The Spring Festival, as the most solemn traditional festival of the Chinese nation, carries profound cultural heritage and emotional sustenance.
Recently, "Let's Celebrate the New Year Together – Jiangnan Spring Festival Folk Customs Exhibition" was officially launched in the Urban Creative Space Exhibition Hall on the first floor of the Putuo District Cultural Center, presenting a New Year cultural feast with both heritage and novelty to the public.
This exhibition takes Jiangnan Spring Festival culture as the core, taking into account the regional commonality of the "eight cities and one district" along the Shanghai-Nanjing Innovation Industry Belt. Through multiple forms of display, such as physical display, scene restoration and artistic creation, it builds a regional cultural exchange platform and awakens the public's common memory of the New Year. The exhibition is divided into three sections: "Hiding the New Year with New Year's Objects", "Celebrating the New Year with Feasts" and "Drawing the New Year with Pen and Ink", which comprehensively presents the historical changes and cultural connotations of the Spring Festival folk customs in the Jiangnan region.
The "New Year's Objects Hidden Years" section focuses on the collection of objects related to Jiangnan Spring Festival folk customs, using old objects to tell New Year's stories over the years and outline the customs of different eras. Various traditional cakes and old molds complement each other, replicating the sweet New Year flavor in memories; old advertising papers, calendars, and New Year pictures are displayed side by side, freezing the New Year style in different periods; New Year cards, stamps, sparklers and other small collections carry the warm blessings of the past; red envelopes and old tickets record the changes in Spring Festival customs and lifestyles. Each collection with the warmth of time is not only a vivid carrier of folk culture, but also connects the New Year sentiments shared by generations of people.
"Happy New Year's Eve" takes "Praying for blessings in the Year of the Horse, folk customs, and reunion and sharing" as its theme to create an immersive New Year joy space. The blessing area is equipped with a "Horse Comes Good Luck" blessing device and a "Horse Comes Good Luck" sign, allowing the audience to make New Year's wishes in one stop; in the folk entertainment area, interactive games such as pot throwing, New Year's horse fishing device, and "Horse Lives Good Luck" gong knocking create a lively atmosphere for young and old to enjoy together.
The "Eight Cities and One District" special exhibition area for reunion dinners is set up in the section, which brings together special New Year dishes from all over the Yangtze River to restore the authentic flavor of New Year fireworks; the lanterns are hung high in the exhibition hall with the Chinese characters "Fu", creating a strong festive atmosphere for the Year of the Horse; the "Happy Family" photo check-in spot freezes the warm moment of family reunion. The deep integration of traditional New Year customs and modern interactions allows the audience to feel the excitement and warmth of the New Year in an immersive experience.
The "Painting the New Year with Pen and Ink" section focuses on presenting Spring Festival-themed art works, interpreting the cultural connotation and aesthetic value of Jiangnan New Year customs in multiple art forms. The exhibition area displays artists, photographers, calligraphers, and writers from "eight cities and one district". They create New Year-themed works with brushes, lenses, and ink, integrating traditional customs, regional culture, and contemporary art to bring the audience a visual feast with both literary flavor and New Year interest.
In order to let the audience have an in-depth understanding of Shanghai’s Spring Festival customs and enhance their interest in traditional festival culture, New Year-themed family handicraft workshops were also held during the exhibition. Ms. Li, a citizen, participated in the workshop with her children. She said: "Such activities are very meaningful. The children not only learned about Shanghai's Spring Festival customs, but also participated in the production with their own hands, which made their impression of traditional culture even more profound." There were also many young people at the scene who were attracted by the exhibition. “I used to think that the Spring Festival customs were a bit old-fashioned, but this exhibition presented them in such a novel way. I discovered that there are many interesting stories and culture hidden in the traditional customs, and I fell in love with them right away.” Mr. Wang, a citizen, said.
This exhibition will last until March 22 (closed on Mondays, open normally during the Spring Festival legal holidays) and is open to the public from 9:00 to 17:00 every day. The person in charge of the exhibition expressed the hope that this exhibition will break down the boundaries of age and social circles, attract more young people to pay attention to the local Spring Festival culture, promote the dynamic inheritance and innovative development of old Shanghai Spring Festival customs, and let the Shanghai-style Spring Festival culture glow with new vitality in the new era, becoming a warm link connecting the past, present and future.
