Chinese people have the habit of staying up late on New Year's Eve. The New Year's Eve dinner starts with the New Year's Eve dinner. This New Year's Eve dinner should be eaten slowly, starting from the time when the lanterns are turned on. Some people have to eat until late at night. According to Zong Mao's "Jingchu Years' Records", the custom of eating New Year's Eve dinner has existed at least in the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
On this night of "two years in one night, two years in the fifth hour", the family reunites and gathers together happily. The whole family sat together, and the table was filled with refreshments and fruits. When making offerings during the New Year, a large plate of apples is indispensable. This is called "peace and peace". In the north, some families also provide a bowl of rice, which is cooked years ago and served during the New Year. It is called "every other year's meal". There are leftovers every year and they can't be eaten all year round. This year, there are still some leftovers. It means eating the food of the past year. This pot of rice and millet is usually cooked with a mixture of rice and millet. As the saying goes in Beijing, it is called "two rice rice" because it has yellow and white. This is called "gold and silver, and the pot is full of gold and silver". In many places, the pastries, melons and fruits prepared during the observance of the year are all intended to bring good luck: eating dates (early spring), eating persimmons (all goes well), eating almonds (happy people), eating immortality fruit (immortality) ) and eat rice cakes (which get higher every year). On New Year's Eve, the whole family ate, had fun, talked and laughed. There are also ordinary people who play pai gow, throw dice, bet on stud, and play mahjong. The noise and laughter form the climax of New Year's Eve joy. The all-night vigil symbolizes driving away all evil plagues and looking forward to good luck in the new year. This custom gradually became popular. In the early Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem about "keeping the year old": "The cold leaves the winter snow, and the warmth brings the spring breeze." To this day, people are still used to staying up late on New Year's Eve to welcome the new year. In ancient times, keeping up with the old age had two meanings: the elderly kept up with the old year to "say goodbye to the old year", which meant cherishing time; the young ones kept up with the old year to prolong the life of their parents. Since the Han Dynasty, the transition time between the new and the old year has generally been at midnight. People all over the world are looking forward to the arrival of midnight in the New Year.
The custom of staying up late on the New Year's Eve contains not only a feeling of nostalgia for the passing years, but also a good hope for the coming New Year. The ancients wrote in a poem "Shou Sui": "Invite the Ajong family to keep the year old, and the wax torch passes red to the blue gauze. Thirty and sixty years have passed by, but I cherish my years from this night." It is human nature to cherish the years. Therefore, the great poet Su Shi wrote the famous line "Keeping the New Year's Eve": "There will be no time next year, and worries will be wasted; if you work hard today, you can still be proud of your youth!" This shows the positive significance of keeping the year old on New Year's Eve.
Staying up until the age of thirty is commonly known as "staying up late". Why is it called "staying through the year"? There is such an interesting story that has been passed down from generation to generation among the people: According to legend, in the ancient prehistoric times, there was a ferocious monster, which people called "Nian".
Every New Year's Eve, the Nian beast will crawl out of the sea to harm people and animals, destroy farmland, and bring disasters to people who have worked hard for a year. In order to avoid the Nian beast, people would close their doors early on the 30th night of the twelfth lunar month before it gets dark. They would not dare to sleep and wait for dawn. In order to kill time and strengthen their courage, they drank alcohol. Wait until the Nian beast stops coming out on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year before you dare to go out. When people meet, they bow to each other, congratulate each other, and are glad that they were not eaten by the Nian beast. After many years of this, nothing happens, and people relax their vigilance against the Nian beast.
On the night of the 30th of one year, the Nian beast suddenly rushed to a village in the south of the Yangtze River. Almost all the people in the village were eaten by the Nian beast, except for a newlywed family with red curtains and red clothes. The two of them were safe and sound. There were also a few children who lit a bunch of bamboos and played in the courtyard. The fire was bright red, and the bamboos made a "pop-pop" sound after burning. The Nian beast turned here and turned around and ran away when it saw the fire.
Since then, people have known that the Nian beast is afraid of the color red, light, and noise. At the end of each year, every household would put up red paper, wear red robes, hang red lanterns, beat gongs and drums, and set off firecrackers. The Nian beast did not dare to come again. In the "Book of Songs·Xiaoya·Ting Liao", there is a record of "Ting Liao's Light". The so-called "Ting Liao" is a torch made of bamboo poles. After the bamboo poles burn, the air in the bamboo joints expands, and the bamboo cavity bursts, making a crackling sound. This is the origin of "firecrackers".
But in some places, villagers don’t know that the Nian beast is afraid of red, and they are often eaten by the Nian beast. This incident later spread to Ziweixing in the sky. In order to save people, he determined to destroy the Nian beast. One year, when he waited for the Nian Beast to come out, he knocked it down with a fireball, and then locked it to a stone pillar with a thick iron chain. From then on, every New Year, people always burn incense and ask Ziweixing to come down to the next world to ensure peace.
The origin of staying up late
In the Cangzhou area of ??Hebei Province, every year in the twelfth lunar month of the summer calendar, every household is busy from the 23rd to the 30th day. Staying up late at night is called "staying up late". This custom is related to the Kitchen King Grandma.
The youngest daughter of the Jade Emperor is wise and kind-hearted, and sympathizes with the poor in the world. She secretly fell in love with a poor young man who cooked for others. When the Jade Emperor found out, he was very angry, so he sent his little daughter down to earth to suffer the consequences of the poor boy. The Queen Mother sympathized with her daughter and interceded with her, so the Jade Emperor reluctantly gave the poor man the "position of Stove King". The poor man became the "Kitchen Lord" of every household, and the Jade Emperor's youngest daughter naturally became the "Kitchen King's Grandma".
Grandma Kitchen King was well aware of the suffering of the people, so she often brought back food, drink, clothing and other things from the sky to distribute to the poor people in the name of visiting relatives. The Jade Emperor originally despised his poor son-in-law and his youngest daughter. He was very angry when he heard that his youngest daughter was bringing things back from heaven. He stipulated that they were only allowed to return to Heaven on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month every year, and were not allowed to return to Heaven the rest of the time. .
In the second year, the Chinese New Year was approaching, but the poor people still lacked this and that, and some could not even lift the lid of the pot. Grandma Kitchen King saw it in her eyes and felt pain in her heart. On the twenty-third of the twelfth lunar month, she planned to go back to her parents' home to order some food for the poor people. However, I don’t even have any noodles at home, and what will I do if I don’t have any dry food on the road? When the people found out, they worked together to make some noodles, baked two cakes, and gave them to Kitchen God Grandma to take on the road.
The Kitchen God's grandmother returned to heaven and told the Jade Emperor about the sufferings of the world. However, the Jade Emperor was not only unsympathetic, but also thought that his daughter had brought back poverty, so he asked her to go back that night. Grandma Kitchen King was so angry that she wanted to leave immediately. Then she thought, no, how can I explain to the people if I go back empty-handed? Besides, you can’t take advantage of your cruel father. At this time, the Queen Mother happened to come to stay with her, so she took advantage of the situation and said, "I'm not leaving. I'll take a broom back tomorrow to sweep away the bad luck."
On the twenty-fourth day, the Kitchen King's grandma was visiting The Jade Emperor came to urge her to carve the broom quickly. She said: "Why are you urging me? It's almost the Chinese New Year. I don't have any tofu at home, so I have to make tofu tomorrow."
On the twenty-fifth day, the Kitchen God's grandma was making tofu, and the Jade Emperor came to remind her again. She goes back quickly. She said: "Why are you urging me? I have to cut the meat tomorrow!"
On the twenty-sixth day, the Kitchen King's grandma had just cut the meat, and the Jade Emperor once again urged her to go back quickly. She said: "Why are you urging me? My family is so poor that I can't even raise a chicken. I will kill the chicken tomorrow!"
On the twenty-seventh day, the Kitchen King's grandma was killing the chicken, and the Jade Emperor He came again to urge her to go back quickly. She said: "Why are you urging me? Bring some dry food on the way. I will make dough and steam the steamed buns tomorrow!"
On the twenty-eighth day, the Kitchen King's grandma was steaming the steamed buns, and the Jade Emperor came to urge her again. Go back quickly. She said: "Why are you urging me? We have a wedding wine during the Chinese New Year, and tomorrow I have to go get some wine."
On the twenty-ninth day, the Kitchen God's grandma just came back from getting wine, and the Jade Emperor came to urge her again. Go back quickly. She said: "Why are you rushing? We can't even eat dumplings all year round. I have to make dumplings tomorrow!"
On the thirtieth day, the Kitchen God's grandma was making dumplings. She must go back today. The Kitchen King's grandmother had almost prepared everything, so she didn't say much. She just couldn't bear to leave the Queen Mother and didn't leave the Heavenly Palace until dark. That night, every household did not sleep, waiting for the return of Grandma Kitchen King.
As soon as people saw that the Kitchen God Grandma was back and brought back many good things for the New Year, they lit incense, paper codes, and firecrackers to welcome the Kitchen God Grandma. At this time, it was the fifth watch of New Year's Eve.
In order to commemorate the Kitchen God and not forget her kindness, people sacrifice to the Kitchen on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month every year and stay up for thirty nights, which is called "staying up late". There is also something called "surviving a hundred years". This is to wait to welcome the virtuous and kind-hearted Kitchen King Grandma back to earth from heaven. This custom has been passed down to this day.
Historical records of staying up late
When did staying up late come from? "Records of Sui Sui in the Middle Qin Dynasty" records: "There are no classics about keeping the year old for three generations. In the Tang Dynasty, Du Fu's poem "Keeping the Year Old at the Du Wei Mansion" said, 'The A Xian family keeps the year old, and the pepper plate has already sung the flowers.' It is suspected that it started in the Tang Dynasty." Tang poetry. There are many descriptions of the custom of keeping the year old. Bai Juyi's poem "Keeping up the New Year's Eve among Guests": "There is no wine in staying up late on the New Year's Eve, and my face is full of tears of homesickness."
Meng Haoran has a poem that "continues the Ming Dynasty to draw candles, stay up late for a long feast". By the Song Dynasty, the practice of staying up late on New Year's Eve was common in both urban and rural areas. Su Dongpo's "Children are forced not to sleep, but stay up all night and have fun", which describes the scene of staying up late on New Year's Eve. "Tokyo Menghualu" records: "On New Year's Eve... the families of the common people would sit around the fire and stay awake until the end of the night, which is called staying up late on the New Year's Eve." Interestingly, in Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, etc., due to the influence of our country, they all There is a saying of staying up late on New Year's Eve, and even Europe, America and Africa have similar customs. As the saying goes: "Gold is easy to get, but time is hard to keep." Love life and cherish time. This may be the reason why people all over the world stay up late! Xi Zhenqi said in his poem "Shou Sui": "We invite you to stay at the A Xian family, the wax torch is passed red and reflects the blue gauze; thirty and sixty years have been wasted, but I cherish my years from this night." This is an example.
Similarly, Su Shi's song "Shou Sui" also expresses nostalgia for the old age that is about to pass away.
Staying up until the end of the year
Su Shi of the Song Dynasty
If you want to know that the old age is over, it is like going to prey on a snake.
Half of the repair scales are gone, no one can hide them.
I want to tie it to the end, but I know what I can do despite my diligence.
The children were forced not to sleep, but stayed together all night and had fun.
Don’t sing the rooster in the morning, even more drums are afraid of Tim Lao.
After sitting for a long time and the lamps dimmed, I watched the Beidou tilt.
There won’t be a year next year, and I’m afraid that my worries will be wasted.
You can still praise yourself if you work hard today
The "shou" of staying up late means nostalgia for the old year that is about to pass, but also hope for the upcoming new year. meaning. "One night makes two years old, and the fifth watch divides two years." On the occasion of removing the old and bringing in the new, relatives and friends sit around the fire. Looking back on the past and looking forward to the future is not without benefit. The "Biography of Talented Scholars of the Tang Dynasty" written by Xin Wenfang, a scholar of the Yuan Dynasty, records a good story about Jia Dao, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, who "offered poems" on New Year's Eve: Every New Year's Eve, Jia Dao "must take one-year-old works and put them on a few tables, burn incense and then worship," He drank wine and said, "I have been working hard on this all year round. '"Every New Year's Eve, he summarizes the gains and losses of the past year. Can't we learn from it?
If "thirty and sixty years have been wasted", it is not "only from now on" "Cherish the years at night", then "staying up late" will lose its meaning.
The four things that the elderly should do to stay up late
Special attention should be paid to physical and mental health
The Spring Festival is In my country’s traditional festivals, family gatherings are very exciting, especially the custom of staying up late on New Year’s Eve without sleeping, which often disrupts the daily routine of life. At this time, the elderly must not get carried away and should pay special attention to physical and mental health care. Pay attention to the following four points :
1. Entertainment should be moderate. There are rich and colorful movies and TV programs during the Spring Festival. On New Year’s Eve, relatives and friends gather together to stay up late and play cards and mahjong happily. This often breaks the routine of life established by the elderly and is harmful to the body. It is harmful to health. If you stay up all night for entertainment, it will be more harmful, often over-exciting the cerebral cortex, causing insomnia, mental stress, and increased blood pressure. It is recommended that the elderly do not break the biological clock and sleep on time.
2. The mood should be stable. There are many happy events during the Spring Festival, such as long-lost relatives and friends gathering to watch the New Year, and funny TV programs, which can easily make people excited, accelerate the heartbeat, accelerate blood flow, cause small artery spasm, and increase blood pressure, which can lead to cerebral hemorrhage, angina pectoris, or myocardial infarction. The occurrence of infarction. Therefore, the elderly must control their emotions.
3. Drink wine, beer, rice wine, or low-alcohol liquor when gathering with relatives and friends. It can add to the fun, increase the festive atmosphere, and promote blood circulation, which is beneficial to the elderly. However, too much is not good for the stomach, liver, heart, kidneys and nervous system. It is also harmful to people with blood pressure, heart, liver and kidneys. The risk is greater for the elderly who are sick.
4. Eat less. In some places, people cook dumplings after midnight and go to bed after eating the dumplings. Don't be greedy. Because you have eaten a rich dinner during the day, some greasy food is difficult to digest. If you eat more dumplings that are not easy to digest, it will not be good for the stomach or pancreas.
Christmas has posed a serious threat to the country’s cultural security
Every time Christmas comes, Santa Claus and Christmas trees are placed in shopping malls, restaurants and hotels across the country, and "Celebrate Christmas" is hung. " banner, employees put on "Little Red Riding Hood"; kindergarten children sang and danced around the "Christmas tree", looking forward to teachers distributing "Christmas gifts"; red and green posters of "Christmas Ball" and "Christmas Party" occupied the school The Internet, newspapers, TV and radio stations are filled with all kinds of "Christmas messages"; tens of thousands of "Christmas cards" and hundreds of millions of "Christmas text messages" are flying all over the sky; people wish each other "Christmas" when they meet "Happy"; on "Christmas Eve", people gather to revel and linger.
Cultural influence and cultural soft power have become the core competitiveness of a country and nation. Currently, as the process of economic globalization deepens, a wave of "Westernization" aimed at promoting the values ??of the United States and Japan is coming. Cultural aggression has become the second battlefield for the United States and Japan to invade China. Santa Claus's use of Western culture has had a profound impact on the Chinese people. Behind it is the large-scale invasion of Chinese culture by Western ideologies and values, which have posed a serious threat to China's cultural security and cultural influence. . Especially after China joined the WTO, various Western cultural products represented by Christmas have fully entered the Chinese market, and Chinese traditional culture has launched a fierce confrontation with Western culture. Chinese culture appears to be unable to compete in this smokeless war, which has caused deep concern among the central leadership and the whole society.
The root of the problem - the lack of cultural icons of the Chinese New Year
Christmas belongs to the category of festival culture. The only traditional festival in China that can compete with Christmas is the Spring Festival. It should be determined as soon as possible An iconic figure who can represent Chinese culture has become a major issue facing Chinese people around the world.
Chinese New Year customs carry the blood and essence of Chinese culture and have become an integral part of national life, national soul, and national foundation. They embody the Chinese people’s views on nature, philosophy, ethics, and aesthetics. . Maintaining the customs and culture is the need of the Chinese nation to confirm its cultural identity and is a manifestation of cultural consciousness.
But our Spring Festival now lacks cultural content. During the Spring Festival, apart from drinking, eating meat, visiting relatives and friends, and extravagance, there is nothing substantial. The reason is that compared with the strong brand advantage of Christmas, we lack a character who can truly represent the Chinese New Year culture. It is precisely because China does not have its own "Santa Claus" that the influence of foreign festivals is growing.
The loss of cultural subjectivity will mean the loss of national spirit and tradition, and the annihilation of national character. Therefore, we have the obligation to carry forward thousands of years of cultural deposits, arouse the people's memory of national culture, identification with the national spirit, and arouse the affinity of the same national origin and the same culture.