New Year"s greetings in the folk showing thick affection

Though there were some etiquettes and rules， New Year's greetings in the folk was of deep human interest compared with New Year's greetings in the official circles and the imperial court.

New Year's greetings within the family

In the early morning of the New Year's Day， people within the family got together and started to give New Year's greetings. Since the beginning of the Ming and Qing Dynasty， it required to give New Year's greetings to the gods of Heaven and Earth， next to the ancestors， then to the parents and elders， and finally to the family members according to seniority order. Traditional gestures for giving New Year's greetings varied in men and women. When a man bowed， his right hand made a fist， and his left hand surrounded his right hand. While a woman bowed， her left hand pressed his right hand without making a fist. If you're younger， low in seniority in the family， and keeping bowing to give New Year's greetings， you should not feel annoyed， instead you should feel lucky， because you would get gift money！ Before giving New Year's greetings， the elders would first string the money with colored stings and give it to you when you gave New Year's greetings.

New Year's greetings among the relatives by marriage

It certainly had to visit friends and relatives on the Spring Festival， New Year's greetings among the relatives by marriage were an important part of New Year's greetings giving activities. There was a fixed order when giving New Year's greetings among the relatives by marriage， namely giving the New Year's greetings to the member of the same clan at the first day of the first month in the lunar year， to maternal uncles， father-in-law， etc. at the second and third day of the first month in the lunar year， and ended until the 16th. Among New Year's greetings among the relatives by marriage， New Year's greetings given by son-in-law to wife's parents' family and between nephew and uncle were received special attention. Because since the ancient times， women would observe many taboos and had to do housework during the Spring Festival， New Year's greetings given by son-in-law to wife's parents' family could be considered as a courtesy to women in a different form. When son-in-law went to wife's parents' family to give New Year's greetings， he， should bring New Year gifts， and mae 3 bows to the buddha statue， the ancestor images and memorial tablets first after entering the door， and worshiped the elders on bended knees in turn. New Year's greetings in the folk showing thick affection.

In all the Chinese New Year customs， many related to spirits and ancestors， but giving New Year's greetings is a social activity among people， which showed different characteristics from the imperial court to the folk， for example， variants of mass greetings， New Year's greeting cards and other methods can be seen today， and more customs of giving New Year's greetings in the folk have been kept.