How will we celebrate the 2017 Chinese New Year of the Rooster? What are the customs of celebrating the Chinese New Year?

How will we celebrate the 2017 Chinese New Year of the Rooster? What are the customs of celebrating the Chinese New Year?
Introduction: The Spring Festival is not only a favorite festival for many children, because they can get a lot of lucky money and wear new clothes; it is also a favorite festival for many young people, because there is a seven-day Spring Festival holiday, during which they can visit relatives and friends and go home for reunion. But do you know how the Spring Festival came about? Why do we Chinese celebrate the Spring Festival? How to celebrate the 2017 Chinese New Year of the Rooster? What are the customs for celebrating the Chinese New Year? Please see the analysis below for specific details! There is no end to the topics about the Spring Festival, so do you want to know more about it? Just continue to wander in Mr. Shui Mo’s Spring Festival special ocean!

The Origin of Chinese New Year

There is a legend about the origin of the Spring Festival. In ancient China, there was a monster called "Nian" with tentacles on its head and was extremely ferocious. "Nian" lives deep in the sea for most of the year, and only crawls ashore on New Year's Eve to devour livestock and harm human lives. Therefore, on every New Year’s Eve, people in every village and hamlet would take their elderly and children and flee to the mountains to avoid being harmed by the beast “Nian”. One New Year's Eve, an old man came from outside the village to beg. The villagers were in a hurry and panic. Only an old woman at the east end of the village gave the old man some food and advised him to go up the mountain to avoid the "Nian" beast. The old man stroked his beard and smiled, "If you let me stay at home for one night, I will definitely drive the "Nian" beast away." The old woman continued to persuade, but the beggar just smiled and said nothing. In the middle of the night, the beast "Nian" broke into the village. It found that the atmosphere in the village was different from previous years: at the old woman's house at the east end of the village, there was a big red paper on the door and candles were brightly lit in the house. The "Nian" beast trembled all over and let out a strange cry. When he was near the door, there were sudden "bang bang bang" sounds in the yard. "Nian" trembled all over and dared not move forward anymore. It turns out that "Nian" is most afraid of the color red, fire and explosions. At this time, my mother-in-law's door opened wide, and I saw an old man in a red robe in the yard laughing. "Nian" was horrified and fled in a panic. The next day was the first day of the first lunar month. The people who had returned from the refuge were surprised to see that the village was safe and sound. At this time, the old woman suddenly realized and hurriedly told the villagers about the beggar's promise. This story soon spread to the surrounding villages, and people all knew how to drive away the "Nian" beast. (Hakka legend) From then on, every New Year’s Eve, every family would paste red couplets and set off firecrackers; every house would be brightly lit with candles, and everyone would stay up to wait for the new year. Early in the morning on the first day of the New Year, people visit relatives and friends to congratulate and say hello. This custom spread more and more widely and became the most important traditional festival among the Chinese people.

Analysis of the Chinese New Year customs in the Year of the Rooster in 2017

Year Song:
Children, don’t be greedy, after Laba Festival it will be the New Year. How many days should we drink Laba porridge? Drip, drip ... On the 23rd, sticky sugar melons are eaten; on the 24th, the house is cleaned; on the 25th, windows are pasted; on the 26th, meat is stewed; on the 27th, the rooster is slaughtered; on the 28th, flour is fermented; on the 29th, buns are steamed; on the 30th, stay up all night; and on the first day of the New Year, people twist their bodies. That is:
The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. People start drinking Laba porridge and look forward to the Spring Festival, making plans to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new; children even count on their fingers every day to calculate how many days are left until the New Year. The twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month. It is the day when people worship the kitchen god; it is also called Little New Year. The folk song "Twenty-three, sticky sugar melons" refers to the Kitchen God worship on the twenty-third or twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month every year. There is a saying that "officials worship on the twenty-third, ordinary people on the fourth, and boatmen on the fifth", which means that government officials worship on the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, ordinary people on the twenty-fourth, and boatmen on the twenty-fifth day. The twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month. After the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, every household has to write. People believe that couplets must be posted wherever there are gods, on every door, and on every object, so there are the largest number of couplets during the Spring Festival, and their content is the most comprehensive. The couplets before the ceremony are particularly exquisite, and are mostly words of admiration and blessing. The couplets on the front door are the face of a family and are given special attention. They may be lyrical or descriptive, with rich content and witty words. The twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month. According to old customs, after the Kitchen God ascends to heaven, the Jade Emperor will personally descend to the mortal world on the 25th day of the 12th lunar month to investigate the good and evil in the world and determine the fortune and misfortune for the coming year. Therefore, every family offers sacrifices to him to pray for blessings, which is called "welcoming the Jade Emperor." On this day, you must be careful about your daily life and words, and strive to perform well in order to please the Jade Emperor and receive blessings for the coming year. The 25th, 26th and 27th of the twelfth lunar month. According to traditional customs, people would take baths and wash clothes on these two days to get rid of the bad luck of the year and prepare for the New Year. On the 27th, people would wash away diseases, and on the 28th, people would wash away dirt. Bathing on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month is to "wash away blessings and fortune." The twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month. The day before New Year’s Eve is called “Little New Year’s Eve”, when families hold banquets and people visit each other, which is called “saying goodbye to the old year”. Burning incense outdoors is called "Tianxiang" and usually lasts for three days.

New Year’s Eve on the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month. It refers to the last night of the twelfth lunar month of each year, which is connected to the Spring Festival (the first day of the first lunar month). The word "chu" in "Chuxi" means "to go; to change; to alternate". Chuxi means "the end of the month and the year". People have to get rid of the old and welcome the new. It means that the old year is over and the new year will come. It is the last night of the lunar calendar. Therefore, the activities during this period are centered around getting rid of the old and bringing in the new, eliminating disasters and praying for blessings. The first day of the first lunar month. The Spring Festival is commonly known as "Chinese New Year", and its original name was "New Year's Day". On the morning of the Spring Festival, people open the door to wish good luck and set off firecrackers, which are called "opening firecrackers". After the sound of firecrackers, the ground is covered with red fragments, as bright as brocade, which is called "Mantanghong". At this time, the streets were full of auspiciousness and joy. The second day of the first lunar month. When a married daughter returns to her parents' home, she must be accompanied by her husband, so it is commonly known as "the day to welcome the son-in-law". On this day, the daughter who returns to her parents' home must bring some gifts and red envelopes to distribute to the children in her parents' home, and have lunch at her parents' home, but must return to her husband's home before dinner. In the past, families would also choose this day to take a family photo. The third day of the first lunar month. It is also known as the Red Dog Day, which has the same pronunciation as "Red Mouth". People usually do not go out to pay New Year's greetings. Legend has it that it is easy to have quarrels with others on this day. However, this custom has long been outdated, as people rarely get together during the Spring Festival nowadays, and this custom has become much less popular.

The fourth day of the first lunar month. It is the day to worship the God of Wealth. In the past, if a boss wanted to fire someone, he would not invite him to worship the God on this day. The other party would then know what was going on and would pack up and leave. Legend has it that the Kitchen God will come to check the household registration on this day, so it is not advisable to travel far. The fifth day of the first lunar month. Commonly known as Po Wu, it means to "drive away the five poverty", including "poverty of wisdom, poverty of learning, poverty of literature, poverty of life, and poverty of friendship." People get up at dawn, set off firecrackers and clean the place. Set off firecrackers from inside to outside, while walking towards the door. It is said that all unlucky things will be blasted away. On this day, the common folk custom is to eat dumplings, commonly known as "pinching the villain's mouth" on the sixth day of the first lunar month. Shops and restaurants officially open for business, and firecrackers are set off, just as loudly as on New Year's Eve. Legend has it that the most popular person on this day is the boy who turns 12 that year, because 12 is twice 6, which is called "six sixes are lucky". On this day, every household has to throw out the garbage accumulated during the festival, which is called sending away the ghost of poverty. The seventh day of the first lunar month. It is Renri, that is, human’s birthday. According to the "Zhanshu", starting from the first day, God created all things in the order of "one chicken, two dogs, three pigs, four sheep, five cows, six horses, seven humans, and eight grains", so the seventh day is Human Day. On this day, people in many places like to eat Jiudi porridge. The so-called Jiudi means the hope of becoming the top scorer in the imperial examination. The eighth day of the first lunar month. It is Grain Day, which is said to be the birthday of grain. It is also called Shunxing Festival. It is said to be the day when all the stars descend to the earth and the stars in the sky are the most complete. If the weather is clear on this day, it indicates a good harvest of rice this year, but if the weather is cloudy, it means a poor harvest. The ninth day of the first lunar month. The custom is to hold a grand ceremony to worship the Jade Emperor on his birthday, wishing him a happy birthday and praying for good weather, peace and health in the new year. The tenth day of the first lunar month. It is the birthday of stone. On this day, all stone tools such as grinders and mills cannot be used, and people even have to offer sacrifices to the stones. The eleventh day of the first lunar month. It is "Son-in-law Day", the day when the father-in-law entertains his son-in-law. There is a lot of food left over from celebrating the "God's Birthday" on the ninth day of the first lunar month, after being eaten for a day on the tenth day. Therefore, the wife's family does not have to spend any more money and can use the leftover food to entertain the son-in-law and daughter. The folk song calls this "Inviting the Son-in-law on the Eleventh Day". After the eleventh day of the first lunar month, people begin to prepare to celebrate the Lantern Festival. From the twelfth day of the first lunar month, they start to buy lanterns and put up lantern sheds. The nursery rhyme goes like this: "On the eleventh day, people are chattering; on the twelve day, people are setting up the lantern shed; on the thirteenth day, people are lighting the lanterns; on the fourteenth day, the lanterns are at full brightness; on the fifteenth day, the moon is half full; on the sixteenth day, people are putting away the lanterns." The fifteenth day of the first lunar month. It is the "Lantern Festival", which is the first full-moon night of the year and also the night when spring comes back to the earth. The 16th and 17th of the first lunar month are the days for "walking away all diseases" in southern China. It is said that going out for an outing or a picnic these two days can get rid of all diseases and prevent you from getting sick, or get sick less often, in the coming year. In fact, it is also the time for people to accumulate energy and prepare to start struggling.
Summary: The above article introduces us to the origin of the Spring Festival customs and the specific analysis of the Spring Festival customs on each day. The content is very comprehensive. You can refer to it and feel the cultural charm of our traditional festivals!

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