Coming to the StarCraft to Be a Kindergarten Teacher: Perfect Transformation

Inheriting culture and consolidating family ties

Spring cleaning is typically a family activity, providing a rare opportunity for collaboration. Family members divide up tasks based on their abilities and specialties, with some responsible for cleaning the room, others for organizing items, and others for washing windows. This collaborative effort not only allows for efficient completion of tasks but also fosters emotional connection and strengthens family cohesion.

This custom, passed down for thousands of years, has become an integral part of the Spring Festival, carrying rich cultural connotations. It serves as a reminder for future generations not to forget this traditional custom, and through personal participation, they maintain a sense of identity and belonging to traditional culture. At the same time, spring cleaning offers a chance for people to pause in their busy modern lives, spend some quality time with their families, and together create a family atmosphere filled with love and warmth.

Honoring ancestors and expressing reverence is an essential part of Chinese traditional culture. In ancient times, people believed that a clean home conveyed respect for their ancestors and the gods, and facilitated offerings, burning incense, and praying for blessings during the Spring Festival.

To achieve this goal, people would carry out a series of preparations for the sacrificial ceremony. First, they would thoroughly clean their homes, including wiping furniture, sweeping floors, and washing windows. This was done not only to create a neat and beautiful home, but also because the ancients believed that only in a clean and tidy space would ancestors and gods descend and accept people's offerings and blessings.

Through this method of spatial purification, the home is transformed into a "clean place" suitable for welcoming gods and ancestors. This place is filled with a sacred and solemn atmosphere, where people can peacefully perform sacrificial activities and express their respect and gratitude to their ancestors and gods.

However, the significance of spring cleaning is not limited to the ancient sacrificial tradition. In modern fast-paced life, it also plays an important role in regulation and reflection.

On the one hand, spring cleaning offers an opportunity to "let go." While sorting through things, people often discover items they no longer use or need, which they can then discard. This not only creates a cleaner and more organized home, but also reduces psychological stress, leaving people feeling relaxed and happy.

On the other hand, the process of clearing out waste also prompts people to reflect on their consumption habits. Seeing mountains of useless items, people realize they may be over-consuming, and thus begin to advocate for a frugal and environmentally friendly lifestyle. This kind of reflection has positive implications for the sustainable development of modern society.

People in different regions have their own unique names and customs for Spring Festival cleaning. In the north, spring cleaning is usually called "sweeping the house", while in the south it is called "dusting".

In the north, cleaning activities usually begin on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month (Little New Year) and continue until New Year's Eve, while in the south, cleaning activities usually start on the 24th day of the 12th lunar month and also continue until New Year's Eve.

During the cleaning process, people use traditional tools such as long sticks tied with straw to sweep away dust and cobwebs from high places. The straw is then burned to symbolize the complete expulsion of bad luck and uncleanness.

Whether in the north or the south, the main activities of spring cleaning include cleaning indoor and outdoor hygiene, washing various utensils, taking apart and washing bedding and curtains, dredging open and underground ditches, etc.

In essence, Spring Festival cleaning is more than just a practical sanitation practice; it's a ritual imbued with rich cultural connotations. It integrates people's cultural beliefs, family bonds, and spiritual aspirations for the New Year. By externally cleaning their living environments, people also harbor a deep desire for an inner renewal, welcoming a new life with a fresh outlook. Therefore, Spring Festival cleaning has become an indispensable collective memory and a significant cultural symbol for the Chinese people as they welcome the New Year.

"I didn't expect there are so many ways to say cleaning. The flower-growing culture really has a long history." Netizens sighed.

After sharing with netizens the importance and precautions of spring cleaning before the Spring Festival, I finally finished cleaning my own home. Actually, thanks to our advanced robot vacuum cleaner and smart home system, our house was already very clean and tidy, so this cleaning was more of a formality, just a quick touch.

Now that we've cleaned up, it's time to put up the Spring Festival couplets! I originally planned to buy some ready-made ones online, but then I remembered that I've been livestreaming lately, and I had an idea to personally write a pair of unique couplets myself.

I quickly took out the brush, ink, paper and inkstone from my study, spread out a piece of red paper, dipped it in ink, and prepared to start writing my own New Year's greetings.

As a unique literary form in traditional Chinese culture, Spring Festival couplets carry rich historical and cultural connotations. Its origins can be traced back to the ancient custom of peach charms, a custom with profound cultural heritage and traditional significance.

In ancient times, people believed that peach wood possessed magical powers to ward off evil spirits. Consequently, they crafted wooden planks from the wood, inscribed prayers on them, and hung them on their doors to ward off evil spirits and protect their families. This custom of using peach charms not only reflects the ancients' reverence and belief in supernatural powers but also their yearning and wish for a better life.

Over time, the form and purpose of peach charms have evolved. No longer simply a tool to ward off evil spirits, they've become a way for people to express good wishes. During the important Spring Festival, people write auspicious phrases on peach charms, such as "May blessings fill the world" and "May everything go as you wish," to welcome the new year.

According to historical records, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Meng Chang, the ruler of Later Shu, inscribed the couplet "New Year brings abundant blessings, the festival is called Everlasting Spring" on a peach wood charm. This couplet is considered the first in Chinese history, marking the birth of the literary form. Since then, spring couplets have become an integral part of the Spring Festival, deeply loved and revered.

Spring Festival couplets are meticulously crafted with parallelism, requiring equal word count, contrasting parts of speech, alternate tones, and similar syntax. These strict parallelism requirements imbue Spring Festival couplets with not only literary value but also artistic beauty. Furthermore, the content of these couplets is diverse, encompassing a wide range of wishes for family happiness, career success, and national prosperity.

In short, Spring Festival couplets, as a treasure of traditional Chinese culture, inherit the wisdom and emotions of the Chinese nation with their unique form and profound cultural connotations. During every Spring Festival, we can see those exquisite Spring Festival couplets, which not only add a festive atmosphere to the festival, but also let us feel the charm and power of traditional culture.

During the Song Dynasty, with the development of papermaking technology, paper spring couplets gradually replaced peach charms and became widely popular among the people.

During the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang vigorously promoted Spring Festival couplets, making it a fixed custom of the Spring Festival.

The original function of Spring Festival couplets was to ward off evil and avoid disasters, and they expressed people’s wishes for peace and health.

Expressing good wishes, Spring Festival couplets, through auspicious words and meanings, convey people's hopes for happiness, prosperity, and success in the new year. For example, couplets like "As the years pass, so do people's lives; spring fills the world, and blessings overflow the house" convey people's aspirations for a better life.

To "add to the festive atmosphere", Spring Festival couplets are made of red paper. Red symbolizes auspiciousness and joy in Chinese culture. Posting Spring Festival couplets adds a strong festive atmosphere to the Spring Festival.

"Inheriting culture", Spring Festival couplets, as an important part of Chinese traditional culture, embodies the language art and cultural heritage of the Chinese nation. Its inheritance is not only a continuation of customs, but also a promotion of national spirit.

Spring Festival couplets, evolved from the ancient "peach charms," carry multiple meanings: warding off evil and disasters, expressing wishes, adding joy to the festivities, and passing on culture. They are not only a key custom of the Chinese Spring Festival, but also a vital symbol of Chinese national culture.