Legend has it that a long time ago, there was a small village under the beautiful Dingyang Mountain. On the hillside at the head of the village, there is a small stone house where a young man named Wannian lives. He was born in poverty and made a living by collecting firewood and digging for medicine. At that time, festivals were chaotic and farmers could not farm. Wan nian is a young man with calculation. He wants to set the festival accurately, but he doesn't know where to start.
One day, Wannian went up the mountain to collect firewood and sat under a tree to rest. The movement of the shadow inspired him, so he made a sundial and measured the shadow to calculate the length of the day. However, cloudy, cloudy, foggy and rainy days affect the measurement. He wants to make another timer to make up for the sundial. That day, he went up the mountain to dig medicine and came to the spring to drink water. The spring on the cliff was ticking rhythmically, which caught his attention. He looked at the spring, thought for a while and then lost his mind. I went home, drew a picture, tried it, and made a five-story leaky pot. From then on, he measured the shadow of the sun, looked for loopholes and worked hard. Slowly, he found that every 360 days, the length of a day would be repeated from the beginning. The solstice in winter is the shortest day.
At that time, the son of heaven was called Zu Ti. The chaos of the festival made him very anxious. Just call a hundred officials. Discuss the difficulties of chaos in Korean festivals. The name of the festival official is Aheng. If you don't know the laws of the sun and the moon, you can say that people are careless and have sinned against God. Only by kneeling devoutly can you get God's forgiveness. Zuyi took a vegetarian bath. Take officials to the Temple of Heaven to worship heaven, send a message to the whole country, and build a platform to worship heaven.
But the sacrifices come and go, with no effect, and the season is still very chaotic; People all over the country must serve and donate to build altars. It's really bile mixed with coptis chinensis. Bitter is worse than bitter. Ten thousand years can't help it. He took the sundial and the clepsydra to see the son of heaven.
I met the son of heaven, talked about the winter solstice, talked about the cycle of the sun and the moon. Zu Ti was overjoyed at this. Even if he built a large-scale building, he built the Sun and Moon Pavilion, the sundial platform and the Leaky Pot Pavilion in front of the Temple of Heaven. And left 12 boys to serve for 10 thousand years. Let six boys watch the sundial and six boys watch leaky cauldron for ten thousand years, carefully record and report on time.
One day, Zuyi asked Ah Heng to go to Riyuege to inquire about calendar making. Wannian pointed to the calendar and said, "Sunrise and Sunset 360, start all over again. The vegetation is divided into four seasons and there are twelve laps a year. " Ah Heng was deeply sensible when he heard this, but his heart was uneasy. He thought to himself: If the festival is set at 10,000 years, and the son of heaven is happy, who will listen to me? Ah Heng thought and thought, bent on getting rid of Wan Nian.
On that day, Aheng found that he was a good shooter, so he sent someone to invite him home, held a wine feast, explained the reason, and promised him a heavy gift. The assassin promised to assassinate him that night. On the second drum of the day, the assassin left Aheng drunk and ran to Riyuege. But around the Temple of Heaven, Sun Moon's adult was guarded by guards, so the assassin couldn't get close, so he pulled out his bow and arrow and shot at Wannian who was watching the stars on the Sun Moon Pavilion. Who knows that the assassin drank too much, his eyes were dim, and the arrow only hit Wan Nian's arm. Ten thousand years fell to the ground with a sigh, and all the teenagers cried for the thief. Hearing the shouts, the guards went out together, caught the assassin and leaned forward to see the son of heaven.
Zu Ti asked the truth, sent a command to put Ah Heng into prison, and made a meditation to visit the Sun Moon Pavilion for ten thousand years. Wan Nian was very moved and pointed to Shen Xing and said, "Shen Xing has caught up with silkworms and astrology has been restored. Giving children in the evening, the old year has passed, and it is spring again. Let's hope that the emperor will make a festival. "
Zu Ti said, "Spring is the first year of a year, so let's call it Spring Festival. Ai Qing has been in the cabinet for three years, and she has the courage to make the lunar calendar based on the full moon. This is really a great achievement. Ai Qing was assassinated by a traitor today. Come with me to the palace to recuperate. "
Wannian said: "Although the lunar calendar was originally created, it is still not accurate, and there are still a few hours at the end of the year. If you don't decorate the end of the year, the sun and the moon will fly, and it will be wrong to come and go. I failed to live up to the expectations of all beings, and I am deeply grateful to the emperor. I am willing to break my heart, be careful and make a calendar. "
In this way, in the Sun Moon Pavilion for 10,000 years, carefully observe the ups and downs of vegetation and wheat bran, carefully calculate and moisten the end of the year. In May of that year, Zu Ti went to the Temple of Heaven to offer sacrifices to the gods, and then boarded the Sun and Moon Pavilion to present the May Peach to the God of Ten Thousand Years. The lunar calendar is ten thousand years, and Zu Ti looks forward to ten thousand years of hard work day and night. His eyebrows are white and his beard is white. He was deeply moved, so he named the lunar calendar the perpetual calendar and the birthday star of the sun, the moon and the moon. Therefore, people later called the Spring Festival "Year". Every Spring Festival, Shou Xingtu is hung in the house, symbolizing the longevity of the new year and paying tribute to the great achievements of that year.
The origin of the Spring Festival (2)
In Guanzhong area of Shaanxi Province, there are magical legends about the Spring Festival.
According to legend, the Jade Emperor sent Maitreya from Heaven to earth in order to rule the world. When the Tathagata knew this, he thought: I am the Buddha, why not let me go? So, I went to the Jade Emperor Theory. The Jade Emperor was speechless and had to say, "Let's discuss it." Taking advantage of the discussion, the Jade Emperor thought of a solution.
He invited Maitreya Buddha and Tathagata Buddha, put two pots of flowers in front of them, and said, "You two should each handle one pot of these two pots of flowers. Whoever blooms first will come down to earth to rule the world." Tathagata is thoughtful and thoughtful, knowing that the Jade Emperor must be partial to Maitreya, because he guessed that the Jade Emperor was afraid that what he said was unacceptable, so he used offering flowers as an excuse to do it. I'm afraid the jade emperor secretly arranged these two pots of flowers, so he also came up with a subtotal. He took the opportunity of Maitreya's closing his eyes to thank him and quietly changed the position of the two pots of flowers. The next day, the Tathagata bloomed, so Maitreya took care of the world for one day, which was the first day of the first month. Legend has it that Maitreya has a kind heart. On this day, he told people to eat, dress and sleep well, so on the first day of the first month, people spent the day happily. Later, in order to commemorate Maitreya, people called the moment when the two Buddhas handed over in early spring "Spring Festival". Some people say that because the Tathagata was deceived by stealing flowerpots, until now, there are still thieves in the world.
The origin of the Spring Festival (3)
In Fujian Province, there are wonderful legends about China New Year.
According to legend, there was a fierce monster in ancient times, with a huge body and horns on its head. Eyes are round. Like two lanterns. A big mouth can swallow a person. The name of this monster is Nian.
Living in a cave in 2008, he is the overlord in the mountain. Tigers, lions and black bears run for their lives when they see it; Goats, monkeys and rabbits heard its roar and collapsed to the ground. I hunted animals in the mountains in 2008, and when I was full, I snored and slept in the cave. Whenever the cold is getting better and the Spring Festival is coming, I will run down the mountain and eat people in the village in 2008. So humans are also afraid of it, and children cry. As soon as the mother says "the year is over", the children will cry with fear.
It is said that there were two children herding cattle, one named Ashan and the other named Ashui. They are good partners and very brave. They often drive cattle to the mountains to eat grass. The family said to them, "Son, it's been years on the mountain, so I can't go!" " "
"Not afraid!" A Shan and A Shui have a plan, saying, "We will carry bows and arrows on our backs. If the new year comes, we will climb trees and shoot! " "
Speaking of which, they went up the mountain several times, but fortunately they didn't meet Nian. In a blink of an eye, it is already the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month, and it is already dusk. A Shan and A Shui are driving the cows home. Strangely, the cow screamed in panic and curled up into a ball. What's going on here?
"Hey, let's go!" A Shan and A Shui waved their bullwhip and fanned them a few times. Suddenly I heard a strange cry. A monster ran towards the road in front of the village.
Ashan said, "Ah Shui, look, a year has passed!"
"It is strange that Nian is a fierce beast. Why did you see us and run away in fear? " The water feels strange.
"Well," said Yashan decisively, "let's go after it."
These two little shepherd boys are really bold. They kept waving bullwhip to urge the cattle to leave. The bullwhip crackled and Nian escaped even faster. "Oh, yes!" Ashan suddenly realized: "I am afraid of the sound of bullwhip!" "
Ashan and Ashui drove the cattle into the village and saw Nian running to Wu Gonggong's house from a distance. There is a bright red dress in front of Wu Gonggong's house. He turned his head in fear and ran towards the back of the village.
There is also a village over there. At this time, as night fell, I saw bright lights flashing in the windows of every household, which made it dizzy and turned away. At this time, Ashan and Ashui have driven the cows into the shed and started to catch up. They whipped the whip on purpose and ran up the hill screaming in horror.
Ashan and Ashui saw all this clearly and returned to the village. They said to the villagers. "In the original afraid of ring, afraid of red, afraid of fire. We know its weakness and can resist it in the future. "
Hearing this, the villagers quickly came up with a good idea. Everyone lit a bonfire in front of the village. Ashan and Ashui threw bamboo, and there was a crackling sound in the fire. Run down the mountain for a few years. Seeing the bonfire and hearing the noise, I ran back. In this way, the night passed and the villagers were safe. The next day, on the first day of the first month, the villagers took out red oranges, peanuts and other delicious things to eat together and congratulated each other: "Congratulations!" "
Since then, people have called the first day of the first month "Spring Festival". On this day, every household sticks red couplets, sets off firecrackers, lights red candles and wears red clothes, taking "red" as a symbol of good luck. It is said that these customs gradually evolved by boycotting the Year.
The origin of the Spring Festival (4)
There are fairy tales about celebrating the Spring Festival in Handan, Hebei Province.
Celebrating the Spring Festival, commonly known as the Chinese New Year, is a traditional folk festival that people attach importance to. People paste Spring Festival couplets on the Spring Festival, and the words "Go to Xia Zhishi" are often written on the couplets. The lunar calendar in China began in the Xia Dynasty, so it is also called the Xia calendar.
Legend has it that Wang Xia rules the world, the weather is favorable, the country is prosperous and the people are safe, the people have ample food and clothing, live and work in peace and contentment, and have a good life! But later, I don't know how many years passed, and I don't know which dynasty it was. The world was in chaos. Sometimes it is dry, sometimes it is waterlogged, sometimes it is windy, and sometimes it rains heavily. Some people are poor, some are rich, some are rich, and some are slaves.
At that time, there was a rich man in the village, and his family hired several people looking for Han (that is, long-term workers). One day, after dinner, people offered sacrifices to the kitchen god. When Xiaomi saw the cold, he quietly knelt in front of the kitchen god and prayed: "The kitchen god has appeared. Don't be sunny on cloudy days, and don't be bright when it is dark; Don't commit suicide if you are sick. " No, that's just what the rich hear. After Xiaomi left cold, the rich man knelt in front of the kitchen king and prayed, "The kitchen king shows his spirit, when it is dark, when it is dark, it is bright." If you want to get sick, tell him to get sick when he is free, and don't make a living when he is busy. "
Kitchen God was dozing off. Didn't hear clearly; In a daze, I remembered "Cloudy, sunny, rainy, windy, sick, painful …", so I kept them firmly in mind.
While speaking, a year passed, and on the 23rd night of the twelfth lunar month, all the immortals went to heaven to appear before the Jade Emperor, and of course the Kitchen God also went. He went earlier than anyone else, because he kept thinking about the prayers of the rich man and Xiaomi Han. When the Jade Emperor saw it, he said without a word, "Your Majesty, the little god has something to say. At present, the world is in disorder of yin and yang, and people can't survive because of wind and rain. You should send a great god to treat as soon as possible ... "
Hearing this, the Jade Emperor was surprised: "Is this true?" "Really." "Really?" "Really." Therefore, the Jade Emperor soon issued an imperial decree: to appoint a great god to take charge of the people's food, clothing, housing and transportation. Imperial edict, you all look at me, I look at you, no one will accept the imperial edict.
At this time. Suddenly, outside the worse gate, he shouted, "The gods stand back and I'll do it!" " "I looked up and saw a bald, chubby, paunchy, grinning god-Maitreya. This Maitreya Buddha is broad-minded and generous. He looked at the scenery outside the worse gate all day. He just wanted to do something good for people, so he automatically took on this important task.
It is said that the first thing Maitreya did when he came to earth was to let people live a good year, eat well, dress well and not have to work. As a result, at every party, people will obey his wishes and hold new year's goods, which is really lively. Maitreya also made special provisions: 24. Sweep the house; Twenty-five, grinding bean curd; Twenty-six, steamed bread; Twenty-seven, shopping; Twenty-eight, killing pigs; Twenty-nine, playing yellow wine; Thirty, eat flat food. At the same time, all the immortals should be invited and the preparations should be complete. On the first day of the first year, that is, the first day of the new year, every household will set up five watches, set off firecrackers, dress neatly, congratulate each other and have fun. At the same time, we have to visit relatives and friends and visit the graves to worship our ancestors. ...
In this way, the world is truly peaceful. The Jade Emperor brushed aside the clouds and looked down at the world. This is a happy scene, and he is naturally happy. A few days later, on the fifth day, it was just dawn and suddenly there was a noise. It turned out to be Jiang Taigong's wife (people called her a dirty god, who specializes in toilets and dirt), and she was quarreling with Maitreya with a big belly.
It turns out that on New Year's Eve, when people invite God, they forget the dirty God. She was angry and went to Maitreya to make trouble. Maitreya smiled, but did not answer. This foul air is so uncomfortable that I'm going to explode. Maitreya saw that the situation was about to get serious and said, "Let's do it! Today is the fifth day, let people put more guns on you and pack a jiaozi, which costs a lot of money! " -this is the origin of "breaking five".
I don't want to. These guns arrived at the Heavenly Palace, where the Jade Emperor was playing chess. When he heard the gunshot, he thought something had happened in the world. He sent the God of Wealth to travel around the world. The god of wealth is the god in charge of gold and silver treasures in heaven. When I came to the world, I forgot to go back when I saw incense, foil and paper everywhere.
The Jade Emperor also sent Guan Cang to the world. He was the god in charge of the warehouse. He saw that every household was filled with fragrant steamed buns, and he didn't want to return to heaven.
The Jade Emperor sent several immortals to earth, but there was still no reply. It's been half a month, and the jade emperor's chess game is over. It suddenly occurred to him that several immortals who had been sent down didn't come back, so he went to the world to see for himself. When he saw people wearing new clothes; Eating rice, white flour and meat dishes, doing nothing and being very angry, I called Maitreya to drink: "I told you to take care of people's affairs, but who told you to let people eat and dress well and not live?" Maitreya smiled and said, "Your Majesty, calm down. You asked me to take care of people's food, clothing, housing and transportation, but you didn't let me let people work! " In a word, the Jade Emperor was silent. The jade emperor thought about it, and he was right. Now that he has done it, he can only do it once a year. After the spring, he will go to work in the fields. So since then, the old convention has been left, and there is a Spring Festival once a year.
After that, Maitreya can't go back to the worse gate. To this day, there are still statues of him in some temples. People say that Maitreya can't be blamed. After all, he wants to do good for people. So people burned incense for him as usual.
Stick to the end of this year.
Keeping the old year is the custom of staying up late to welcome the new year on the last night of the old year. Also known as New Year's Eve, the common name is "Enduring the Year". Exploring the origin of this custom, there is an interesting story among the people:
In ancient times, there was a fierce monster scattered in the mountains. People call them nian. Its appearance is ferocious, its nature is ferocious, and it specializes in eating birds, animals and insects. It changes its taste every day, from kowtowing insects to living people, which makes people talk about "Nian". Later, people gradually mastered the activity law of "Nian", that is, every 365 days, people go to places where people live in concentrated communities to taste fresh food. The haunting time is after dark, and when the rooster crows at dawn, they return to the mountains.
After determining the date of the ravages of 2008, people regarded this terrible night as a gateway, and came up with a set of methods to close the New Year's Day: every family prepared dinner in advance, turned off the fire, cleaned the stove, then tied all the cowpeas, sealed the front and back doors of the house, and hid in the house to eat the "New Year's Eve" because this dinner was uncertain. In addition to inviting the whole family to have dinner together to show harmonious reunion, we should also worship our ancestors before eating and pray for their blessing to spend the night safely. After dinner, no one dared to sleep, so they sat together and chatted with courage. Gradually formed the habit of not sleeping on New Year's Eve.
The trend of observing the age rose in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and many scholars in the Liang Dynasty had poems about observing the age. "One night for two years, five hours for two years." People light candles or oil lamps and keep vigil all night, which symbolizes driving away all evil diseases and looking forward to good luck in the new year. This custom has been handed down from generation to generation.
Sticking Spring Festival couplets and door gods
It is said that the custom of pasting Spring Festival couplets began in the post-Shu period about 1000 years ago, which is proved by history. In addition, according to the Jade Candle Collection and the Chronicle of Yanjing, the original form of Spring Festival couplets is what people call "Fu Tao".
In the ancient mythology of China, it is said that there is a ghost world, in which there is a mountain, a big peach tree covering three thousand miles, and a golden rooster at the top of the tree. Whenever the golden rooster crows in the morning, the ghost who travels at night will rush back to the ghost domain. The Gate of Ghost Domain is located in the northeast of Peach Tree District. There are two gods standing by the door, named Shen Tu and Lei Yu. If the ghost does something unnatural at night, Shen Tu and Lei Yu will immediately find it, catch it, tie it up with a rope made of Miscanthus and give it to the tiger. So all the ghosts in the world are afraid of Shen Tu and Lei Yu. So people carved them into peach trees and put them at their doorsteps to ward off evil spirits and prevent harm. Later, people simply carved the names of Shen Tu and Lei Yu on the mahogany board, thinking that this could also eliminate disasters. This kind of red board was later called "Fu Tao".
In the Song Dynasty, people began to write couplets on mahogany boards, one for killing evil spirits, the other for expressing good wishes, and the third for decorating the portal for beauty. They also write couplets on red paper symbolizing happiness and good luck, and stick them on both sides of doors and windows during the Spring Festival to express people's good wishes for good luck in the coming year.
In order to pray for the longevity of the family, people in some places still keep the habit of sticking up doors. It is said that there are two door gods posted on the gate, and all monsters will be afraid. In the folk, the door god is a symbol of justice and strength. The ancients thought that people with strange looks often had magical temperament and extraordinary skills. They are honest and kind, and it is their nature and responsibility to catch ghosts and demons. Zhong Kui, a ghost hunter who is highly regarded by people, is such a strange look. Therefore, the folk door gods are always glaring and ferocious, holding all kinds of traditional weapons in their hands, ready to fight against ghosts who dare to come to the door. Because the doors of China's house are usually two opposite doors, the door gods are always paired.
After the Tang Dynasty, besides peace, people also regarded Qin and Weichi Gong, two military commanders in the Tang Dynasty, as gatekeepers. According to legend, Emperor Taizong was ill, heard ghosts screaming outside, and stayed up all night. So he asked the two generals to stand by with weapons in their hands, and there was no ghost harassment the next night. Later, Emperor Taizong had the images of these two generals painted and pasted on the door, and this custom began to spread widely among the people.