Text/Li Genyong
Every year on the third day of the first lunar month, in Qufu, Shandong Province, the hometown of Confucius and Mencius and a land of etiquette, there is a custom of celebrating birthdays on the third day of the lunar month. 73-year-old birthday person. With the improvement of living standards, the pace of social development is accelerating, and the scenes are becoming more and more grand. In addition, there are limited chefs, and restaurants are closed during the Spring Festival. The time points for celebrating birthdays have also kept pace with the times. Flexible arrangements, and the continuous warmth of humanistic care, are often Arranged to be held before the festival or on the third day after the New Year, there are huge crowds of birthday wishers. Relatives and friends come to congratulate, offer birthday gifts, read congratulations, set off birthday whips, and eat birthday noodles. The celebration is warm and lively, and it has become a folk custom in urban and rural areas.
The third day of the Lunar New Year is also called the "Little Nian Dynasty"
It is recorded in "Qing Jia Lu·Xiao Nian Dynasty" by Gulu of the Qing Dynasty:
(The first month of the lunar month ) The third day of the Lunar New Year is the Little New Year's Day. On this day, people used to not sweep the floor, beg for fire, or draw water, which is the same as the New Year's Day. According to legend, people usually don't go out to pay New Year's greetings on the third day of the Lunar New Year because they are red-mouthed, so they hope to avoid interacting with them. People have quarrels and quarrels. In order to avoid causing trouble, people do not go out to pay New Year greetings to relatives and friends. In some rural areas, there is still a custom of not using knives or scissors from the first to the third day of the Lunar New Year. The knives or scissors are often wrapped in red cloth or red paper and hidden or pressed under a box.
There is a slight difference between the words "birthday celebration" and "birthday celebration". Generally speaking, since ancient times, it has been said that "it has been rare for people to live over seventy years old", but now it is "it is not uncommon for people to live over a hundred years old". The fifty, sixty-six and seventy years before the age of seventy are called birthday celebrations. From the age of seventy-three, celebrating eighty years, eighty-eight years of rice life, and one hundred and eight years of tea life are called "qingshou". According to statistics from the Jiaxiang Aging Committee, there were 49 registered centenarians in 2018. The average life expectancy of Chinese people has reached 76 years, and men’s life expectancy is slightly less than this, about 74 years. With the improvement of living standards and the improvement of the environment, medical care, nutrition, and prosperous politics, the life span of Chinese people continues to grow. Here, I wish all the parents in the world to live as long as the pines in the southern mountains and be as blessed as the waters of the East Sea. I wish all my countrymen a long and prosperous life, long live long live!
According to Putian Dayu.com: Some villages in Putian Huating Town and most villages in Xianyou County have a longevity custom that is different from other places. Birthday celebrations are held on the tenth day of the year, and the birthday celebrations are arranged on the third day of the first lunar month of that year.
There are two theories about its origin. One is that Chen Mu in the Northern Song Dynasty went to Jiuli Lake to pray for immortality for his grandmother, and asked the immortal spring to cure his blindness. Then the whole village came to congratulate him. In order to thank his neighbors, Chen Mu It is suggested that the grandmother's ninetieth birthday, the uncle's seventieth birthday, the brother's and his own fiftieth birthdays be celebrated together on the third day of the Lunar New Year, which not only expresses gratitude to the neighbors, but also brings joy to the whole family.
Another theory says: This custom is related to the fact that after the Japanese invaders invaded Pu, and the old people who survived the disaster used this day to gather their relatives and hold a feast to celebrate their remaining lives. . But no matter what, the formation of this local custom also provides a concentrated display model for us to understand the birthday customs of Putian.
Starting from the age of 50, birthday celebrations are held on every ninth day for men and tenth year for women (both are false years). Widows celebrate with men on the ninth day. When celebrating birthdays, prepare gifts to worship ancestors. A birthday banquet is held and a play is performed to express gratitude. Relatives and friends send congratulatory banners, candles, cannons, etc. to celebrate. A married daughter is prepared with 10 plates per load. In addition to congratulatory banners, candles, cannons, clothes, trousers, shoes, socks, and hats, birthday cakes, noodles, rice dumplings, turtles, peaches, and rice balls are also prepared. , mung beans, pig's feet, peanuts, etc. went home to wish birthdays. If the couple is old or has a double birthday, the ceremony will be more grand. When the person being worshiped receives gifts, in addition to clothes, hats, and socks, he cannot accept all "wheat" items, and he also holds a banquet to thank relatives and friends who wish him a happy birthday.
Birthday etiquette is a life etiquette held on birthdays and should be done many times throughout life. These rituals performed on birthdays vary according to age. Although the center of these etiquette is blessing and celebrating health and longevity, junior people generally do not call it "birthday ceremony", but commonly known as "birthday ceremony". People believe that it is inappropriate for children and young people to celebrate their birthdays. To shorten their lives, birthday ceremonies can only be held after a certain age, that is, after the age of 49.
The married daughter brings a birthday gift tray and offers birthday gifts such as pig legs, birthday noodles, clothes, hats and shoes. Anyone who has both parents must prepare double birthday gifts. When the person being worshiped receives gifts, except for clothes, hats and socks, all "pasta" items cannot be accepted. On the birthday day, the old man who celebrates his birthday will perform a birthday worship ceremony after getting up in the morning and dressing up. At that time, the "longevity candle" was burning high in the middle hall, and a red-bottomed gold-lettered "longevity" screen hung above it. The old man who celebrates his birthday sits in the middle, and his son, daughter-in-law, daughter, son-in-law, eldest grandson, granddaughter, etc. kneel down one by one in the order of eldest and youngest. The birthday boy gives each person a "red envelope" as a return gift, and finally a family banquet is held. They also distribute "longevity turtles", "red oranges", "longevity cakes", etc. to the neighbors.
On the day of a birthday, wealthier families often set up incense tables in the front hall, make Yansheng Jiao, express their gratitude to heaven, earth and ancestors, and prepare banquets to entertain relatives and friends who come to celebrate their birthdays; in the afternoon and evening, they also perform Puxian opera or Puppet show adds a festive and lively atmosphere to birthday celebrations.
Birthday celebrations are usually held in the hall. A piece of red cloth is hung in the middle of the hall, and a golden word "Big Birthday" is embroidered on the cloth with gold thread (can be pasted with gold paper); on the walls on both sides of the longevity hall On it, hang congratulatory scrolls and curtains presented by relatives and friends; and set up two large tables to place birthday wine, birthday cakes, birthday noodles sent by relatives and friends, and 10 birthday gift plates sent by the married daughter or granddaughter.
When praying for birthdays, it is often chosen in the early morning of the birthday. At this time, the birthday girl must first burn incense to thank heaven, earth and ancestors, and then sit on the grand master's chair in the hall to accept the kowtows from his children and grandchildren inside and outside the family.
Generally, everyone kneels down and worships according to their seniority. After kneeling down, the birthday girl gives each person a red envelope as a return gift.
The "birthday givers" and birthday congratulators do not distinguish between rich and poor, high or low, as long as they are related to each other, they must participate. Since there are many people "celebrating birthdays" on the same day, there is a lively scene where "celebrating birthdays" go out to intercept guests and go home to sit down for a meal. Puxian people who came home from other places to celebrate the New Year just took this opportunity to visit relatives and friends. Everywhere they went, they smoked, drank tea, drank alcohol, and said things like "bringing blessings and longevity".
Lively birthday banquets and happy old age are particularly happy in different folk customs.
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