What are the customs and traditions of the Spring Festival Eve? What should people do on the Spring Festival Eve?
(1) Go home before midnightAfter a joyful dinner, the family will gather in front of the TV to watch the Spring Festival Gala or visit relatives and friends, but they must return home before midnight. At exactly midnight, the whole family must stay at home to "keep vigil," and when the clock strikes twelve, people will set off the prepared firecrackers to celebrate the arrival of the new year.
(2) Set off firecrackers
In Chinese folklore, there is a saying called "opening the door with firecrackers." That is, when the new year arrives, every household opens the door first by setting off firecrackers, using the sound of the firecrackers to drive away the old and welcome the new. This custom dates back a long time and has been practiced for more than two thousand years. Setting off firecrackers creates a festive atmosphere and is an entertainment activity during the festival, bringing joy and good luck to people.
(3) Paste New Year paintings
New Year paintings, like couplets, originated from the "door gods." With the rise of woodblock printing, the content of New Year paintings has expanded beyond just door gods, gradually bringing the god of wealth into the home. In some New Year painting workshops, colorful New Year paintings such as "Three Stars of Blessing, Wealth and Longevity," "Heavenly Officials Bestowing Blessings," "Abundant Crops," "Prosperous Livestock," and "Welcoming Spring and Receiving Blessings" have emerged to meet people's wishes for a happy and prosperous year.
(4) Paste paper cuttings (window decorations)
In the folk tradition, people also like to paste various paper cuttings on windows — window decorations. These not only create a festive atmosphere but also combine decoration, aesthetics, and practicality. Paper cutting is a popular folk art in China, loved by people for thousands of years. Because it is usually pasted on windows, it is also known as "window decorations." With its unique expressive and exaggerated techniques, paper cutting vividly portrays auspicious things and good wishes, making the festival more vibrant and prosperous.
(5) Paste the character "Fu"
Pasting the character "Fu" (meaning happiness) during the Spring Festival is a traditional custom in China. It expresses people's desire for a happy life and their wish for a better future. There is no unified standard on how to paste the "Fu" character.
(6) Keep the lights on all night
On the night of the Spring Festival Eve, you cannot turn off the lights; you can only turn them off on the morning of the first day of the New Year. Throughout the night, the lights in the house are usually left on, especially in rooms where ancestors are worshipped, which must not be turned off.
There is a custom of avoiding breaking objects on the Spring Festival Eve. Folk belief holds that if a bowl, plate, or cup is broken on this day, it means "broken luck" in the coming year. Sometimes, if someone accidentally breaks a cup or plate, elders will quickly wrap the fragments in red paper and recite lucky words like "sui sui (shu shu) ping an" (peace and safety). Folk belief holds that placing the wrapped fragments on the altar for several days can ward off possible disasters. Therefore, on the Spring Festival Eve, people are careful with their words and actions to seek a lucky and auspicious year.
(8) Keep vigil
Keeping vigil on the Spring Festival Eve is a long-standing tradition. The "Fengtu Ji" (Customs and Traditions) from the Western Jin Dynasty clearly records: "Stay awake all night to await dawn, known as keeping vigil." According to legend, keeping vigil was to prevent a unicorn from causing harm, and since this unicorn fears firelight, red color, and noise, people wear red clothes, light red lamps, paste red paper, set off fireworks and firecrackers, and burn incense in prayer, staying up all night, thus forming the custom of "keeping vigil." The "Di Jing Sui Shi Ji Sheng" (Records of the Seasons in the Capital) mentions: "Burn silver candles high, drink pine wine, sit until dawn, known as keeping vigil, to predict longevity."
(9) Do not draw water
There is a taboo of "not drawing water" during the Spring Festival. Families with wells should "seal the well" before dusk on the last day of the lunar year, covering the well with a wooden lid, offering cakes and pastries, and burning incense to worship, then opening it three days later.
(10) Ancestral worship
Ancestral worship is the most important event on the Spring Festival Eve. In many places in China, people set up a rich meal at home, light incense and candles, and the family head leads the descendants in bowing. In some rural areas in the north, paper money is burned at home. On the evening of the Spring Festival Eve, incense and candles are lit in front of the ancestor's portrait, wine is poured, and dishes are placed on the table. The whole family holds a solemn ancestral ceremony to express feelings of "respecting the deceased and remembering the past." Only after the ancestors have finished their feast can people start eating.
(11) Red envelope (lucky money)
Ancient people paid great attention to red envelopes (lucky money). The copper coins used must be large and new, and then strung into various shapes with red ropes. Some are strung with a hundred copper coins, symbolizing "long life and good fortune"; others are made into shapes like carp,如意 (good luck), and dragons, representing "money dragon" and "abundance of money," hoping for good luck and prosperity. In addition to the red envelope given by elders to children, some regions also have the custom of giving "lucky fruits." On the night of the Spring Festival Eve, elders place oranges, lychees, and other fruits next to the children's pillows, symbolizing "luck" to wish them good fortune in the coming year. With the development of the times, the modern "red envelope" is more direct and pure, generally consisting of a beautiful red envelope containing red banknotes, given to children to bring good luck and prosperity.
(12) Reunion dinner
The reunion dinner on the night of the Spring Festival Eve is also known as the "reunion dinner." According to the "Jingchu Suiyiji" (Customs and Traditions of Jingchu) by Zong Lin, there has been a tradition of having a reunion dinner at least since the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Since it is winter, northern people often set up hot pot in the middle of the table, hence it is also called "gathering around the stove."
The dishes in the northern family's Spring Festival Eve dinner usually include dumplings, fish, rice cake, and long-life vegetables. Dumplings resemble gold ingots, symbolizing wealth; the fish dish is not eaten entirely because in Chinese, "fish" and "surplus" sound the same, symbolizing "surplus every year"; rice cake represents "rising year by year"; and eating long-life vegetables symbolizes longevity. In South China, there are chicken, braised pork, hair vegetable, and dried abalone, because "hair vegetable and dried abalone" sounds similar to "prosperity and good business." In the Jiangnan region, fish is a must-have dish, along with a rich soup pot.
According to traditional customs, the seating arrangement on the Spring Festival Eve is "left is superior, east is respected," and "facing the door is the most honorable position." The first seat is reserved for the eldest family member, while the last seat is for the lowest-ranking person. If hosting guests, the first seat is for the most honored guest, and the host sits at the last seat. No one can sit down until the first guest is seated, and no one can start eating until the first guest does.
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