A busy year begins on the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month, which is also called "off-year". Off-year is not a special festival. Due to local customs, festivals called off-year are different. During the off-year period, the main folk activities include posting Spring Festival couplets, sweeping dust and offering sacrifices to stoves. ? Off-year is the beginning and foreshadowing of the whole Spring Festival celebration, and there are two main activities: sweeping the New Year and offering sacrifices to stoves. In addition, there is the custom of eating stove candy. In some places, we also eat fire, sugar cakes, oil cakes and tofu soup.

2. The 28th year

In 2008, the old cloth was torn down, and the old year was red. In some places, 2008 was labeled as Year Red. There is a saying in Guangdong that "twenty-eight-year-olds should be sloppy", which means that on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, the whole family should stay at home and clean up and post New Year greetings.

3. New Year's Eve

(1) "New Year's Eve" means New Year's Eve, also called New Year's Eve, New Year's Eve, New Year's Eve, etc. , that is, the last night at the end of the year ((the month1February 30th, the 29th of the month). In addition, it means to remove; Night means night. On New Year's Eve, "the poor month is the end of the year", which is connected with the Spring Festival (the first day of the first month). It means that the year is approaching, people should take off the old cloth for a new one and take off the old one for a new one next year.

(2) New Year's Eve is a time to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, have family reunion and worship ancestors. Because there are 30 days in the big moon and only 29 days in the small moon, the date of New Year's Eve is different from the 29th to 30th, but this day, whether 29th or 30th, is customarily called "New Year's Eve".

(3) In the afternoon of New Year's Eve, we traditionally worship our ancestors and have a family reunion dinner. After New Year's Eve, it is customary to give lucky money and light a lamp to celebrate New Year's Eve. ?

4, the first day of the first month

(1) The first day of the first month was originally called "New Year's Day", and the original meaning of "yuan" was "head", and later it was extended to "start". From the first day of the first month, we entered the theme of celebrating the New Year, offering sacrifices to ancestors and praying for a bumper harvest. On the morning of the Spring Festival, when the door is opened, firecrackers are first set off, which is called "opening firecrackers" to send the old and welcome the new.

(2) After the firecrackers, it is called "full house". Sacrifice to God in the early morning of the first day of the first month, and worship ancestors in the afternoon. Many places have the custom of being vegetarian on the morning of the first day of the first month. On the first day of the new year, people get up early, put on the most beautiful clothes, dress up neatly, go out to visit relatives and friends, and wish good luck in the new year.

5, the second day of the first month

(1) On the second day of the Lunar New Year, people worship God and have New Year's Eve dinner. The daughter who got married on this day went back to her mother's house and asked her husband to go with her, so it was commonly known as "Wedding Day". The daughter who goes back to her parents' house must bring some gifts and red envelopes to her children and have lunch at her parents' house, but she must get back to her husband's house before dinner.

(2) When a girl goes home, if there is a nephew at home, menstruation has to pay for it. Although she gave the lucky money on the first day, this time it has a different meaning. This custom is called "eating midnight snack" by Chaoshan people. As the name implies, it's just lunch, and the daughter must get back to her husband's house before dinner. According to the "Challenge Book", the second day of the first month is "Dog Day".

3, the third day of the first month

New Year's Day, also known as Red Dog Day, is homophonic with "red mouth" and usually does not go out to pay New Year's greetings. It is said that it is easy to quarrel with people on this day. However, this custom has long been out of date, because few people get together in the Spring Festival now, and it has faded a lot. ?

4, the fourth day of the first month

The fourth day of the lunar calendar is the day of offering sacrifices to the god of wealth. It is said in the gauntlet that the fourth day of the first month is the day when Nu Wa herded sheep, so it is called "Sheep Day". On this day, people cannot kill sheep. If the weather is good, it means that sheep will be raised well this year and sheep farmers will have a good harvest.

5, the fifth day of the first month

(1) On the fifth day of the first month, according to the folk custom, it is the birthday of the God of Wealth. Therefore, it is necessary to welcome the God of Wealth into his home and wish his family prosperity in the new year. It is naturally a day to send the "poor" away, so there is a saying of "sending the poor out of the house".

(2) At the same time, this day is also commonly known as "Breaking Five", which means that many taboos in the past few days have ended. Legend has it that the fifth day of the first month is "Cow Day", commonly known as "Breaking Five". People in the north have the custom of eating jiaozi, which means getting rich.

(3) In ancient times, this was true from princes' mansions to small houses in streets and alleys, even for entertaining guests. Women no longer taboo, began to visit each other and congratulate each other. Newly married women go home on this day. In addition to the above taboos, the custom of breaking Mayday is mainly to send the poor, welcome the god of wealth and open the market for trade. ?

6, the sixth day of the first month

The sixth day of the first month is "Horse Day", which is called "Liu Liu Dashun". On this day, every household should throw out the garbage accumulated in the festival, which is called sending it to the poor. ? Lunar New Year's Day is also the opening day of the city. As soon as shops and restaurants officially open for business, firecrackers will be set off, no less than on New Year's Eve. ?

7, the seventh day of the first month

(1) The seventh day is a person's day, which is also a person's birthday. According to Zhan Shu, from the first day, the order of God's creation is "one chicken, three pigs, four sheep, five cows, six horses, seven people and eight valleys", so the seventh day is a human day.

(2) People began to observe daily customs in Han Dynasty, and began to pay attention to them after Wei and Jin Dynasties. In ancient times, people had the custom of "men winning". Men's victory is a headdress, also called Cai Sheng and Watson. Since the Jin Dynasty, people cut the ribbon for flowers, cut the ribbon for people, or carved gold foil for people to hang a screen and wear it in their hair. In addition, there is the custom of climbing high and writing poems.

(3) After the Tang Dynasty, more attention was paid to this festival. The emperor gave his ministers colorful victories every day, and they boarded a grand banquet. If the weather is fine on the seventh day of the first month, the population will be safe and smooth in the first year. ?

8, the eighth day of the first month

The eighth day of the Lunar New Year is the start-up day, which is the first thing for Guangdong bosses to do on their first day of work after the New Year. Profit is profit, which means that it can be profitable all year round. Legend has it that the eighth day of the eighth lunar month is Xiaomi's birthday. On this day, when it is cloudy, it is a year of regret, and when it is sunny, it is a year of harvest. ?

9, the ninth day of the first month

(1) The ninth day of the first month is a sunny day. It is said that this day is the birthday of the jade emperor, the tallest god in the sky, commonly known as "born in heaven". It is said that "God" means "Jade Emperor", and Taoism calls it "Four Emperors", which is the highest god in the sky. He is the supreme god who commands the ten gods in the three realms and all the gods on the earth, and represents the supreme "heaven".

(2) The main customs are offering sacrifices to the Jade Emperor, Taoist temples and fasting the sky. In some places, women prepare incense sticks and fast rice bowls on sunny days, and put them in the open air at the entrance of patio lane to pray for God's blessing.

10, 10th day of the first month.

(1) On the 10th day of the first month, some areas in the south (such as Dongbianyong) have the custom of turning on the lights and holding lantern banquets. In Henan custom, every household pays tribute to the stone on this day, thinking that "ten" is homophonic with "stone", so the tenth day is the birthday of the stone. On this day, all stone tools such as grinding and grinding can't be moved, and even sacrifices are set up to enjoy the stones, for fear of hurting crops. Also known as "stone does not move" and "ten does not move"; You must eat steamed stuffed buns for lunch, thinking that you can make a fortune within one year after eating cake.

1 1, the eleventh day of the first month

On the eleventh day of the first month, "son-in-law's day" is the day when the father-in-law fetes his son-in-law. On the ninth day, there was a lot of leftover food to celebrate the "heavenly descent", except for one day on the tenth day, so the bride's family didn't have to spend any more money, so they used the leftover food to entertain their son-in-law and daughter. The folk song is called "Eleven Husbands".

12, the twelfth day of the first month

On the twelfth day of the first month, we set up a lantern shed, hold a lantern reception, cook a vegetarian meal, make a cup, mark a cannon, and so on. From then on, people began to prepare for the Lantern Festival, buy lanterns, build light sheds, make lanterns and javelin. There is a nursery rhyme that says, "Eleven people clamor, twelve people build a light shed, thirteen people turn on the lights, fourteen lights are on, fifteen lines and a half months, and sixteen people finish the lights." ?

13, 13th and 14th of the first month.

On the 13th and 14th of the first month, there are lion dances, floating colors, wandering souls and visiting temple fairs. Legend has it that the 13th day of the first month is "the birthday of the lampholder", and people should light a lamp under the stove on this day, which is called "lighting the stove". ?

14, 15th day of the first month (Lantern Festival)

(1) On the fifteenth day of the first month, the customs mainly include watching lanterns, swimming lanterns, boating, burning fireworks and celebrating the Lantern Festival. The festivals and customs of Lantern Festival are very distinctive, and the festivals and customs activities have also been extended and expanded with the development of history. As far as the length of festivals is concerned, there is only one day in Han Dynasty, three days in Tang Dynasty and five days in Song Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, lighting began on the eighth day of August and lasted for ten days until the seventeenth night of the first month.

(2) It is a city during the day, which is very lively; It is spectacular to light the lights at night; Especially the exquisite and colorful lights make it the climax of entertainment activities during the New Year.

(3) The Lantern Festival custom has been dominated by lively and festive lantern watching customs since ancient times. Up to now, setting off fireworks is also one of the main customs of Yuanxiao.