"Twenty-eight handfuls of noodles, twenty-nine steamed buns, thirty nights to stay up all night..." Recalling the customs of her childhood, this nursery rhyme would ring in the mind of Wang Hong, who grew up in Beijing's alleys. Nowadays, although Wang Hong does not follow some customs, on New Year's Eve, the whole family gathers together to make dumplings and eat New Year's Eve dinner, which is still the most important New Year activity in her family. "Peanuts or coins are also placed in the dumplings. Whoever eats them will have good luck in the coming year."
Will you still stick to the traditional customs of the New Year? What Chinese New Year “rituals” do you value? Last week, a survey of 1,333 young people conducted by China Youth Daily and Social Survey Center United Questionnaire Network (wenjuan.com) showed that 94.1% of the young people surveyed would adhere to the traditional customs of the New Year, and 76.7% of the young people surveyed paid attention to The "ritual sense" of the New Year, family reunion and New Year's Eve dinner are the most important manifestations of the "ritual sense" of the New Year that the young people interviewed believe.
"I think I must go home on New Year's Eve."
As the Spring Festival approaches, Yang Min, a post-90s generation working in Hohhot, feels that the flavor of the New Year is getting stronger and stronger. From the Xiaoheihe Lantern Festival that started on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, to the Hohhot Museum’s calligraphy teacher writing and sending Spring Festival couplets activities, to the New Year’s Goods Expo that filled the Spring Festival atmosphere, Yang Min felt that this year’s warm-up activities before the Spring Festival were much more lively than in previous years. few.
Yang Min comes from Bayannur City in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. She spends the Spring Festival with her parents and grandparents every year. "Usually I spend New Year's Eve with my parents, and I visit my grandparents' houses on the first and second days of the new year." Yang Min's family is relatively large, with more than 10 relatives on both sides of her parents' family. During the Chinese New Year, she would go door-to-door with her elders to pay New Year greetings. "For me, this is a kind of companionship and the maintenance of family ties."
"I think we should spend the Chinese New Year with our parents, especially on New Year's Eve. We must go home." 30-year-old Zuiliang is a native of Beijing. Every year from New Year's Eve to the fifth day of the first lunar month, he spends time with his family and spends time with his family. The elders visit relatives and make daily arrangements.
In his spare time, Zuiliang also works part-time as a tour guide. Recently, many foreign tourists have contacted him and are planning to travel to Beijing during the Chinese New Year. “Most of them are tourists from the south. After reuniting with their families on New Year’s Eve, they came to Beijing together on the first day of the new year. In addition to visiting Tiananmen Square, , the Great Wall and other scenic spots, and also visit temple fairs to feel the atmosphere of Beijing’s New Year.”
The survey shows that 59.3% of the young people surveyed will return to their hometowns to reunite with their extended families during the New Year this year, 19.9% of the young people surveyed will travel with their small families or friends, and 10.6% of the young people surveyed will celebrate the New Year with their small families. , 9.7% of the young people surveyed will celebrate the New Year alone or with friends at their workplace.
Yan Wenfeng, a post-2000 college student from Huanggang, Hubei, pays more attention to the "ritual sense" of the New Year. Every year when the Spring Festival is approaching, she will buy window grilles according to the Chinese zodiac sign to decorate her home, and also buy herself a new suit. "Every New Year is a new year." It’s the beginning of a new life, put on new clothes and start a new life.”
Lu Sijia, a Shaanxi girl born after 1995 who works in Beijing, feels that her parents pay more attention to the "ritual sense" of the New Year than she does: every New Year, they put new door couplets and window grilles on their homes and clean them. On New Year's Eve, all the lights in the house will be turned on to create a lively and festive atmosphere. Influenced by her parents, during the Chinese New Year this year, Lu Sijia wanted to take time to take a family portrait with her parents. "My dad has always wanted to do it. I hope it can satisfy his wish and add some blessings to the New Year."
Data shows that 76.7% of the young people surveyed pay attention to the "ritual sense" of the New Year. Cross-analysis shows that the proportion of men surveyed who pay attention to the "ritual sense" of the New Year (77.5%) is slightly higher than that of women (76.1%). The highest proportion of respondents born in the 1990s who pay attention to the "ceremonial sense" of the New Year is 79.2%.
Specifically, family reunion for New Year’s Eve dinner is the most important manifestation of the “ritual sense” of the New Year among the young people interviewed. The selection rate was 69.2%. 63.8% of the young people interviewed believe that posting Spring Festival couplets and New Year pictures can make the New Year more “ritual sense”. ". In addition, the young people surveyed feel that the "ritual sense" of the New Year is also reflected in: visiting relatives and friends (49.7%), taking family photos (47.9%), cleaning, decorating the home (47.3%), buying new clothes, and changing hairstyles (45.6%) and hanging lanterns and setting off firecrackers to create a festive atmosphere (40.9%).
Cleaning the house and making dumplings are the New Year customs that the young people interviewed insist on.
Yang Min's hometown, Bayannur City, is located in the Hetao area. The local area has a rich food culture. Every year, people prepare New Year's goods starting from Laba, frying twists, steaming steamed buns, killing chickens and sheep... On the New Year's Eve dinner table, "" is usually indispensable. "Hetao Hard Four Plate": Crispy Chicken on the outside and tender on the inside, delicious and tender "Meatballs", fat but not greasy "Grilled Pork" and delicious "Steamed Lamb".
Every New Year's Eve, in Bayannur City, local residents still have the traditional custom of "making a big fire". During the day, every household lights up charcoal fires in their yards. From 11 to 12 p.m., people light fires and set off fireworks to symbolize a safe New Year's Eve.
In Yan Wenfeng's hometown of Huanggang, Hubei, sacrifices and vigils are indispensable parts of the New Year. Starting from the New Year, people will perform sacrifices. From the first to the fourth day of the first lunar month, sacrifices are also required every day. "On New Year's Eve, you must stay awake until 12 o'clock before going to bed. This is a custom that our family has always adhered to."
In Yan Wenfeng's memory, he had to finish killing New Year pigs, chickens and sheep before the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month. On the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, family members will buy some snacks such as biscuits, nuts, and candies one after another, and then prepare the ingredients for the New Year’s Eve dinner in advance. In Yan Wenfeng's hometown, it is not popular to eat "New Year's Eve dinner" but "brunch" on New Year's Eve. Fish, beef, sheep, and cabbage are must-haves on the reunion table, which means "more than enough every year" and "cow and sheep". Running around, work and life are getting better and better." "Eating cabbage will make you rich."
The survey shows that 94.1% of the young people surveyed will still adhere to the traditional customs of the New Year. Specifically, before the New Year, nearly 50% (49.0%) of the young people surveyed said that "cleaning the house twenty-four times" is an essential activity, and 40.4% of the young people surveyed still adhere to the tradition of making dumplings on New Year's Eve. 39.8% of the young people surveyed said that "steaming steamed buns, killing pigs and cutting New Year's meat" are important preparations for the New Year. Others include: slaughtering chickens for a big market (37.7%), offering sacrifices to ancestors (33.5%), grinding tofu (33.3%), offering sacrifices to stoves (31.4%), butchering ducks, making cakes, steaming buns and pasting window grilles (30.3%) wait.
The data shows that there are certain differences in the annual customs and habits of respondents in different regions. Among the respondents in North China, more people adhere to New Year's Eve customs such as "making dumplings on New Year's Eve", "cleaning the house on the 24th", "steaming steamed buns, killing pigs and cutting New Year's meat", while those in South and Southwest China They pay more attention to customs such as "worshiping ancestors and making large offerings".
Liao Yuanqing, a post-90s generation from Sanming, Fujian, lives in a Hakka group. In the local area, during major festivals, many families will make glutinous rice cakes and share them with neighbors. Every New Year, every household will prepare sweet peanut cakes to offer sacrifices to the Stove King to pray for happiness in the coming year. In the first month of the year, folk lantern dance teams will take to the streets to dance dragon lanterns and randomly enter a few households to send blessings. Some local tea-making competitions will also be held on the streets to interact with the people.
Wang Hong recently made a special trip to Ditan Park and found that staff were already preparing for the temple fair. "In previous years, there were quite a lot of customary activities during the Chinese New Year." Wang Hong remembered that when she went to the Ditan Temple Fair a few years ago, she saw performances that imitated royal sacrifices, as well as acrobatic performances such as top jars and Chinese flags. "There was an ice performance in the Old Summer Palace, which was also very popular. One year at the Old Summer Palace temple fair, tourists could exchange cash for ancient-style copper coins and give them copper coins when they spent money at each merchant. This model was quite interesting."
Among the young people surveyed, 46.1% were male and 53.9% were female. Post-00s accounted for 21.2%, post-95s accounted for 21.3%, post-90s accounted for 35.0%, post-85s accounted for 13.3%, and post-80s accounted for 9.2%. People from East China accounted for 22.4%, North China accounted for 19.3%, South China accounted for 17.8%, Northeast China accounted for 13.9%, Northwest China accounted for 9.9%, Southwest China accounted for 8.8%, and Central China accounted for 7.9%.
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily trainee reporter Wu Xinyu reporter Li Jieyan Source: China Youth Daily