Spring Festival Story 1: The origin of lucky money Legend has it that a monster named Chong will come out on New Year's Eve and touch a child's head with his hand. The child will cry in fear, then have a headache and become a fool. There was a couple who had a son in their later years and regarded him as their favorite. On New Year's Eve, they were afraid that "worship" would harm their children, so they took out eight copper coins to play with them. In the middle of the night, as soon as Chong reached out to touch the child's head, it was flashed by the pillow and Chong ran away in fear. Because "worship" and "age" are homophonic, it is called "lucky money" over time.
Nowadays, lucky money is a traditional custom of Han nationality. Generally speaking, during the countdown to the Chinese New Year, the elders put money in red envelopes for the younger generation. Lucky money has a good meaning. It is generally believed that it can ward off evil spirits and keep peace.
Story 2 of the Spring Festival: Legend has it that there is a fierce monster called Nian, who usually lives at the bottom of the sea, climbs ashore to eat people on the last day of each year, and then leaves on the first day of the New Year.
Every family doesn't dare to sleep on New Year's Eve, so they have to have a big New Year's Eve dinner, because it is probably the last meal in this life. On New Year's Day, everyone dares to go out and visit relatives and friends to celebrate not being eaten by Nian Beasts. This is the origin of the word "Chinese New Year".
Later, under the guidance of a mysterious old man, people finally realized that Nian beast was afraid of noise and red, so they set off firecrackers, chopped dumplings, hung red lights at the gate, and posted couplets to pray for blessings, scaring Nian beast away. Since then, we have had the custom of eating jiaozi, decorating lanterns, putting up couplets and setting off firecrackers in the New Year.
Story 3 of the Spring Festival: According to legend, Emperor Taizong was ill in bed in his later years. He often had nightmares at night and occasionally heard the cries of evil spirits. Therefore, Emperor Taizong ordered Qin Qiong and Weichi Gong to escort them and stand outside the bedroom at night. As a result, when the two generals stood in the palace, Emperor Taizong really fell asleep. However, Emperor Taizong thought it was too difficult for the two generals to stand guard at night, so he asked the painter to draw their portraits and put them outside the door to deter those unclean things.
Therefore, people began to follow suit and put portraits of Qin Qiong and Weichi Gong on both sides of the gate to exorcise evil spirits and pray. This custom has been spread to this day. Qin Qiong and Weichi Gong are the most popular door gods among the people, and their portraits are posted every Spring Festival.
Story 4 of the Spring Festival: The day to greet the God of Wealth during the Spring Festival is the fifth day of the first month. It is said that this day is the birthday of the God of Wealth. From the first day, we should be ready to meet the god of wealth. On the fourth night, every family will hold a banquet to celebrate the birthday of the God of Wealth and welcome him. Who is this God of Wealth? Legend has it that in the Song Dynasty, the people thought that Cai Jing, the prime minister, was rich, so they said that he was born as a god of wealth, and because he was born on the fifth day of the first month, the people worshipped Cai Jing as a god of wealth. Later, after the fall of Cai Jing, the people changed their name to Zhao in the Song Dynasty, so the people named it ""and worshipped it.
These are the four legendary stories I know about the Spring Festival. What else do you know, my friend? Say it in the comments section.