The Spring Festival is the grandest one in Taizhou. According to the old custom, the celebration at the Spring Festival lasts from the first day to the eighth day of the first lunar month. The eighth day is called as “Xie Ba” (Praying for blessings on the eighth day of the first lunar month) by Wenling natives while there is also a saying in Yuhuan goes: “A full celebration goes through from the first day to the eighth day of the first lunar month”.
A variety of custom activities at the Spring Festival are connected with the celebration of the Lunar New Year.
A new year has come just upon passing of the last moment of the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month (the twenty-ninth day in case of a 29-days month of the lunar calendar). The very moment is named “Starts of a year, a month and an hour”. Every household opens its door and sets off firecrackers, which is called “The firecrackers for opening the door”. At this moment, people staying up for the New Year’s arrival on ships along the shore will also start anchor windlasses. Withdrawing one-ren (an ancient measure of length equal to seven or eight chi) anchor line is called “Becoming one year older”. Meanwhile, firecrackers will be set off to celebrate as well.
This welcome ceremony was recorded in Jingchu’s Festivals: “Get up at dawn and set off firecrackers in front of houses to exorcise evil spirits on the first day of the lunar New Year”. Nowadays, people follow the custom not for superstitious beliefs, but for welcoming the New Year and praying for good luck. It is called “A start of spring”.
According to the old custom, after the start of spring, every household light candles, incenses and spiritual money, offer tea and fruit as the sacrifice to the heaven, gods, ancestors and their portraits. Yuhuan natives originated from the south of Fujian Province offer sweet tea made of brown sugar and red jujube, together with longans, sweets, cakes, citrus and other food as the sacrifice to the heaven and gods.
According to the traditional practice, people rarely travel on the first day of the first lunar month. They only visit friends and neighbors nearby and send best wishes to each other. Residents in Yuhuan, Wenling and Linhai often offer red-jujube tea, seasonal fruit and sweets to their guests, as the saying goes: "Red jujubes ensure a good year". However, people do not eat red jujubes, but only take a sip of tea before they leave, as the saying goes: “Only the people lacking of family education may drink up the tea”. Therefore, there is a saying: “Visiting many homes is better than staying at one”. Besides, each of the children of relatives and friends will get a string of copper cash, called “A gift for the old year’s passing” or “New year’s gift”. Nowadays, people use red paper to wrap money as a gift, together with biscuits, cakes and seasonal fruit. According to those written in Folk Customs of Linhai County Annals in the Qing Dynasty under Emperor Kangxi’s Reign, Linhai also had the custom of worshiping ancestors’ graves on this day, which is called “Worshiping Graves”.
People hardly travel at the Spring Festival in accordance with the custom, while climbing mountains and city tour have been very popular in the contemporary era. For example, Tiantai natives visit Guoqing Temple and Chicheng Mountain; people around Shashan in Yuhuan climb Luanyan Mountain; Chumen natives climb Da shan Tou or visit Lingshan Temple in Niujiaokeng; Linhai natives visit East Lake and Jinzi Mountain; Huangyan natives climb Jiufeng Mountain, etc. Incessant streams of tourists are visiting at the festival. According to Tiantai’s Festivals of Chinese Customs Annals by Hu Pu’an, before the Liberation, women living in Tiantai’s Chengguan went up the city wall for overlooking, and then went around the city as a “city tour”. Linhai once followed this old custom as well.
The breakfast on the first day of the first lunar month is taken seriously, as it is the first breakfast of the year. Yuxiang natives favor “Longevity Noodles”; Wenling and Sanmen natives love “Bean Flour Soup” with millet bread and steamed sponge cake; Linhai natives like Tangyuan, glutinous rice congee; some Huangyan natives eat dough and rice dumpling. Vegetarian food is commonly favored. On this day, people often say something pleasant like “Wishing you good health and longevity” to acquaintances passing by.
It is said that people do not have rice for lunch on the first day of the first lunar month, but have rice cakes, pasta and mixed soup instead, for a peaceful, comfortable and harmonious year. In some places, people never drink thin soup all day long, or they will be showered afterwards. It is deemed that people will be showered outside their homes if they eat rice soup on the first day of the lunar year. Linhai natives do not eat rice before the eighth day of the first lunar month.
Tiantai natives like eating “Rice Porridge” on the first day. According to Tiantai’s Festivals of Chinese Customs Annals by Hu Pu’an, eating “Rice Porridge” is for “praying for five blessings”.
There are many other taboos on the day: no sweeping, no handling knives, no needlework, no work, no business, no sword, and no fight. The hatred between people is swept away this day. The well is forbidden to use. Because a legend says that the well god regards one year as a day, so the first day of the year is the morning of a day. The well surface is a mirror for her to dress up. She will get angry if the water surface is disturbed, and then give no blessing. Nowadays, taboos are gradually discarded like no sweeping, no handling knives, no drawing water, no work and no business.
In Taizhou, natives originated from the south of Fujian Province and Wenzhou usually go out on the second day of the first lunar month, visiting their relatives and friends with gifts. Children often visit their grandfathers, uncles and aunts; sons-in-law visit their parents-in-law; some bring gifts to visit the seniority of the same clan and old friends. All this is called “Paying a new year call”. The older generations give red envelops with gift money in to younger generations.
The second day is regarded as “Funeral day” in Taizhou. People engaged in beravement last year have to arrange spirit tablets and mourning halls at home for relatives and friends to offer sacrifice with candles and spiritual money. This is called “Receiving spiritual money”. Relatives and friends' visiting is called “Worshiping the tablet”.
In case no spirit tablet is arranged, it is necessary to post in obvious places of the entrance of lanes and roads and wall doors notes like “No tablet, no receiving spiritual money” or “No candles and spiritual money" or “No receiving spiritual money”, etc. The notes have to be signed to notify the relatives and friends.
People who were not engaged in beravement last year do not entertain visitors. People dropping in despite of the customs will be deemed ominous, or even rejected.
According to Folk Customs of Yuhuan Annals written in the Qing Dynasty under Emperor Guangxu’s reign, there were records about “Arrangement of spirit tablets in New Year”, “Relatives and friends worship” and “The Host extends gratitude to guests with food”, which proves that the custom have a long history in the coastal areas.
People who arrange home sacrifice on the second day of the first lunar month will withdraw the spirit tablet on the third day, namely “Ending of sacrifice”. Some may distribute food to lower generations, called “Distributing food”.
On the third day of the first lunar month, the custom requests “Visiting newly built graves”. It is the extension of the home sacrifice on the second day. It is commonly referred to as “Visiting the live first and then the dead”. The ceremony is the same as that for the tomb sweeping at the Qingming Festival. “Jiu Zi bowl” is commonly used, with mung bean cakes, chicken cakes, meat, fish, tea and others in. According to the old custom, people worship graves according to seniority, which is called “Worshiping the grave” or “The third day’s visit”. In addition, people add soil on the grave and put spiritual money on it.
The fourth day of the first lunar month is a day for welcoming the Kitchen God. People sent off the Kitchen God before the New Year’s Day. On the fourth day, however, people prepare animal sacrifice and sweet wine, and burn paper horse and post portrait of the “Kitchen God” to welcome the god, which is called “Welcoming the god”. On the day, the people originated from the south of Fujian Province prohibit drying clothes on the bamboo pole, because they fear this may hinder the god from coming down to earth. Women’s underwear is the biggest obstacle. Only after the welcome ceremony is done can people draw water from wells and carry water. According to the old customs, Wenling and Yuhuan natives have to insert the incense the burn spiritual money in front of the raised platform around the well before drawing water from it. The above custom is gradually discarded after the establishment of the P.R.C., while a few villages retain the custom.
It is boisterous on the eighth day of the first lunar month. The custom of “Visiting eight temples” once prevailed in Tiantai, Huangyan, Linhai, Xianju and other counties. In Huangyan, children in the villages set off firecrackers happily on that day; which is called “The happy celebration on the eighth day”.
After the eighth day, folk activities for celebrating the New Year come to an end.
