The Spring Festival Folk

The Spring Festival (the Chinese new year)

The Spring Festival is a traditional Lunar New Year, commonly known as the "festival". The Spring Festival is the Chinese New Year.  It starts on the 1st and ends on the 15th of lunar January. The Spring Festival celebrates the coming of spring. Several days before the New Year, every family prepares rich food, buys new clothes, and cleans the house. Many families buy or write Spring Festival couplets and put them on the door. People believe that everything must be new and clean for the Spring Festival celebration so that the New Year will bring happiness and good luck. In China, red represents luck.

The meaning of the Spring festival

This indicates that people haven’t understood the meaning of the Spring Festival at all. They regard the Spring Festival as a vacation, but the Spring Festival is totally different from a vacation. Even though, there is a seven-day vacation. A vacation is totally on your own. You can do whatever you like, such as traveling, eating in a restaurant, resting, and sleeping, whatever. But the festival is different. A festival has its social meaning and a fixed orientation.

Then, what are the social meaning and orientation of the Spring Festival? They are a family reunion and respect the elder, rather than others. The orientation of the Spring Festival is acknowledged by the whole society. So no matter how far, people will always go back home, for it’s the Spring Festival. So, for such a family gathering, or family dinner, there must be some special food of its own.

And the second feature is that we must prepare them for ourselves. To show respect and gratitude to our parents and stay together with our brothers and sisters. We prepare for these activities by ourselves. We shall not go out or only go out once. As for the other seven days, we prepare ourselves. Eat at home. This is the second feature.

And the third is that we will prepare early for days around the Spring Festival. For what, to “liberate” women. Thus, women can enjoy the Spring Festival. From the Spring Festival’s Eve, and the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth day of the lunar new year, during these days, the old custom requires that people should not use knives or shears. To make a woman have a good rest after a whole year’s work. So we need to prepare in advance. Store the food. Serve and take away. Women enjoy their days happily.

The customs are reflected in different ways. From the twenty-third day, people spend several days preparing food. If a family is busy preparing a meal for several days, this meal will be of special significance for the family. And the taste will become special. However, nowadays, people only need to give a call and ask for an order and then the meal is done. But, this kind of meal cannot impress people a lot.

The Spring Festival folk - Eating

The Spring Festival actually has special meanings, for example, some special requirements on our eating, and dressing. More than that, doing Spring Festival shopping is also inevitable. Eating, dressing, playing, and shopping, it’s true that they are all indispensable in the Spring Festival. Let’s first start with eating.

Chinese people think very highly of the Spring Festival Eve’s dinner, which is also called “TuanYuan dinner” (family reunion dinner) or “TuanNian dinner” (family reunion dinner). From Food Paradise Guangdong to exciting Hunan Province and Hubei Province, from hot Sichuan Province and Chongqing to cold northeast China, the family reunion dinner differs.

In Hubei: Hubei people’s family reunion dinner is “Three Wholes” dinner, is quite special. In their family reunion dinner, they usually have “Three Wholes”, a whole chicken, a whole fish and a whole duck, “Three Cakes”, fish cakes, meat cakes and mutton cakes, and “Three Balls”, fish meatballs, pork meatballs, and lotus root balls.

In Sichuan: Even Sichuan people are not at home for the Spring Festival, Sichuan people will usually receive homemade sausages from home. In their family reunion dinner, it is OK to have no chicken, duck or fish but cannot eat without the delicious spicy Sichuan sausages.

In Guangzhou: “Fortune at Hand” is an indispensable part of the table of Guangzhou people’s family reunion dinner. It actually refers to Stewed Pork Feet with Lettuce and Dried Oyster. Lettuce has the same sound of “getting rich” in Chinese; Haochi, which is the “dried oyster” in Chinese, is homophonic with “good fortune” in Cantonese; while port feet in Cantonese is homophonic with “handy”. The dish names and styles must be auspicious, which Guangzhou people know very well.

In northeast: In the Spring Festival’s Eve dinner in northeast China, Braised Pork with Vermicelli is one of the most important dishes. The vermicelli used in this dish is a special local product of northeast China, which is made by rolling potato starch and tastes delicious and warm.

In northern China, in remote places where it is relatively cold when the twelfth month of the lunar year approaches, people prepared food made of wheat and froze them in containers. Such as dumplings, smashed bean bun and steamed bun. Then, when the Spring Festival comes, they don’t have to prepare principal food. They only need to steam the frozen food. After steaming, the food is ready for eating. People take the food out from the big vat for several times. This doggerel is a schedule for the days, and it is made mainly according to the foods. Such as the sentence “Leaven dough on the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.” Leaven dough. “Kill cock on twenty-seventh” and “Steam buns on twenty-ninth” and so on.

In Beijing: the most important thing about the Spring Festival Eve’s dinner is to cook themselves instead of going to the restaurant. They have particular dishes for the Spring Festival. People always eat dumplings stuffed with vegetables. They also prepare several dishes they are good at. It includes in Cabbage Mound with Mustard, crisp fish, small ones, and two winter products. The winter products are winter bamboo shoots and mushrooms. They are called “two winter products” together.

For Cabbage Mound with Mustard, it needs the best cabbage in the north. The best cabbage is the cabbage that is longer and has the leaves holding tight together. Then dice it into mounds, and that is why we call it Cabbage Mound with Mustard. The most important thing is to pour hot water on it, not to scald it in hot water, which will soften the skin of the cabbage. It’s definitely no. The cabbage shall taste crisp, which is the key to the dish. Pour the hot water on it for three times and then pour several other things on it. First, superior mustard powder, second, superior vinegar, and third, good white sugar. This is the first layer, and then the second one. Make three layers, and the container will be basically full. Then put on the cover quickly and wrap it in the bedding. The heat can ferment the mustard. So it can permeate in the cabbage. Cover the container with the cabbage in the bedding at a certain temperature, and two to three days later we can have it.

Why is Cabbage Mound with Mustard so popular in Beijing? During the Spring Festival, Chinese often have oily food like fish and meat, while this dish is totally a vegetarian diet. It is totally green, sour, sweet, spicy, cold, and crisp. After eating fish and meat, it is nice to have such a dish, and that is why it is so popular. Though they haven’t finished it yet, many people have already ordered that they will take the rest home. They want to take the whole plate of the dish home.

Spring Festival Eve’s dinners in history

Qianlong Emperor: Many famous people in history also had a different emphasis on their Spring Festival Eve’s dinners. For Qianlong Emperor (1736B.C.-1796B.C.), the dishes were lined up in eight rows, including various kinds of meat, vegetarian, sweet and salty desserts, cold dishes, and hot dishes, 63 dishes in total. There were also two carved lacquerwares with fruits, four plates of Su pastry and Haliotis and so on. It was an imperial family reunion dinner.

Su Dongpo: in the Spring Festival, people gave pork meat to him as a gift. He then told his family to dice the meat and braise it. That is where “Dongpo Pork” came from. There is another saying about it. It’s said that in the place where Su Dongpo was then, the pork meat was cheap, so he cooked the pork in this way.

Eileen Chang is a well-known novelist in China. Spring Festival Eve’s dinner is Pinenut Candy, White Square Rice Cake, osmanthus Cake Pan-Fried Steamed Bun, plum syrup, and sweet and sour spare ribs. The last one is Shanghai cuisine.

The Spring Festival folk - Dressing

At the Spring Festival, the old-time customs stressed that they should wear new clothes at the beginning of a new year. And nowadays, as the economy is developing, we could afford new clothes even at ordinary times. It seems that we don’t have to give a special significance to the new clothes on the Spring Festival. However, from the old-time customs on the first day of a new year, people shall wear clothes which we do not wear at ordinary times or wear rarely. It's better to have a new dress. It can reflect joyousness and happiness. And at the same time, beautiful dresses make people happy when seeing each other.

Why do people wear new clothes during the Spring Festival

On New Year's Eve, people all want to get rid of the old and receive good new things. People want to use new things to have a good year. And New Year's day people all wear new clothes also indicate the meaning of having a good new year.

Even though there is no need to make all the clothes worn during the festival. be new the Spring Festival shall have its own sense. Women can pay more attention to their jewelry. For example, when the meal is prepared, and the family starts to eat dumplings. At this time, women can wear a new pair of earrings, a new necklace or a new bracelet. They make women look beautiful. Or, women wear the apron when cooking but chance new clothes after that, which is quite different.

The Spring Festival folk - Playing

People enjoy visiting temple fairs during the Spring Festival. What was a temple fair like? It was extremely lively. There were kinds of delicious food, funny things, good goods, and nice performances. It contained all the important elements. The existing temple fair also has food and goods. In the past, at the temple fair, there were abundant things. If you go to Changdian, there must be large sugar-coated haws. It is as high as the height of two or three persons. It is sufficient for several generations to eat.

When some people buy one and hold it, that is really impressive. It is so amazing that a kid can hold it. They made the haws into a long necklace and wore it around the neck. This was very funny, too. A kid wore it. There were many people who sold various toys. People who sold the diabolo, kite, pinwheel, and Piping (a toy made of glass). In Changdian, in the past, those famous bookstores took out their good books of good editions. Sell good books at the Spring Festival. The books were put on the street. People could buy a valuable thing at a very low price. It was very awesome.

In a temple fair, people like to look at the play of the lion dance. The performer under the drum music, dressed as a lion, the lion of various forms. In the process of performance, players to performance in a variety of moves south fighting skill. It has full of masculinity.

And in Shanxi, there are many local events with national style and folk styles such as walking on stilts and the Yangko dance and Shadowplay. The shadow play and some local operas will be performed and remain multifarious. They are retained quite well. The common people crowd to see the performance.

The benefits of the temple fair

Firstly, let the intangible cultural heritage performance and skills which are among the people play a major part. They really have a forte skill and have exercised it for a long time. Take out their things, select the best and show the most wonderful part for everyone. Because people will never see it at ordinary times, it is bound to win the applause. Secondly, let people show themselves.

For this point, there are several sources. One is the cultural palace and art house, and the other is the campus culture. Actually, there are very excellent things. If you show them for yourself, it means, that the actor is yourself and the audience is yourself, too. Have fun together. I think it is very good. And even the officials will go to see it. Have fun with the citizens. I think the atmosphere will be very great. In addition to what I said just now, there are many other things on the aspect of skills, such as making the sugar figurine and small figurine made of flour. There are many things that need to do. Take out these things. He can give a performance while selling them. It is a special fruit of labor, too.

Give presents at the Spring festival

One of the most important ways is to give gifts during the Spring Festival. Successful gift-giving can express his friendliness, respect, or other special emotions and make a deep impression on the recipient.

1 Don’t send the clocks:

Can't send the clock, because the clock is homophonic of the” final” words, send people clock is looking forward to "die".

2 Don't send shoes

If you give people shoes (not including send to relatives), is equal to send people evil, is likely to affect the exchanges and friendship between two people.

3 Don't send umbrella

Umbrella is homophonic of scattered, so the umbrella as a gift to man (not including sending umbrella in the rain), had better not between good friends will umbrella as a gift to send. This means that in the future will be scattered.

4 Don't send the pear and plums

Peach and plum are homophonic of the separate, send people means want others will be separate.

5 Don't send the candle

Candles are used in the shrine of the dead, therefore, not as a gift. (Do not include all of a sudden power outage, give others a candle).

6 Don't send the doll

Doll belongs to the dog; the doll will bring the pathogens in some people's eyes, so you can't give away. (Not including send to relatives or girlfriends friend doll).

7 In China, white is often the color of sadness and poverty. Also, black is regarded as evil, the color of mourning. Red, is a symbol of happiness, peace, and celebration and is widely loved by people.

Have a wonderful Spring Festival

The Spring Festival is a special festival, it has its social attribute, family reunion, respecting our elders, respecting our ancestors, all these things matter. But it also means something else. It means that for children, this festival means pleasure, for the elders, it means enjoying the family, and for the middle-aged, it means a holiday to revel. This festival has many meanings in it.

First of all, the Spring Festival is a kind of happiness scale. Through it, you would know how lucky and happy you are. And this mission is a very important one for people. Secondly, it is a sign. A sign is social harmony. There are all kinds of relationships, such as the relationship between leaders and the masses, the relationship between leaders and followers, so it means a philosophy of relationship, a philosophy of harmony. 

Therefore, in this kind of festival, many conflicts can be resolved, and this is the new mission that the Spring Festival is endowed with. In addition, it brings people cultural awareness. And then, they will communicate more with their parents and family. And find more opportunities to have fun together.