New Year Customs

?

The customs clustering round the ‘passing of the year’1?may be grouped as follows:-

?

Ⅰ. THE ‘FAMILY GATHERING’2.

Any day after the 16th. of 12th.?moon the members of a?family may gather at the parental home, and sometimes also at?the homes of each of the sons in turn, ‘to eat the yearly?feast’3. Various things have to be ‘carefully avoided’4?at this?meal. No soup is taken lest it should bring wet weather whenever the one who had partaken of it went abroad during the following twelve?month. Conversation about the past or the future?is avoided lest any subject should crop up which might spoil?the harmony of the gathering, or cause trouble in the days to?come. After dinner they ‘feed the fruit trees’5?by placing rice?in a notch cut in the bark. This ensures a good crop of fruit?next season.

?

II. ‘SWEEPING THE COBWEBS’6.

In the latter half of the 12th. moon all cobwebs are?carefully swept down to prevent the accumulation of ‘hairy?caterpillars’7. At this season the ‘Kitchen God’8?is absent,?so there is no danger of him being annoyed by the flying dust.

?

III.‘SHUTTING UP THE SEAL’9. (In abeyance at present.)

On a certain day, fixed by Government, the public offices?are closed. The official ‘worships the Emperor’10?kneeling?three times, and bowing nine times towards Peking. He next

?

1.過年??2.團(tuán)年??3.吃年飯??4.有忌諱??5.餧樹子 ?6.打陽塵 ?7.毛蟲??8.竈神??9.封印??10.拜北闕

?

‘worships the office seal’1?in the same manner, at the same?time burning incense and candles. The seal is then put into the?‘seal case’2, and two ‘strips of red paper’3?pasted crosswise?over it. The clerks and underlings come forward and ‘congratulate’4?the official, who responds by ‘disbursing reward’5?all?round. Officials of equal rank in the city ‘visit’6?and congratulate each other. About a month later, also on a date fixed?by Government, the seal case is brought forth and ‘opened’7?with?the same ceremonies, viz., worship of the Emperor,?worship of?the seal,?and general?congratulations.

?

IV. ‘WORSHIPING THE KITCHEN GOD’8.

On the evening of the 23rd.?of the 12th. moon the officials?and the official class, ‘worship the Kitchen God’. The people,?who are an inferior race of beings, do not worship till the evening of the 24th. On the latter evening the Kitchen God goes?up to heaven ‘to report’9?the deeds of men?to the ‘Immaculate?Emperor’10, therefore he must be ‘propitiated’11?before he?starts on his journey. Incense and a yellow paper ‘report form’12?are buried before his shrine in the kitchen. This report consists of a printed form, with blanks for names, etc., prepared by?the priests, and sold at a cash or so. During the 12th.?Moon?the priests of the guild halls and large temples ‘present copies?of these papers’13?to well-to-do families, and receive in return a?present of a few hundred cash,?or a few pecks of rice. ‘Non-vegetarian offerings’14, consisting of ‘pork’15, or ‘a(chǎn) cock’16,?with?‘cakes’17, ‘salt tea, cereal’18, and?‘white?toffy’19. In a?‘vegetarian?offering’20?the meats are omitted. The toffy is supposed to?effectually glue the god's jaws together, and so prevent him from speaking evil of the offerer. Tea and wine are also presented, and afterwards poured out before the shrine.

?

1.拜印箱??2.印??3.封皮??4.道喜??5.發(fā)賞??6.拜客??7.開印??8.敬灶、祭灶??9.奏善惡、上疏??10.玉皇大帝??11.擺供、祭奠??12.灶疏??13.送灶疏??14.葷灶??15.刀頭??16.雄雞??17.蔴圓菓子??18.鹽茶米豆??19.白蔴糖??20.素灶

?

At midnight on the last night of the year,?‘the god is?welcomed back’1?with incense and fire-crackers; ‘the door is?then shut’2?in order that the luck brought back by the god maybe retained.

?

V. ‘NEW YEAR'S EVE’3.

On the last day of the year the ‘door scrolls’4, and ‘lintel?inscriptions’5, are all?replaced by fresh ones. From the lintels?are hung five fretted and gilded papers, called ‘Joy door-cash’6.?Business men also stick printed cash papers along the edges of?their sign-board, and hang up bunches of evergreen cypress?wrapped in cash paper, thus expressing their wishes for continued prosperity. Among friends cards are exchanged ‘to take?leave of the year’7. People as a rule do not go to bed on the?last night, bit stay up to ‘guard the departing year’8. During?these hours various small expedients are employed to bring?luck, or to avert misfortune; for example, an old sandal is?dragged across the floor while the members of the family beat it?with sticks. This is called ‘Beating the Rats’9, and is supposed?to prevent rats breeding in the house. After the Kitchen God?has been welcomed back, and the door closed, all the gods are?worshipped. Towards morning merchants open the door and?‘welcome the God of Wealth’10, and the nearest ‘God of the?Precinct’11?is visited and worshipped. Obeisance is also paid?in the open air to the Immaculate Emperor’12.

?

VI. ‘NEW YEAR'S DAY’13.

In the morning, ‘vermicelli’, which requires less cooking,?‘is prepared and eaten’14. After breakfast the gentlemen don?‘full dress’15, and visits are paid, and ‘New Year greetings?exchanged’16, an ordinary bow being made. Where the door of?a friend's house is shut, or the house is that of an ordinary?acquaintance, a ‘visiting card is stuck on the outside of the

?

1.接竈 ?2.封財(cái)門 ?3.除夕 ?4.春對 ?5.門額 ?6.喜門錢 ?7.辭年 ?8.守歲 ?9.打耗子 ?10.接財(cái)神 ?11.土地神 ?12.出天方 ?13.元旦 ?14.吃麵 ?15.禮服 ?16.拜年

?

door’1. The younger people crowd the streets, enjoying themselves with toys and sweets. ‘The floor is not swept’2?on?New Year's Day lest the house be infested with fleas during the?year. Many other things must be ‘a(chǎn)voided’3. ‘The sight of a?broom’4?would invite trouble in the future. ‘The steelyard and?the scales must be hidden’5, or too many snakes will be seen?during the summer. ‘The refuse basket’6?induces the infliction?of wrongs; and ‘chickens’, with?their pointed beaks, would?cause one to be sharp-tongued and quarrelsome. ‘Dust and?refuse must not be emptied out’8?till after the fifth, lest one's?prosperity be emptied away with it.

?

VII. THE FIFTH.

The fifth of the month is called ‘the Breaking-up Fifth’,?because the general holiday time ends on that day. During?these five days no one is supposed to quarrel or revile. After?the fifth,?officials ‘issue proclamations’10?forbidding gambling,?which has been tacitly allowed before this date. ‘The night-watchman resumes his duty’11, and ‘street gates are shut’12?after?the third watch as usual.

?

From the third to the sixteenth merchants and tradesmen?re-employ their men. The men are invited to dinner, and if?bargained with to remain for another year they remain ; if nothing is said they know that the engagement is terminated.

?

VIII. ‘THE NINTH’13.

On the ninth day ‘the Civil God of Wealth’14?is worshipped.The leading men on each street ‘organize a society’15, and?‘collect subscriptions’16?from all the householders on the street.?The funds are expended on high arches of ‘white lanterns’17,?under which the god is worshipped, or in ‘shadow plays’18?for?his amusement; this is one method of ‘beseeching happiness’19.

?

1.飛片子 ?2.不掃地 ?3.忌諱 ?4.不見掃把 ?5.不見稱、不見天秤 ?6.不見撮箕 ?7.不見雞 ?8.不倒渣滓 ?9.破五 ?10.出告示 ?11.打更 ?12.關(guān)柵子 ?13.上九 ?14.文財(cái)神、賜福天官 ?15.辦會(huì)、上元會(huì) ?16.化錢 ?17.白果燈 ?18.燈影子戲 ?19.求福

?

The leaders of the society reward themselves with a feast, and?in other ways too devious to mention.

?

IX. ‘THE FIFTEENTH’1.

From the fifth to the fifteenth the wilder spirits indulge in?‘horse-play with lion and dragon lanterns’2. These lanterns?are made of a long sheet of coloured calico, or silk ‘skin’3, with?a head and tail attached, the whole supported and manipulated?by two men for the lion, and by ten or more men for the dragon.?The expense is sometimes borne by a well-to-do family, sometimes by a few individuals, and sometimes by a society. The?lion is only used during the day-time. the dragon is used either?by day or by night. When used at night it is lit up with oil lamps. Private performances may be given with these lanterns,?and the performers ‘rewarded with small presents of money’4.?If they have performed well the lion may be ‘decorated with a?red sash’5. Money is also collected on the streets from spectators. ?On the evening of the fifteenth?the show culminates in?a grand display of lanterns of various designs, and ‘freworks’6.?After dark many people ‘steal some vegetables’7?from a neighbour's garden and cook them for supper. This is efficacious in?warding off disease. The whole population ‘make merry’8?and?feast on ‘sweet glutenous rice dumplings’9. The five?‘Joy Door-cash’10?papers are torn down and ‘burned before the gods’11?‘to?ensure the prosperity of the family’12?for the rest of the year.

?

X.‘ESCORTING THE YEAR ON ITS WAY’.13

This custom is peculiar to Chengtu. On the sixteenth?people of both sexes ‘go for a walk on the city wall’14,?thereby ensuring immunity from sickness for the next twelvemonth.

?

XI. ‘OPENING SHOP’.15

All shops are closed on the last?day of the year. The opening depends on the state of the merchant's exchequer, and on

?

1.元霄 ?2.耍獅子龍燈 ?3.皮子 ?4.賞號 ?5.掛紅 ?6.放花炮 ?7.摸青 ?8.鬧元霄 ?9.湯圓子 ?10.喜門錢 ?11.火燒門錢紙 ?12.各人尋生理 ?13.送年、過大年 ?14.轉(zhuǎn)城墻、遊百病 ?15.開張

?

the ‘selection of a lucky day’1. Some small shops open on the?first; many open after the firth, and the remainder after the?fifteenth. ‘The God of Wealth is worshipped’2, crackers fired,?and the ‘signboard draped with red silk, or calico’3. Some?large shops ‘take down one shutter a day’4, till the shop is?‘fully opened’5.

?

1.擇好日子??2.敬財(cái)神??3.掛招牌??4.提門??5.大開張