Twenty-three of twelfth lunar month

Zhuxian Town Woodblock New Year Picture "cornucopia stove"

The 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, commonly known as "off-year", is said to be the day when the kitchen god goes to heaven, so it is necessary to sacrifice to the kitchen god. The seventh day after the off-year is the 30th anniversary. According to custom, we should eat jiaozi. In China, the Spring Festival usually begins with a ceremony of offering sacrifices to stoves on the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month. There is a saying that "officials, three people, four boatmen and five people", that is, the government held a ceremony to sacrifice stoves on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, ordinary people on the 24th and houseboats on the 25th. After holding the sacrificial stove, they officially began to prepare for the New Year. Every year from the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month to New Year's Eve, people call it "Spring Festival". People who worship the kitchen stove think that the kitchen god will say a few good words in front of the Jade Emperor, which will bring happiness to the family and bless the family safety in the coming year. Therefore, on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, every household has to offer sacrifices to the kitchen god and ask him to speak well and say auspicious words the day after tomorrow. This ceremony of sending the kitchen god is called "sending the kitchen stove" or "resigning the kitchen stove". It is said that every year on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, Kitchen God will tell the Jade Emperor about the good and evil of this family and let the Jade Emperor reward and punish them. Therefore, when sending stoves, people will put candy, water, beans and grass on the console table in front of the statue of the kitchen king, and the last three of them are for the mount for the kitchen king to ascend to heaven. According to folklore, Kitchen God tells the world about good and evil. Once the defendant commits evil, his life will be shortened by 300 days for major crimes and 100 days for minor crimes. This statement is widely circulated.

When sending stoves, people use various methods to deal with the kitchen god, in order to make him "speak well from heaven and return to the palace for good luck." Some worship it with chewing gum candy, so as to stick the kitchen god's teeth so that it can't talk nonsense; Some people paint the kitchen door with distiller's grains, calling it "drunk commander", so drunk that the kitchen god dare not talk nonsense. Kitchen God is treated specially. It is certainly not good for him to "eat others' mouths short" and speak ill of him. This is actually a kind of moral self-discipline among the people. Seven days later, on New Year's Eve, the Kitchen God will be brought back. Because, on the night of New Year's Eve, Kitchen God will come to the earth to celebrate the New Year with the gods, and there will be ceremonies of "receiving the kitchen" and "receiving the gods" on that day. According to the general local custom, the master is responsible for receiving the kitchen god, and the harem does not participate. In ancient times, there was a saying that "men don't Yue Bai, women don't sacrifice stoves". After seeing off the Kitchen God, it was the turn to worship the ancestors, which was called "hanging shadows" by the people. Lin, a folklore expert in Tianjin, said that on New Year's Day, portraits or photos of ancestors should be hung on the wall, drinks and tributes should be prepared, and people should worship them until New Year's Eve. Eating stove candy is a kind of maltose, which is very sticky. The candy that is drawn into a long strip is called "Guandong Sugar", and the candy that is drawn into a flat circle is called "Tanggua". When it is put outside in winter, because of the cold weather, the honeydew melon is solidified firmly, and there are some tiny bubbles in it. It tastes crisp, sweet and fragrant, and has a special flavor. [2]

Twenty-four twelfth lunar month

The folk proverb of sweeping dust says, "On the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, sweep the house dust". After the Stove Festival, preparations for the Chinese New Year officially began.

Dust removal is year-end cleaning, which is called "house cleaning" in the north and "dust removal" in the south. It is a traditional habit of our people to sweep the dust before the Spring Festival. Whenever the Spring Festival comes, every household should clean the environment, clean all kinds of electrical appliances, remove and wash bedding curtains, sweep six yards, dust cobwebs and dredge culverts in open channels. North and south of the great river, everywhere is filled with the atmosphere of being willing to engage in hygiene and welcoming the Spring Festival cleanly. According to ancient records, there was a habit of year-end cleaning in ancient times. The custom of "sweeping the house with dust on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month" has a long history. According to "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals", China had the custom of sweeping dust during the Spring Festival in the Yao and Shun era. According to the folk saying, because of the homonym of "dust" and "Chen", sweeping dust in the Spring Festival means "getting rid of the old and not being new", and its original intention is to sweep away all "unlucky" and "unlucky". Volume 12 of Jia Qinglu records: "La will be disabled, so it is advisable to choose a constitutional book to sweep away the day and go to the court to collect dirt. Or 23 rd, 24 th and 27 th, commonly known as' dust'. " On the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, the house was thoroughly cleaned inside and outside. It can be seen that this custom has placed people's desire to break the old and establish the new, as well as their prayers to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. It is also the traditional virtue of the Chinese nation to pay attention to hygiene and prevent diseases in winter accumulated in the long history. [3]

Twenty-five twelfth lunar month

Comic book "Pushing Mill to Make Tofu"

The folk saying of making tofu is "on the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, push the mill to make tofu." According to research, tofu was invented by Liu An, the king of Huainan in the Western Han Dynasty. Zhu wrote in the poem "Tofu" in the Southern Song Dynasty: "Growing peas is exhausting. If you know Huainan, you will have a spring cloth. " Interestingly, some places still have the custom of eating tofu residue before New Year's Eve. The reason is that the local legend says that the Jade Emperor will go to the lower bound to see if each family is acting like the Kitchen God, so each family will eat tofu dregs to show their poverty and avoid the punishment of the Jade Emperor. Legend has it that eating tofu residue is actually a low productivity in ancient times, and there is not so much delicious food. It is also a portrayal of the virtue of diligence and thrift of our ancestors. According to the old custom of the jade emperor, when the kitchen god went to heaven, the jade emperor himself came down to earth on December 25 of the lunar calendar to investigate the good and evil on earth and decide the fortune for the coming year. Therefore, every household gives its blessing, which is called "receiving the Jade Emperor". On this day, we should be careful in our daily life and words, strive for good performance, win the favor of the Jade Emperor and bring good luck for the coming year. It was not until New Year's Eve that Kitchen God was sent to welcome him back. During this period, there is no god's jurisdiction on the earth. In "All Forgive", many people get married, and this year is called "the year of chaos". Luannian is a special period designed by people to adjust their social life. At the end of the year, people have leisure and savings, which is a good opportunity for those who have little energy to do great things. Therefore, people invented this special time folk custom according to the needs of real life. It can be seen that in traditional society, people's life order is regulated by folk customs. According to Tian Silkworm, Tian Silkworm is also called "burning Tian Silkworm" and "burning Tian Cai", which is a popular folk custom in Jiangnan area to pray for the New Year. On the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, a long pole tied with a torch will stand in the field, indicating the new year with the flame, and the thriving flame indicates the bumper harvest in the coming year. This activity is held in some places on New Year's Eve. Thousand Lantern Festival Thousand Lantern Festival is a religious festival of Mongolian and Daur people. Mongolian is called "Ganming Zhuola", which means Thousand Lantern Festival. On the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, I made "Ganming Zhuola" and lit it in the temple, thinking that the more I ordered, the more auspicious it would be. This festival custom is the most popular among Mongolians in Vilat, Xinjiang. On this day, local people eat roast beef and mutton and hold traditional sports and entertainment activities. [4]

twelfth month of the lunar year

Comic book "Kill Pig and Cut Year's Meat"

As the saying goes, "On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, pigs are killed and meat is cut during the Chinese New Year". It is said that this day is mainly for preparing meat for the Chinese New Year. Killing pigs, of course, is killing your own pigs; Cutting meat means that people who don't raise pigs go to the market to buy meat for the New Year. The reason why "cutting the annual meat" is written into the annual festival ballad is because the agricultural society and economy are underdeveloped, and people often eat meat at the annual festival, so it is called "annual meat". [5]

December 27th.

Comic book "Kill the Chicken and Get the Egg"

Kill the chicken to catch the big episode, and the folk proverb says, "On the 27th of the twelfth lunar month, kill the chicken to catch the market". On this day, in addition to slaughtering their own poultry, every household has to go to the shops in the market for centralized procurement. Compared with the market on weekdays, the market on the 27th of the twelfth lunar month mainly deals in new year's goods, such as firecrackers, Spring Festival couplets, horses, incense sticks, burning paper, beef and mutton, toys and gifts for children and headdresses for girls. On this day, markets all over the country are very lively. Bathing in traditional folk customs, these two days should focus on bathing and washing clothes to get rid of the bad luck of the year and prepare for the Spring Festival next year. There is a saying in Beijing that "twenty-seven washes the sick, twenty-eight washes the sloppy". Taking a bath on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month is "washing Fulu". [6]

the 28th of the twelfth lunar month

Comic book "Sticking Peach Symbol"

As the saying goes, "On the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, cakes are made, steamed buns are pasted with decals". The so-called decal is to paste New Year pictures, Spring Festival couplets and stick grilles, and all kinds of divinatory symbols. Among them, the custom of pasting Spring Festival couplets originated from the ancient "Fu Tao". The ancients used peach wood as a wood to ward off evil spirits. The Book of Arts said, "Peach is the essence of five trees, so it also suppresses evil spirits." In the Five Dynasties, Meng Changya, the monarch of the post-Shu Dynasty, was good at literature. Every year, he made people write inscriptions for Fu Tao, which became the origin of Spring Festival couplets in later generations. The inscription on the Fu Tao "New Year's Qing Yu, Spring Festival Changchun" became the first "Spring Festival couplets" in China's recorded history. Later, with the appearance of papermaking, the custom of pasting Spring Festival couplets with red paper instead of mahogany appeared. [7]

the 29th of the twelfth lunar month

Comic "ancestor worship"

In the year of ancestor worship, he said, "On the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, please go to the grave and ask your ancestors to make a big confession.". Ancestor worship has a long history in China. Death is not only an important symbol of filial piety, but also a virtue of respecting the elderly. The Spring Festival is a big festival, and the ceremony of paying homage to one's ancestors is particularly grand. In most areas, ancestors were invited on the morning of the 29th. According to Mao Cui's "Four-person Moon Order" in Han Dynasty, "On the first day of the first month, you should bow down to your wife and ancestors. On the day of worship, I drank wine, and my family, big or small, was humble, second only to my ancestors. My son-in-law's great-grandson presented Chili wine to my parents, saying that it was to celebrate their long life and happiness. " This shows that as early as the Han Dynasty, ancestor worship in China was already a very important activity in the Spring Festival. The day before New Year's Eve is called "New Year's Eve", and people call it "Another Year" when greeting each other. Burning incense outdoors is called "Tianxiang", which usually takes three days. [8]

30 December

New Year's Eve refers to the night of the last day of the twelfth lunar month, which is connected with the first day of the first month. The word "except" in "New Year's Eve" is "go; Easy; "Alternating" means that New Year's Eve means "the month is poor and the old year is exhausted". People should get rid of the old year and welcome the new year. It means that the new year will be replaced next year. This is the last night of the lunar calendar. Therefore, the activities during the period are centered on resigning the old and welcoming the new, eliminating disasters and praying for blessings. During the Zhou and Qin Dynasties, a ceremony of "exorcism" was held in the palace at the end of each year to beat drums to drive away epidemic ghosts, which was called "banishment". Later, the day before New Year's Eve was called "small exorcism". New Year's Eve is New Year's Eve, that is, New Year's Eve. Door-keeper is a custom all over China during the Chinese New Year. At first, the janitor carved mahogany into a human shape and hung it by the door. Later, it was painted as a janitor and posted on the door. The legendary brothers Shen Tu and Lei Yu specialize in ghosts. They guard the portal, so evil spirits dare not enter the portal to do bad things. After the Tang Dynasty, two brave soldiers, Qin Qiong and Wei Chijingde, were painted as gatekeepers, while Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were painted as gatekeepers. Every household has a door god, and later generations often draw a pair of door gods as martial arts. Door gods are divided into three categories: the first category is "door gods", which are mostly attached to doors or the whole door, about four or five feet high and two or three feet wide. The second kind is the "door keeper", which is attached to the small street door, about two feet high and one foot wide. These two door gods are two gods with a black face and a white face. White left black right, white easy, black evil, each holding a slap in the face. The third category is the "gatekeeper", which is a little smaller and more limited than the street keeper. It is also a black and white Er Shen, but there are also two black and white statues sitting like statues. At most, there is a picture of "Kirin sending the child" on the door, and two dolls with powder and fat comb crowns are riding Kirin. This kind of door god should have been stuck on the wedding door for good luck, and later it was also used as a New Year decoration for ordinary street doors. Sticking Spring Festival couplets, also known as "door couplets" and "Spring Festival couplets", is a kind of couplets, named after being posted during the Spring Festival. One source of Spring Festival couplets is Fu Tao. At first, people carved figures out of mahogany and hung them by the door to ward off evil spirits. Later, they painted the door god on the mahogany, simplified it and wrote the door god's name on the mahogany board. Another source of Spring Festival couplets is spring stickers. The ancients posted the word "Yichun" more and more at the beginning of spring, and gradually developed into Spring Festival couplets. The real popularity of Spring Festival couplets began in the Ming Dynasty, which was related to Zhu Yuanzhang's advocacy. According to Chen Shanggu's Miscellaneous Notes on Mao Yunlou in Qing Dynasty, one year when Zhu Yuanzhang was preparing for the New Year, he ordered every household to post a pair of Spring Festival couplets to celebrate. At first, Spring Festival couplets were carved on mahogany boards, and later rewritten on paper. The color of mahogany is red, which means good luck and avoiding evil spirits, so most Spring Festival couplets are written in red paper. However, temples are made of yellow paper, and toilet paper is made of white, green and yellow. Use white paper in the first year, green paper in the second year, yellow paper in the third year, and red paper after the funeral in the fourth year. Because Manchu is still white, the Spring Festival couplets in the Qing court are made of white paper, with blue borders on the outside and red stripes embedded inside. Sticking blessings, stick grilles, New Year pictures and thousands of pictures all have folk functions of blessing and decorating residence. New Year pictures are an ancient folk art in China, which reflects people's customs and beliefs and places their hopes on the future. New Year pictures, like Spring Festival couplets, originated from "door gods". Spring Festival couplets developed from the names of Shen Tu and Lei Yu to figures, while New Year pictures still developed along the direction of painting. With the rise of block printing, the content of New Year pictures is no longer limited to the door gods, but gradually invites the god of wealth to their homes, and then in some New Year pictures workshops, colorful New Year pictures such as three stars of Fu Lushou, God bless the people, abundant crops, prosperity of six animals, greeting the spring and praying for blessings are produced to meet people's good wishes of celebrating and praying for the New Year. As Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of Ming Dynasty, advocated posting Spring Festival couplets, New Year pictures became popular, and three important producing areas of New Year pictures appeared in China: Taohuawu in Suzhou, Yangliuqing in Tianjin and Weifang in Shandong. Formed three schools of Chinese New Year pictures. In the early years of the Republic of China, Zheng of Shanghai combined the monthly calendar with the New Year pictures. This is a new form of New Year pictures. This two-in-one New Year picture was later developed into a calendar. Hanging a thousand is carved with auspicious words on red paper, accompanied by a long ruler and A Zhi, which is posted in front of the door, reflecting the symbol of peach. There are eight immortals hanging in front of the Buddha statue. Hanging thousands of households use more, and aristocratic families use less. Its yellow paper is three inches long and red paper is more than one inch long, which is a "small hanging thousand" and is used by shops. The earliest thousands of hanging coins were linked by making money (copper coins), which, like lucky money, had an overwhelming victory effect. [9] Keeping the Year in China, people have the habit of keeping the Year on New Year's Eve, commonly known as "Enduring the Year". Watching the new year begins with eating New Year's Eve dinner. This New Year's Eve dinner should be eaten slowly, starting with lighting lanterns, and some families have to eat it until late at night. According to Zonggu's records of Jingchu's age, there was a custom of New Year's Eve dinner at least in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. The custom of observing the old age not only includes the feeling of farewell and nostalgia for the fleeting time, but also expresses the good hope for the coming New Year. Lucky money is given to the younger generation by the elders. In some families, everyone is not allowed to leave the table after eating. After everyone has finished eating, the elders give it to the younger generation to encourage their children and grandchildren to learn and improve in the new year. In some families, parents put their children under pillows after they fall asleep at night, and in more families, children gather in the main hall, shouting Happy New Year to grandparents and parents, and queuing up to bow down; Then reach for the red envelope. They even took back their grandparents' bedrooms and ran to the bed together, shouting "lucky money, lucky money!" " "The old man is not busy enough, so he is stingy. From bargaining to siege, he finally dug up the red envelope of his ancestors. Everyone took them and roared away. The old man was overjoyed to see this scene and thought it was a good sign for all the best in the new year. Giving lucky money in the New Year reflects the care of the elders for the younger generation and the respect of the younger generation for the elders. It is a folk activity that integrates family ethics.

The first day of the lunar new year

In the morning of the Spring Festival, firecrackers are set off first, which is called "setting off firecrackers". After the firecrackers, the ground is broken red, which is the so-called "full house". At this time, the streets are full of anger and joy. An important activity of the Spring Festival is to congratulate friends, relatives and neighbors, formerly known as the New Year. The wind of the Han people's New Year greetings began in the Han Dynasty. It was very popular after the Tang and Song Dynasties, and some people who are inconvenient to go in person can use famous cards to congratulate them. It was called "thorn" in the Eastern Han Dynasty, so the business card was also called "famous thorn". After the Ming Dynasty, many people put up a red paper bag at the door to collect famous posts, which was called "Menben". According to their social relations, the forms of folk New Year greetings can be roughly divided into four categories: First, visiting relatives. On the first day, you must go to your father-in-law's house and bring gifts. After entering the door, bow down to the Buddha statue, ancestor statue and memorial tablet, and then bow down to the elders in turn. You can stay for dinner and play. The second is a courtesy visit. If you want to pay a New Year call to your colleagues and friends, you should only bow to the Buddha statue three times when you enter the room. If you are equal to your master, you just need to bow down. If you are older than yourself, you should still take the initiative to bow your head. The host should get down from his seat to help you, or even say that he is not polite to show his humility. This situation is generally not suitable for sitting for a long time, so leave after a few pleasantries. After the host worships, he should pay a return visit another day. The third is a thank-you visit. Anyone who owes money to others in the past year (such as lawyers and doctors) should buy some gifts to express their gratitude by taking the opportunity to pay a New Year call. The fourth is a series of visits. For neighbors, we didn't have much contact in the past, but we can get along well when we meet. On New Year's Eve, we just went to the yard and said "Congratulations on getting rich" and "Shun Shun Bai Shun" when we met. We just sit in the house for a while, without much etiquette. In ancient times, there was a difference between New Year greetings and New Year greetings: New Year greetings were to knock on elders; The New Year is a time for peers to congratulate each other. Now, some organs, organizations, enterprises and schools get together to congratulate each other, which is called "group worship". With the development of the times, the custom of New Year greetings is constantly adding new contents and forms. Nowadays, in addition to following the previous way of greeting the New Year, etiquette telegrams and telephone greetings have mushroomed. In the past, people regarded this year as the result of fine weather in the first few days of the new government. Its theory began in Dong Fangshuo's "Year", which means that eight days after the year, one day is chicken day, two days are dogs, three days are pigs, four days are sheep, five days are cows, six days are horses, seven days are people and eight days are valleys. If it is sunny, things that belong to it will breed, if it is cloudy, the days that belong to it will not last long. Later generations follow their habits and think that the weather is sunny from the first day to the tenth day, and there is no wind or snow for good luck. Later generations developed from the occupation era to a series of sacrifices and celebrations. There is a custom of not killing chickens on the first day, dogs on the second day and pigs on the third day ... There was no execution in Zhuxian Town on the seventh day.

. In ancient times, during the Spring Festival, chickens were painted on doors and windows to drive away ghosts and evil spirits. The book Xuan Zhong Ji written by Jin people mentioned the pheasant on Dushuo Mountain mentioned above, saying that the pheasant crowed when the sun just rose and the first ray of sunshine shone on this big tree. When it crows, chickens all over the world crow with it. Therefore, the chicken cut during the Spring Festival is actually a symbol of pheasant. However, in ancient mythology, there is also a saying that chickens are deformed birds. It is said that during the reign of Emperor Yao, friends on the other side paid tribute to a bird that could ward off evil spirits. Everyone welcomes the arrival of birds, but the messengers who pay tribute don't come every year, so people carve a wooden bird, cast it in bronze and put it on the door, or paint on the doors and windows to scare away monsters and make them afraid to come again. Because birds look like chickens, they will gradually draw a chicken or cut window flowers and stick them on doors and windows, which will become the source of paper-cutting art in later generations. China paid special attention to chickens in ancient times and called them "birds with five virtues". "Biography of Korean Poetry" says that a crown on the head is Wende; There is a distance behind the foot to play, which is martial arts; It is brave for the enemy to dare to fight before; It is benevolence to have food to welcome the same kind; Vigilance and dawn are beliefs. Therefore, people not only cut chickens during the Chinese New Year, but also set the first day of the New Year as Chicken Day. It is said that broom's birthday is on the first day of the first month. You can't use a broom on this day, otherwise it will sweep away luck, ruin money, attract "broom stars" and bring bad luck. If you must sweep the floor, you must sweep it from the outside to the inside. Don't throw water on the garbage on this day, for fear of breaking the money. Today, many places still have the custom of cleaning up New Year's Eve. On the first day of New Year's Day, there was no broom or garbage, and a large barrel of wastewater was prepared to avoid splashing outside that day. [ 10]

The second day of the first lunar month.

Sacrifice to the god of wealth in the north. On the second day of the first month, both shops and ordinary families will hold activities to worship the god of wealth. Families offered sacrifices to the God of Wealth who arrived on New Year's Eve. In fact, the bought rough printed matter was incinerated. I want to eat wonton at noon this day, commonly known as "Yuanbao soup". Fish and mutton were used as sacrifices. On this day, big businesses in old Beijing held large-scale sacrificial activities, offering sacrifices with "five sacrifices", that is, whole pig, whole sheep, whole chicken, whole duck and red live carp, hoping to make a fortune this year. [ 1 1]

On the third day of the first month

Sheep Day The third day of the first month is the day for Nu Wa to herd sheep, so it is called "Sheep Day". On this day, people cannot kill sheep. If the weather is good, it means that sheep will be raised well and sheep farmers will have a good harvest this year. Burning Door-god Paper In the old society, the pine and cypress branches hanging on the New Year's Festival were burned together with the door-god stationery on the third day to show that one year had passed and it was time to start business again. As the saying goes, "if you burn the janitor's paper, one will seek physiology." Xiaomi Birthday People think that the third day of the first month is Xiaomi's birthday. On this day, people hope to sacrifice and pray for the new year, and do not eat rice. In the early years, it was Tianqing Festival. The court festival in the Song Dynasty, the first year of Song Zhenzong Dazhong Xiangfu, was spread all over the world because of the gobbledygook, so Zhenzong issued an imperial edict, which designated the third day of the first month as Tianqing Festival, and officials and others had five days off. Later, it was called Xiaonian Dynasty, which did not sweep the floor, beg for fire or draw water, just like the old dynasty. ? [ 12]?

The fifth day of the first month

The fifth day of the first month is commonly known as the fifth day. Many taboos can be broken after folklore tells them on this day. According to the old custom, you should eat "dumplings" for five days, which is called "boiled cakes" in the north. Now some families only eat it for three or two days, and some eat it every other day. However, there is no one who does not eat. This is true from the royal residence to the small houses in the streets, even for entertaining guests. Women no longer taboo, began to visit each other and congratulate each other. Newly married women go home on this day. It is not appropriate to do things on the day of the break, otherwise something will happen this year. In addition to the above taboos, the custom of breaking Mayday is mainly to send the poor, welcome the god of wealth and open the market for trade. Southerners offer sacrifices to the god of wealth on the fifth day of the first month. According to folklore, the God of Wealth is the Five Gods. The so-called five roads refer to the east, west, north and south, which means that you can get money when you go out of five doors. Lu Gu's Jia Qinglu in Qing Dynasty said: "The fifth day of the first month is Shen's birthday. Sacrificing the past golden gongs and firecrackers, eager to make a profit, must get up early to meet, called the end of the road. " He also said: "The road ahead today is the God who walks in the Five Sacrifices. The so-called five channels are the east, west, north and south middle ears. " Shanghai has the custom of grabbing the road head in the past years. On the fourth night of the first month, prepare sacrifices, cakes, incense sticks and other things, beat gongs and drums to burn incense and worship, and sincerely respect the god of wealth. The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the birthday of the God of Wealth. In order to compete for the market, it is called "grabbing the road" or "grabbing the god of wealth" before April of the lunar calendar. The five sacrifices are to worship the household gods, kitchen gods, land gods, door gods and walking gods. The so-called "road head" is the god of five sacrifices. Anyone who receives the God of Wealth will offer sheep-headed carp. Offering sheep's head means "auspiciousness", and offering carp is the homonym of "fish" and "profit", which makes a poem auspicious. People are convinced that as long as the god of wealth can show his spirit, he can make a fortune. Therefore, every new year, people will open doors and windows, light incense and set off firecrackers to welcome the arrival of the god of wealth at 0: 00 on the fifth day of the first month. After receiving the god of wealth, everyone still has to eat road wine, often until dawn. Everyone is full of hope of making a fortune. I hope the god of wealth can go home with gold and silver treasures in the new year and draw a portrait of the road god.

Make a fortune. Reuters God Reuters is the God of Wealth believed by Emperor Wu. It is customary to take this day as his birthday and greet him in the sun, which is quite spectacular. They say the sooner you meet the end of the road, the better. The first one you receive is the true god, which is particularly effective, so it is called "grabbing the road". In some places, the fourth day of January is really "grabbing the road" and it has become a custom. Since the road god is no longer the protector of the journey, people will no longer sacrifice it when traveling. As for people who worship the Road God on the fifth day of January and take this day as their birthday, it is the reason why the "Five" of the Road God is related to the "Five" of the fifth day. The same is true for the North to offer sacrifices to the "five poor" on this day. In the first month, but not in other months, it is a new year's atmosphere. Auspicious, rich in financial resources, and wealth goes hand in hand. Sending the poor on the fifth day of the first month is a very distinctive custom in ancient China. On this day, every household uses paper as a woman, which is called "sweeping woman", "five poor women" and "five poor mothers". They carried paper bags on their backs, cleaned up the dirty soil in the bags and sent them to the door to burn them. This custom is also called "sending poor soil" and "sending poor daughter-in-law out". During the Spring Festival, shops of all sizes closed together from the first day of the lunar new year, but they opened on the fifth day of the first month. People are used to taking the fifth day of the first month as the holy day of the god of wealth, thinking that choosing this day to open the market will definitely make a fortune. [ 13]

The seventh day of the first month

People's Day is also called People's Victory Day, People's Celebration Day, Population Day and People's Seventh Day. Legend has it that the mother snail first created the world, and after she created chickens, dogs, pigs, cows, horses and other animals, she created people on the seventh day, so this day is the birthday of mankind. Some people began to observe daily customs in the Han dynasty, and they began to pay attention to it after the Wei and Jin Dynasties. In ancient times, people had the custom of "men winning". Mansheng is a kind of headdress, also known as Cai Sheng and Huasheng. Since the Jin Dynasty, people cut the ribbon for flowers, cut the ribbon for people, or carved gold foil for people to hang a screen and wear it in their hair. In addition, there is the custom of climbing high and writing poems. After the Tang Dynasty, more attention was paid to this festival. Every human day, the emperor would give his ministers a colorful victory, and they climbed up and gave a big banquet. If the weather is fine on the seventh day of the first month, the population will be safe and smooth in the first year. On People's Day, people make a soup with seven kinds of fresh seasonal vegetables and rice flour, which is called "Qibao soup". It is eaten on people's festivals. As a good omen, it is said that it can remove evil spirits and treat all diseases. Different places have different products, different fruits and vegetables and different meanings. Mustard, cabbage, leek, spring vegetables, celery, garlic and thick-petalled vegetables used in Chaoshan, Guangdong; Hakka people use celery, garlic, onion, coriander and leek to match fish. Spinach, celery, onion and garlic, leeks, mustard greens, shepherd's purse and Chinese cabbage are used in Taiwan Province Province and Fujian Province. Among them, celery and onion are smart, garlic is good at calculating, mustard makes people live longer, and so on. In some areas in the south, people have the custom of "fishing for raw fish" on the People's Month Festival. When fishing for raw fish, many people often gather around a big plate and pour fish, ingredients and sauces into it. Everyone stood up, waved chopsticks, grabbed the fish and kept shouting, "Fishing! Fishing! Send it! " , but also higher and higher, in order to show it step by step. On this day, people who spread pancakes will eat spring pancake rolls (cooked meat food) and spread pancakes in the yard. Men's Day is also a day for ladies to travel and literati to climb mountains and write poems. The Tang poem "People send the day to pick up the remains" says: "People send the day of poetry to the thatched cottage, pity the old friends and miss their hometown. Wicker can't bear to see, plum blossoms are full of branches and heartbroken. Being in the south, I have no experience, and my heart is full of worries. This year, people will remember each other. Next year, where will people know? " [ 14]

The eighth day of the first month

Legend has it that the eighth day of the ancient days was Guzi's birthday. If the weather is fine, the rice harvest will be good. If it is cloudy, it will be a hard year. Shunxing folk regard the eighth day of the first month as the lower limit of the stars and make small lanterns to burn, which is called Shunxing, also called "offering stars" and "receiving stars". Sacrifice uses two symbols, the first one is printed with Xingke, Suzaku and Xuanwu. And the second is "the longevity star king, the core monument of life". Two sheets were stacked one after the other, clipped on paper clips and placed in the middle of the back of the table in the yard for worship. There is a snuff twisted with yellow and white lantern paper dipped in sesame oil in front of the Oracle. Put it into a "lamp bowl" with a diameter of one inch, or light it with 49 lamps or 108 lamps. Then cook Yuanxiao and green tea. After dusk, sacrifice the Beidou as the target. After the sacrifice, when the residual lamp will be extinguished, the sacred scriptures and incense roots will be incinerated together with sesame stems and pine and cypress branches to be sacrificed. [ 15]

Early September

Today is the ninth day of the first month. It is said that this day is the birthday of the Jade Emperor. The main customs are offering sacrifices to the jade emperor and Taoist temple to heaven. In some places, when the weather is fine, women will prepare incense sticks and fast rice bowls and put them in the open air at the entrance of patio lane to worship heaven and pray for God's blessing. [ 16]

The tenth day of the first month

Stone birthday, grinding, grinding and other stone tools can not be moved, and even set up a sacrifice to enjoy the stone, for fear of hurting crops. Also known as "stone does not move" and "ten does not move". Henan custom: On this day, every household pays tribute and burns incense on stones. You must eat steamed stuffed buns for lunch, thinking that you can make a fortune within one year after eating cake. In Yuncheng, Shandong and other places, there is a move to lift the stone god. At the beginning of Kuya, people frozen a crock on a smooth stone. On the morning of 10, the jar nose was tied with a rope, and 10 boys took turns lifting the crock. If the stone does not fall to the ground, it indicates a bumper harvest that year. Congratulations on the ancient folk custom of mice marrying women. The rat worship activities held in the first month are also called "rat marries female" and "rat marries female". The specific date varies from place to place, some are the seventh day of the first month, some are the twenty-fifth day of the first month, and many areas are the tenth day of the first month. On the tenth day in Pingyao County, Shanxi Province, the cake was placed at the root of the wall and named "Congratulations to the mouse for marrying a girl". In Ningyuan, Hunan, 17 is the day when "mice marry women". It is forbidden to open cabinets for fear of disturbing mice. The night before, the children put candy, peanuts and so on. In the dark, I beat the pot cover and dustpan to make up for the mice. The next morning, they blocked the mouse hole, thinking that the mouse could be extinct forever. In other areas, mice go to bed early on the wedding day, and they won't disturb them. It is said that if you bother them for one day, they will bother you for one year. [ 17]

It's easier said than done. It's easier said than done.