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Period: 2070 BCE to 1600 BCE
Originated in Xia Dynasty
Chun Jie originated in the legendary period of China. Chun Jie at this time is around the first month of the lunar calendar.
During the festival, people held worship to remove the old and welcome the new, and reunited with relatives and friends to celebrate and entertain. -
Period: 1300 BCE to 1046 BCE
Mining and metallurgy appeared
In the Shang Dynasty, Chun Jie was in December of the lunar calendar every year.
With the development of folk mining and metallurgy, bronze wares appeared, people began to use bronze ware in worship. -
202 BCE
Etiquette Culture of the Han Dynasty
The custom of visiting friends on the second morning of the Spring Festival began in the Han Dynasty, because the Han Dynasty was influenced by Confucianism and paid special attention to etiquette culture -
Period: 400 to 421
Lion dance
During the period of Sixteen Kingdoms ancient China was divided into sixteen small countries, and there were frequent cultural exchanges among the small countries due to reasons such as wars and marriages.
During a short period of time, lion dance culture was introduced to middle China from the kingdom of Xiliang.
People perform lion dances to celebrate important events, for example, Chun Jie. -
420
Beast "Nian"
"Nian" is a beast. In the legend, it comes out to eat people on the night of Chun Jie every year.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, stories about the beast "Nian" spread, so people at that time had the habit of "keeping the year old", that is, closing the door at home the first night and staying up until dawn the next day.
This custom has been preserved to this day and is called "Shou Sui". -
598
New Year card
During the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong Li Shimin was open-minded. Every Chun Jie, he used gold foil to make a New Year's blessing card, and bestowed it on the ministers.
This situation quickly became popular among the people. People used letter paper instead of gold foil to write blessings and present the paper to relatives and friends. -
960
The spread of black powder
Black powder was invented in the late Tang Dynasty. It was widely used in the Song Dynasty and became popular among the people.
At the same time, people began to circulate that "the beast 'Nian' is afraid of red and loud noises", so people made gunpowder into firecrackers, set them off during Chun Jie, and began to wear red clothes. -
1368
Economic development
Since the Ming Dynasty, the celebrations of Chun Jie generally don’t officially end until after the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month.
This situation occurred because the Ming Dynasty had a good economic foundation. The good economy made people's lives extraordinarily good, the social atmosphere was open, and people began to pay attention to entertainment, so there was more time to celebrate the festival. -
1370
Northern and Southern Diet Changes
The Ming Dynasty ruled the north and the south, and built many transportation systems and transportation systems, so the economic and cultural exchanges between the north and the south increased. Many foods spread from the north to the south, such as dumplings, dates and walnuts; many southern foods also spread to the north, such as persimmons, lychees, and candied haws. Therefore, the food that the north and the south ate during the Spring Festival was gradually similar. -
The Qing government unified the country
During the rule of the Manchu Qing government, more northern customs were brought into the southern region, so the southerners at that time also had many northern customs during the Spring Festival. For example, the first food to eat during the Spring Festival must be sweet pastry. -
Religious customs
The Qing Dynasty implemented the rule of the unity of administration and religion. The rulers mainly supported Buddhism, while regulating Confucianism and Taoism. Therefore, people paid special attention to religion at that time. During Chun Jie, many people went to temples to burn incense to pray for good luck for the year.
Until now, many Chinese people around the world still go to temples during the Spring Festival. -
The New Culture Movement
During the New Culture Movement, many scholars believed that some ancient cultures had to be abolished if China wanted to become powerful. The Beiyang government advocated "breaking the old and establishing the new", advocating the abolition of the lunar calendar and switching to the Gregorian calendar to celebrate the New Year. -
Tried to abolish Lunar New Year
The government of the Republic of China tried to abolish the Lunar New Year and change Chun Jie custom to the Western New Year. -
Failed to abolish Lunar New Year
The laws and acts of abolishing the Lunar New Year were not accepted by the people at that time, so the relevant laws were suspended.
The government stated that "with regard to the New Year's Day, except for public agencies, folk customs should not interfere too much" -
Cultural Revolution
During the Cultural Revolution, the State Council of the People's Republic of China issued a notice asking the masses to "change customs". During Chun Jie, production should be promoted and holidays would no longer be held. Traditional customs were regarded as the "four olds" and were abolished. -
Restoration of Chun Jie holidays and traditional customs
After the reform and opening up, Xiaoping Deng put forward the theory of "reforming internally and opening up to the outside world" and "emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts". China was gradually recovering with traditional holidays and traditional customs. -
Popularity of WeChat video calling
WeChat video calls became popular across China, so people no longer dropped by on the second day of Chun Jie, but sent New Year greetings to relatives and friends by making video calls. -
WeChat red envelope was developed
With the development of the Internet, WeChat red envelope was developed. The elders gave red envelopes to their children through WeChat, but some families still follow the traditional way. -
Everyone can receive red envelopes
WeChat has partnered with CCTV's Spring Festival Gala, the most-watched TV show of the year. When the Spring Festival Gala is broadcast, the program group will distribute red envelopes to the whole country (the value of red envelopes ranges from 0.01 yuan to 2,000 yuan), and then everyone (whether adults or children) can grab them. -
Environmental protection
With the intensification of the greenhouse effect and the increase of smog, most urban areas in China enacted restrictions on fireworks.
Since 2016, it has been illegal to sell and set off fireworks in cities (e.g. Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, etc.) -
Influence of Covid-19
The epidemic prevention policy issued by the government did not support people returning to their hometowns to reunite with their relatives for Chun Jie, and encouraged people to stay at home. Since that year, although people still greet each other and send WeChat red envelopes, watch the Spring Festival Gala, and have big dinners, the atmosphere of the festival has become deserted. -
Epidemic prevention policy was canceled
Before this Chun Jie, epidemic prevention policy was abolished.
This year, the traditional festive atmosphere of Chun JIE has almost been restored. Many people returned to their hometowns to reunite with relatives; Young people wore traditional Chinese costumes "Hanfu" to visit places of interest; Buddhists went to temples to burn incense.