According to the Records of Chenghai County in Jiaqing Edition of Qing Dynasty, every year on the day of beginning of spring, the government takes troops to the suburbs to hold a Spring Festival ceremony, and then holds a "whipping spring cattle" activity.
As early as the Zhou Dynasty, spring cattle were whipped in spring. Before the start of the Spring Festival every year, the state capitals will make clay sculptures of mountain gods and local cattle in advance. On the day of spring, the government came to the mountain pavilion and terracotta warriors and horses platform prepared in advance in the eastern suburb of Bali with the team to welcome the Spring Festival. All the people who took part in the Spring Festival parade were dressed in blue, driving blue cars and holding blue flags. People blow horns, sing "Qingyang songs", dance feathers and hold a grand Spring Festival ceremony. This kind of ceremony developed to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which was even more grand. According to "Yanjing Years" of Qing Dynasty, "... on the first day of spring, officials from Shuntianfu went to a spring field outside Dongzhimen to welcome the spring, and the ceremony of Japanese Spring Festival presented the throne of Chunshan, and Shuntianfu presented a picture of spring cattle. After the ceremony, they returned to the department and attracted the spring cattle to fight it, saying it was spring ..."
Spring cattle are beaten to encourage farming. Chaoshan is located in Hanjiang Delta, with fertile soil. Agriculture is very developed, so Chaoshan area can keep this custom related to persuading agriculture. But the specific situation has changed, and it is not necessary to beat cattle.
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Second, lift the spring.
According to Travel Notes of Guangdong, during the Qing Dynasty, there was another activity in Chaoshan area called "promoting spring scenery". In the parade of beginning of spring Day, there will be a decorated pavilion where a geisha sits and is carried by two people. There are also differences between high spring and short spring in Jiaying Meizhou: short spring sits alone on the stage; Gao Chun used two people: one stood on the stage, then tied a straight wood and hid it in the man's long coat, flush with the man's shoulder. Then tie a wooden stick horizontally at the upper end of the straight wood. The crossbar is hidden in a wide sleeve, and another person stands on the crossbar. Just to be on the safe side, put your feet firmly on the crossbar, and two people pretend to be characters in a story. Another man took a long stick wrapped in cloth and put it under the man's arm, marching with the Spring Festival parade. If there are obstacles on the road, people with long sticks will use a blender to remove them.
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Third, eat spring cakes and spring rolls.
On the day when spring begins, Chaoshan people still eat spring cakes and spring rolls. According to Four Seasons Treasure, "beginning of spring has no spring cakes, lettuce and spring vegetables." Spring pancake is a pancake baked or steamed with wheat flour and eaten with bean sprouts, leeks and vermicelli as stuffing. Spring cakes are thin and soft, and their shapes can be changed according to everyone's preferences. In the Yuan Dynasty, Lu Ye Chucai, a Khitan, wrote a poem about this custom: "I accidentally forgot spring yesterday, so I took it as a spring dish. At the beginning of the wooden box, the silver thread is messy, the sand bottle is ripe, and the lotus root is long. Peas, chopped shallots, chopped absinthe and chives. I'm full, too. Why bother? " Nowadays, beginning of spring, a Chaoshan native, eats spring cakes every day. In addition to traditional fried leeks with bean sprouts, there are high-grade condiments such as shredded pork, shredded eggs and mushrooms. Spring rolls were popular in Song and Yuan Dynasties, which were called "spring" or "exploring spring" in Song Dynasty and "rolling pancakes" in Yuan Dynasty. Yuan Han Yi's Yi Ya Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Yi Probably like steamed bread stuffing, it should be stuffed with chopped green onion or dried bamboo shoots, rolled into strips, pasted with batter at both ends, fried in oil, and turned red and burnt. " There are few sheep in Chaoshan area, so now people eat more pork, some are sweet, and they are crushed with dried fruits, sesame seeds, peanuts and other condiments to make stuffing, which is sweet and delicious.
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Matters needing attention
Beginning of spring in the twenty-four solar terms of the lunar calendar is commonly known as "Dachun".
Beginning of spring, sometimes in December of the lunar calendar, sometimes in the first month of the lunar calendar. After beginning of spring, it means the end of winter and the beginning of spring.
China has been an agricultural country since ancient times, and the key is spring. There is a saying in the folk proverb that "a year's plan lies in spring". The ancient custom in beginning of spring is not only an ancient solar term, but also an important festival. At the beginning of spring, the son of heaven will personally lead the prince and the doctor to welcome the spring in the eastern suburbs and issue a kind order. Shuo Wen Jie Zi records: "Duke Zhou began to make beginning of spring native cattle, and unearthed them to show the time of farming." Feudal rulers of later generations held a whipping ceremony on this day to encourage farming and develop production.
A popular folk song "Spring" in Shanxi: "Spring breeze moves in spring, and spring water flows along the river. Spring people drink spring wine and spring officials whip spring cattle. " It's about the grand occasion of shooting spring cattle.
On the day before the old custom that began in spring, there were two artists wearing crowns and ribbons. One was called Chun Guan, and the other was called Chun Guan. Shouting along the street: "Spring is coming", commonly known as "Spring". Scholars, farmers, workers and businessmen all bow down when they see Chun Guan. When a person meets a vendor's shop, he can take goods and food at will, and the owner is greeted with a smile. On this day, every state and county will hold a grand "Spring Festival" activity. The front is the drum music honor guard as a guide; In the middle are the family members led by the governors of various States and counties, all wearing official uniforms; Behind them are peasant teams, all carrying farm tools. Come to the eastern suburb of the city to meet the mang God and the spring cow. Before you go to see the Mang God, you should kneel and kowtow. The deacon raised his glass and poured wine for the officer. After receiving the wine, the officer knelt down twice and kowtowed six times. Then bow in front of the spring cow. After the ceremony, it was as lively as when it came, welcoming the busy god and the spring cow back to the city.
On the second day in beginning of spring, the local governor still led his family and farmers to whip Spring. Yin and Yang officials must first hold certain traditional ceremonies. Local officials presided over the Spring Festival ceremony, offering titles at the beginning and titles at the end. Then he whipped the spring bull for three turns with color and returned to the Ministry after the ceremony. The farmers slaughtered the spring cattle.
Now, spring whipping activities are no longer held in cities, but some rural areas still have the custom of beating spring cattle. Before the beginning of spring, a cow was made of clay, which was called a spring cow. Women take their children around the spring cow three times. The old saying that they can't get sick has now become entertainment. At the beginning of spring, an old man was selected from the village to symbolically whip the cattle in spring three times, which means the beginning of a year's agriculture. Then the villagers smashed the mud cows, returned the soil to the fields and scattered it in their respective farmland. It is popular in Luliang area to write the word "Yichun" on the door with spring cattle soil. Southeast Shanxi is used to coating horns with spring cattle soil. It is said that rinderpest can be avoided. In the south of Shanxi, people pay attention to coating stoves with spring cattle soil, which is said to drive away ephemera.
During the Spring Festival, folk artists make many small mud cows, which are called "spring cows". Give it to all families, this is called "send it to spring". The owner should pay the person who sends the spring water. More essentially, it is a holiday sales activity, but everyone is happy. In some places, there is a yellow paper with a picture of a spring cow on the wall. Yellow stands for land, and spring cattle stands for farming, commonly known as "Spring Cattle Map".
During the Spring Festival, girls cut the ribbon for swallows and called them "Spring Chicken". Stick feathers on butterflies and call them "spring moths"; Wrapped in velvet as a staff is called "Spring Staff". Wear it on your head, Bimei. Girls in southeastern Shanxi like to exchange these headdresses. It is said that sericulture is thriving. Xiangning and other places are used to making small dolls out of silk, called "spring babies", which are worn on children. The northern part of Shanxi pays attention to sewing small cloth bags, which are filled with beans, grains and other miscellaneous grains and hung on the horns of cattle, which means that six animals are prosperous, and the crops are abundant, and they are safe and auspicious all year round.
During the Spring Festival, people are used to eating carrots, ginger, onions and bread, which is called "biting spring". Newly married women in Yuncheng are called "Spring Festival" when their parents want to take them back. Linfen area is used to inviting son-in-law to eat spring cakes.