Located on the southeast coast of Guangdong Province, China, the Chaoshan region has a unique geographical location and cultural traditions. On the special day of Chinese New Year's Eve, the way Chaoshan people celebrate is full of rich traditional culture.
Before Chinese New Year's Eve, Chaoshan families will start to get busy, preparing various New Year goods and ingredients. In addition to common meat products, Chaoshan people also buy fruits such as citrus and green olives as a symbol of good luck and good luck to welcome relatives and friends.
In addition, families also make a variety of kueh products, such as red turtle kueh, shell peach kueh, and cabbage kueh (radish cake) for Chinese New Year. Most people like to make potato flour kueh. Like the "Chaoshan people love Chaoshan" family, the family will make potato flour kueh every year, because the family likes to eat potato flour kueh.
My family makes my own potato flour and pork cakes
On the afternoon of Chinese New Year's Eve, every Chaoshan person should take a bath, even if the weather is cold. There is a saying in the hometown of "Chaoshan people love Chaoshan": if you don't take a bath on Chinese New Year's Eve, you will be a thief in the new year. Of course, there is no basis for this claim. My personal opinion is that it is just an excuse for parents to trick their children into taking a bath. But every Teochew person will definitely wash clean and welcome the new year on Chinese New Year's Eve.
On Chinese New Year's Eve, Teochew people hold a series of traditional events. The first is to worship the old man, and then the whole family reunion and eat reunion dinner around the fire, which is an important part of the Chaoshan people's Chinese New Year's Eve. The reunion dinner usually includes traditional Chaoshan dishes, such as Chaoshan roast goose, Chaoshan beef balls, various types of seafood, etc. The Chinese New Year's Eve dinner of the Chaoshan people is very "surging".
After the meal, the elders will distribute "New Year's money" to the children and the children to their parents and elders.
After the meal, the women of the family will start to make fried cakes, crispy dumplings and other "fast cakes" to prepare to worship their husbands on the first day of tomorrow. Because the first day of the first month of the first month is fasting, the first day of the new year must also be fasted for breakfast. When this is done, mop the floor again, because you can't clean it with a broom for the next few days. If you clean with a broom, you will sweep the "wealth" out of the house.
After eating Chinese New Year's Eve, it is officially the New Year. At this time, when visiting the surrounding neighbors, it is necessary to bring "big oranges" (that is, Chaoshan oranges), which is also the custom of Chaoshan people for the New Year. If you don't bring a "big orange", the owner will generally be unhappy. When returning home, the owner will also change the "big orange", which means that everyone will be "auspicious" in the coming year, and everything is in order.
At midnight, most Chaoshan people will set off firecrackers to welcome the new year. There are two reasons why firecracker paper cannot be cleaned: it is already the New Year, and you can't take a broom, otherwise you will sweep your wealth out of the house;
In general, the way Chaoshan people celebrate Chinese New Year's Eve is full of strong traditional culture, showing their deep affection for family, family affection and traditional culture.
I don't know if everyone's way to spend Chinese New Year's Eve is the same?