Jinan
On the second day of the lunar new year, you must bring gifts to your parents’ home. According to the old rules, these gifts are a knife of meat (not less than four or five kilograms), two fish (fresh carp, each fish must weigh more than one kilogram, also known as "fish"), three bottles of white wine and four kilograms of snacks (egg cake, longevity cake, peach cake and ancient philosophers cake). These gifts are collectively referred to as "four-color gifts", which contain the four seasons of the year.
Qingdao
Visiting relatives from the first day of the first month. In Qingdao, "pro" and "qi" are strictly separated. On New Year’s Day, it is for important people and elders to pay New Year greetings. In the past, it was necessary to kowtow to elders, but now it is not very particular. Generally, it is just to bow and ask "Happy New Year", but aunts and cousins are not allowed to walk around on this day. On the second day of the second month, I pay a New Year call to my grandmother, when my grandmother is away, my son-in-law pays a New Year call to my mother-in-law, and on the fourth day, my unmarried but engaged daughter-in-law pays a New Year call to my future in-laws. From the fifth day of the first month, it is the day to walk around my aunts and cousins.
Visiting relatives and bringing gifts is called "making a basket" in Qingdao dialect, because in the past, visiting relatives used bamboo baskets that were brushed with clear oil and woven with thin bamboo strips. As for what to put in it, there is nothing special about it. Just put whatever you have at home, one or two bottles of Jimo old wine, two Bao Qing biscuits and a few apples, and that’s all. Anyway, relatives will only come up with one or two, and then press one or two back for a change, so as not to let the empty basket go back.
Zibo
When they return to their parents’ home, the girls will put the steamed bun as a basic gift into a basket, and then put four packets of snacks wrapped in red paper at the four corners of the basket, and then insert them with several sesame cakes. In this way, because the baked wheat cake is much higher than the rice basket after it is inserted empty, when the rice basket is finally covered with red bags, it looks like both festive gifts and many gifts. It indicates that the small days are full of prosperity and beauty.
When a daughter brings a gift to her parents, parents usually don’t return it. Parents will not accept all the gifts from their daughters, but leave them at the bottom of the basket, which means that they can’t let their daughters go home empty-handed.
Weifang
In the old days, people usually brought steamed bread, cakes, meat or two pounds of big fruit (fried dough sticks), and even better, two pounds of snacks and two pounds of loose wine. When the daughter goes back to her parents’ home, she brings a handkerchief (a general name for gifts in Weifang), in addition to snacks and wine, many also bring a white scaly fish that is "pressed in the pot" on New Year’s Eve (two white scaly fish and two tofu are put in the cooking pot on New Year’s Eve).
Yantai
String relatives, Yantai dialect is called "going out". In Yantai, the most distinctive "going out" gift for the Spring Festival is a kind of pasta called "Bobo". Every year after the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month (that is, off-year), every family will make many "cakes". Flour needs to be kneaded many times to make it into the shape of a bird’s head and a big round body, which is called "milk cake"; Or make it into a round shape, with cut red dates all over it, which is called "jujube cake".
Weihai
Visiting relatives and friends during the Chinese New Year is usually from the second day to the fifth and sixth day, and can be extended to the fifteenth at the latest. There used to be such a jingle: "Pay homage to the fifth and sixth day of the New Year, and there is no cake and no meat." That means life is not good. If you are poor, you won’t have anything to eat on the fifth and sixth day. It doesn’t mean that you can’t visit relatives on the fifth and sixth day. Gifts brought by visiting relatives and friends are usually four cakes and a package of peach cakes. If the other person is an elder or an important relative, he will also bring a bottle of wine.
Tai ‘ an
On the second day of the second day, the new son-in-law will bring six big gifts to her in-laws’ families, and the six big gifts must be enough. There are two cocks, two fish, two bottles of wine, a back elbow and a pack of vermicelli. There is also a saying called "new three years and old three years", which means that the son-in-law who has been married for less than three years should prepare the same gift every year when he goes to his father-in-law’s house. The latter three years can be a little worse, and he can’t be casual until six years later.
Laiwu
Generally, when visiting relatives to give gifts, you should carry a basket with a dozen white-flour steamed buns and rice cakes and zongzi made by yourself. The rice cake is made like a pagoda, divided into nine layers, and each layer will be pressed with a circle of red dates. After the rice cake is steamed, the thorns of red dates are outside, bulging, and some have cracked their mouths, which looks really cute.
Heze
Generally, we go to friends’ homes, mostly before the Spring Festival, while we go to relatives’ homes, which is after the New Year. No matter where you visit, you should avoid the afternoon. Many people think it is unlucky to visit friends in the afternoon. Since you are visiting relatives and friends on holidays, you can’t go empty-handed. You always have to bring some gifts. During the Spring Festival, the most common gifts are tobacco, alcohol, sugar, tea, cakes and fruits, and some buy clothes for children of relatives and friends, and they will not forget to give them a lucky money.
Linyi
In Linyi, visiting relatives and friends in the New Year is called "going out". When you go out, you should bring some gifts. In the early 1980s, the gifts you brought were nothing more than steamed buns, vegetable bags, bean bags, vermicelli, etc. If the family conditions were good, you should put one or two carp, one or two packs of biscuits or peach cakes, and weigh one catty of sugar for the elderly.
Zaozhuang
People often carry gifts to string relatives before the festival, which is called "send-off gift", and after the festival, it is a pure New Year greeting. There are no special rules about gifts, but the quantity must be an even number to show good luck. The main family will return some specialties such as vermicelli and vermicelli.
Texas
There is nothing special about visiting relatives to give gifts during the New Year in Texas. In the past, when the living standard was not high, the "bun basket" was the most important gift. Even when the daughter with the worst living standard goes back to her mother’s house, she should put the steamed white steamed buns, fried fruits and other foods in the basket, cover it with a clean towel on the belly of the sheep, and bring two packs of avocados (snacks) with her if she is a little better.
Liaocheng
In the past, the living conditions were not good, and the gifts given by my parents were nothing more than snacks and steamed bread, and some sugar, wine and fruit. Later, with the improvement of living standards, it was fashionable to give four-color gifts, namely wine, chicken, fish and meat, all of which must be in even numbers. Only half of the family’s things were kept and the other half was returned. In return, the bride’s family wants to send jujube flower cakes, which are quite large and silver-basin-like, which means step by step (cakes) every year. You should bring such a generous gift three years before you get married, and then you will be free.
Binzhou
In the old days, when I went back to my mother’s house, I usually brought her two Jin of steamed bread (with red dots on the steamed bread) and two Jin of dried noodles. If the family conditions were good, I would buy another Jin of cakes, put them in a basket woven with plastic strips and cover them with cloth. When she comes back, her mother’s family will leave half of what she has taken and bring the rest back by herself. This is called "leaving a leftover head". Visiting relatives is also sending steamed bread and noodles.
