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過年了

(2014-01-22 14:23:53) 下一個

《過年了》
文：雨霏霏
誦：葉子

過年，是一首綿長回味的詩，是一本厚重多彩的書，一個“年”字，盤點著人生四季，在心中累積著往事和暢想，存留下多少溫馨、多少眷戀。

說起年，不禁感慨萬千。時光像箭一般飛逝，行走如飛的年節一個接一個的到來，雪花的色彩霜染了母親的秀發,歲月的風刀將滄桑一道道刻在父親的額頭。

人生像正月十五的月亮一樣，滿了又缺，缺了又滿；日子像書一樣地翻過，每一頁都記載著悲歡苦樂，“執子之手，與子攜老”，心有靈犀的雙眸，相濡以沫的日子，把人生烹調的甘甜長久。

年節裏，一紙窗花剪出龍騰虎躍、百鳥爭鳴，妙趣橫生的春聯躍然千家萬戶，把希望鑲嵌在春的門口；歡騰的鑼鼓、奮飛的龍舟、滑稽的高蹺、柔曼的彩綢、將一年的情愫濃縮成一道亮麗的風景。

年節裏，孩子們的歡聲笑語灌滿了村寨小巷，發辮上欲飛的蝴蝶隨著雪花飄揚，嶄新的虎頭鞋蹦跳出縷縷春光；母親飄逸的圍裙撩動著餃子的醇香，父親期盼的目光伸向了遠方，把思念和祝福裝滿兒女的行囊；劈劈啪啪的鞭炮催促著歸來的腳步，哪怕路途再遙遠，也要讓心依偎在爹娘的身旁。

過年了，回望火紅的春聯，宛如一條悠長的絲帶，將兒女的情思相牽：別忘記常回家看看，無論孩子飛得多遠，夢裏總會看到那張燦爛的笑臉。

不諳世事、青春燦爛、人到中年，一年又一年。我將兒時的風車珍藏為永恒的心簽，讓母親的歌謠在耳邊久久地回旋，在心靈深處寫下感恩的詩篇。

年，將人情冷暖論到極致。

年，將民俗風情論到極致。

年，將天倫之樂論到極致。

過年，是品嚐親情、愛情、友情的盛宴。

過年，是記載日子、人生、事業的書卷。

過年，是傳遞祝願、幸福、希望的信箋。

這就是年，把美好的祝福送給春天！

最早的春節：相傳中國原始社會時就有“臘祭”之說不得，夏朝建立後，此俗流傳下來。《爾雅》一書說春節： “夏曰歲，商曰祀，周曰年” 。

　　最早的除夕：中國農曆年的最後一天晚上稱為 “除夕”。 “除夕”源於先秦時期的“逐除”。根據《呂氏春秋》中記載：古人在新年的前一天，擊鼓驅逐“疫病之鬼”，這就是“除夕”的由來。而最早提到“除夕”這一名稱的，是西晉周處的《風土記》。

　　最早的春聯：據《宋史》記載：宋滅蜀的前一年，(公元964年)除夕，後蜀主孟槌寫下“新年納餘慶，嘉節號長春”，這是被人們公認的第一副春聯。

　　最早的年畫：年畫的前身叫門畫，最早的年畫形式是門神，畫的是神話傳說中神茶、鬱壘，也有的在門上畫虎或古代勇士像，到了宋代演變為木版年畫。

　　最早的賀年片：早在宋代就已出現了贈送賀年片的習俗。據南宋人張世南《遊宦紀聞》裏記載，其家藏有北宋元祐年間敬賀正旦的墨跡。“正旦”就是正月初一，“敬賀正旦”就是現在賀年片上印的“恭賀新年"的意思。

　　最早的爆竹：春節爆竹之俗始於漢代，當時沒有火藥紙張，所謂爆竹，是用火燒竹子發出的啪啪聲。

　　最早的壓歲錢：據古籍《開元天寶遺事》記載，壓歲錢最早出現在唐玄宗天寶年間，嬪妃們在春節三五結伴做擲錢遊戲，宮廷錢庫就散些錢給她們。此風在當時宮廷內是很盛行的。

Spring Festival (Chinese New Year)

2014 Spring Festival falls on January 31. The holiday in China starts from January 31 to February 6, 2014. It is the Year of the Horse according to Chinese zodiac. Welcome to China and explore the traditional folk customs of this grand feast! 2014 New Year Video of TravelChinaGuide

Writing Festival Couplets

Chinese Spring Festival, also called Lunar New Year, has more than 4,000 years of history. Being one of the traditional Chinese festivals, it is the grandest and the most important festival for Chinese people. It is also the time for the whole families to get together, which is similar with Christmas Day to the westerners. Originating during the Shang Dynasty (about 17th - 11th century BC), Spring Festival, which celebrates family reunion, is full of rich and colorful activities, and hopes with the advent of spring and flowers blossoming. People from different regions and different ethnic groups celebrate it in their unique ways.

Festival Time
It comes on the first day of Chinese lunar calendar and lasts for almost half of a month. But in folk custom, this traditional holiday lasts from the 23rd day of the twelfth month to the 15th day of the first month (Lantern Festival) in the lunar calendar. Among these days, the New Year’s Eve and the first day of the New Year is the peak time. The exact days are different in every year according to the lunar calendar. Schedule of Spring Festival in recent years is offered in the following table.

Year	Date	Holiday	Chinese Zodiac
2012	January 23	January 22 - 28	Dragon
2013	February 10	February 9 - 15	Snake
2014	January 31	January 31 - February 6	Horse
2015	February 19	February 19 - 25	Sheep
2016	February 8	February 8 - 14	Monkey
2017	January 28	January 28 - February 3	Rooster

Couplets and Decorations

History
It is said that the custom of Spring Festival started in when people offered sacrifice to ancestors in the last month of Chinese lunar calendar. At that time, people prepared the sacrifice by doing thorough cleaning, having bathes and so on. Later, people began to worship different deities as well on that day. It is the time that almost all the farm works were done and people have free time. The sacrificing time changed according to the farming schedule and was not fixed until the Han Dynasty (202BC-220AD). The customs of worshipping deities and ancestors remains even though the ceremonies are not as grand as before. It is also the time that spring is coming, so people held all kinds of ceremonies to welcome it.

Legends
There are many legends about Spring Festival in Chinese culture. In folk culture, it is also called “guonian” (meaning “passing a year”). It is said that the “nian” (year) was a strong monster which was fierce and cruel and ate one kind of animal including human being a day. Human beings were scared about it and had to hide on the evening when the “nian” came out. Later, people found that “nian” was very scared about the red color and fireworks. So after that, people use red color and fireworks or firecrackers to drive away “nian”. As a result, the custom of using red color and setting off fireworks remains.

Festivities Schedule
Preparing the New Year starts 7 days before the New Year’s Eve. According to Chinese lunar calendar, people start to clean the house on Dec. 24, butcher on Dec. 26th and so on. People have certain things to do on each day. These activities will end Jan. 15th of the lunar calendar.

Customs and Practices

Paper Cut of Character 'Fu' Meaning
Happiness and 'Feng' Meaning Harvest

Every family does a thorough house cleaning and purchases enough food, including fish, meat, roasted nuts and seeds, all kinds of candies and fruits, etc, for the festival period. Also, new clothes must be bought, especially for children. Red scrolls with complementary poetic couplets, one line on each side of the gate, are pasted at every gate. The Chinese character 'Fu' is pasted on the center of the door and paper-cut pictures adorn windows.

Taboos
The Spring Festival is a start for a new year, so it is regarded as the omen of a year. People have many taboos during this period. Many bad words related to “death”, “broken”, “killing”, “ghost” and “illness” or “sickness” are forbidden during conversations. In some places, there are more specific details. They consider it unlucky if the barrel of rice is empty, because they think they will have nothing to eat in the next year. Taking medicine is forbidden on this day, otherwise, people will have sick for the whole year and take medicine constantly.

Festival Food

Dumplings, Traditional Food of Spring Festival

Learn to Make Dumplings

Food during this happy event has its characteristics, which is the representative of Chinese festival food culture. Dumplings and the reunion dinner are indispensable at this time. Cold and hot dishes are all served. Fish is always an important dish then, which expresses people’s hope of having a wealthy year.

Best Places to Go

In China, different places have their own traditions and activities to celebrate the Spring Festival. Beijing, Guangzhou, Xian and Pingyao are some good places to go if one intends to come during the time period. If one does not want to travel so long, but still want to enjoy the atmosphere of Chinese New Year, the local Chinatown is the best place.