Yichang new year custom

Yichang year begins on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. On this day, every household "blows dust", and "dust" and "Chen" are homophonic, meaning to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new, which is also commonly known as "playing the hall porch"! The 24th of the twelfth lunar month is a small year. There is still a lot of concern about which day is the off-year holiday. As the old saying goes, there are three kings and four princes, and twenty-five princes. It means that princes and ministers celebrate the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, and ordinary people celebrate the 24th of the twelfth lunar month. On this day, people will burn incense and worship God, and they will also simmer soup and eat meat. In the evening, you should present a piece of glutinous rice candy or maltose in front of the kitchen god, and seal his mouth, so that when he reports to the jade emperor in the sky, he can say what he has to say and hide what he has to say. This day is still the day when the mouse and the girl get married, so the girl's sister-in-law used to cut the wedding dress into red and green and put it under the lampstand to give the mouse a generous gift. From this day on, every household began to be busy preparing for all aspects of the Spring Festival. The first thing is to buy and prepare all kinds of food for the New Year. Every household must also grind flour to make jiaozi, which means "round and round". Eating them can make you "happy" and "taller every year". The second is to prepare new clothes, new hats and new shoes. People may wear old clothes all the year round, but they must examine their "clothes" in the new year. Once again, I began to buy Spring Festival couplets, New Year pictures and "door gods". During this period, the husband and wife will go to their parents-in-law's house and give them money and things, commonly known as the year of resignation.

Next, the atmosphere of the New Year is getting stronger and stronger: "Twenty-five dozen tofu; Twenty-six cut fish; 27 years; Twenty-nine have everything; Thirty nights of peach blossoms. "

On the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month, people will post couplets and wish stick grilles well. Cooking pig's head meat, frozen fish, braised sausage and meat, cooking barbecue and steamed vegetables. The most lively thing is to have a reunion dinner. At noon, the family sat together and chatted while eating. New Year's Eve generally uses "three complete" (whole chicken, whole fish and whole duck), "three high" (fish cake, meat pie and mutton cake) and "three bowls" (fish balls, meatballs and lotus root balls). In recent years, people put a hot pot in the middle of the table, which is steaming, adding a festive atmosphere. Light a lamp when eating. Of course, people who are late will not be forgotten at the reunion dinner. Usually bowls, chopsticks and wine glasses are placed on the table (commonly known as serving), which is also very particular. Chopsticks must be put on the bowl to show that they have eaten, and then pour the wine in the cup on the ground. You should set off firecrackers before the reunion dinner. You should be very careful at this time, because the quality of firecrackers is directly related to the luck in the coming year. In the evening, we also send lights to the deceased, often the younger generation brings candles and lights them in front of their graves to let the deceased pay a New Year call. In the evening, taking a big bath means washing away one year's bad luck, putting on new clothes, and the whole family sitting around the fire, eating rice cakes or jiaozi, symbolizing the sweetness and promotion of New Year's life. When eating jiaozi, there is only one coin in a hundred jiaozi, which means that people who eat this jiaozi are good for a year. People watch the Spring Festival Gala while chatting. The lights at home should be on until the clock is turned. When the cock crows at the first dawn, every household, men, women and children put on new clothes, hats and shoes. The younger generation pays New Year greetings to the elders, and the elders give the prepared lucky money to the children. This is the long-awaited hope of children. At this point, they finally got the bag with joy. Then open the door to let the explosions welcome the new year, and meet the neighbors to celebrate the new year.

At the dawn of the first day of the first month, firecrackers will be set off soon. It's New Year! Go out with the door half open (seal the door and leave one end of the money paper on the door) and go out to pay a New Year call. Yichang also has many exquisite New Year greetings. On the first day, I visited my grandparents' uncle. The next day, I worshipped my grandparents; In-laws who worship their wives on the third day; Visiting relatives and friends on the fourth day; On the fifth day, it was the birthday of the God of Wealth, and the shops resumed business to pick up the God of Wealth (many businessmen went to temples to burn incense and pray for wealth in the New Year). From the first day to the third day, you can't take out the garbage, you can't cook raw rice, you have to eat leftovers from the New Year's Eve dinner, and I hope there are leftovers. Later, it evolved into family cooking noodles, shredded beans and glutinous rice. You can't splash water outside in case you go away. Tell "send the poor" to the sixth day to take out the garbage that has been accumulated for so many days.

Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month-every household will fry spring rolls. On the night of the Lantern Festival, people will also make glutinous rice flour and bean paste into dumplings to eat, in order to wish a smooth and successful year's work. The expiration of May coincides with the reunion and is for good luck. But the prosperity of the Lantern Festival lies in "lights", so it is also called "Lantern Festival". It is a big lantern in front of every household and shop, and it is also a big lantern in public places such as temples, gardens and squares. After sunset, all the lights are put together, connected together, and the red light shines. There are various shapes of lanterns, including colorful lanterns, various plant lanterns, animal lanterns, character lanterns, story lanterns and so on.

As the saying goes, "Eat two big heads and go your own way". After the 16th day of the first month, the celebrating people returned to their respective industries. At this point, the Spring Festival activities are over.

Yichang has many Chinese New Year's allegorical sayings: there is oil in the twelfth lunar month-salt comes first; Eat lotus root in Sanli-see through; New Year greetings to the lame-crooked is crooked.

In the hearts of China people, the Spring Festival is very important. "If you have money, you can have a wife in the New Year." Although the way of Chinese New Year has changed, such as eating New Year's Eve in hotels, paying New Year's greetings via SMS or online, going out to go on road trip and so on. The cultural concept of pursuing reunion and leisure hasn't changed at all. For more than a thousand years, our ancestors have thrived in this beautiful land, and gradually formed various customs with strong local characteristics in their long-term production activities and daily life. These customs and habits condensed the ancestors' pursuit and yearning for a better life, and showed their good qualities of simplicity and hard work.

Excerpted from Sina