The Spring Festival, the most solemn traditional festival of the Chinese nation, has condensed the emotions and prayers of countless generations in the passage of thousands of years. At this time, every household sticks couplets and gives out red envelopes, which seems to have become a self-evident habit. However, behind this, what are the historical origins and cultural connotations that have allowed these customs to be passed down to this day? And why is it so deeply rooted in our national psyche?
Speaking of pasting couplets, this custom can be traced back to the ancient "peach charm". Legend has it that in ancient times, evil spirits haunted, and people hung peach boards engraved with the names of the two gods of Shen Tu and Yu Lei on the door to ward off evil spirits. Later, this form gradually evolved into writing auspicious words on red paper and pasting them on both sides of the lintel to convey people's good wishes for the New Year and the protection of their homes. On the red paper, the black characters are like a dance, or the Wing Chun is bright, or the country and the people are safe, or the family is praying for harmony, each couplet is a condensed poetic picture, and it is a beautiful expectation for the subtleties of life again and again.
The red envelope is another indispensable scene in the Spring Festival. Red, a symbol of festivity and auspiciousness, has a special meaning in traditional Chinese culture. The origin of the red envelope is said to be related to a legend called "New Year's Money". In ancient times, there was a monster called "Zhen", which touched the head of a sleeping child on Chinese New Year's Eve to make the child stupid. In order to ward off the "evil", parents will place a series of eight coins next to the child's pillow to keep the child safe. Nowadays, red envelopes are no longer limited to the form of New Year's money, but are more transformed into a kind of blessing and expectation from the elders to the younger generations, and a bond of emotional exchange between family members.
The Chinese New Year custom of sticking couplets and giving out red envelopes has endured not only because of the cultural and emotional values they carry, but also because of the traditional virtues of Chinese society that they reflect. In its unique form, couplets convey harmony and respect between people; Red envelopes express the love and support in family and friendship in a warm way. These traditional habits continue in modern life precisely because they align with our values and emotional needs.
In this era of rapid technological change, although our way of life has changed dramatically, this adherence to tradition has never changed. Whether it is a distant traveler or a busy urbanite, every Spring Festival, they will always return to these customs, looking for the warmth that belongs to home and the call that belongs to the roots. Posting couplets and giving red envelopes is not only a form of festival, but also a way of cultural inheritance, and a continuous dialogue between us and our ancestors.
Of course, with the development of the times, these traditional customs are also quietly changing. The emergence of electronic couplets and online red envelopes has made the celebration of the Spring Festival more diversified and closer to the rhythm of modern life. However, no matter how the form changes, the yearning for a better life and the cherishing of family and friendship have always been the constant theme of the Spring Festival customs.
On this day full of joy and reunion, we not only celebrate the passage of time through simple but overflowing rituals such as pasting couplets and sending red envelopes, but also convey the love of life and hope for the future from generation to generation. These habits, like a cultural bridge, connect the past and the future, connect you, me and him, so that we can feel the profundity of Chinese civilization and the warmth of home at this special moment of the Spring Festival.
Therefore, when we paste a pair of couplets and hand out red envelopes during the Spring Festival, we are not only fulfilling a traditional custom, but also participating in a grand festival of cultural inheritance. The power of this tradition has invisibly built a spiritual embankment, so that we can still stick to ourselves and never forget our original intention in the face of the changes in modern society.
The habit of sticking couplets and giving red envelopes during the Spring Festival is a part of the Chinese national culture and our common memory and emotional sustenance. In this moment of alternation between the old and the new, let us cherish these beautiful traditions together, let them become a bridge connecting us with the world, let them take root in our hearts, and bloom the new flowers of the times.
The Spring Festival, an ancient and vibrant festival, carries the profound history, culture and folk traditions of the Chinese nation. Among them, sticking couplets and sending red envelopes as an important custom of the Spring Festival, not only enriches the festive atmosphere of the festival, but also reflects people's expectations and pursuit of a better life.
1. Paste couplets - say goodbye to the old and welcome the new, and pray for good luck.
Sticking couplets is one of the most striking symbols of the Spring Festival. Whenever the Spring Festival comes, thousands of households will be pasted with far-reaching couplets at the door. These couplets are based on red paper and black in ink, and there is a strong New Year's flavor and people's good wishes for the New Year.
The content of the couplets is rich and colorful, not only expressing the review and emotion of the past year, but also the expectations and prospects for the future life. For example, "the old year is auspicious, and the new year is more progressive", which not only summarizes the achievements of the past year, but also embodies the higher pursuit of the new year. And "welcoming the spring and receiving the blessing of auspiciousness, bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new year and celebrating the new year" is to express the beautiful vision of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new and praying for auspiciousness.
The custom of pasting couplets originated in ancient beliefs about door gods. The ancients believed that sticking a portrait of the door god on the door could ward off evil spirits and keep the house safe. Later, with the evolution and development of culture, the door god gradually evolved into the current form of couplet. Although the form has changed, the good wishes and expectations for the future carried by the couplets have not changed.
2. Send red envelopes - pass blessings and enhance family affection.
Giving out red envelopes is another important custom during the Chinese New Year. In traditional Chinese culture, red symbolizes festivity, auspiciousness, and happiness. Therefore, as a carrier of blessings and good luck, red envelopes have naturally become an indispensable part of the Spring Festival.
Red envelopes are distributed to a wide range of people, which can be the care and blessings of the elders to the younger generations, or the mutual gifts and exchanges between relatives and friends. When the children receive the bulging red envelopes from the hands of their elders, their faces will always be filled with happy smiles. For adults, receiving a red envelope means more luck and success in the new year.
Giving red envelopes is not only a material giving, but also a kind of spiritual sustenance and emotional exchange. It conveys the love and expectations of the elders for the younger generations, and also carries the deep friendship and blessings between relatives and friends. In this process, people not only felt the festive atmosphere of the festival and the warmth and harmony of the family, but also invisibly deepened the emotional connection and trust between each other.
III. Conclusion. As an important custom of the Spring Festival, pasting couplets and giving red envelopes not only enriches the festive atmosphere and cultural connotation of the festival, but also reflects people's expectations and pursuit of a better life. They convey the profound cultural heritage and folk traditions of the Chinese nation in a unique way, so that people can feel the charm of culture and the weight of history while celebrating the festival.
In the fast-paced life of modern society, these traditional customs may be forgotten or ignored by some people. However, it is these customs that form the foundation and spiritual home of our national culture. We should cherish and pass on these precious cultural heritages, so that they can shine more brilliantly in the new era. At the same time, we also look forward to seeing more creative and new customs with the characteristics of the times emerging in the future Spring Festival, which will jointly inject richer cultural connotation and vitality into this traditional festival.
Countdown to return to the village