Customs of Spring Festival in Qidong, Jiangsu

During the Spring Festival, Qidong people used to call it "Chinese New Year". Like all parts of the country, the New Year is the most grand and lively traditional festival in Qidong. Beginning in the middle and late twelfth lunar month, people use long-handled brooms to clean the dust around houses and walls, commonly known as "roof dust removal". This is the most thorough cleaning this year. "Dust" and "dust" are homophonic, meaning to wipe away bad luck.

Qidong people actually celebrate the New Year on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. On this day, people in Qidong will have a "24-night meal". The dishes are naturally much richer than usual. The biggest feature is that every household has to make "red bean rice". Before the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, every household should steam several cages of cakes steamed with sorghum flour and glutinous rice flour. Ten kilograms or dozens of kilograms of steamed bread should be made in Lvsi area.

New Year's Eve is the busiest time for Qidong people. Every family has enough vegetarian dishes, and the dishes on their heads are fragrant. Qidong people will also compare a round white-gray rice barn at the entrance of their yard with a dustpan or a cattail bag of lime as a symbol of the bumper harvest in the coming year, and pray for good luck.

On New Year's Eve, Qidong people will pretend to be "old rice", hoping for a bumper harvest in the coming year. After New Year's Eve, people began to "keep watch". People sit around together, get together (non-"dumpling" without stuffing, such as the size of a projectile) and cook red dates.

On New Year's Day, people get up at dawn and put on new clothes. It is necessary to put some cakes in white rice and tofu with big green vegetable heads. In Qidong, there are many taboos on this day, such as: no splashing water, no touching knives and scissors, no opening the back door, no swearing, no sweeping the floor, etc.