Who invented the Spring Festival? The history of the invention of the Spring Festival

Hobsbawm once proposed the term "invented tradition", which means that many traditions that people think "existed in ancient times" are the living creations of contemporary people, and the Spring Festival is undoubtedly one of the most important traditions. Good example. The following are the inventions I have compiled for you during the Spring Festival, I hope they can help you.

The invention of the Spring Festival History: a statutory holiday since 1914

Different from Western religious festivals, the Spring Festival is an annual festival formed and developed under agricultural civilization. Regarding its origin, the currently accepted theory is that when Yu Shun came to the throne, he led his subordinates to worship heaven and earth. Historically, the Spring Festival has different names. In the Qin Dynasty, it was called Shangri and Yuanri. In the Han Dynasty, it was called Sui Day and Zheng Dan. In the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, it was called Sui Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, it was called Sui Ri and Xinyuan Day. In the Qing Dynasty, it began to be called New Year's Day. , Yuan Day, in modern times, this festival gradually evolved into a national festival from Laba to Lantern Festival.

In 1912, the Republic of China announced that January 1st of the Gregorian calendar would be the "New Year", but the implementation among the people encountered obstacles. In January 1914, in order to comply with public opinion, the then Minister of the Interior Zhu Qiqian proposed that the New Year's Day of the lunar calendar be designated as the Spring Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival as the Summer Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival as the Autumn Festival, and the Winter Solstice as the Winter Festival. All citizens are allowed to rest, and public servants are also allowed to take leave. One day. "With the approval of Yuan Shikai, it was established that the first day of the Gregorian calendar year is New Year's Day, and the first day of the first lunar month is the Spring Festival." In the early days of the Republic of China, the government tried to move New Year's greetings, ancestor worship, Spring Festival couplets and other activities to the Gregorian calendar New Year's Day, but there was strong public opposition The traditional consciousness still retains these customs during the Spring Festival.

The history of the invention of the Spring Festival: the Spring Festival combined with publicity from 1949 to 1956

“Eating” has always been an important element of the Spring Festival. The Chinese people’s habit of accumulating food before the festival is not as material as it originally was. Under the background of insufficient abundance, "price increases during the Spring Festival" have become an iron rule. However, Beijing in 1951 seemed to have broken this convention and spent a Spring Festival with "stable prices as usual". There are two reasons for this: First, This year, the Beijing Municipal Administration for Industry and Commerce called on state-owned trading companies, cooperatives and related private businesses to go to various places to purchase New Year goods and make preparations in advance; second, the Ministry of Trade specially stipulated that prices should be stabilized during the Spring Festival. It can be seen that the government has begun to respond to possible unstable factors during the festival.

Workers and peasants get-togethers and military-civilian get-togethers were two important forms during this period. Workers and farmers all over the country will hold grand gatherings during the Spring Festival. During this period, almost every Spring Festival cultural activity had a fixed theme: the promotion of the Marriage Law in 1953 and the promotion of the General Line in 1954. Although this kind of propaganda requirement did not resort to legal documents, those who did not meet the standards would still be criticized. In 1952, the Spring Festival performance of the Central Academy of Drama was criticized because its program did not meet the needs of real struggles, and the Academy of Drama had to make review.

History of the invention of the Spring Festival: Breaking the rules to celebrate the Spring Festival from 1956 to 1966

Nowadays, people often say that "Spring Festival transportation is difficult". In fact, Spring Festival transportation was already difficult as early as the 1950s. In 1954, the country clarified for the first time that the Spring Festival travel period would be one month before and after the Spring Festival. The Ministry of Railways established a Spring Festival Passenger Transport Office, which was on duty day and night. Solving the Spring Festival transportation problems was combined with the "Great Leap Forward" movement in 1958, and the call to "break the routine to celebrate the Spring Festival" was realized. "If you can't go home, don't go home" has become a common political consciousness and propaganda slogan. Coal mines, water conservancy projects, and government departments are the industries that implement this most thoroughly. A report in 1959 wrote that on New Year's Eve this year, the most lively event was the Ming Tombs Reservoir construction site. The labor songs of more than 27,000 migrant workers, officers and soldiers, cadres, and students resounded throughout the entire New Year's Eve night.

In the 1960s, some old habits of extravagance, waste and money-making gambling made a comeback in society. At this time, the call to "celebrate the Spring Festival with a revolutionary spirit" also came out, and it was necessary to celebrate the Spring Festival with a healthy and frugal attitude. Become a fashion.

The history of the invention of the Spring Festival: the revolutionary Spring Festival from 1966 to 1976

This decade was a special period in the history of New China. In 1967, the State Council issued "There will be no holiday for the Spring Festival this year." Notice, China has since entered the "revolutionary Spring Festival".

The so-called "revolutionary Spring Festival" has three points in simple terms. The first is to "grasp the revolution and promote production". Don't go home during the Spring Festival, actively participate in productive labor, and turn winter leisure into winter busy; the second is to prohibit All the so-called "feudal customs" during the Spring Festival, such as setting off firecrackers, burning incense and worshiping Buddha, dancing dragons and lions, kowtowing to pay New Year greetings, etc.; third, no eating or drinking, let alone playing cards. Only the Spring Festival custom that people are familiar with has been retained, but the content is very different from the original greetings to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. The most distinctive one is "the war will not stop at thirty, and continue on the first day of the new year." The most typical Spring Festival scene is: a family sitting around the statue of Chairman Mao to have New Year’s Eve dinner. Before meals, a family meeting should be held to fight against selfishness and criticism. Parents will put down their airs and engage in mutual criticism and self-criticism with their children. Children can also "fire" at their parents.

Eating is still an important part of the Chinese New Year, but what is popular during this period is not "eating well" but "eating poorly". Work canteens in cities and commune canteens in rural areas will organize people to "eat poorly" "Reminiscing about hardships and thinking about sweet rice"? Adapting measures to local conditions, making whatever is unpalatable, using wild vegetables and tree roots, plus corn paste, dried sweet potatoes and other things to make porridge. The purpose is to make everyone remember the "evil old society" and love it. new society.

The history of the invention of the Spring Festival: 1979-1989 Returning home safely and celebrating the New Year happily

In 1980, the Spring Festival holiday system returned in full force, and the primary disaster that followed was the Spring Festival transportation. In 1981, passenger traffic reached 121 million in two months; during the Spring Festival in 1982, the number of passengers at Beijing Station alone reached 5.32 million. Why is there such a large flow of people, and people often attribute this to one group? "Blind flow" refers to people who migrate from their permanent residence in rural areas to cities without stable employment and permanent residence.

In 1984, the central government’s “No. 1 Document” allowed farmers to provide their own food rations and go to cities and towns to work, do business, and set up enterprises. In the 1980s, four major immigration circles were formed: the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region on the eastern coast, the Yangtze River Delta region, the Pearl River Delta region, and the Xinjiang region with an excellent geographical location due to its rich mineral resources and convenient foreign trade. According to statistics, in 1988, 880,000 people returned to their hometowns while standing on the train. A safe holiday and a safe return home are also proposed in this context.

At this time, cultural and recreational activities during the Spring Festival are in full swing. Not only did the number of TV programs increase, but the themes were also rich, and they were no longer limited to revolutionary education. More TV series close to life began to appear on the screen. However, the most noteworthy event in the 1980s is the holding of the first Spring Festival Gala of CCTV in 1983. Whether people appreciate it or complain about it, this New Year’s Eve dinner has been with us for 31 years.

The overall improvement in the economic situation makes it no longer difficult for people to buy New Year's goods. In 1985, Beijing held the first Spring Festival Product Fair.

However, the abundance of materials and entertainment did not satisfy people for long. On February 8, 1989, "People's Daily" published an article titled "The phenomenon of cold Spring Festival and hot Christmas in Shanghai", Traditional festivals urgently need to find new forms and new contents in the new era.

The history of the invention of the Spring Festival: going out and returning home from 1990 to the present

The key word of the new form is "outside": going out for New Year's Eve dinner, going out for travel.

In the 1990s, "dining out" for New Year's Eve dinner became popular. In 1996, the Beijing Municipal Government put forward the slogan of "100 hotels holding family banquets, 100 shopping malls hanging lanterns, and 100 hotels celebrating the New Year".

In 1999, the State Council promulgated the new "National Holidays and Anniversary Holiday Measures", which spliced ??the Spring Festival, May Day, and National Day holidays with the weekends before and after, thus forming a 7-day "golden holiday" Week", thus giving birth to the Golden Week tourism season.

The song "Go Home Often and See" during the Spring Festival Gala in 1999 resonated with many people. In 2013, the "Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of the Elderly" was revised to officially include "Go Home Often" into law. But in recent years, the New Year red envelope gifts and greetings from relatives and friends have become more and more of a burden. The term "fear of returning to the clan" has emerged. When "love" gradually turns into "debt", will it dilute the original meaning of the Spring Festival? What's the taste?

As a festival inherited from farming society, in traditional small-scale peasant economic society, people can always find a place to enjoy the carnival. However, in different historical periods of New China, the Spring Festival has been growing rapidly. was reshaped under the background of industrialization and marketization. Before "__", the Spring Festival was a cultural ceremony under the national revolution and production tide. No matter workers, farmers, or soldiers, everyone participated together. It was a "Big Spring Festival". Although materials were poor, everyone I was moved by the strong New Year atmosphere. From the late 1970s to the present, the consumer market has made the New Year more and more fulfilling, but it has also made it taste less interesting. The "Little Spring Festival" of this period emphasizes the family gathering together and enjoying family happiness, but going home has gradually become an embarrassing topic that people "love and hate".

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