When is the Little New Year in the twelfth lunar month? What are the customs and habits of the Little New Year?
Introduction: The day after tomorrow is the Little New Year of 2017, and people will start preparing for the New Year. Do you know what Xiaonian is? When is the Little New Year? In fact, there are differences between the north and the south in celebrating the Little New Year. So, do you know what customs and activities are there during the Little New Year? Now, let’s follow the editor to learn about it. New Year’s Eve is the time for families to reunite and the Chinese New Year is the most important festival for our Chinese nation. If you want to know more about the culture and content of New Year’s Eve, please read the special topic on New Year’s Eve carefully compiled for you by Mr. Shui Mo!When is Xiaonian?Xiaonian does not refer to a specific festival. Due to local customs, the festivals called Xiaonian are also different. The main folk activities during the Little New Year include pasting Spring Festival couplets, sweeping the house, and offering sacrifices to the kitchen god.The concept and date of Xiaonian vary from place to place. It is the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month in the north and the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month in the south. In Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, both "the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month" and "the night before New Year's Eve" are called Xiaonian. In Nanjing, the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month is called Xiaonian. In parts of Yunnan, it is the 16th day of the first lunar month, and in some ethnic minority areas in the southwest and north it is New Year's Eve. The Little New Year also means that people begin to prepare New Year's goods and get ready to have a good new year in a clean manner. It means that the new year will have a new look and expresses the Chinese working people's good wishes to bid farewell to the old and usher in the new, and to welcome good luck and fortune. What are the customs and habits of the Little New Year?Worship the Kitchen GodThe day of Little New Year is also the day for people to worship the kitchen god. According to folklore, every year on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the Kitchen God goes to heaven to report the good and bad deeds of the family to the Jade Emperor, who will reward or punish them. Therefore, when sending off the Kitchen God, people put candies, clean water, beans and hay on the table in front of the Kitchen God statue. Among them, the last three are preparations for the Kitchen God's mount for his ascension to heaven. When offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God, you would melt Guandong sugar with fire and apply it on the Kitchen God's mouth. In this way, he could not speak ill of him to the Jade Emperor. There is a folk custom that "men do not worship the moon, and women do not worship the Kitchen God", so worshiping the Kitchen God is limited to men. [3] In addition, on the night of New Year’s Eve, the Kitchen God and other gods will come to the human world to celebrate the New Year. On that day, there will be ceremonies of “welcoming the Kitchen God” and “welcoming the gods”. After every household burns sedan chairs and horses, pours three cups of wine and sends off the Kitchen God, it is then their turn to worship their ancestors.Sweep the dustAfter the 23rd, there are only six or seven days left until the Spring Festival, and preparations for the New Year seem more intense. The room should be cleaned thoroughly, commonly known as sweeping the dust. The purpose of sweeping the dust is to get rid of the old and welcome the new, and to remove bad luck. Every household must clean carefully and thoroughly to make sure the windows and tables are clean. Painting the walls, cleaning the glass, pasting stained glass windows, putting up New Year pictures, etc.Cutting paper-cutsAmong all the preparations, cutting and pasting paper-cuts is the most popular folk activity. The contents include various stories about animals and plants, such as magpies climbing on plum trees, swallows flying through peach and willow trees, peacocks playing with peonies, lions rolling embroidered balls, three sheep (yang) bringing good luck, two dragons playing with pearls, deer, cranes, tung trees and toon trees (six harmonies in spring), five bats (blessings) holding longevity, rhinoceros looking at the moon, lotus (continuous) years with fish (yu), mandarin ducks playing in the water, Liu Hai playing with golden cicadas, the two immortals of harmony and unity, etc.Pasting Spring Festival coupletsEvery household writes Spring Festival couplets. People believe that Spring Festival couplets must be posted wherever there are gods, on every door, and on every object, so there are the most of them and they have the most comprehensive content. The couplets before the gods are particularly exquisite, and are mostly words of admiration and blessing. Common ones include couplets for the gods of heaven and earth: "Heaven's grace is as deep as the sea, and the earth's virtue is as heavy as a mountain"; couplets for the god of land: "White jade grows in the soil, and gold comes out of the ground"; couplets for the god of wealth: "The lord of wealth in heaven, the god of fortune and luck on earth"; couplets for the god of well: "The well can connect to the four seas, and the home can reach the three rivers." The Spring Festival couplets hanging in granaries, animal pens and other places express warm congratulations and hopes. Such as "a bumper harvest of grains and thriving livestock", "rice and flour as thick as mountains, oil and salt as deep as the sea", "cows are like tigers in the South Mountains, horses are like dragons in the North Sea", "the big sheep are thriving year by year, the little lambs are increasing month by month", etc. There are also some single couplets, such as "Look up and see happiness" in every room, "Go out and see happiness" opposite the door, "Prosperous energy soars to the sky" on the fire, "The yard is full of gold" in the yard, "Deep roots and lush leaves" on the tree, "White tiger brings good luck" on the millstone, etc. 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.BathingBoth adults and children need to take a bath and have a haircut. There is a saying among the people that "Whether you have money or not, you should get a haircut during the New Year." In Luliang area, people pay attention to washing feet on the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month. That evening, the mother-in-law and the children all washed their feet with boiling water. For ignorant girls, adults should also help them wash their feet clean to leave no dirt. There is a folk saying that goes, "On the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, all wives and children should wash their feet. If one person does not wash his feet, he will have pus and watery feet for seven months."marriageAfter the 23rd, people believe that the gods have gone to heaven and there are no taboos. There is no need to choose a date to marry a wife or a daughter, which is called a hasty marriage. There are a lot of wedding ceremonies held until the end of the year. There is a saying in the folk song, "At the end of the year, villages are busy with weddings, and Yichun’s invitations are sent to celebrate the spring. Sisters whisper to each other in front of the lamp, and this year’s staying up late is the bridal chamber."Summary: Through the above article, we know some customs and activities about the Little New Year, and we have a certain understanding of the Little New Year. I hope you will like the above content and wish you all a happy and auspicious Spring Festival! After reading this article, there are more exciting content in the New Year’s Eve special topic, let’s take a look! |
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