This custom originated from myths and legends, and the story of Erlang God driving mountains and pressing the sun. In ancient times, there were twelve suns in the sky. The scorching sun was in the sky, the seedlings were scorched and the land was cracked, making it difficult for people to survive. In order to save the people of Lebanon, Erlang God used his whip to drive away the mountains and crush the sun, and killed eleven of them successively. The twelfth sun was hidden under a grasshopper, and when the earthworm saw it, he called out, "There is a sun hidden under the grasshopper, and the sun said," Earthworms, don't be bad, come out and bask in your bean dish. " So the earthworm was silent. Therefore, there is only one sun in the sky. This is the origin that grasshoppers are not afraid of the sun and earthworms are afraid of the sun.
The day when Erlang God drives the mountains and suppresses the sun is the 19th day of the lunar calendar. Therefore, every 19th day of June, people have to offer sacrifices to the sun, thus forming the custom of celebrating the sun's birthday.
2. Folk festivals in Meizhou, Guangdong Province
The Sun's birthday is on the 19th day of the third lunar month every year
It doesn't mean that the Sun's birthday is actually a festival to commemorate the Ming Dynasty
This day is the day of the Ming Dynasty's national subjugation. In order to avoid persecution by the Qing court, people hide it as the Sun's birthday.
According to legend, Zhu Youjian, Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty, once made great efforts, but it was difficult to save the day.
In the seventeenth year of Chongzhen (1644), on March 19th,
Li Zicheng led a peasant uprising army into Beijing. Around noon, Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself on a locust tree in jingshan park.
Then Wu Sangui led the Manchu army into the pass, defeated the peasant rebels and the officers and men of the Ming Dynasty, occupied the Daming Mountain and established the Qing Dynasty.
The day when Emperor Chongzhen committed suicide became the day when the Ming Dynasty perished.
At that time, Li Er He, a native of Xiang 'an Wai in Songkou Yangkeng, Meixian County (who was a scholar in Li Er at that time, he was taught to edit by the Imperial Academy and read in the East Palace), secretly took Prince Zhu Ciliang back to Lingguang Temple in Yinna Mountain, his hometown, cut his hair and changed his name to Tai Sui Monk in an attempt to make a comeback.
Later, after the Qing Dynasty, it was decided that the old prince and the descendants of the ancient temple would create a "Prince Bodhisattva" to worship
In the early Qing Dynasty,
Since then, secret association has become the main activity form of people who oppose the Qing Dynasty and regain their sight: one is to actively develop gangs as the backbone, and to build Hong Men in Daxing (founded in 1674), where people with different surnames are one family, and the congregation worships heaven as their father, earth as their mother, Japan as their brother, and Yue Bai as their sister-in-law, in order to * * to oppose the great cause of Qing Dynasty and regain their sight;
The popular saying goes:' The sun is bright and Zhu Guangfo was born at noon on March 19th, and every household lights a red light'. Zhu is the surname of the country. "
At present, there are still people in Meizhou who worship the sun on that day.
3. The ancients thought that "harmony, heaven's status, everything's nourishment". According to Tang Shu. In the Tang Dynasty, Li Bi wrote to ask for the first day of February to be the Zhonghe Festival, and hundreds of officials entered the agricultural books to show their business. According to Dezong, the ninth day of the first month of the lunar calendar ("the birthday of the Jade Emperor"), the new moon in February and March have been collectively called the "Three Orders Festival". In the late Qing Dynasty, "Notes on the Age of Spring and Ming" said: "Zhonghe Festival is abolished today but not lifted". However, according to legend, it is the birthday of Sun Xingjun, so there is a ritual for Sun Xingjun among the people. It reflects the desire of people in ancient agricultural society to pray for prosperity.
On the first day of February, at sunrise, every family set up an incense table in the courtyard (some people use the code of the Sun Star King, others don't) for three to five bowls of sun cakes to burn incense and worship in the distance to the oriental sun source. Since the 194 s, there have been few sellers of sun cakes in the market. Generally, people no longer offer sacrifices to Sun Xingjun, and a few worshippers only use brown sugar (brown sugar) pancakes as offerings.
In the early days, some people even recited the Sun Sutra during fasting. Before chanting, there are ceremonies such as praising, inviting, cleaning the mouth, cleaning the body and opening the scriptures; After chanting, there are also ceremonies such as incense praise, cleansing words, cleansing words, and land words.
In the afternoon, we will scatter offerings such as sun cakes or sugar cakes and give them to the children. At the same time, even the colorful hanging money posted during the Spring Festival is removed and incinerated with the Oracle code, which is called "sun money".