In the joy of the festive Chinese New Year time, reading these old Shanghai New Year tells the story of how you have feelings?

To the old calendar, the public was still secretly Chinese New Year

“Firecrackers of the year and the spring breeze warm into the Su Tu.”

Although Shanghai is the first one of the cities by the westerly wind blowing, but the people of Shanghai Wu to old customs are still lingering. Over the past century, despite the New Year are similar year after year, but the story of every household’s New Year different: There are in working hard and making war, but also there is hope in the Shou Sui; a thousand miles away adventures, but also difficult to come home sad … …

The national government had ordered the abolition of the Spring Festival

XU Hong-New

By the end of 1930, the Nanjing Nationalist Government promulgated an order of abolition of the Spring Festival. So that goes like this: In the first year (1912) has been ordered abolished the old calendar to Gregorian calendar for the country. For the serious implementation of the country calendar, the Spring Festival commences repealed. This Road Act January 1 to 4 for the New Year holidays, where the tradition of going out of business during the festive period more than four days of industry, enterprises can move to extend it, but it is prohibited in the New Year in the suspend. The traditional New Year activities in the corresponding forward: December 15 for years ago, wiping out Day; December 31 for New Year’s Eve, lifting annual banquet; January 1 as New Year’s mouth is being held spring gathering; January 15 as the Lantern Festival , the day of “playing the drums years, city tour the lights.”

In order to ensure the implementation of the Act, the National Government ordered the newspaper to vigorously promote various organizations, and schools to convey implement, but also through the provincial and municipal Bureau of Social Affairs, Education and the Public Security Bureau to take a variety of administrative measures. Such as prohibiting printing, publication and sale of old books calendar in distinctly prohibiting newspapers printed with the old calendar, the school winter break adjust the time; post since January 15 cease accepting investment made New Year’s card, New Year’s electricity; factory old style double income paid to go to work during the Spring Festival and so on. To this end, Shanghai has produced tens of thousands of dedicated this new calendar and new couplets, by the district party’s part of the hair; also proposed a “New Year’s had a revolutionary” slogan, stressing that “military and political staff in the various organs, but also should set an example advocated for all people “, where the violation will be punished. December 28, held a “calendar address of the General Assembly to implement the country,” out of the revolutionary veterans, academics Nestor Tsai Yuan-pei, published the “National far better than the lunar calendar, the community should earnestly adhere to the” speech.

The order came out, seemingly swept into action, but for thousands of years tradition inherited from the command How can it be a piece of paper can be abolished, civil passive resistance to say the least being to officials at all levels are also perfunctory. In Shanghai, for example, the first year spent a considerable effort to organize the rally, carnivals and many other activities, seemed like the thing. However, when the old calendar year, individual still secretly Chinese New Year, New Year’s Eve until the middle of the night the day hats crowded stores, because New Year’s wearing a new hat to wear new shoes, Wu Nai-old customs. The beginning of 1932, it coincides with “128″ war, cynical and panic occupied the minds of people. In 1933, the organized activities have gradually disappeared, civil society is once more celebrating the New Year Moe. Later, in addition to newspapers not printed with the lunar calendar and is not discontinued during the Spring Festival, the all as before.

The national government to the order, at the time attracted criticism from various quarters. “It was the Daily” on February 18, 1931, that is, two days of the lunar calendar’s first month, published an editorial “Yesterday” in the enumerated on the streets of Shanghai, “gongs and drums, firecrackers, but also reveal the degree of everywhere-year-old color,” and ” Some private schools are still a few days vacation, “” even as the country schools in the Mainland government specifically for the paper “and other facts clearly pointed out:” Waste calendar formed by the Department of society’s real life … … would like to use commands and advocacy efforts to eliminate waste calendar, indeed contrary to the facts of the luxury department, never realized no immediate reason. “This” with the power of command, “get rid of the old calendar,” the Department of the biggest real mistake. “