As the dominant ethnic group in China, the Han people also have diverse customs and habits, which are reflected in clothing, food, housing and transportation.
1. Han costumes
In areas with colder climates such as Qinghai, Han people wear more leather and wool products.
During the Qing Dynasty, men from wealthy families wore long robes, mandarin jackets, and melon-pipe hats. The woman wears a singlet and long blouse, with her feet bound and small pointed-toe cloth shoes. Common people generally wear coarse cloth short coats, brown coats (coats made of wool), long and short leather coats made of sheepskin or goatskin, cloth trousers or brown trousers, black and white felt hats, belts, and leggings.
During the Republic of China, men's clothing was basically the same as that of the Qing Dynasty, but they did not wear braids. They wore melon skin hats, black and white felt hats in summer, and locomotive hats, lambskin hats or fox fur hats in winter. Men wear cloth shoes or homemade boat-shaped shoes with uppers and soles, and women wear embroidered cloth shoes. Older women have high braided hair, while young and middle-aged women wear oil-flowered hair, silver hairpins and other jewelry, and silver and copper earrings, rings and bracelets.
After 1949, men wore Mao suits or Lenin suits, while women wore braids or haircuts, no jewelry, and simple clothing. In the 1980s, clothing became increasingly fashionable, with men wearing suits, jackets, etc.; women's clothing continued to change, and gold and silver rings, earrings, necklaces, etc. were favored by young women.
2. Han nationality’s diet
The Han nationality’s food structure is close to that of the Hui nationality. The more special methods of making noodles include: oven-fired steamed buns; deep-fried fried buns, oiled buns, and somersaults; highland barley noodles baked with dried grains and pot helmets. In summer, people in the countryside like to eat nettle soup, leeks, pancakes, etc. After the autumn grain is semi-ripe, the highland barley grains are used to make wheat starch, cooked in oil, and served with chopped green onion, salt, coriander, etc. It has a unique flavor and is also called "eating green".
The Han people eat pork, beef, mutton, etc. Especially the "lamb quilt" is very particular. You choose a fat lamb, slaughter it and cut it into small pieces, add seasonings, fry it with green oil, add a little water, cover it with a large flour cake, and simmer it over a warm fire. The bread is eaten with soup and lamb meat. It is tender, delicious and nutritious. It is a delicacy for entertaining distinguished guests.
Han people love to drink milk tea and Fu tea. Every happy event requires drinking, and the chef is invited to prepare a banquet with eight plates of meat, eight plates of seafood, and ten large bowls.
3. The Han people live in single-family courtyards surrounded by earthen walls.
In the past, most houses were made of earth and wood, with the north room facing south as the main room. There is a nave in the middle of the main room, where a long table or noodle cabinet is placed. There is a garden in the courtyard, and most of the doors open to the south. A fire pit is made indoors by the window, and a felt blanket is laid on it for eating or resting.
From the 1980s to the 1990s, tile-roofed houses with brick and wood structures gradually replaced earth houses. Around 1949, iron and copper braziers, dung blocks made of cow and horse dung, or firewood were used for heating indoors.
After the 1950s, coal was mined in large quantities, and mud stoves and iron stoves replaced braziers. In the 1960s, bicycles, rubber-tired carts, and trucks gradually became the means of transportation. After the 1980s, bicycles, cars, tractors, motorcycles, etc. have become common means of transportation.
4. Han marriage
Before 1949, young Han men and women followed "the orders of their parents and the words of the matchmaker" when getting married, and practiced arranged marriages. Early marriages, child brides, and consanguineous marriages are common. After 1953, the Marriage Law was implemented, freedom of marriage was implemented, and vulgar customs such as arranged marriage, concubinage, and child brides were abolished. We advocate simple weddings and hold collective weddings with simple weddings and simple folk customs.
In the 1970s, family planning and late marriage and childbearing were advocated. In the 1980s, as incomes increased, wedding gifts gradually escalated, including cars, furniture sets, and high-end clothes. Comparison with each other is becoming more and more popular. Although simple marriages are advocated, the results are not very effective. The wedding ceremony of the Han people is relatively complicated and varies from place to place.
5. Fertility of the Han people
The Han people, regardless of whether they have a boy or a girl, pay more attention to the first child. On the second day after the baby is born, the son-in-law announces the good news to his parents-in-law and major relatives. On the third day, put a basin with flowers, cypress leaves, red dates and coins to bathe the baby, which is called "washing three".
On the 10th or 30th day, the maternal uncle’s family brings clothes, food, etc. to visit the mother, which is called "moon watching".
When a child reaches its 100th birthday, the elders are asked to shave their hair and name them "Guo Baisui" or "Guo Bailu" to wish the child good health and longevity.
6. Funerals of the Han people
The Han people mainly practice burials with occasional cremation. Funerals are divided into "tearful mourning" and "happy mourning". The death of parents in middle age is called "tearful mourning". Those who pass away after their sixtieth birthday are called "happy mourning".
After a person dies, he changes into new clothes and the body is kept in the main hall of the main house for 3 to 7 days. Cover the body with white paper or cloth, and cover the surface with red and blue cloth pieces. "Head-offering food" is placed in front of the soul, and paper money is burned in a basin. At the same time, the funeral is announced to relatives and neighbors, and Feng Shui masters or elders are invited to break the earth and dig a grave in the relative's tomb.
Before the funeral, relatives and neighbors express their condolences and send tents, steamed buns, rice, wreaths, gold and silver buckets, money, etc. The family of the deceased entertains relatives and friends with a funeral banquet. The son of the deceased wears a hemp crown and carries a mourning stick, and is called "filial son". The daughter-in-law and younger women wear filial piety shirts. Some asked drummers to play mournful music.
The day before the funeral, a banquet is held for the uncle of the deceased and the elders of the neighbors. The "filial son" reports on the treatment of the disease and preparations for the funeral, and allows the relatives and neighbors to comment on the quality of filial piety. If there is disobedience and unfilial piety, public criticism or corporal punishment is called "mother's mother's talk". When the deceased is buried early in the morning on the funeral day, the children have the custom of "looking at the bones".
During the funeral, the "filial son" carries the family tree and holds soul flags and other items. The old man must be buried before the sun rises. Three days after the burial, relatives visit the grave to pay homage, which is called "Quan San". On the 49th day, 100th day and 1st anniversary, people also visit the graves to pay homage. Unmarried boys and girls are usually cremated and buried on the spot.
7. Han nationality festivals
The main Han nationality festivals include Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, etc. The Spring Festival is also called the Chinese New Year. Before the festival, people slaughter pigs and sheep, prepare food and new year's goods, and clean indoor and outdoor areas. Post Spring Festival couplets on New Year's Eve and visit the graves of ancestors. At night, the whole family stays together and eats New Year's Eve dinner, and the elderly give New Year's money to the children. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, families pay New Year greetings to their elders. Starting from the second day of the Lunar New Year, relatives and friends send New Year blessings to each other.
On the Lantern Festival, there are dragon and lion dances, costumed eight bachelors, lantern officials, mute donkeys, fat ladies, stilt walking, small singing and other popular social performances.
During the Dragon Boat Festival, willow branches are placed at the door of every house, rice dumplings, colored eggs, cold noodles are eaten, realgar wine is drunk, and children wear various styles of sachets. Many families go out to have dinner outdoors, which is called "outing" or "outing".
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, every household uses wheat flour to make mooncakes or baked snacks with various patterns. From 9 to 10 pm, moon cakes, watermelons, fresh fruits, etc. are placed on the courtyard table, which is called "Moon Offering". Young people cracked whips in alleys and yards. There is also the custom of stealing mooncakes at night.
In addition, there are also festivals such as "Zhengtwen", "February 2", "October 1", and "Laba". There are also traditions of worshiping ancestors and Buddhas, such as "Tianshe (Spring Equinox)", "Qingming", "April 8", "June 6", "July 15", and "Sacrifice to the Stove" on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month and other activities.