"Yuan" means beginning, and "Dan" means dawn. New Year's Day (New Year's Day) is the first day of a year, also known as the "new calendar year" and "solar calendar year". New Year's Day is also called "three yuan", that is, year yuan, month yuan and hour yuan.
In A.D. 19 1 1, the Revolution of 1911 led by Sun Yat-sen overthrew the rule of the Qing Dynasty and established the Republic of China. In order to "follow the agricultural season, so follow the western calendar, so do statistics", the first year of the Republic of China decided to use the Gregorian calendar (actually used as 19 12), and stipulated that Gregorian calendar 1 was called "New Year's Day", but not "New Year's Day".
Today's "New Year's Day" is the first plenary session of China People's Political Consultative Conference on September 27th, A.D. 1949. When we decided to establish the Republic of China, we also decided to adopt the universal calendar, officially designated the Gregorian calendar 1 as "New Year's Day" and changed the first day of the first lunar month to "Spring Festival".
New Year's Day customs around the world
Germany ②
German New Year customs are very similar to the Spring Festival in China. 65438+February 3 1 Midnight, gorgeous fireworks lit up the night sky, just like New Year's Eve in China, and even the origin of the tradition of setting off fireworks is exactly the same as the story of the year of China.
According to legend, Germans believe that evil spirits will come out to do evil on 65438+February 3 1. In order to drive them away, the Germans will roll the burning wooden wheels into the valley. In addition, people used flowerpots and bells to make noise to drive away ghosts, and later drums and horns were added, so hunters could also fire guns that night.
Gradually, setting off fireworks to drive away ghosts has become a tradition of German New Year. German law has also given a "green light" for this, and only people are allowed to set off fireworks from 65438+February 3 1 to 65438+1 October1in one year. For Germans, the New Year without fireworks is simply unimaginable.
In German, "roast goose at Christmas" and "carp on New Year's Eve" have become two fixed words, so it is not difficult to see the eating habits of Germans during the New Year.
Some Germans not only eat fish, but also put a fish scale in their wallets on New Year's Eve. Folk saying is that it can bring people good luck and make a fortune in the new year.
For Germans, four-leaf clovers, pigs and horseshoes can bring good luck. Therefore, when people bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, they will give each other some related mascots.
Germany also has good luck and bad luck. Washing clothes and drying clothes on New Year's Eve is a big taboo. It is said that ghosts and gods will get entangled in the clothesline on New Year's Eve, which will bring bad luck. In addition, on New Year's Eve, "work" is also taboo, which is really welcome.
▍ France
New Year's Day in France was originally 1 in April every year. It was not until 1564 10/4 that King Charles IX changed it to 1.
On New Year's Eve, friends get together and have a good drink, because there is a superstition in France that if there is wine in the bottle at home on New Year's Eve, it will be bad luck in the coming year. Therefore, people must drink every drop of wine at home on this night, and all people must get drunk, so that the new year will have a new beginning.
In the early morning of June 65438+ 10/day, parents will give their children "lucky money" to show their love for their children.
In addition, the French attach great importance to the weather on New Year's Day, because they regard the weather on New Year's Day as the new year. Therefore, it is also an indispensable tradition to watch the wind in the street on the morning of New Year's Day. If the south wind blows on this day, it indicates a happy new year and all the best; If the west wind blows, fishing and milking will have a bumper year; When the east wind blows, the fruit is high this year; If the north wind blows, the harvest will be poor this year. Therefore, people are most concerned about the weather forecast on the first day of New Year's Day.
America
New Year's Day is one of the major festivals celebrated in American states, but in America, it is far less lively than Thanksgiving or Christmas.
However, California's New Year celebrations are unique. When the new year comes, roses are everywhere in the streets and lanes, and dozens of floats decorated with flowers slowly pass by with girls in dresses. During the festival, people will choose the rose queen and princess of that year to greet the New Year aesthetically.
Britain ②
In Britain, New Year's Day on the Gregorian calendar is not as grand as Christmas, but on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, people will carry out various celebrations according to local customs to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new.
On New Year's Eve, English people often go out to visit with cakes and wine. They go straight to their relatives and friends' houses without knocking. According to British custom, the first person to set foot in the house after New Year's Eve indicates good luck in the new year.
If the first guest is a man with dark hair, or a happy, happy and rich person, the host will be very lucky all the year round. If the first guest is a woman with light yellow hair, or a sad, poor and unfortunate person, then the host will be unlucky and will encounter difficulties and disasters in the new year. People who visit relatives and friends' homes on New Year's Eve should first stir the fire in the fireplace and wish the host "open the door" before speaking.
▍Thailand
The traditional Thai New Year, namely Songkran Festival (Sanskrit transliteration), is also called Songkran Festival, and the time is from April 13 to June 16 on the Gregorian calendar every year.
During the festival, people travel with huge Buddha statues in cars, followed by floats, on which stood the "Goddess Gan Song" in makeup, and groups of young men and women in colorful national costumes, drumming long drums, singing and dancing. On both sides of the road where the parade passed, good men and women walked along the street, pouring water soaked in scallops and permeated with spices on the Buddha statue and the "Goddess of Gan Song" to pray for a happy New Year and good weather. Then people throw water at each other, wishing their elders health and longevity, and wishing their relatives and friends a happy New Year. Unmarried young men and women show their love for each other by splashing water.
On the first day of the new year, Thais will put a basin of clear water on the windowsill and doorway, and every family will go to the riverside in the suburbs to take a New Year bath. In order to celebrate the New Year, Thailand held a large-scale "Elephant Race Conference", which included tug-of-war among elephants, elephants jumping up to pick up things, elephants crossing people, elephant football matches, and ancient elephant array performances. This is very exciting and moving.
▍ Japan
Japanese people pay special attention to the New Year, and every year 65438+February 29th-65438+1October 3rd is a national holiday. The Japanese call 65438+February 3 1 "Great Dark Day", that is, New Year's Eve. On New Year's Eve, the Japanese call it "New Year's Eve". At night, they pray for the gods to send away the troubled old year and usher in a beautiful new year. This is the so-called "first day". At midnight on New Year's Eve, temples in urban and rural areas rang bells 108 to exorcise evil spirits, while the Japanese sat quietly listening to the "Night Bell". When the bell stops, it means the arrival of a new year.
People leave their seats and go to bed, hoping to have a good dream. On New Year's morning, families sit around and tell each other about their dreams on New Year's Eve to test good luck or bad luck. The Japanese call the first day of New Year's Day "Zhengri" and 1-3 "Sanhe Day". On Sunday, the younger generation will go to their parents' home to pay New Year greetings, and then go to relatives and friends' homes to pay New Year greetings.
The New Year is still a "eating" festival, and people all over the world pray for good luck by eating their own food. On the day of "Zhengri", the Japanese have a very rich breakfast, eating sugar, buckwheat noodles and drinking Tu Su wine. After that, I went vegetarian for three days in a row to show my piety and pray for good luck in the coming year. At present, most urban people in Japan have given up the habit of being vegetarian in the New Year, and instead have a hollow noodle at midnight snack to wish them health and longevity in the new year.
:: Egypt
In 40 BC, Egyptians began to observe the stars. They found that when Sirius rose with the sun, the Nile water rose immediately. Egypt regards the day when the Nile rises as the beginning of the new year, which is called the "Rising Water New Year". In Croute, people always put a table at the door to welcome the New Year. Seven or eight dishes are filled with grains of soybeans, lentils, alfalfa and wheat, and there are many green plant buds, which symbolize abundance. The more you give to God, the more you will get in the new year.
The New Year in Egypt is in autumn, because agricultural production in Egypt begins in autumn.
India
In India, the New Year begins on June 3rd1,10 every year. * * * There are five days, and the fourth day is New Year's Day. On the first day of the new year, no one is allowed to be angry with others, let alone lose his temper. However, in some parts of India, on the morning of New Year's Day, every family kept crying and everyone's face was covered with tears. They think that time is fleeting and life is short. Crying to welcome the New Year is a lament for life.
In some areas, Indians welcome the New Year by fasting for one day and one night, from the wee hours of New Year's Day to midnight. Because of this weird custom, New Year's Day in India is called "Crying New Year's Day" and "Fasting New Year's Day". In the first five days of the New Year in China, Indians will perform the Indian epic Ramayana (meaning the adventure of Rama) everywhere, play the hero in the epic and fight the paper giant. The "hero" triggered a burning arrow, and the paper giant was ignited and burned in the cheers of the audience.
Before New Year's Eve, all kinds of beautiful pictures were posted in front of every household. On the morning of New Year's Day, people go out to pay New Year greetings to the elderly, relatives and friends with elaborate lanterns and red envelopes. After meeting and congratulating each other, they will paint red powder on each other's foreheads to show good luck and look up to see each other. Young people put red ink into Shui Mu's warehouse and shoot it on relatives and friends. This is called "sprinkling red", which means good luck.
Indian youth like to fight unarmed during the New Year, whether they are familiar with it or not. Watching and cheering is often the goal pursued by girls. To celebrate the New Year, Boxhiler people, an indigenous people in central India, erected a smooth and thick wooden pole on the playground, with a small bag full of gifts at the top of the pole. Girls hold straw poles to stop boys from climbing on the poles, and boys form a circle under the poles, trying to prevent girls from attacking pole climbers until the pole climbers win with small bags.