Beginning of spring custom
First, welcome the Spring Festival and meet the God of Ju Mang
Spring Festival is an important activity of beginning of spring Day, which is the day before beginning of spring Day. This activity is very important, and there are many participants. The purpose of the activity is to bring back the off-duty spring and Mangshen.
Ju Mang is the god in charge of spring. It is said that she looks like a bird with a face and is in charge of the reproduction of all vegetation. To welcome the spring and Mount God, a spring official should be set up to announce the specific time of beginning of spring. Spring officials are mostly held by beggars or women engaged in bad jobs. This may be because the role is somewhat funny and normal people are unwilling to play it.
On the day before beginning of spring, people would wander the streets carrying Mang Shen, and the common people would come out to watch the fun and throw grains, which was called "watching the Spring Festival". Finally, the team will go out of the city and up the mountain to complete the sacrifice to the sound of drum music.
Second, whip the spring cattle and send them to spring
Whipping spring cattle was popular in the Tang and Song Dynasties in China, and it has been handed down since then. So far, there is still this custom in rural areas in Shandong and Hebei, but the form has changed slightly.
In ancient times, the whip spring cow was molded into a mud cow in advance and filled with grains. On beginning of spring Day, people smash mud cows with whips, pick up the fallen grains and put them into their granaries, indicating that they will be full of grain next year. People will also strive to take away the fragments of the mud cow and grab the most auspicious cow head. It is said that many calves will be born in the coming year when the fragments of this cow are put in the cowshed.
Wise craftsmen will make many small mud cows and send them to all households outside beginning of spring, which is called "seeing off the spring", just like many children "sending the god of wealth" to all households during the Spring Festival in the northeast countryside, which is also a marketing tool.
I was lucky enough to see a "whipping spring cow" on beginning of spring Day in rural Hebei. That was a few years ago. Because of my work, I came to a county in Cangzhou, Hebei Province, and spent a happy and busy day there.
It happened to be beginning of spring that day, and I saw many farmers pulling out their cows and tying them outside the door. The cows are dressed in red and green, and there are big red flowers on their heads. All the cows are beautifully dressed by their owners, and they feel happy when they look at them.
When it was almost noon, people led the cows to a spacious place. Under the auspices of an old man who looked respected, people gently whipped the cows with a whip wrapped in ribbons. It seems that this is the changed spring cow.
Third, Dai Chun chicken, hanging spring ear
Dai Chun chicken
When I was a child, I played with my neighbor's little sister and brother at my grandmother's house. His family moved from other places, and there are many places different from ours. For example, when they are in beginning of spring, their mothers will sew a cloth cock on their clothes and hats, which is a big cock twisted with colored cloth. It is majestic and beautiful. We don't have any other children, just their brother and sister. I never knew what was going on.
Until the other day, I suddenly remembered these two childhood playmates and the cloth cock on their hats. I made a special investigation, and it turns out that this is a custom in Shaanxi Province of China. On beginning of spring Day, children put on a big cock sewn by their mother, which means "Spring Chicken"-"Spring Lucky", which is the mother's best wish for their children. Now, we are all grown up and scattered in different cities. We haven't contacted each other for many years. I wonder if their brothers and sisters will sew a cloth cock for their children?
Hanging spring ears.
I've heard of this. When I was a child, I got chicken pox. My mother's good friend said that if I wore beans with colored thread and hung them on the horn when I was in beginning of spring, the children would not get chicken pox. However, my grandmother said that it was a cure for measles in my old age and had nothing to do with chickenpox. In fact, it doesn't matter whether it matters or not. At that time, I had chicken pox. So, my mother didn't wear beans either. Just don't wear it. Look for cows in the city.
When I verified the origin of the cloth cock, I also found out casually. In fact, it is an ancient custom to hang the spring ear, which is also popular in Shaanxi. On that day in beginning of spring, mothers wove ears of wheat with colorful strips and hung them on children, donkeys, horses, cows and sheep to pray for a bumper harvest next year. There are also special ones that scatter the beans on cattle to "disperse the rash".
Fourth, bite the spring
This is the most preserved and widely circulated activity in beginning of spring. Our traditional festivals seem to be inseparable from food, and they all have their own special foods, which really answers the old saying that food is the most important thing for the people. Beginning of spring is no exception. It also has its own special holiday food. Beginning of spring mainly eats spring cakes in the north and spring rolls in the south. Spring cakes in the north, thin, with shredded pork, radish and cucumber strips, are crunchy and crunchy, which is called biting spring by the people. As a northerner, and a northerner who doesn't understand southern cuisine, I don't say much about what my southern friend beginning of spring eats, lest my southern friends laugh at me.