Why do we post Spring Festival couplets during the Spring Festival? What is the story behind their origin?

Why do we post Spring Festival couplets during the Spring Festival? What is the story behind their origin?
Why do we post Spring Festival couplets during the Spring Festival? What is the story behind their origin? Every year before the Chinese New Year, every household will write and post Spring Festival couplets. Why do they post Spring Festival couplets before the Chinese New Year? When did the custom of pasting Spring Festival couplets begin? If you want to know more about the 2019 Chinese New Year, please follow our Shui Mo Xiansheng website!

Why do we post Spring Festival couplets?

Spring couplets are also called couplets, door couplets, couplets, couplets, spring stickers, spring lists, door couplets, etc. In Cantonese, it is called Huichun or Huichun, and in Minnan dialect, it is called Chunzai. Posting Spring Festival couplets is one of the Chinese folk customs of the Spring Festival. When people put up Spring Festival couplets on their doorsteps, it means the Spring Festival has officially begun. During every Spring Festival, no matter in the city or in the countryside, every household will pick out beautiful red Spring Festival couplets to paste on the door to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, adding to the festive atmosphere.

What is the story behind the origin of Spring Festival couplets?

According to legend, in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" in ancient Chinese mythology, there is a world of ghosts. In the middle of the world, there is a mountain, and on the mountain there is a huge peach tree that covers three thousand miles. Every morning when the golden rooster crows, the ghosts that wander out at night must rush back to the ghost realm. Standing at the gate of the ghost realm were two gods named Shentu and Yulei. If a ghost did something harmful to the world at night, Shentu and Yulei would immediately find it, catch it, and feed it to the tigers. Therefore, all the ghosts in the world are afraid of Shentu and Yulei. Therefore, Chinese people began to carve their images out of peach wood and place them at their doorsteps to ward off evil and harm. Later, people simply carved the names of Shentu and Yulei on peach wood boards, believing that doing so could also suppress evil. This kind of peach wood board was later called "Tao Fu". In the Song Dynasty, Spring Festival couplets were once written on peach wood. Wang Anshi recorded in his poem, "On a bright day, every household replaces the old peach charms with new ones." The Northern Song Dynasty's "Miscellaneous Notes on Sui Shi" records that people at that time liked to carve auspicious words on peach wood boards. Later, peach wood boards were gradually replaced by paper, but they were not yet very popular. According to the Southern Song Dynasty's "Dreams of the Southern Song Dynasty", "Spring Festival cards" should be posted on New Year's Eve, which are actually paper spring stickers. In the Ming Dynasty, "Peach Charms" were truly renamed "Spring Couplets". According to the records of Chen Yunzhan in the Ming Dynasty, the name of Spring Festival couplets originated from Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang. At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang established Nanjing as the capital. Every New Year’s Eve, officials, scholars and common people were required to post a pair of Spring Festival couplets on their doors. Zhu Yuanzhang himself traveled incognito and had fun with the people. Zhu Yuanzhang also wrote Spring Festival couplets himself and gave them to scholar Tao An and other ministers. With Zhu Yuanzhang's vigorous promotion, Spring Festival couplets have made great progress.

Recommended festive Spring Festival couplets

01. As people grow older, their fortunes and longevity increase; the pond is full of fish and the pen of pigs is full.
02. The auspicious snow falls in the clear sky, and the colorful pigs dance to celebrate the New Year.
03. The soaring dragon and the leaping horse usher in the new world, and the dog and the pig are welcomed to celebrate the new year.
04. The vermilion spring invitations bring good luck to thousands of doors, and the emerald green willow breezes bring freshness to thousands of households.
05. Pigs bring wealth and joy to the new year, and swallows dance in peace and happiness to the old master.
06. In the first month of spring, one builds his house, and when he brings in pigs and treasures, he is ready to go home.
07. The whole body of the Pig is a treasure, and everything in the Year of the Pig is golden.
08. The dog prays for peace as the New Year goes by, while the pig brings wealth and announces the coming of spring.
09. On auspicious days, the pig will arch its door to bring wealth, and the magpie will fly over the plum tree to bring good fortune in the new year.
10. A dog guards the house and there is peace and tranquility; a pig inherits wealth and abundance.
11. The fine horse with the golden saddle rides on the smooth road, and the fat pig with golden ingots ushers in a bumper year.
12. Welcoming the Year of the Pig, spring brings blessings and vitality; bidding farewell to the Year of the Dog, New Year’s Eve brings a good harvest and joy.

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