What are the customs of the Spring Festival? Let’s see how Xiamen people celebrate the Spring Festival?

What are the customs of the Spring Festival? Let’s see how Xiamen people celebrate the Spring Festival?
Introduction: Xiamen is a beautiful coastal city and one of the more popular tourist cities in China. Due to its unique geographical and climatic conditions, while the New Year in the north is a time of heavy snow and wind, the city of Xiamen is already as warm as spring. Want to know how Xiamen people celebrate the Spring Festival? Let’s find out together! The festive culture of the Chinese New Year is rich and colorful, and extraordinary. If you want to know more related content, just search in the Spring Festival special topic carefully compiled by Mr. Shui Mo!
Xiamen Spring Festival customs: Sixteenth day of the lunar year "end-of-the-year" to honor the land
Normally, many people in Fujian and Taiwan will offer sacrifices to the God of Land on the second and sixteenth day of each lunar month. Businessmen and farmers in particular pay more attention to this, commonly known as "Zuoya". Because December 16th is the last "Zuoya" of the year, it is called "Wei Ya" and is the most grand of the year. On this day, many businesses will hold activities such as dinners, parties, and employee rewards. Tudigong, also known as Land and Land Lord, respectfully called "Fude Zhengshen", is the folk god with the most temples, the widest belief and the greatest influence in Fujian and Taiwan.
Xiamen Spring Festival customs: "Sending off the gods" and cleaning the house on the 24th day of the lunar calendar
The Chinese New Year is approaching, and it is time for every household in Xiamen to do a thorough cleaning. According to the old customs of Xiamen, only after sending away the "Kitchen God" and other gods worshipped at home on the 24th day of the 12th lunar month can people clean the house without any taboos, thus forming the customs of "sending off gods" and "cleaning dust". In the past, people were superstitious and believed that gods were omnipresent and might be attached to some objects. If you act rashly, you might anger the gods. Moreover, waving a broom to drive away evil spirits up, down, left, and right at the "god", wouldn't that be extremely disrespectful to the gods? Therefore, only when the gods leave home and go to heaven can we take the opportunity to clean up the sanitary blind spots. The gods sent away on December 24th are mainly household gods headed by "Kitchen God". According to the newly compiled "Tong'an County Chronicles", it is said that Kitchen God is the son-in-law of the Jade Emperor and the head of the five family gods: Kitchen God, Door God, Well God, Toilet God and Thunder God. On the 24th day, he will lead the household gods to heaven to report the good and evil deeds of each family in the past year in order to determine the rewards and punishments in the mortal world. Therefore, as soon as it is past midnight on the 23rd night, every household will offer sacrifices to the Kitchen God with three kinds of animals, glutinous rice balls, maltose, rice cakes, and sweet (rice crackers). The offerings are deliberately made sweet and sticky, in the hope of covering the Kitchen God's mouth, making him sweet-mouthed and heart sweet, and ensuring "good things from heaven and peace in the world below." It is said that northerners are even funnier, and they simply cover the Kitchen God's mouth with sugar without any hesitation. If the Kitchen God really knew about this mockery, he would be very angry to death! Xiamen people are honest and kind, but they would never dare to be disrespectful to the gods in this way. Instead, they offer sacrifices of abundant fish and meat to the gods sincerely, hoping that the gods can conceal their faults and promote their virtues, and say a few good words for them.
Xiamen Spring Festival customs: Pasting Spring Festival couplets around the fire on the 29th day of the twentieth month
On the 29th day, we worship our ancestors, put up Spring Festival couplets, eat New Year's Eve dinner around the stove and stay up all night. Spring Festival couplets are written on red paper, while families of newly deceased people use green couplets to express their grief. That night, we first worship our ancestors and then eat the New Year’s Eve dinner around the stove. As the saying goes, on the 29th night, even a dog must have a piece of meat. Therefore, chicken, duck, fish and meat are indispensable, at least there must be a piece of meat. After eating, the rice should be saved overnight so that "spring flowers" can be inserted and the altar can be set up for "spring rice" the next day (the first day of the first lunar month). In the Minnan dialect, "spring" and "leftover" have the same pronunciation, which means surplus every year. The next step is to stay up all night and give red envelopes to the children. As soon as it’s past midnight, superstitious people will be the first to offer their respects to the God of Heaven. Young people and children cheered the arrival of the New Year and welcomed the new beginning. In the old days, when people in southern Fujian posted the character "Fu" on their doors, they were very particular about pasting it in the center; it was taboo to paste it crookedly, as it was considered unlucky. In recent years, influenced by the north, the character "Fu" has also been pasted upside down. Firstly, "Fu" upside down means "Fu" has arrived; secondly, it is believed that if the feet of "Fu" are facing upwards, "good fortune" will not run away.
Xiamen Spring Festival customs: busy welcoming and seeing off guests in the first month of the year
A Xiamen proverb says: "On the first day of the first lunar month, people celebrate the new year, meet friends and visit relatives; on the second day, people invite their son-in-law; on the third day, people refuse to have guests because it is taboo; on the fifth day, people celebrate the New Year; on the sixth day, people fatten up"; this is about the Xiamen folk custom of arranging activities from the first to the sixth day of the first lunar month. The so-called "visiting relatives" means that relatives and friends visit each other to wish each other a happy New Year. The second day of the Lunar New Year is the day for sons-in-law to visit their father-in-law's house to pay New Year's greetings. Daughters will take their children and husbands back to their parents' home on this day to pay New Year's greetings to their elders, give gifts, and have a happy reunion dinner. As for the "taboo" on the third day of the New Year in the proverb, there are several explanations: one is that Japanese pirates invaded the city during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty (another saying is that the Qing army massacred the city), and the ancient city of Tongan was attacked by Japanese pirates before New Year's Eve. The brave soldiers and civilians of Tongan fought back, but they were still massacred and looted by the vicious Japanese pirates. The Japanese pirates did not retreat until the second day of the New Year. On the third day of the first lunar month, people all over the city were busy collecting corpses and burying their deceased relatives, so the city was filled with sorrow. From then on, on the third day of the first lunar month every year, most families were busy celebrating the death anniversaries of their deceased relatives. Therefore, it was naturally unlucky and taboo for the people in ancient Tong'an (now Xiamen area) to visit their relatives on the third day. Another theory is that according to the customs in Xiamen, a memorial ceremony must be held on the third day of the first lunar month for relatives who have died within the first year. Therefore, some superstitious elderly people do not like to have relatives and friends come to pay New Year's greetings on that day, for fear that it will be seen as "commemorating the deceased". They believe that coming to pay New Year's greetings on the third day is "cursing him to death", hence the saying "no guests will come if it is taboo". In fact, in recent years, few people have paid attention to this "taboo". "Celebrate the New Year on the fifth day and fatten the women on the sixth day" means that in the agricultural society, the "festival" is over on the fifth day, and "celebrating the New Year" means that women start to use machines to spin and weave cloth. Men also need to save fertilizer in preparation for spring plowing.
Xiamen Spring Festival customs: viewing lanterns during the Lantern Festival
Although ancient Xiamen is located at the "end of the world", it is known as the "Zou Lu by the Sea". Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, various communities have held rich and colorful folk activities during the Lantern Festival. According to the "Tongan County Annals", the Lantern Festival is very lively in the city and the countryside. Folk artists dress up as characters, gods, and monsters from ancient legends to form a grand singing and dancing array, or perform in the city streets, rural fields, or door to door, which is called "Noisy Lantern Festival". The folk song "The Mid-Autumn Festival on the 15th of the First Month" sings: "... greet the dark lanterns, watch Aoshan Mountain, play and sing southern tunes by oneself. Play the dragon role of Song Jiang, the chegugong and chegudan, the singing array, connected to each other, the centipede seat, the return drag, the array is really beautiful..." The art forms in the folk song "greeting the dark lanterns, playing Song Jiang, chegugong, centipede pavilion" have been lost, but other items can still be seen in the current art parade teams. "Tao Song Jiang" is also known as the Song Jiang Formation, in which people who practice martial arts play the role of Liangshan heroes and parade through the streets and visit communities, performing wherever they go, including singles, doubles, and group fights, using all kinds of martial arts. "Chegu Nong" is also known as "Chegu Dance". It is said to have originated from a couple who sold tofu in Xinwei, Tongan. The couple often worked until the middle of the night grinding tofu, and when they felt sleepy, they would sing folk songs to each other to amuse themselves. One night, a folk artist happened to be staying in front of the store. He heard the two people singing and was very interested. He wrote down the songs and organized them into a fixed performance program. The play consists of a man and a woman playing the roles of a clown and a woman, known as "Chegugong and Chegupo". The man and the woman carry a colorful bamboo basket symbolizing a millstone, and sing in duet while holding props such as a pipe and a cattail leaf fan. The lyrics are popular and humorous. "Centipede Pavilion" (also known as "Centipede Seat") originated from mythological stories. The legend goes that when a village was building a temple for the king, it alarmed a centipede demon, which started causing trouble and prevented the temple from being built. In a rage, the "Prince" subdued the centipede and made it his own general. Later, the centipede spirit cultivated and became the "Centipede True Man". People built the Centipede Pavilion with the intention of "expelling evil spirits". The pavilion is made of several wooden frames connected into a long rotatable formation. The front and back of the formation are decorated to look like the head and tail of a centipede. On the frames sit people dressed as famous children in ancient stories, who are carried around by strong men and accompanied by gongs and drums. It is quite spectacular.
Xiamen Spring Festival Customs: Year-end Party
Normally, many people in Fujian and Taiwan will offer sacrifices to the God of Land on the second and sixteenth day of each lunar month. Businessmen and farmers in particular pay more attention to this, commonly known as "Zuoya". Because December 16th is the last "Zuoya" of the year, it is called "Wei Ya" and is the most grand day of the year. On this day, many businesses will hold activities such as dinners, parties, and employee rewards.
Xiamen Spring Festival Customs: New Year's Eve
Spring Festival couplets are written on red paper, while families of newly deceased people use green couplets to express their grief. That night, we first worship our ancestors and then eat the New Year’s Eve dinner around the stove. As the saying goes, on the 29th night, even a dog must have a piece of meat. Therefore, chicken, duck, fish and meat are indispensable, at least there must be a piece of meat. After eating, the rice should be saved overnight so that "spring flowers" can be inserted and the altar can be set up for "spring rice" the next day (the first day of the first lunar month). In the Minnan dialect, "spring" and "leftover" have the same pronunciation, which means surplus every year. The next step is to stay up all night and give red envelopes to the children. As soon as it’s past midnight, superstitious people will be the first to offer their respects to the God of Heaven. Young people and children cheered the arrival of the New Year and welcomed the new beginning. In the old days, when people in southern Fujian posted the character "Fu" on their doors, they were very particular about pasting it in the center; it was taboo to paste it crookedly, as it was considered unlucky. In recent years, influenced by the north, the character "Fu" has also been pasted upside down. Firstly, "Fu" upside down means "Fu" has arrived; secondly, it is believed that if the feet of "Fu" are facing upwards, "good fortune" will not run away.
Xiamen Spring Festival Customs: New Year's Greetings
The so-called "visiting relatives" means that relatives and friends visit each other to wish each other a happy New Year. The second day of the Lunar New Year is the day for sons-in-law to visit their father-in-law's house to pay New Year's greetings. Daughters will take their children and husbands back to their parents' home on this day to pay New Year's greetings to their elders, give gifts, and have a happy reunion dinner. As for the "taboo" on the third day of the New Year in the proverb, there are several explanations: one is that Japanese pirates invaded the city during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty (another saying is that the Qing army massacred the city), and the ancient city of Tongan was attacked by Japanese pirates before New Year's Eve. The brave soldiers and civilians of Tongan fought back, but they were still massacred and looted by the vicious Japanese pirates. The Japanese pirates did not retreat until the second day of the New Year. On the third day of the first lunar month, people all over the city were busy collecting corpses and burying their deceased relatives, so the city was filled with sorrow. From then on, on the third day of the first lunar month every year, most families were busy celebrating the death anniversaries of their deceased relatives. Therefore, it was naturally unlucky and taboo for the people in ancient Tong'an (now Xiamen area) to visit their relatives on the third day. Another theory is that according to the customs in Xiamen, a memorial ceremony must be held on the third day of the first lunar month for relatives who have died within the first year. Therefore, some superstitious elderly people do not like to have relatives and friends come to pay New Year's greetings on that day, for fear that it will be seen as "commemorating the deceased". They believe that coming to pay New Year's greetings on the third day is "cursing him to death", hence the saying "no guests will come if it is taboo". In fact, in recent years, few people have paid attention to this "taboo".
Overview of Xiamen Spring Festival Customs
On the first day of the first lunar month, the doors are opened at dawn and incense is lit, which is called "Kai Zheng". People get up early in the morning to worship their ancestors. On this day, manure is not allowed to be dumped outdoors. The third day of the first lunar month is the day for the bereaved family to burn the new bed. Do not visit friends' homes whose homes you have not visited on the first or second day of the Lunar New Year. Visiting would be disrespectful. There is a proverb that goes, "Get up early on the first day, get up early on the second day, and get up late on the third day," which means that if there are no guests on the third day, it's okay to get up late. So how did this custom come about? According to legend, during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, Japanese pirates occupied Wuyu, an island outside Xiamen. On New Year's Eve one year, officers and soldiers were busy celebrating the New Year and neglected to guard the city. A large group of Japanese pirates took the opportunity to attack the city. The army and civilians rose up to resist the enemy. After two days and three nights of fierce fighting, the Japanese pirates were defeated, but the army and civilians in the city suffered heavy casualties. On the third day, people buried their relatives and friends, mourned the dead, and cried loudly. They had no time to visit other families to wish them a happy new year. On the third day of the second year, Xiamen residents regarded this day as their death anniversary, and over time it became a custom. On the fourth day of the first lunar month, Buddhists must burn paper and horses to welcome the gods, in order to prepare for the farewell of the gods on the twenty-fourth day of December. The ninth day of the first lunar month is the birthday of the Jade Emperor, and people set up incense tables to worship the gods. However, the bereaved family must suspend sacrifices for two years. The tenth day of the first lunar month is the birthday of the earth. No wood was cut or earth was dug on that day. And offer sacrifices with ordinary items. On the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, it is the birthday of Guandi, and all businesses offer sacrifices to him. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival or the Lantern Festival is the birthday of the Three Emperors and people celebrate with lanterns.
Summary: After reading the above article, we know that Xiamen people have many customs for celebrating the Spring Festival, which have unique characteristics of the southern Fujian region. If you are interested in the customs of celebrating the Spring Festival in Xiamen, you might as well travel to Xiamen during the Spring Festival to experience it!

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