When is the Spring Festival of the Year of the Rooster in 2017? What are the Spring Festival customs in different places?

When is the Spring Festival of the Year of the Rooster in 2017? What are the Spring Festival customs in different places?
Introduction: The Spring Festival is a unique festival of our Chinese nation. It is also the grandest, most lively and most important ancient and traditional festival in our country. The Spring Festival has an irreplaceable position in the hearts of every Chinese. Therefore, such a "special" festival is bound to have many ethnic customs and activities. China is a vast country with rich resources, and each place celebrates the Spring Festival in different ways. When is the Chinese New Year of the Rooster in 2017? What are the Spring Festival customs? Now, please follow the editor to learn about it! In addition to the grand and festive celebrations of the Spring Festival, we also need to pay attention to some taboos regarding the Spring Festival. Next, let’s take a closer look at the Spring Festival special topic compiled by Mr. Shui Mo!

2017 Year of the Rooster Spring Festival

The first day of the first lunar month of the year Bingshen (2017) is Saturday, January 28, 2017 in the Gregorian calendar.

A collection of Spring Festival customs in various parts of my country

Old Beijing: The most particular way of eating
Old Beijingers are very particular about Chinese New Year celebrations, and especially about how they eat during Chinese New Year. In the past, there was a folk song in old Beijing: "Children, don't be greedy. After Laba is the New Year. Drink Laba porridge for a few days, and it's the 23rd. On the 23rd, sticky sugar melons. On the 24th, sweep the house. On the 25th, fry tofu. On the 26th, stew mutton. On the 27th, kill the rooster. On the 28th, let the dough rise. On the 29th, steam buns. Stay up all night on the 30th, and twist your body on the first day of the new year..." The Laba porridge, fried tofu, stewed mutton and other dishes listed in this folk song are all delicacies of old Beijing during the Spring Festival. Today, these have become commonplace meals for people, but in the 1950s and 1960s, people could only enjoy them during the Chinese New Year. The above-mentioned foods are the only ones available during the Spring Festival, which is certainly not considered rich. Some well-off Beijingers used to have the custom of eating fish on New Year's Eve. The fish must be carp. Initially, it was used as a sacrifice to gods, and later it was associated with the auspicious phrase "good luck and abundance". Fish is both a delicacy and an offering. As for the dumplings on New Year’s Eve, the vegetarian dumplings are used to worship gods, while the ones that everyone eats are meat-filled. Families that are not well-off use a mixture of meat and vegetables as the filling. Even the poorest families will eat dumplings during the Chinese New Year. In addition to well-known delicacies such as dumplings and rice cakes, old Beijingers also make "dou'erjiang" - a cold dish made of pork skin, dried tofu, soybeans, green beans, watercress, etc. It is amber in color, similar to "meat jelly". In addition, there is "mustard dumplings", which is a cold dish used to accompany wine and as an appetizer. During festivals, people eat a lot of greasy food, which can easily "generate fire" and "produce phlegm". These cold dishes can make up for this defect. When all kinds of meat and vegetable dishes are ready, Beijingers also prepare candies, dried fruits, melon seeds and "miscellaneous mixed dishes", which are now assorted preserved fruits. In those days, these snacks were the delicacies that people would enjoy while sitting around the fire and staying up all night to bid farewell to the old year.
Liaoning: Unforgettable rural blood sausage
In rural Liaoning, as soon as the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month arrives, every household begins preparing for the New Year, making rice cakes and steaming sticky rice dumplings. Many families also kill pigs to entertain guests, inviting neighbors and relatives and friends to a banquet. After eating and drinking, the enthusiastic hosts will distribute the stuffed blood sausage to the guests to take home. Children will try their best to help at home these days, but a married daughter cannot spend the New Year at her parents' home, otherwise it will be bad for her brothers in her parents' home. This is what the saying “You are not allowed to look at the lights at your mother’s house on New Year’s Eve” actually means. Of course, this custom with feudal superstition has gradually been forgotten with the progress of society and the changes of the times. Many people in Liaoning light longevity lanterns on New Year’s Eve and keep them lit all night long. From New Year's Eve until the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month, every household hangs red lanterns. The lanterns must be lit on New Year's Eve and kept lit all night. The lights cannot be turned off, which means longevity.
Heilongjiang: Eating dumplings with coins brings good luck
Eating dumplings during the Chinese New Year is a custom for people in the north. On the night of New Year's Eve, people say goodbye to the old and welcome the new, and eating dumplings is a must. However, people in Heilongjiang also wrap a few coins in the dumplings (now peanuts or other nuts are often used instead). Whoever eats such dumplings will have good luck in the new year and it means good luck. In addition, people in Heilongjiang must eat dumplings on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, also known as "Po Wu", which means biting the dumplings, implying destroying all the unlucky things and warding off disasters and evil spirits.
Jilin: Eating frozen pears after New Year's Eve dinner
Due to the cold weather in Northeast China, some fruits have a different taste after being frozen. The most common ones are frozen pears and frozen persimmons. It is understood that the purest one is the frozen autumn pear. In Jilin there is a kind of pear called autumn pear. This kind of pear is sour and astringent when it is just picked, so people pick this kind of pear and put it directly under the tree, covering it with a layer of leaves. After freezing, the autumn pear is sweet and sour and has plenty of juice. Frozen pears should be thawed in water before eating. Eating this kind of pears after the New Year’s Eve dinner can help sober up and relieve greasiness.
Jiangsu: Gathering money everywhere to find "ingots"
People in Suzhou put cooked water chestnuts in their New Year’s Eve dinner and dig them out when eating, which is called "digging ingots". When visiting relatives and friends, two green olives are placed in the teapot when brewing tea. This is called "yuanbao tea", which means "congratulations on getting rich". During the New Year, people in Changzhou are not allowed to sweep the floor from the inside out, for fear of sweeping away the "wealth" and "good luck". They can only sweep from the outside in, meaning to gather wealth. During the Spring Festival, there are many taboos in Jiangsu Province, such as not using scissors on the first day of the New Year to avoid verbal disputes; not using kitchen knives to avoid fatal disasters; not eating porridge for fear of going out in the rain; not sweeping the floor for fear of sweeping away all the wealth, etc. People in Jiangning have the custom of "beating the sacred drum" during the Spring Festival. A big flag leads the way, and gong and drum players beat the drums with all their might to add to the fun. On the third day, they play the "night drum", on the seventh day, they play the "upper seventh drum", and from the thirteenth to the fifteenth day, they play the "bare-chested drum", and the atmosphere is very lively. People in Nantong have the custom of inserting sesame stalks, holly and cypress branches at their doorsteps or in front of their halls, which means that life will flourish and remain green all year round. Huaiyin people also have the custom of "roasting the head wind" for children on the sixth day of the first lunar month. That night, they would take the children to an open field and light torches to drive away the evil spirits from their bodies. They would sing as they roasted the children: "Roast the head to wake up the brain, roast the feet to straighten the steps, roast the belly to stop diarrhea, roast the whole body and the disease will never be seen again."
Shandong: Eating wontons on the first day of the Lunar New Year
In Ningyang County, Shandong Province, people eat wontons on the first day of the Lunar New Year, which is called "filling the warehouse." In Huangxian and Penglai areas, people get up early on the first day of the New Year to observe the sky. The hostess holds a red candle and illuminates every corner of the house, meaning to drive away darkness with light. Then she puts various window decorations made of flour before the New Year on the windowsill. After getting up, children should climb the door latch and swing three times. It is said that this will help them grow faster. In some rural areas, sesame straw is used to make fire when cooking dumplings, which means that the new year will be as prosperous as the blooming sesame seeds. Steamed buns are put in the pot after the meal, which means there will be "leftovers". A new daughter-in-law in Jiaodong has to visit her husband’s maternal grandparents’ home to pay New Year’s greetings in the first year, which is called “taking root”. It is said that once you go to your maternal grandparents' home, you can put down roots and there will be no divorce or early widowhood.
Zhejiang: Celebrating Silkworms on the First Day of the Lunar New Year
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, people in Wucheng County, Zhejiang Province, tie grass on a long pole, light it on fire, and beat gongs and drums. This is called "celebrating silkworms in the fields." They also light sky lanterns on poles until March 3rd. In Ningbo, people eat bean porridge on the first day of the new year. Before closing the door at night, one more "closing cannon" must be fired. In Shaoxing, guests are entertained with "tea bowl tea" during the New Year, which contains olives and kumquats. Tea eggs are also served to guests, which is called "holding ingots."
Guangdong: New Year's greetings are a movement to exchange oranges
People from Chaoshan area of ​​Guangdong will bring a big bag of oranges when they go out to pay New Year's greetings. Every time they visit a relative, they will give a big orange, no matter how many, it must be plural, and then say some words of blessing. After sitting down, relatives will treat you with Chaoshan Kung Fu tea and give you big oranges when you leave. “So, at the end of the day, you will find that if you take a few Chaozhou oranges out in the morning, you will still have the same ones when you come back.” Because giving big oranges as a gift means “good luck” in Cantonese, giving something in return is a courtesy. At the same time, in the first month of the lunar year, everyone should keep a close eye on their pockets and avoid letting others take them out. "If someone takes your pocket out, it means that your pocket will be 'empty' for the whole year."
Hubei: When to eat New Year's Eve dinner depends on your surname
In many places in rural Hubei, the time for eating New Year's Eve dinner varies due to different surnames. You may never have thought of this custom. Those with the surname Wang would start their family reunion at five o'clock in the morning; those with the surname Gao would generally start the banquet around noon; what about those with the surname Yu? The time for the New Year's Eve dinner would be set at six o'clock when it was almost dark; those with the surname Yang could only have it after midnight... There is a legend here: After Qin Shihuang unified China, the original Chu State was in the state of "no trace of people was left on the ten thousand paths", and the Chu people had been hunted down and became a wailing mass. Seeing that the population in Chu was sharply declining, Qin Shihuang ordered immigrants from Jiujiang area (now Jiangxi) to live in Chu. Some people arrived in the morning, some at noon, and some in the afternoon... In order to commemorate their arrival in Chu, people set the time of their New Year's dinner based on the time they arrived at their new residence.
Shanxi: No talking during New Year's Eve dinner
The custom of worshiping heaven and ancestors is no longer common in Shanxi nowadays, but the rule of not talking during the New Year’s Eve dinner has been retained. The first meal of the Spring Festival is always dumplings. When cooking dumplings, firecrackers should be set off. In order to drive away evil and bring good luck, some areas use sesame straw to make fire and cook dumplings, which means that the new year will be like sesame flowers blooming, and life will get better and better. You need to cook as many dumplings as you can, and there must be enough to go around. When dining, in addition to one bowl for each person, one or two more bowls are served, in the hope that the family will have more children.
Summary: The above article is about the analysis of the 2017 Spring Festival of the Year of the Rooster. We have introduced the New Year customs in different regions of our country, which are very local. Are the customs of your hometown included?

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