Why do we post Spring Festival couplets during the Spring Festival? The meaning and symbol of posting Spring Festival couplets

When talking about the flavor of the New Year, the first thing that comes to our mind is pasting Spring Festival couplets. So, why do we post Spring Festival couplets during the Chinese New Year? What is the meaning of posting Spring Festival couplets during the Chinese New Year? Let’s find out together.

Why do we post Spring Festival couplets during the Spring Festival?

Inheriting traditional customs

The custom of pasting Spring Festival couplets during the New Year originated in the Song Dynasty, became popular in the Ming Dynasty, and by the Qing Dynasty, the ideological and artistic value of the couplets had greatly improved. Spring Festival couplets are also called door couplets, spring stickers, couplets, couplets, peach charms, etc. They depict the background of the times with neat, parallel, concise and exquisite words. They are a unique literary form in my country. We post Spring Festival couplets every Chinese New Year, which is also a way to inherit traditional customs.

Increase the festive atmosphere

We found that every Spring Festival, every household would select a bright red couplet to paste on the door. There are many types of couplets and they are pasted in different places. But no matter what type of couplets we see or where they are pasted, as soon as we see them, we will feel the strong flavor of the New Year. Therefore, posting Spring Festival couplets during the Spring Festival also adds a very festive atmosphere to this important festival.

Exorcism and peace

The custom of posting Spring Festival couplets originated from the ancient "peach charms". The ancients regarded peach wood as a wood to ward off evil spirits. "Dianshu" said: "Peach is the essence of the five woods, so it can suppress evil spirits." So in ancient times, the ancients posted Spring Festival couplets to ward off evil spirits and ensure safety. We post Spring Festival couplets during the Spring Festival to express our good wishes and to bless our family with peace and happiness in the new year.

About the content and details of pasting couplets

There are many rules for pasting couplets. Generally, red couplets must be used during the Chinese New Year, as they symbolize good luck and the desire to ward off evil. However, if an elderly person in the family passes away, the younger generation usually stops posting red Spring Festival couplets for three years starting from that year. Instead, they use white, green and yellow paper during the mourning period (before the full mourning period). White paper is used in the first year, green paper in the second year, and yellow paper in the third year. Red paper is used again only after the mourning period is over in the fourth year. In different places, the name of the sticker is different. For example: the "door heart" is pasted on the center of the upper end of the door panel; the "frame pair" is pasted on the left and right door frames; the "horizontal drape" is pasted on the horizontal beam of the door; the "spring strip" is pasted on the corresponding place according to different content; the "dou jin" is also called the "door leaf", which is a square rhombus and is mostly pasted on furniture and screen walls.