The Origins And Customs of New Year's Day
The origin of Chinese New Year’s Day:
New Year's Day Legend has it that more than 4,000 years ago during the ancient times of Yao and Shun, Emperor Yao worked diligently on the people and did many good things for the people. He was very loved by the people. However, because his son was incompetent and incompetent, he did not " The throne of "Emperor" was passed to his son, but to Shun, who had both moral character and ability. Yao said to Shun: "You must pass on the throne well from now on, so that you can rest in peace after my death." Later, Shun passed the throne to Yu, who had done great work in controlling floods. Yu also loved the people and did things for the people just like Shun. He has done many good deeds and is very loved by others. Later, people regarded the day when Emperor Shun offered sacrifices to heaven and earth and the late Emperor Yao as the beginning of the year after Yao's death, and the first day of the first lunar month was called "New Year's Day" or "Yuanzheng". This was the ancient New Year's Day. During the Republic of China, when Sun Yat-sen took office as the interim president in Nanjing in early January 1912, it was "the time for farmers" and "the time for statistics". The first day of the first lunar month was designated as the Spring Festival, and January 1 of the Gregorian calendar was changed to be the first day of the year and the "New Year". However, it was still Called "New Year's Day". It was not until after liberation that the Central People's Government promulgated the "National Holidays and Anniversary Holidays Measures", designated January 1st of the Gregorian calendar as New Year's Day, and decided to have a one-day holiday nationwide. At the same time, in order to distinguish the two new years of the lunar calendar and the Gregorian calendar, and because the "beginning of spring" among the 24 solar terms of the lunar calendar happens to be around the lunar new year, the first day of the first lunar month is called the "Spring Festival".
Customs of New Year's Day Since New Year's Day was born during the Republic of China and evolved from the Spring Festival, when China first started to celebrate New Year's Day, the customs and habits of the celebration were of course similar to the Spring Festival, or a reduction of the Spring Festival. Version. After all, New Year's Day is not a traditional festival in our country. Although some traditional celebration methods are used: setting off firecrackers, killing three people, worshiping ghosts and gods, paying homage to ancestors, etc., people do not see how important it is in people's minds. status. In modern times, New Year's Day celebration customs are even simpler. A common Chinese New Year's Day custom is to post "Happy New Year's Day". In fact, the customs of New Year's Day are similar to those of Spring Festival, except that we pay more attention to the Lunar New Year, which makes the Gregorian New Year, which is New Year's Day, a bit dull.
New Year's Day legend:
"New Year's Day" first came from the West. Around 50,000 BC, the ancient Egyptians changed from nomadic herding to farming and settled on both sides of the Nile River. Their agricultural harvests were closely related to whether the Nile River flooded. The ancient Egyptians discovered from long-term observations that the Nile River flooded at regular intervals. They recorded the time on bamboo poles each time, and learned that the interval between two flooding times was approximately 365 days, which is one year. . At the same time, the ancient Egyptians also discovered that when the first rising tide of the Nile River reached today's Cairo city, it happened to be the time when the sun and Sirius rose from the horizon at the same time. Therefore, the ancient Egyptians designated this day as the beginning of the year. This is the earliest origin of New Year's Day.
According to legend, China's New Year's Day originated from Zhuan Xu, one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, and has a history of more than 3,000 years. The word "New Year's Day" first appeared in the "Book of Jin": "Emperor Zhuan took the first month of Mengxia as the Yuan Dynasty, which is actually the spring of New Year's Day in Zhengshuo".
China was the first to call the first day of the first lunar month "New Year's Day". Yuan means "beginning" and "beginning", and dan refers to "days". New Year's Day collectively refers to the "initial days", which is the first day of the year. The lunar calendar of the Xia Dynasty took Meng Xi month (Yuan month) as the first month, the Yin calendar of the Shang dynasty took the twelfth month (December) as the first month, and the Zhou calendar of the Zhou dynasty took the winter month (November) as the first month. After Qin Shihuang unified China, he took Yangchun month (October) as the first month, that is, the first day of October as New Year's Day. Starting from Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Meng Xiyue (January) was designated as the first month, and the first day of Meng Xiyue (the first day of the first lunar month in the lunar calendar) was called New Year's Day, which was still used until the end of the Qing Dynasty. But this is the lunar calendar, that is, the lunar calendar or the lunar calendar, and it is not what we call New Year's Day today.
New Year’s Day customs in various countries:
The new year always brings good blessings to people. In this day of getting rid of the old and welcoming the new, people from all over the world welcome the new year in their own ingenious and unique ways.
China: New Year's Day is the beginning of celebrating the New Year. Celebrating New Year's Day can be said to be a New Year's Day custom in various countries and regions around the world. In our country, New Year's Day is also included as a legal holiday. Our country and most countries and regions in the world adopt the Gregorian calendar and designate January 1 as the beginning of the new year, called "New Year's Day". In our country, New Year's Day is not as important as New Year's Day, so the general Chinese New Year's Day custom is to post "Happy New Year's Day". Since New Year's Day was born during the Republic of China and evolved from the Spring Festival, when China first started celebrating New Year's Day, the customs and habits of celebrating it were of course similar to the Spring Festival, or a smaller version of the Spring Festival. After all, New Year's Day is not a traditional festival in our country. Although some traditional celebration methods are used: setting off firecrackers, killing three people, worshiping ghosts and gods, paying homage to ancestors, etc., people do not see how important it is in people's minds. status. In modern times, New Year's Day celebration customs are even simpler.
Ways to celebrate New Year's Day: As everyone in China and even the world knows, many countries regard New Year's Day as a holiday and have a holiday on New Year's Day. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, New Year's Day was also designated as a statutory holiday.
The second way to celebrate New Year’s Day: Nowadays, the more common ones are activities organized by groups, such as New Year’s parties, hanging slogans celebrating New Year’s Day, or holding group activities, etc. In the past, there were organizations that played gongs and drums and performed folk dances collectively. Nowadays, You can still see it in TV documentaries. With the development of science and technology today, it has evolved into a gala or something. In recent years, there have been more tours, parties and other programs. Anyway, there are not many traditions on New Year's Day. It is a holiday on this day and people can use it as much as they want. Even New Year's Day only means a day off for the younger generation.
The third way to celebrate New Year's Day: The traditional Chinese way of celebrating is among the people, especially in rural areas. Every New Year's Day, every household will set off firecrackers, kill chickens and geese, and worship the gods of various places before the family reunites for a meal. As for a more serious way of celebrating, I haven’t seen it yet.
UK: On the day before New Year's Day, every household must have wine in the bottle and meat in the cupboard. The British believe that if there is no food and wine left, they will be poor in the coming year. In addition, there is also a popular custom in the UK of "drawing water from the well" during the New Year. People strive to be the first to draw water. They believe that the first person to draw water is a happy person and the water drawn is auspicious water. British people often bring cakes and wine to visit late at night on New Year's Eve. They go straight into the homes of relatives and friends without knocking on the door. According to British custom, the person who takes the first step into the house after a thousand nights on New Year's Eve heralds luck in the new year. If the first guest is a dark-haired man, or a happy, happy and wealthy person, the host will have good luck throughout the year. If the first guest is a woman with fair hair, or a sad, poor, or unfortunate person, the host will have bad luck and encounter difficulties and disasters in the new year. People who are guests at the homes of relatives and friends on New Year's Eve should first stir the fire in the fireplace and wish the host "good luck" before talking to each other. In some areas of central England, when going out on New Year's morning, whether they are familiar with each other or strangers, they will give each other copper coins. They believe that doing so will not only bring wealth to the other person in the year, but also bring luck to themselves.
India: New Year's Day in India is known as "New Year's Day of crying" and "New Year's Day of fasting". On the first day of the new year, no one is allowed to be angry with others, let alone lose their temper. In some places, instead of celebrating the New Year, people hug each other and cry. They believe that at the beginning of New Year's Day, time flies by - life is short, and they express their sighs by crying. People in some areas welcome the new year by fasting for a day and night, starting from the early morning of New Year's Day until midnight.
Mongolia: When the new year comes, Mongolian old men will dress up like shepherds, wearing a plush leather coat and a fur hat. They will hold a whip in their hands and keep cracking the whip in the air. To express blessings to ward off evil spirits.
Brazil: Brazilians hold torches high and flock to climb mountains on New Year's Day. People are rushing to find the golden birch fruit that symbolizes happiness. Only those who are not afraid of hardships can find this rare fruit. They call it "seeking blessings." There is a unique custom in rural Brazil - tugging each other's ears. When people meet on New Year's Day, they must tug each other's ears hard to express their blessings.
Pakistan: On New Year's Day, people in Pakistan run out with red powder in their hands. When they meet relatives and friends, say good luck, they apply red powder on each other's foreheads to celebrate the good luck in the new year.
Afghanistan: Residents in northern Afghanistan hold fierce goat-robbing competitions every New Year's Day to celebrate. Two teams of riders compete for prey. The competition is both intense and festive.
Argentina: Argentines consider water to be the most holy. Every New Year's Day, families of all ages gather in groups to take a "New Year bath" in the river to wash away all the filth on their bodies.
Mexico: In some areas of Mexico, people are forbidden to laugh when the New Year comes. Their year is divided into 18 months, with 20 days in each month. Laughing is not allowed in the last 5 days of the year.
Bulgaria: During the New Year's Day meal, whoever sneezes will definitely bring happiness to the whole family. The head of the family promises him the first sheep, cow or foal in the hope that he will bring happiness to the whole family.
Paraguay: The Paraguayans designate the last five days of the year as "cold food days". During these five days, no one from the head of state to ordinary people can use fireworks and can only eat cold food. It is not until New Year's Day that they can light a fire to cook and celebrate the festival.
Scotland: On New Year's Eve, the Scots will leave some money in front of every house, unattended. Thieves and beggars will not do anything if they see it on this night. Because of the local custom, on New Year's Eve, money is first placed outside the door. When the New Year comes the next day, when you open the door early in the morning, you will see money at the door, which means "getting rich at first sight".
Spain: In Spain, on the eve of the Yuan Dynasty, all family members gather together to celebrate with music and games. As midnight approaches and the clock strikes twelve o'clock for the first time, everyone is scrambling to eat grapes. If you can eat 12 Jiaguo according to the sound of the bell, it symbolizes everything goes well for each month of the New Year. On New Year's Day, it is most taboo for children to curse, fight, and cry, as these phenomena are considered to be bad omens. Therefore, adults always try to meet all the children's requirements on New Year's Day. At the same time, people must carry a gold or copper coin with them on this day to show good luck.
Belgium: In Belgium, on the morning of New Year's Day, the first thing in the countryside is to pay New Year greetings to the animals. People walk around cows, horses, sheep, dogs, cats and other animals, and say to these creatures in a serious way: "Happy New Year!"
Turkey: On New Year's Eve in Turkey, everyone has to take a bath and then put on new clothes. They believe that this can get rid of the bad luck of the past year, get rid of the old and welcome the new, and welcome good luck in the coming year.
Argentina: On the first day of the first lunar month, every household goes to the river to take a "New Year's bath". Before entering the water, the flowers collected were scattered on the river. Then, everyone jumped into the water and bathed happily, while rubbing their bodies with flower petals. In this country, water is regarded as a "holy" thing.
Cuba: On the eve of New Year's Day, everyone prepares a bowl of water. When the New Year's bell rings, everyone quickly pours the water into the street, which means "New Year's Eve"
Colombia: On New Year's Eve, large puppets - "Old New Year" - are made on every street, and "last words" are announced. The contents of the "last words" are funny and humorous to make people happy. The "puppet" is exploded at midnight. Destroyed, people sang and danced to celebrate each other amidst the explosions that shattered the "puppet" of the old year.
Japan: In the early morning of New Year's Day, Japanese families take to the streets to greet the rising sun, and then go to shrines to pay homage, or to say hello to each other's relatives and friends. They call New Year's Day "the first day". On this day, they have a hearty breakfast, eating sugar squid, buckwheat noodles, etc., and drinking Tusu wine. After that, they eat vegetarian food for three consecutive days to show their piety and pray for good luck in the coming year.
Thailand: Thailand's traditional New Year is the "Songkran Festival" ("Songkran" is the transliteration of Sanskrit), also called the "Water Splashing Festival". During the festival, people sprinkle water on each other and happily wish their elders health and longevity, and wish their relatives and friends a happy new year. Unmarried young men and women splash water to express their love for each other. On the first day of the new year, Thai people put a basin of water on the window sill or at the door to pray for good luck and good weather in the new year.
Germany: During New Year's Day, Germans put up a fir tree or a horizontal tree in every household, with silk flowers tied between the leaves, which means that the world is full of flowers and spring. They climb on the chairs just before the New Year arrives at midnight on New Year's Eve. When the bell rings, they jump off the chairs and throw a heavy object behind the chair to show that they are throwing away the disaster and jumping into the New Year. There is also a New Year custom spread in rural areas of Germany - "Tree Climbing Competition" to show that you will rise higher and higher.
Egypt: The Egyptians regard the day when the Nile River rises as the beginning of the New Year, which is called "High Water New Year". In some places in Egypt, on New Year's Day, grains of crops such as soybeans, lentils, alfalfa and wheat are served, as well as small buds of green plants to symbolize abundance. The more you give to God, the greater your harvest will be in the new year.
North Korea: Like our country, North Korea also has the custom of posting window grilles and peach charms during the New Year to pray for God’s blessing, drive away ghosts, and grant happiness. At the dawn of New Year's Day, people stuff some banknotes into pre-tied scarecrows and throw them at the crossroads to send away evil and welcome good fortune. At dusk, people burn off the hair that the family has lost throughout the year, wishing their families peace all year round. During the New Year, in addition to enjoying fine wine and delicacies, North Koreans must also make a sweet rice made of glutinous rice, pine nuts, chestnut powder, date paste and honey, which is similar to our country's eight-treasure rice. Prosperous days are as sweet as honey.
Singapore: On Lunar New Year's Eve, children have the habit of staying up until midnight to wait for their parents' activities to worship gods and ancestors before going to bed. They get up early the next morning and happily receive "red envelopes" from their elders ( New Year's money) to watch the dragon and lion dance teams perform along the street. Men, women, old and young dressed in festive costumes and brought gifts to visit relatives and friends. Everyone's face was filled with a festive atmosphere. During the Chinese New Year, people love to eat sweet rice cakes made of fried glutinous rice and brown sugar.
Italy: New Year's Eve in Italy is a carnival night. When night falls, thousands of people flock to the streets, light firecrackers and fireworks, and even fire live ammunition. Men and women dance until midnight. Every household packs up old things, smashes some breakable things in the house, and throws all the old pots, bottles and cans outside the door, which means getting rid of bad luck and troubles. This is their traditional way of bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new year.
Iran: Iran implements the Islamic calendar, and its seasons and months are not fixed. In Iran, celebrating the New Year means celebrating the arrival of spring, which is usually in late March of the Gregorian calendar. The New Year is celebrated grandly for a week. People flock to the streets to light "bonfires" - "night fires", and then the whole family jumps up and down on the night fire in order, which means burning away "bad luck", ushering in light, driving away evil spirits and diseases, and lasting happiness. There are "seven dishes" to be eaten on New Year's Eve, and the name of each dish must start with the letter "s" to show good luck. From the first to the third day of the lunar month, people visit relatives and friends and wish each other a happy Spring Festival. On the last day of the new year, the whole family goes on an outing to avoid evil.
France: Celebrate the New Year with wine. People start partying and drinking from New Year's Eve until January 3. The French believe that the weather on New Year's Day heralds the coming of the new year. On the early morning of New Year's Day, they go to the streets to see the direction of the wind and predict fortunes: if the south wind blows, it indicates good weather and the year will be safe and hot; if the west wind blows, there will be a good harvest for fishing and milking; if the east wind blows, there will be a high yield of fruits; if the north wind blows, it will be a good year. If the wind blows, it will be a bad harvest year.
RuiShi: The Swiss have the habit of keeping fit on New Year's Day. Some of them go hiking in groups, stand on the top of the mountain facing the ice and snow, and sing loudly about the wonderful life; some ski along the long snow trails in the mountains and forests, as if they are looking for The road to happiness; some hold stilt-walking competitions, where men, women, old and young join together to wish each other good health. Welcome the new year with fitness.
Greece: On New Year's Day, every family will make a big cake with a silver coin inside. The host cuts the cake into several pieces and distributes them to family members or visiting relatives and friends. Whoever eats the piece of cake with the silver coin will become the luckiest person in the New Year, and everyone congratulates him.
Romania: On New Year’s Eve, people put up tall Christmas trees and set up stages in the square. The citizens lit up fireworks and sang and danced. Rural people pull wooden plows decorated with various colorful flowers to celebrate the New Year.