As the Spring Festival approaches, the unique New Year's customs in various places have also begun to be lively. These customs not only carry rich historical and cultural connotations, but also are an important embodiment of people's desire to celebrate the festive season and pray for a better New Year. Today, let's walk into these colorful New Year's customs and feel the blend of inheritance and joy.
1. Sweep the dust and welcome the new year.
During the period from the 23rd to the 30th of the Chinese New Year's Eve, there is a common custom of "welcoming spring day" or "sweeping dust day". This is to welcome the arrival of the New Year, people will thoroughly clean the inside and outside of the house, remove dust and garbage, symbolize the farewell to the old and welcome the new, and pray for good health and good luck in the new year. In the process of sweeping the dust, the family works together, which also symbolizes unity and harmony.
2. Prepare New Year's goods and worship ancestors.
Preparing for the New Year is an indispensable preparation during the Chinese New Year. People will start to get busy about ten days before the festival, purchasing all kinds of New Year's goods, such as tea, wine, oil, sauce, north and south roasted goods, etc., and also prepare some gifts for relatives and friends. These New Year's goods not only imply abundant food and clothing, and a happy life, but also a way for people to give blessings to each other and express their emotions.
While preparing for the New Year, ancestor worship is also an important custom. The ancestor worship ceremony is quite exquisite, people will serve the food first, and the dishes usually include chicken, fish, etc., which means that there is more than enough every year, and good luck. When worshipping ancestors, the elders will wrap money in red paper for each child, which is called "New Year's money", which means to wish the children peace, health and academic success in the new year.
3. Firecrackers and New Year's Celebration.
Firecrackers are one of the most lively ways to celebrate during the Chinese New Year. In the past, it was believed that firecrackers would ward off evil spirits and bring good luck and good fortune for the New Year. Nowadays, setting off firecrackers has become a way to set off the lively scene, implying the expulsion of bad luck and the arrival of the new year.
On Chinese New Year's Eve, the whole family will sit around and chat while eating melon seeds, peanuts and sweets, waiting for the arrival of the new year. This custom of keeping the year symbolizes cherishing time and praying for longevity and happiness. The family will watch the Spring Festival Gala together and enjoy the warmth and joy of reunion.
4. Special food customs and blessing activities.
Food customs are also an indispensable part of the Chinese New Year customs in various places. For example, in Anhui, the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner on Chinese New Year's Eve is the sumniest meal of the year, with people in northern Anhui eating dumplings, and people in central and southern Anhui setting off firecrackers, sticking spring associations, and worshipping ancestors before eating. In Guangdong, when juniors greet their elders, they will give them red envelopes or citrus fruits, which means that they wish them prosperity and good luck in the new year.
In addition, various blessing activities are held in various places, such as the people of Teochew will light lanterns on the fourth night of the Lunar New Year and prepare "waiting for divine water", which means praying for the gods to bless the safety of their homes and smooth careers. Dongguan people will worship the gods on the first day of the first lunar month, offering sugar-boiled taro, which means "wealth and fate", praying for prosperity and family happiness in the new year.
In short, the colorful Chinese New Year customs are an important part of the traditional culture of the Chinese nation. These customs not only show people's yearning and pursuit of a better life, but also inherit the excellent cultural traditions of the Chinese nation. In this happy and peaceful festival, let us feel the charm of these customs together, inherit and carry forward the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation.