春聯
chun lian
ㄔㄨㄣ ㄌㄧㄢˊ
Spring Festival coupletsTo paste the Spring Festival couplets onto the doors and windows before the lunar new year may have become a tradition for Chinese for thousands of years. But how did it come this tradition? Anyone who knows its origination, please tell me.
Here I found 2 sources from interent. Looks the same.
1.
http://home.educities.edu.tw/hswer/hs5-6.htm2.
http://www.gio.gov.tw/info/festival_c/spring/slogans.htmIn summary, both above two said the Spring Festival couplets came from 「 桃 符 」 (tao fu, a kind of symbol), wich can avoid all the evil and wicked.
The Lunar New Year often comes on the end of January or beginning of Feburary. In Chinese 過年(guo nian) means to pass(過guo) the year(年nian). 過新年 means pass(過guo) the new(新xin) year(年nian).
What is the further meaning for 年? We have taught since our childhood and student days that it means a strange and terrible monster named 年獸(nian shou), which will come out to eat people at the lunar new year eve. To avoid being eaten by it, the family need to gather and dinner together. They will eat 年菜(nian cai, dishes of foods) and 年糕(nian gao, Chinese pastry) together. They will not sleep or keep the light on the whole night to pass the year or the monster (過年, guo nian) during the New Year Eve. Besides, people know the year monster is afriad of red color, noise and firelight. Finally it leads people a traditional nowadays to paste spring festival red couplets, to hang the red lantern, to wear red clothes, to give red envelope with money to children and elders, to let off firecrackers and to burn firewood in the yard for the lunar new year.
Here are the references about the year monster(年獸, nian shou):
1.
http://www.gio.gov.tw/info/culture_c/culture35zh.htm2.
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B9%B4%E7%8D%B83.
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/virechild&article_id=41480464.
http://www.chinatownconnection.com/chinese-new-year-legend.htmHere is the reference about the red envelope for the money given to children or elders as a Spring Festival gift. (壓歲錢, ya sui qian):
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A3%93%E6%AD%B2%E9%8C%A2Since the people pass the year monster, they will "congratulate " (恭喜, gong xi) to each other when they get up in the morning for the reason that they pass it safely. Since the people is safe in the new year, they wish to be more prosperous in the future. That is why they congratulate and "wish prosperous" to each other and saying 恭喜發財(Gong Xi Fa Cai). Of course, you can also say 恭喜發大財(Gong Xi Fa Da Cai). 發財 means to have a lot of money and 大 means big and much more. This tradition seems let foreigners think of that Chinese is a people who especially loves money so much. Do you also think so? :-)
THE SECOND BOOK OF MOSES CALLED EXODUS
CHAPTER 12
The Lord institutes the Passover, and the feast of unleavened bread—Lambs slain are without blemish—Israel saved by their blood—Firstborn of all Egyptians slain—Israel thrust out of Egypt after 430 years—No bones of paschal lambs shall be broken.
1 And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
2 This
month shall be unto you the
beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.
3 ¶ Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his
eating shall make your count for the lamb.
5 Your
lamb shall be without blemish, a male
of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
6 And ye shall keep it up until the
fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. 
9 Eat not of it raw, nor
sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the
purtenance thereof.
10 And ye shall let nothing of it
remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.
11 ¶ And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins
girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in
haste: it is the Lord’s passover.
12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the
firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the
gods of Egypt I will execute
judgment: I am the Lord.
13 And the blood shall be to you for a
token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
14 And this
day shall be unto you for a
memorial; and ye shall keep it a
feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a
feast by an ordinance
for ever.
15 Seven days shall ye eat
unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be
cut off from Israel.
16 And in the first day there shall be an holy
convocation, and in the
seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.
17 And ye shall observe the
feast of
unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your
armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations
by an ordinance for ever.
18 ¶ In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.
19 Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a
stranger, or born in the land.
20 Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.
21 ¶ Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them,
Draw out and take you a
lamb according to your
families, and kill the
passover.
22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the
blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.
23 For the Lord will
pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will
pass over the door, and will not
suffer the
destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.
24 And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.
25 And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.
26 And it shall come to pass, when your
children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?
27 That ye shall say, It is the
sacrifice of the Lord’s
passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and
delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.
28 And the children of Israel went away, and did as the Lord had
commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.
29 ¶ And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord
smote all the
firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.
30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one
dead.
31 ¶ And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you
forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said.
32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.
33 And the Egyptians were
urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.
34 And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.
35 And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they
borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of
silver, and jewels of gold, and
raiment:
36 And the Lord gave the people
favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they
lent unto them such things as they required. And they
spoiled the Egyptians.
