A friend @stef1 on steemit told me that he wanted to know some activities and customs about the Chinese New Year. I think many foreign friends would like to know about this. Today I will have this short article to guide you. Go and learn about Chinese New Year customs.
There is a saying in China: After the Laba Festival, it is the New Year, which means that after the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, preparations for the New Year begin. The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month is also the Laba Festival in China. On this day, everyone drinks Laba porridge, which is also known as the Seven Treasures and Five Flavors. Porridge, Buddhist porridge, everyone's rice, etc. are porridges made from a variety of ingredients. Ingredients include rice, millet, corn, barley, red dates, lotus seeds, peanuts, longan and various beans.
Note: The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month is the eighth day of December. China generally calls December the twelfth lunar month and January the first lunar month.
The nearest festival after Laba is the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, which is called Xiaonian. It is also called the New Year Festival or the Kitchen God Festival. It is said that every kitchen is guarded by a god, who is called the Kitchen God. On the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the Kitchen God will return to heaven to report on his duties. Therefore, on this day we have to clean all the rooms, get haircuts, take baths, and cut window grilles. Farewell to the Kitchen God, and pray that the Kitchen God will bring you good luck in the coming year after returning to heaven.
On the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, you need to grind tofu, because after the Kitchen God returns to heaven to report the situation to the Jade Emperor (the supreme leader of Chinese gods), the Jade Emperor will come down to earth to inspect the human world, so on this day people will make tofu to welcome the Jade Emperor. , but these customs are now rare. Because machines have replaced labor, everyone buys some tofu as a symbol.
Buying New Year's goods begins on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month. Everyone will start to prepare the food needed for the New Year. In rural areas, they usually kill pigs and sheep to prepare meat. You will also prepare vegetables, fruits and other food in various big markets, so starting from the second day of the twelfth lunar month From the 16th to the 28th, there will be temple fairs and markets basically every day.
On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, various pastries and steamed buns need to be prepared. People usually make dough by hand, make pastries and steamed buns by themselves, and then post couplets, New Year pictures, and window grilles.
On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, paper or ghost coins need to be burned to the ancestors, and then firecrackers are set off to tell the ancestors that the new year has begun, and the ghost coins are burned and delivered to the ancestors.
New Year's Eve is called New Year's Eve. On this day, everyone has a reunion dinner, which is when family members gather together to eat. After the meal, everyone sets off firecrackers together. There is a Chinese custom of setting off firecrackers to drive away the Nian beast, which is a Chinese mythology. It is an evil beast in the world. On the 30th day, we set off firecrackers to drive it away and keep it away from us. After setting off the firecrackers, there will be a vigil. Everyone will gather together to chat, watch TV or do entertainment activities until the New Year's bell rings, and everyone will welcome the arrival of the New Year together.
The first day of the first lunar month is also the first day of the New Year. The first thing you do when you get up on this day is to set off firecrackers. Everyone will welcome the New Year with the joyful sound of firecrackers. Then it is time to pay New Year greetings. The younger generations of the family will go to the elders’ homes to pay New Year greetings. For example, you will go to the homes of uncles, uncles, and grandmothers, and then the elders will give red envelopes to the younger generations to express their blessings.
On the second day of the first lunar month, she will return to her natal home to pay New Year greetings. On this day, a married girl will take her husband back to her natal home to pay New Year greetings. From this day on, everyone will visit every home and bring the gifts they have prepared. Relatives and friends, of course, all relatives and friends will also pay a return visit with gifts. This behavior lasted until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is called the Lantern Festival, the last festival of the New Year. This day is the first full moon night of the New Year, so it is also called the Reunion Festival. On this day, people will enjoy lanterns, guess lantern riddles, set off fireworks, and eat Lantern Festival. Come celebrate the end of the New Year.
The above is just a brief introduction to Chinese New Year customs. In fact, there are more activities. If you have the opportunity in the future, you can come to China to experience the Chinese New Year in person.
All the above pictures come from: https://image.baidu.com/
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Thank you Liu for this introduction, I never knew that there was a great celebration but was not aware that there are so much meaning.
I think some of them like Kitchen God Festival if very good for people to clean their kitchen and prepare for the fest. I know myself often we do not have enough time for that but knowing about that tradition people follow it.
Lantern day is beautiful, I can imagine that some people still prepare them. I also heard about burning paper money tradition, I think it was already shown few time in movies.
I also like the tradition when the families come together and children visit their parents, that is the best and at least having this tradition kids visit their parents at least once a year if they are living far away.
Thank you for taking time and explaining the Celebration of New Year!
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Yes, there are many families in China who work outside the home and usually only get together during the Chinese New Year. Therefore, the Chinese New Year is a very grand festival.
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