Spring Festival is the most important traditional Chinese festival, and falls on the first day of the first lunar month.
The age-old Spring Festival originated in the Shang Dynasty (1600 BC-1046 BC) from the people’s sacrifice to gods and ancestors, but the name of Spring Festival did not come into being until the Revolution of 1911. Spring Festival was called Yuandan in ancient times, meaning the first day of a new year. In 1912, China adopted the Gregorian calendar and “Yuandan” then specifically referred to the New Year under it. The lunar new year falls around the Beginning of Spring, one of the 24 solar terms, hence its name of Spring Festival.
The Chinese government now stipulates that the people have seven days off for the Spring Festival, from the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month to the sixth day of the first lunar month. In fact, the Spring Festival lasts much longer for many people.
In old Beijing, there was a folk song like this: “On the 23rd day, make candies; on the 24th day, make a thorough cleanup; on the 25th day, make sweet potatoes; on the 26th day, brew beef; on the 27th day, slaughter a rooster; on the 28th day, prepare dough; on the 29th day, steam Mantou; on the evening of the 30th day, stay up late; on the 1st day and the 2nd day, walk the street.”
In fact, people begin to prepare for the coming new year from the start of the twelfth lunar month, pasting paper cuts on windows and doors along with the Chinese character “fu” (meaning blessing or happiness). People in northern China steam sticky bean buns, while people in southern China make Niangao (New Year cake made of glutinous rice flour).
Nowadays, people do not prepare all the food by themselves as they did in the past, but still have to do the cleaning and prepare necessities for the Spring Festival until the last day of the last lunar month. The last day of the last lunar month is the last day of the old year, and the evening of this day is called New Year’s Eve. Staying up late or all night on New Year’s Eve is a very important custom. No matter how busy a person is and how far he is away from home, he will try his best to get back before New Year’s Eve, have New Year’s Eve dinner and stay up late or all night on New Year’s Eve with his families.
New Year’s Eve dinner is more luxurious than usual. Dishes such as chicken, fish cannot be excluded, which mean “big fortune and great profit” and “surplus every year”. In some places, tofu (or Beancurd) is also a must, which means auspiciousness, as “fu” and the Chinese character “fu” (meaning blessing or happiness) are homonyms. On this occasion, people in northern China eat Jiaozi, and people in southern China eat Niangao (New Year cake made of glutinous rice flour), because as a homophone, Niangao means “higher and higher, one year after another”.
There are a lot of interesting folk legends about staying up late or all night on New Year’s Eve, including a legend like this: A long time ago, there was a monster called “Year”, which was taller than a camel, faster than the wind and roared like a lion. Every 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, it would come out to eat large animals and people as well, and would leave at dawn. There was no way for people to deal with it, so, on the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, every household closed the door and sat together awake until dawn. But just staying up was quite boring, so people prepared something to eat and some wine to drink to help pass the night. After dawn, people went out and congratulated each other on their success in escaping the “year”.
People successfully escaped the harm in this way year after year and become increasingly careless. On one particular night of the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, the “year” went to a village and ate almost all the people except for a pair of newlyweds wearing red and a group of children burning bamboos. After discovering the secret that the “year” feared the red color, flames and a spluttering sound, every household posted red couplets on the door, set off firecrackers and kept the house brightly lit by candles so the monster could no longer harm people.
Of course, people no longer believe the existence of the monster “year”, but maintain the custom of finishing their cleaning before the New Year’s Eve and have dinner together with the family then, after which they will make Jiaozi together. A clean coin is usually inserted into one of the Jiaozi, and the one who eats the dumpling with the coin is believed to have good luck. At midnight, every household will boil Jiaozi and set off firecrackers. Eating a few Jiaozi is a must on New Year’s Eve.
