaned up on New Year's Eve. In addition, there is a rule that you are not allowed to take out garbage from the first day to the fifth day of the new year. If you want to sweep the floor, you must sweep from the door to the center of the house. Finally, you have to temporarily store the cleaned garbage and sundries behind the door or in a hidden place to avoid sweeping out the 'wealth'.
post new year's scrolls
The custom of sticking Spring Festival couplets on New Year's Eve began in Nanjing in the Ming Dynasty. According to historical records, after Zhu Yuanzhang made the capital of Nanjing in the early Ming Dynasty, he ordered "Gongqing Shu's family must add a spring festival couplet on the door", and ordered that the paper used in the couplets must be dyed with vermilion, known as "Wannian red" Hong 'and' Zhu 'agree, implying that the descendants of the Zhu family will always sit on the river and mountain. This is the beginning of the custom of pasting Spring Festival couplets in the new year of the Han Dynasty. There is also a lot of stress in pasting Spring Festival couplets. For example, if there are mourners at home, Purple Spring Festival couplets are pasted in the first year, Yellow Spring Festival couplets are pasted in the second and third years, and banners and 'Tianqing' are pasted. Tianqing is a rectangular red paper with hollowed out patterns, which is pasted on the lintel. Generally, five sheets are pasted, and then a horizontal scroll is pasted.
Stay up for years
Nanjing people also have the custom of keeping watch on New Year's Eve. They stay up all night to wait for dawn, which is called "keeping watch." On New Year's Eve, the whole family get together, have a new year's Eve dinner, light candles or oil lamps, sit around the stove and chat, waiting for the time to leave the old and welcome the new year, and keep a vigil all night, symbolizing driving away all evil plagues and looking forward to good luck in the new year.
New Year greetings
On the first day of the new year, people get up early, put on their most beautiful clothes, dress up neatly, go out to visit relatives and friends, pay New Year's greetings to each other, and wish great luck in the coming year. When the guests arrive, they bow with their hands and treat each other with tea. Also offer two Yuanbao eggs, (break the shell of the egg and cook it in the boiling water pot) called 'jinyuanbao'. Now people meet each other in the new year, wish each other 'congratulations on getting rich', and hand over tea and cigarettes to treat each other with fashionable cakes.
During the Spring Festival, people in Nanjing pay attention to paying New Year's greetings to their elders first, wishing them a long and healthy life. The elders distribute the prepared new year's money to their elders. It is said that the new year's money can suppress evil spirits. Because 'year' is homonymous with 'sneaky', the younger generation can spend a year safely and safely when they get the new year's money. New year's money can be given in public after the younger generation pays new year's greetings. It can also be secretly placed under the child's pillow by parents when the child falls asleep on New Year's Eve. Now the custom of giving lucky money to the younger generation is still popular.
Brazier heating
From the first day of the new year to the third day of the new year, it is the new year. On New Year's Eve, people in Nanjing used to use braziers to keep warm. The fire was burning vigorously, indicating "prosperity". Such 'programs' have gradually faded. Nowadays, air conditioners and heaters are widely used. Who still uses the' brazier '? Besides, the God of wealth can't come just by asking. He has to rely on his own hard work to get rich.
Climb the city head
On the 16th of the first month, there are also some people climbing the city. Now they mostly climb the areas of Zhonghua Gate castle, Taicheng and Wuding gate. In the first month, you have a lot of oil in your belly and climb the city. Activities can help digestion and eliminate diseases, which is the so-called "walking all diseases". However, today, the elderly pay attention to health care and exercise, and the "walking all diseases" is no longer limited to the 16th of the first month.
Lantern riddles
According to the old tradition of Nanjing, the Lantern Festival must eat yuanxiao, that is, 'Tangyuan'. The Lantern Festival can be meat or vegetable, with different flavors. It has the meaning of "happy reunion." When we were young, we didn't have money to buy lanterns. We made them ourselves. " Grandpa Wu Jiayi of xiaosifu Lane said that they usually use red paper and green paper to play by themselves. Like lotus lamp, rabbit lamp and aircraft lamp, they can all do it.
On the Lantern Festival, I heard the cry "dolls come out to play with lights, don't you red, don't you green, as long as you have a foreign candle", and the children will come out with lanterns. Children like to show off and take out lanterns to compare their size and beauty. However, guessing lantern riddles is rare now. I'm afraid it's only in Dacheng Hall of Confucius Temple&# 8203;&# 8203;&# 8203;&# 8203;