The reunion dinner on New Year's Eve is undoubtedly the top priority of the entire New Year. Another important event is the Spring Festival greetings together at the beginning of the year. Folklore experts provide three secret methods to bring good luck that everyone can do without spending money and willing to do so.
▲After New Year’s Eve, the first day of the new year is to go out to pay New Year greetings and seek good luck. (Picture/data photo)
Folklore experts said that although we have to stay up late on New Year’s Eve, we still have to get up earlier on New Year’s Day. Although it is tiring, the advantage is that the custom on this day is not to clean, and you can still save time to do other things . In ancient times, in order to avoid the -year beast on New Year's Eve, we went out early the next morning and congratulated each other when we saw fellow villagers and friends were still alive. This evolved into the custom of saying auspicious words during the New Year. This matter is already a standard feature during the Chinese New Year, so there is no need to remind it here. It provides three secret methods. If you follow them, you can also have good luck.
▲Experts say that the first day of the Lunar New Year (5 a.m. to 7 a.m.) is the best time to pray to gods and Buddhas. You can also worship ancestors, eat vegetarian food, and seek good luck. (Picture/data photo)
1. Mao hour (5 a.m. to 7 a.m.) on the first day of the Lunar New Year is the best time to pray to God and worship Buddha. In Fujian, "Mao" means "earning". There is no need to go to the temple gate to grab plug incense on New Year's Eve. The so-called first incense refers to yourself. It is the first time to burn incense in the new year. Nowadays, some temples no longer need to burn incense. Praying sincerely is also a good first incense. Please go to the big temple or main temple near your home at this time. The more popular the temple, the more pilgrims there are. The best, and at the same time, the yang energy of everyone gathered in the temple will fill the surroundings.
2. According to folk custom, the first day of the Lunar New Year is also an important day for worshiping ancestors, but you don’t have to rush to worship ancestors at 5 o’clock in the morning. You can worship your ancestors’ tablets at home or go to the tombs of ancestors to offer incense according to your own convenience. When paying New Year greetings to your ancestors, of course you can communicate with them. According to the guidance of the late Chinese culture master Professor Zeng Shiqiang , you can communicate with your ancestors about anything, even some things that are difficult to talk to the gods. Communicating with your ancestors is the most foolproof.
3. After eating the big fish and meat around the fire on New Year’s Eve, the first meal (breakfast) on New Year’s Day is the best for the whole family to eat vegetarian food. "Zhai" has the same pronunciation as "disaster", and "eating fast" also means "eating disaster". It means "eating" all the disasters in the new year and keeping the family safe. Therefore, there is a folk saying that "eating fast on the first day of the new year is better than eating fast for the whole year."
In addition to the above three great luck rules, we Chinese people have many unique customs and taboos during the New Year. These cultures originate from ancient history and legends.
According to legend, in ancient times, there was a ferocious Nian beast that would come out from the bottom of the sea to eat people every new year. In order to avoid being eaten by the Nian beast, every household will worship their ancestors for peace and gather together to have a sumptuous dinner. Later, people discovered that the Nian beast was most afraid of the color red, noise and fire, so they would wear red clothes, put red paper on the door, and burn firecrackers to scare away the Nian beast.
Later, it also became the custom of having a reunion dinner, wearing red clothes, setting off firecrackers, and posting Spring Festival couplets (花春) during the Chinese New Year. There is another legend about the Spring Festival couplets. Ancient people believed that hanging peach branches could ward off evil spirits. Later, they were simplified and replaced by square red paper. In and in the Tang Dynasty, it was popular to write Spring Festival couplets in a confrontational manner, which became today's couplets. Later Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang issued an edict during the Spring Festival, requiring every household to post Spring Festival couplets and write auspicious words, which has been passed down to this day .
It is forbidden to break bowls, mirrors and other glass and ceramic items on the first day of the Lunar New Year to prevent loss of wealth and luck during the New Year. The remedy is to wrap them in red paper and place them on the sacred table. Silently recite the auspicious words "Peace every year" and wait for five days before throwing them away.
Avoid taking a shower, washing your hair, or washing clothes on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, so as not to wash away wealth and fortune. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, avoid calling other people's names to urge them to get up, as this will make the other person have to be urged to do things throughout the year. Avoid eating porridge and taking medicine on the morning of the first day of the lunar new year. In ancient times, only the poor would eat porridge because they could not afford to eat. Eating porridge on the first day of the lunar new year would lead to poverty for a whole year . In addition, try not to take medicine on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Unless you are seriously ill, it is not suitable for healthy people to take tonics on this day.
It is also said that instead of cooking new rice on New Year’s Day, we have to eat the New Year’s Eve rice left over from New Year’s Eve. means that last year's food was not finished, and there will be some leftover this year, which means there will be more than enough every year. It is forbidden to take a nap on the first day of the Lunar New Year. According to the ancient saying "no daytime nap", people are advised not to be lazy. If you take a nap on the first day of the Lunar New Year, your career luck will be affected.
Avoid taking a nap on the first day of the first lunar month. Folks believe that if a man takes a nap on this day, the Tianqian will collapse; if a woman takes a nap, the kitchen stove (kitchen) will collapse. It is forbidden to kill animals or use knives on the first day of the Lunar New Year, because knives are dangerous weapons and can cut open livestock, which means bad luck and destruction. Do not do laundry on the first and second days of the Lunar New Year. Legend has it that these two days are the birthday of the water god , so you should avoid doing laundry .
Reference material: "Lunar New Year Customs"
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