Off-year is a day for people to sacrifice their stoves. It is said that on this day, Kitchen God Village is called Kitchen God Bodhisattva, and everyone should report the good and evil of this family to the Jade Emperor, so that the Jade Emperor can reward and punish them. When offering sacrifices to the kitchen stove, you should also put frozen rice candy on the mouth of the kitchen god so that he can't speak ill of the jade emperor. Kitchen God is the god in charge of diet in ancient Chinese myths and legends, also known as "kitchen king", "kitchen king" or "kitchen god", and most people think it is a male god. There are two explanations about its origin: when it comes to Zhou Chengwang, there is a man named Zhang Zhou. Because of eating, drinking, gambling, exhausting family property, selling his wife as a concubine, he eventually became a beggar. One day I begged to a rich family, which happened to be my ex-wife's. The original wife invited him into the house, but the master came back. The master asked my concubine to boil water for a bath, and Zhang Zhou was burned to death voluntarily in order to safeguard the honor of the original wife. Every time the original wife made a sacrifice on the kitchen stove, the owner lied about respecting the kitchen god when asked. Everyone in the neighborhood has done it and become a kitchen god. Second, the third son of the Jade Emperor offended the gods because of his lust for trouble. It was supposed to be a mortal, but the emperor loved it and made it a kitchen god, saying that he could accompany his wife every day. In order to prevent them from peeping, women put on aprons to cook.
It is said that Kitchen God has the function of monitoring human evils and mastering the good fortune of a family. Wei Zhi, Ge Hong of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, said: "On a moonlit night, the Kitchen God also confessed to Heaven and Man. Great men seize the discipline for 300 days. The small person takes the number, and the calculator takes three days. " There is a sentence in the book Dong Chu Deng Yi, which was written around the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, that "Kitchen God holds an important position and has the power to rely on by the people", "He is the seven-yuan messenger of heaven and delivers everything in a day" and "He is the master of Yin and Yang, but he is practicing despite good and evil; However, right and wrong, be respectful and record. " The encyclopedia of respecting stoves in the Qing dynasty said that the kitchen god was protected by a fragrant family and a Kangtai family. Examine the good and evil of a family and give play to the merits and demerits of a family. Every time I serve Geng Shenri, I play the Jade Emperor, and the last month counts. Those who do more work will live a long life after three years; If it is too much, three years later, disaster will fall from the sky.
The twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month is a customary small year. Since the Xia Dynasty, it has become a traditional custom for the people of China to offer sacrifices to stoves during the off-year period. Kitchen God, also known as Kitchen God, is the legendary God who was named Kitchen God by the Jade Emperor and was responsible for managing the diet of every kitchen fire. Kitchen God was once worshipped as the protector of the family. For a long time, there was a kitchen god throne in the north or east of every kitchen, with an idol in the middle. On both sides of the statue, "Heaven speaks well, and the lower bound is safe". On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the Kitchen God will return to heaven and report to the Jade Emperor the people's feelings and the family's good deeds or evil deeds. Therefore, there is the custom of offering sacrifices to stoves on the 23rd day of the lunar calendar. Every year, every household will take off the portrait of the kitchen god and draw it on their lips with candied melons, so that his old man can put in a good word for his family in the jade emperor's place, and will also say, "Say more good things when painting, not bad things." When the mouth of Kitchen God is painted sweet, he will light the statue and put it on the cymbals. Rich people will also serve some lotus seed eight-treasure rice made of glutinous rice. It is said that this will make the old kitchen god more satisfied. According to Kitchen God's report, the Jade Emperor entrusted the family with the good and bad fortune they should get in the new year. Kitchen God will return to every household on New Year's Eve, continue to exercise his duty of protecting and supervising the family, and then return to the Heavenly Palace on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month next year. For a family, Kitchen God's report and the good and bad fortune he got are really of great interest. Every household hopes that Kitchen God will speak well for his family, so that the next year will be more stable. There are also various ceremonies to offer sacrifices to Kitchen God, such as offering honeydew melons and sending them to Kitchen God for good luck and praying for good luck.
Whether the Kitchen God can lose his principle because of these honeydew melons and talk nonsense in front of the Jade Emperor, it is estimated that no one can tell clearly. However, these rituals of offering sacrifices to stoves are still quite common in rural and urban areas. A few days ago, shops and supermarkets provided special "fruit for offering sacrifices to stoves". In fact, the ceremony of offering sacrifices to stoves is just a kind of spiritual sustenance and psychological comfort for people. I really like this attitude and form of welcoming the Spring Festival, and I miss the folk song "Melon offering sacrifices to the stove, when the Spring Festival comes, girls want flowers and boys want guns" that reverberates in the streets and lanes, and I miss the traditional folk custom that "every family always trades new peaches for old ones".
Oh, by the way, there is also a folk saying that "men don't Yue Bai, women don't sacrifice stoves". When sending the kitchen god to heaven, a woman can't sacrifice the stove. It is said that Kitchen God is a gigolo, and women's sacrificial stoves, especially those for beautiful women, make it difficult for Kitchen God to resist the temptation and offend such common things as "men and women". Oh! Oh! Facts have proved that God is doomed to make mistakes, not to mention people. Although this source is difficult to explain, the stories and legends circulated by the people are quite interesting. The excerpts are as follows:
In ancient times, there was a man named Zhang Sheng who lived with his mother. When the mother saw that her son was old enough to get married, she asked someone to propose marriage. According to the matchmaker, there is a woman named Lilac in the Lilac Garden, who is outstanding in talent and appearance, gentle and virtuous, smart and diligent, and has a good personality. After marrying Zhang Chengsheng, Lilac went out early and came back late every day, and took pains to do housework, which gradually prospered her family business. She built several new tile houses and lived a good life. She became a well-known rich man, which made people in three townships and four miles envious.
Seeing that his family business is getting bigger and bigger, Zhang Sheng feels very rich, and he doesn't want to think about how this family changed from poor to rich. People who only see lilacs with yellow skin and thick black skin have a new idea of hating old photos. I heard that the scenery around the begonia flowers was good, so I brought wine and food and went alone. I really liked it when I saw it, and the colorful blooms were in full swing. In the sun, the colors of the flowers are bright and dazzling. It's really a sea of flowers, and the fragrance is overflowing. This scene makes people linger, so happy that they open the wine and drink it themselves. But the most regrettable thing is that no one shares this happiness with him. Just as I was thinking, suddenly a beautiful woman came from the flowers. Her bright dress was dazzling, graceful and incomparable.
Seeing Zhang Sheng pouring wine for herself, the beauty smiled and said, "I thought I was in a good mood, but I didn't expect someone to come to me." Zhang was surprised and asked who she was. She replied, "My name is Haitang, and I am the daughter of the richest man here." Zhang was very lonely. Seeing such a beautiful woman delivered to the door, he happily invited her to drink with him. As I sang, I thought, "This beautiful woman's soft voice and charming manners really fascinate me and make me eager to try." The beautiful woman threw herself into Zhang's arms with understanding, raised a glass and drank a toast. Zhang also swore to marry her in front of the beautiful woman. When Zhang Sheng came home, he immediately picked lilacs and married Haitang. Haitang and Zhang Sheng live a luxurious life all day, and both of them sit in empty seats regardless of housework. At this time, Zhang Sheng's mother was very angry. Her family business declined and her land and house were sold. Haitang secretly ran away when he saw that Zhang Sheng couldn't even eat. Zhang Sheng has been a beggar ever since. Many people in the street know Zhang Sheng. When Zhang appeared begging in the street, many people laughed at him to his face. In order to avoid embarrassment of acquaintances, they begged in other places instead.
One day, when it was getting dark, I saw a family with red lanterns hanging in the distance. I took a closer look. Seeing the servant of this family, I complimented him and asked for a bowl of soup. The servant gave him a bowl of soup and found it delicious. After he drank the second bowl of soup, it was all dark. Zhang asked the servant, "It's getting dark, a stranger. Please ask your master. " The servant said "yes". Zhang went in to stay and said he was still hungry and wanted soup. The servant immediately brought soup and food for him to choose from After using it, he asked the servant, "Your master is really kind to others. Can you tell him I want to see him? " The servant said, "My master is really kind. Just tell him and he will come. There is no need to return it. " After a while, the owner of the shopkeeper came. Zhang Sheng felt familiar at first glance, and then he looked at it carefully. It turned out to be a clove he picked. Lilac asked, "Isn't it nice that you married a rich man's daughter after you divorced me?" How did you get here? "Zhang was so ashamed, he thought," I have no face to see anyone, so go to hell. At first glance, the fire in the cauldron of Lilac's house is burning brightly. If I die here, my wandering soul may still be lying on the stove, so I can apologize and bless my master. " Thinking of this, I plunged into the cauldron and burned to death. When the Jade Emperor knew about it, he thought it was Zhang Sheng's fault. Although he was not good, he knew how to be shy, burned himself to death and made him the king of the kitchen. After receiving the decree, Zhang was named king of the kitchen and head of the family. Every family pays tribute to him with fruits at festivals. Every year on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, Kitchen God asks God to report the situation of each household, and return to his original post on the evening of the 30th to live in heaven for seven days.
People are afraid that Kitchen God will not speak well of himself in heaven. Before sending him to heaven, he changed his name to Kitchen God Bodhisattva, which is easier to remember. At the same time, in addition to fruits, there are chicken, pork, rice products, drinks, tea and so on. Have prepared enough food and drink for him. After being very considerate during the service, he will pray and hope that he will talk well when he returns to heaven. Later, some people made glutinous rice (or rice noodles) into Ciba or rice cakes to worship him. It is assumed that this kind of Ciba or rice cake will stick to his mouth and make him unable to speak. People write a pair of couplets on both sides of the shrine: "Heaven speaks well, the world is safe" or "Heaven is good, and it is auspicious to return to the palace". This is a legendary fairy tale. In the story, Zhang Sheng became ungrateful after getting rich, drove away his hardworking wife to find another lover, ruined his family business and finally begged along the street. This lesson should be learned. However, when Zhang Sheng and Laila meet again, they are awakened by their conscience that has not been completely extinguished, and they dare to admit their past mistakes. They were ashamed and threw themselves into the fire, and finally they were forgiven by the world and the immortal family.
Sacrifice to the kitchen god