除夕的「除」字 Chinese New Year's Eve 除夕的起源可以追溯到3500年前。「儺」儀式，而「儺」正是中國除夕的起源。晉朝（西元266-420年）時期，人們開始在除夕守歲。《風土記》中記載：「年末饋歲，稱饋歲；年末宴飲，稱別歲；除夕守歲。」屠格捏夫《前夜》( 『その前夜』Накануне 直譯為" 前一天" 1860 )書中 斷言「前夜離隨之而來的白天總是不遠的」，認為屠格涅夫描繪了革命的前夜。屠格涅夫不同意這一斷語，希望涅克拉索夫不要發表這篇評論，涅克拉索夫沒有同意......

除夕的「除」字，主要有去除、更換的含義，指舊歲至此而除，換新歲，也就是除去舊的，迎來新的，強調的是舊年結束、新年開始的交界點，這一天又稱「歲除」之夜，是辭舊迎新、闔家團圓的時刻。

「除」字的多層含義：除去、革除：如同「除掉」壞的，迎接好的。
更換、新舊交替：如《夢溪筆談》所說的「以新易舊曰除」，就像新官上任，舊籍被換掉。
古代的祭祀與驅邪：東漢時的「逐除」或「儺」儀式，就是藉此日子驅趕疫鬼和凶煞。

 
總結「除夕」：歲除之夜：農曆一年最後一天晚上。
辭舊迎新：最重要意義是告別舊年，迎接新春。
除舊布新：家家戶戶大掃除，清除晦氣，準備迎接新年。
團圓與祭祖：闔家團聚、祭拜祖先的重要節日。

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除夕是農曆新年的前一天。 [2]這個節日通常在公曆1月21日至2月20日之間。經過漫長的發展，它被視為每個華人家庭團聚的日子。除夕的起源可以追溯到3500年前。 [3]

歷史

除夕起源於商朝（西元前1600年至西元前1046年），當時中國人會在每年年末舉行祭祀儀式，祭拜神靈和祖先。 [4]周朝（西元前1046年至西元前256年）出現了「年」字，一些文化習俗開始流行，例如送門神和燒竹子。 [5]

有記載的最早的除夕是在戰國時期（西元前475年至西元前221年）。 《呂史春秋》記載，秦朝在年末舉行一種名為「大儺」的驅邪儀式，以驅除疾病。這場儀式源自於更早的「儺」儀式，而「儺」正是中國除夕的起源。 [6][7] 後來，秦朝統一中國後，這項儀式得以延續。在此期間，人們開始在春節前幾天徹底打掃房屋的習俗逐漸形成。

晉朝（西元266-420年）時期，人們開始在除夕守歲。 [8]西晉將領周楚在其著作《風土記》中記載：「年末饋歲，稱饋歲；年末宴飲，稱別歲；除夕守歲。」[9][10] 該文以「除夕」指代除夕，此名稱沿用至今。

Chinese New Year's Eve is the day before the Chinese New Year. ^[2]The holiday falls between January 21 and February 20 on the Gregorian calendar. Evolving over a long period of time, it is considered a reunion day for every ethnic Chinese family. The origin of Chinese New Year's Eve can be traced back to 3500 years ago.^[3]

History

Chinese New Year's Eve originated in the Shang dynasty (1600 – 1046 BC) when the Chinese held sacrificial ceremonies in honor of their gods and ancestors at the end of each year.^[4] In the Zhou dynasty (1046 – 256 BC), the phrase "Nian (Year)" appeared and certain cultural practices became popular among Chinese such as sending door gods and burning bamboo.^[5]

The first dated Chinese New Year's Eve was recorded during the Warring States period (475 – 221 BC). In Lüshi Chunqiu, an exorcistic ritual called "Big Nuo" (大傩) was recorded being carried out on the ending day of a year to expel illness in Qin (state). It was derived from an earlier ritual, Nuo (傩), which is the origin of Chinese New Year's Eve.^[6][7] Later, when Qin unified China and founded the Qin dynasty, the ritual was continued. During this time, the practice of thoroughly cleaning up houses in the preceding days before the Chinese New Year began to develop.

During the Jin dynasty (266 – 420 AD), people started to do the "Shousui (守岁)" tradition on New Year's Eve.^[8] It was recorded by Western Jin's general Zhou Chu's article Fengtu Ji (风土记): "At the ending of a year, people gift and wish each other, calling it Kuisui (馈岁); people invite others with drinks and food, calling it Biesui (别岁); on the new year's eve, people stayed up all night until sunrise, calling it Shousui (守岁)".^[9][10] The article used the word "除夕 (Chuxi)" to indicate New Year's Eve, and the name is still used till this day.

Dates of Chinese New Year's Eve