Spring Festival is coming. It's time to end the wandering in foreign countries and embark on the way home with big bags. Chinese culture has a long history. Many customs related to the Spring Festival are passed down from generation to generation. What are the Customs on the 24th and 25th of the 12th lunar month?
Spring Festival is an ancient festival in China, and also the most important festival of the whole year. In the song of the last month, there is a saying: "Twenty three sweet melons stick; twenty four sweep houses; twenty five grind tofu; twenty six go to cut meat; twenty seven kill cocks; twenty eight noodles hair; twenty nine steam steamed buns; thirty night boil for a night, and a twist at the beginning of the new year.". '
December 24: sweeping away dust
On the 24th of the 12th lunar month, the house is dusted. It's a conventional cleaning day.
According to the folklore, this is the day when the gods return to heaven. There are only some gods on duty and small gods such as the landlord to look after the order. The folklore also thinks that after the gods go to heaven, they must wait until the fourth night of the second year before returning to the world. In this time, even if the house is turned over, they do not have to worry about any details. They are not afraid to invade the gods in the family even if they use this day to move objects or dust. The ancients decided that this day could be cleaned up.
On the 25th of the 12th month of the year: grinding tofu
On the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, tofu is made by grinding. It's said that the Jade Emperor will visit the lower world and eat tofu dregs to show his bitterness. There is also the saying of "twenty five paste windows". On this day, because of different nationalities and customs and traditions,
Their own celebrations and eating habits are different, such as the traditional activities of picking up the Jade Emperor, illuminating the silkworm in the field, Qiandeng Festival, and driving away the chaos.
On the 26th of the twelfth lunar month: killing pigs and cutting new year's meat
'on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month, pigs are killed and new year's meat is cut', that is to say, new year's goods will be purchased from this day on. On the day of December 26, there is also the saying of "December 26, wash inside and outside"; "December 26, clean the livestock house".
In the villages around the market, it is a big market day. People from the villages around the market are going to the market to buy new year's goods. Cigarettes, wine, fish, meat, firecrackers and gifts for relatives are also indispensable. The taste of the new year is getting stronger.
December 27: chicken slaughter
There is a folk saying that "on the 27th of the twelfth month, chickens are slaughtered to catch the big show". On this day, in addition to slaughtering their own poultry, every household should also go to the shops and purchase. Compared with the regular market with the main purpose of buying and selling surplus products, the market on the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month is mainly for the sale of festival items, such as firecrackers, spring couplets, magic horses, incense candles, burning paper, beef and mutton, various toys and gifts for children, various headdresses for girls, etc.
On this day, the markets all over the country are very prosperous. The custom of the 27th month of the twelfth lunar month also includes "bathing", which means "washing fortune". In the traditional folk custom, we should concentrate on bathing and washing clothes in these two days to get rid of the bad luck of the year and prepare for the Spring Festival of the next year. There is a saying in the capital that "twenty-seven washing is guilty and twenty-eight washing is sloppy".
On the 28th of the twelfth month of the year
In the new year's Ballad: 'on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, rice cakes and steamed buns are pasted with flowers'. The so-called paste flower, is to paste New Year pictures, spring couplets, window flowers and all kinds of magic symbols. Among them, the custom of affixing spring couplets originated from the ancient "peach runes".
The Han folk song of the 28th month of the twelfth lunar month also has "the 28th month of the twelfth lunar month, send the noodles". On the 28th day of the lunar month, whether it's noodle making or steamed bread making, every family should start to prepare their staple food for the new year.
December twenty-nine of Lunar New Year
According to the annual Ballad: 'on the 29th of the twelfth month, please go to the grave and ask your ancestors to make a big confession'. The worship of ancestors has a long history in China. It is not only an important symbol of filial piety, but also a virtue of respecting the old.
Spring Festival is a big festival, and the ceremony of inviting ancestors to the grave is also very solemn. In most areas, ancestors are invited on the morning of the 29th. On the day before New Year's Eve, it's called "little new year's Eve". People buy wine and feast at home. People visit each other and call it "another year". Burning incense outdoors, called "Tianxiang", usually takes three days.
Lunar New Year's Eve
As the proverb goes: 'it's cold and cold. Eat dumplings for the new year. 'on the eve of the lunar new year, two years old in a row, two days at five o'clock, is the last night of the year. Therefore, the activities during this period are all centered around eliminating the old and the new, and eliminating disasters and praying for blessings. On this day, people will prepare many delicious food and hold various meaningful activities from morning to night. People call this day "new year".
Celebrating the new year is the most solemn festival of the Chinese nation. The Han tradition on this day includes the following Customs: sticking door gods, spring couplets, New Year pictures, setting tables in heaven and earth, guarding the year, setting off firecrackers, eating New Year's Eve rice, giving money to new year's Eve, receiving gods, trampling on ancestors, offering sacrifices to the God of wealth, drinking Tusu wine, etc.
The first day of the first month: Golden Rooster announces the dawn
On the first day of the new year, the Golden Rooster announces the dawn. The younger generation pays their elders a new year's day, and the elder gives them money to suppress evil spirits. The new year's greeting is a traditional custom of the Han nationality in China. It is a way for people to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new and express their best wishes to each other. New year's greetings usually begin at home. On the morning of the first day of the new year, when the younger generation gets up, they should first pay a new year's greetings to their elders, and wish them good health, longevity and all the best.