On the first day of the first month in the old calendar year, people call it the Chinese New Year, which is different from New Year's Day in the Gregorian calendar, and is later called the Chinese New Year. In the old days, after the Laba Festival, Taiyuan people were busy preparing for the New Year, and the atmosphere became stronger day by day. King of people on 23rd, 24th is the day of cleaning, commonly known as "Hu Cleaning Day". Since then, the preparations for the year have reached a climax. There used to be a proverb in Taiyuan: "Twenty-five in grinding bean curd, twenty-six in work, twenty-seven in market, twenty-eight in paste, twenty-nine in wine, and thirty in jiaozi." (Sticking refers to all kinds of couplets, New Year pictures, window grilles, door gods, etc.) I have something to do every day, and I have plans every day. I have been busy until the afternoon of New Year's Eve, and then I will clean the outdoor again, that is, I will start to get new clothes and hats on the hour, pack jiaozi, and prepare incense, lights and other items to welcome the gods.
On New Year's Eve, families stay up all night, commonly known as "old age". When the rooster crows, it starts to burn incense, light lamps, set offerings, set off fireworks, receive gods and worship ancestors, and then the family pays New Year greetings to each other. Children kowtow to their elders to pay New Year greetings, and elders give them lucky money for good luck. According to the traditional custom, we should have breakfast before the sun comes out. After breakfast, I went out to pay a New Year call, and my relatives went to the church, and those who were reluctant to do so met on the way, bowing and exchanging auspicious words, which were nothing more than "Congratulations on the New Year", "Congratulations on making a fortune" and "Best wishes for the year".
merchants' families are the most pious in offering sacrifices to the God of Wealth during the Chinese New Year. Before the end of Qing Dynasty, March 15th and July 22nd were the days of offering sacrifices to the God of Wealth. After the Republic of China, only during the Chinese New Year, sacrifices were made in money stacks, cash chests or special shrines, and incense and guns were burned for chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep. Sacrifice the god of wealth before going to the homes of merchants who have business dealings to pay New Year greetings.
Chinese New Year's Day dragged on for a long time until after Tiancang Festival on 25th. On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, it is commonly known as "breaking the fifth". As the folk saying goes, "breaking the fifth doesn't go out". On the sixth lunar month, it is convenient to travel, and the residents will not visit relatives until the opening of the market in the sixth lunar month. The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is commonly known as "People's Day". As the saying goes, sunny days will benefit population reproduction. After the evening of the eighth day of the eighth lunar month, they offered sacrifices to the star gods, lit seven lamps in the courtyard, symbolizing the Big Dipper, and worshipped in the north, so as to get a good year. The tenth day is commonly known as "ten motionless days", and it is said that the day mouse marries. From 13th to 16th, the Lantern Festival is celebrated. Within a few days, the night lights are brilliant, the community fires yangko, and it is very lively, commonly known as "Lantern Festival". Twenty is commonly known as "small adding positions", and twenty-five is "old adding positions". The East-West Rice Market has set up a position of warehouse officials, and people go to sacrifice and set off sparks. After the Tiancang Festival, the excitement during the Spring Festival ended.
Compared with the city, suburban farmers have a different style in the Spring Festival. In Jinyang area, on New Year's Eve, there should be a strong fire, a bundle of grass and cypress leaves on the door. Wanghuo is built into a tower with charcoal blocks, and the midnight bell rings, igniting Wanghuo and illuminating the whole village, symbolizing the "Wanghuo" life. On the first day of the lunar new year, there is a custom of eating boiled pumpkins. It is called "eating a melon." At the end of the year, it is cooked with millet and put in a bowl to worship ancestors, commonly known as "fishing for rice every other year". Sweeping the courtyard and cleaning up the garbage on the fifth day of the fifth day is commonly known as "sweeping the poor".