How to celebrate the Spring Festival in Chaonan, the customs of the Chaoshan Spring Festival

Overseas Chinese welcome the Spring Festival.

Chinese New Year's Eve is getting closer and closer. Whether in China or abroad, Chinese people are looking forward to the arrival of Chinese New Year's Eve, because this is a new beginning. Audience members in China are sitting around with their families, waiting for the annual Spring Festival Gala.

So how do we overseas Chinese spend this biggest traditional Chinese festival? Today, "Chinese for a Time" specially invited two friends from Ohio State University to be our special correspondents, taking us to see how the Chinese in their eyes celebrate the New Year.

The streets of Dun Chinatown were filled with red lanterns, and the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, came to London Chinatown to experience the atmosphere of the Chinese New Year with a leaflet printed with the Chinese word "Fu". Under the leadership of his entourage, he shook hands with the owners of large and small shops one by one, and cordially asked them about their lives and festivals. In front of the Chinese New Year shop, he picked up a string of bright red lanterns and asked with great interest about its meaning.

In the midst of the crowd, Boris Johnson handed out leaflets with the Chinese word "Fu" to every passer-by. And have a nice conversation with everyone.

While the Chinese in the UK are celebrating the Chinese New Year, people in other Asian countries are also saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new year in various lively ways. In Asia, eight countries have made Chinese New Year an official holiday. For Singapore, which accounts for about 80% of the Chinese population, Chinese New Year is one of the most solemn and festive festivals.

Starting in January, a series of spectacular celebrations are taking place in some of Singapore's most famous tourist districts.

When you come to Singapore, you can't help but experience the unique custom of Singaporean Chinese during the Chinese New Year - fishing for yusheng. "Lo Yu Sheng" is made of fresh raw fish meat cut into slices, accompanied by shredded melons, shredded fruits and various vegetables, everyone sits together, while using chopsticks to pick up all kinds of delicious food, while using Cantonese words to "scoop up!" Scoop up!

With the homonym of "fishing for joy", I wish the career to be prosperous in the coming year, and to get thriving. Singaporeans also have a very flattering way of greeting the New Year, and people will prepare two citrus fruits as a gift when they come to pay their respects, which represents good luck.

Recently, Malaysia released a Chinese-language Chinese New Year film "Big Day", which vividly describes the Chinese culture in Malaysia, and the characters in the play all speak Cantonese or Mandarin with a strong Malay accent.

From the celebrations in various places, we can feel that although we are abroad, the Spring Festival of overseas Chinese is not ambiguous at all. The New Year is coming soon, and "Chinese for a Time" once again wishes the Chinese around the world a happy New Year and all their wishes come true. Good luck.

The customs of the Chaoshan Spring Festival are: sticking to the door god, Spring Festival couplets, eating group dinner, welcoming the god of wealth, putting whips and servants, sending New Year's money, and greeting the New Year.

1. Stick to the door god and spring couplets.

In the Spring Festival couplets of Chaoshan, it is often seen that the word "spring" of Douda is pasted on a single door or on the Gu Yun and Fu Niche. The word "spring" has two meanings here: one means that spring returns to the earth and everything is renewed; The first layer cleverly borrows the harmony of "spring" and "storage" tide sounds, indicating the good wishes of having more than one year at a time.

This is similar to the northerners who like to eat fish at feasts, and the homonym "Yu" has a different twist and service.

2. Eat a reunion dinner.

During the Chinese Spring Festival, "eating" often becomes the main activity of most people during the festival, and the family sits around the steaming table, which is full of festive and lively energy, which can be regarded as one of the biggest characteristics of the Chinese folk New Year. The phrase "people take food as the sky" seems to be more reasonable in the traditional festival of the Spring Festival.

3. Welcome the God of Wealth and be full.

It is said that on the 24th day of the lunar month, the gods went to heaven, and all the gods and immortals in the world went to heaven to "report work". However, people prefer to believe that the God of Wealth still does not forget to benefit the world and will send wealth to the world when the New Year is approaching, so every family should worship at this time.

So, the midnight bell rang, the firecrackers were noisy, the smoke curled, as if it was a cloud of auspicious clouds, and then there was the shout of "God of Wealth", which added a lot of excitement to this midnight.

However, with the gradual fading of backward consciousness, the custom of Chaoshan people to set off firecrackers has rarely included the element of exorcism, but only to add a joyful atmosphere to the festival. With the advent of modern civilization, many large, medium and small cities have begun to ban firecrackers on festivals.

4. Send New Year's money.

Sending New Year's money is an important part of the Chaoshan Spring Festival customs, the elders should share the money to the juniors, and the juniors who can earn money should also send money to the elders. The money should not be sent in a stunned manner, but should be carefully packed in a Lishi bag, or wrapped in a piece of red paper.

This is commonly known as "belly press", which means that from the beginning to the end of the year, the waist bag will be full of solid and wealthy. What is particularly interesting is that before the child goes to bed, the parents will put a large banknote in the child's belly pocket and retrieve it when he wakes up.

5. New Year's greetings, send "good luck".

New Year's greetings, also known as "worship". Early in the morning of the first day of the new year, after people get up and put on their new clothes, the first thing is to worship at home, often the juniors bless the elders first, and then the elders give the juniors Xiaoxiao's expectations. After breakfast, they greeted their relatives and friends.

A Chaoshan proverb says: "Have a heart to worship the beginning of the year."

One, two, no intention to pay tribute to the new year.

Three, four. "It is said that the sooner the New Year's greetings, the more sincere they will see. Therefore, some people go to their relatives and friends immediately after getting up, and only eat Yuqi rice after they come back.

Eat a reunion dinner. After the houses of the families in Chaozhou City are dressed up in a new look, the housewives are busy preparing for the most sumptuous and meaningful reunion dinner of the year.

Send New Year's money. Giving money is an important part of the Teochew Spring Festival custom, which is carefully packed in a red envelope or wrapped in a piece of red paper. It means that from the beginning to the end of the year, the waist bag will be full of solid and wealthy.

New Year's greetings. After people get up and put on new clothes, the first thing they do is to worship each other, often the juniors bless the elders first, and then the elders give the juniors Xiaoxiao's expectations.

Chunsheng. During the Spring Festival, another characteristic folk activity in Chaozhou is the "Chunsheng" (spring, a bamboo basket with a lid divided into three or four layers, usually used in pairs, so it is also called "Danchunsheng").

Steamed rice cakes. After the twenty-fourth day of the lunar month, every household wants to steam rice cakes, mainly for the sake of worship, these two days the family of all ages and children get together to make rice cakes, Chaoshan area is called "kueh" this day is also the happiest day for children.