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What are the folk customs in southern Fujian?

Worship of the Kitchen God is an important part of many god worship activities in southern Fujian, which is located in the southeast corner of the sea. The twenty-third (sometimes the twenty-fourth) of the twelfth lunar month in the lunar calendar is the day when people worship the Kitchen God. Sacrificing stoves has a long history in Chinese folk customs. From eating hair and drinking blood to inventing fire-eating, human beings made a major civilizational leap. Only then did humans, an advanced animal, begin to differ from ordinary animals. At that time, people burned piles of open fires in their residences for heating, lighting, grilling food, making pottery, and defending against wild beasts. This kind of fire is the original "stove". The worship of the Kitchen God began here. As early as in the "Book of Rites and Sacrifice" it was written: "The king established seven sacrifices for the group's surnames." The Kitchen God is one of them. The Kitchen God is also called Kitchen Lord, Kitchen King, Kitchen Lord, and Kitchen Lord Bodhisattva. There are different opinions on his gender and name in various classics. Some say it is Yandi Shennong, some say "The Yellow Emperor built the stove and died as the Kitchen God", some say his surname is Su and his name is Jili, some say his surname is Zhang and his given name is Ziguo, and some say "the Kitchen God wears red clothes and looks like the Kitchen God." Like a beautiful woman", some say she is an old woman... This probably belongs to the "Content of a Hundred Schools of Thought" of the myth makers. The Kitchen God's original responsibility was only to take care of human food and drink. After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, some Taoist books claimed that this god had the mission of supervising the good and evil in the world on behalf of heaven, and had the power to bring disaster and blessing to people. It is said that "Zhao is a god, and his name is Si Ming. The destiny of a good or bad person in a Si person's family, no faults are hidden, and every detail is revealed... The moon is dark, and Cao Bai is guilty of the crime, and the big one will be punished (minus three hundred years of life) day), the smaller one will win the calculation (minus three days of life span)." The day of worshiping the stove has also evolved in many ways. In the old days, people diligently offered sacrifices to the Stove Lord. Some offered sacrifices on the fourth, fourteenth and twenty-fourth days of June; some offered sacrifices on Mengxia (April) and Zhongxia (May); and some offered sacrifices on the birthday of the Stove Lord on the third day of August. It is sacrificed on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. After the Tang and Song Dynasties, most areas held sacrifices on the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month, commonly known as "sending the gods off". In ancient times, people attached great importance to worshiping the stove. A folk proverb said: "Thanksgiving to the stove three times is better than making a altar." When the author was a child, many families had a kitchen god worshiping the stove god. Those who did not worship the stove god would write on red paper " Instead, there are the words "Zao Lord Siming", and a couplet is posted on both sides, saying: "God speaks good things, and the lower world brings good luck." Since the people believe that the Kitchen God will report the good and evil in the world to Tiancao, some people think that this is specifically to punish the superiors. The God who reported it was dissatisfied with it, but felt that it was untouchable and could not be avoided, so he was in awe. When offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God, one not only wants to "pay bribes to please" but also wants to avoid punishment, so in addition to offering many golden cups, delicacies, and fruits, a tower-shaped "sugar tower" is also specially offered to facilitate the Kitchen God's ascension to heaven; If there is less maltose, a "conspiracy" is set up to glue the Kitchen God's mouth so that he cannot speak, or to make the Kitchen God speak unclearly, so that the Jade Emperor cannot hear the words that are harmful to people. Especially those who have done bad things, they will never tire of it. It is said that the older generation of Zao Lord engaged in favoritism and cheated, always reported good news to the Jade Emperor but not bad news, failed to uphold justice for the working people, and was opposed by the masses. Gu Zhangsi's "Tu Feng Lu" recorded the opera performance of "Da Zao Lord" . The older generation Kitchen Lord was not popular, so the people invited a gentleman named Zhang Mingren, who was born among the working people, to be the Kitchen Lord. This legend reflects the common people's attitude towards right and wrong. Worshiping the Kitchen Lord on the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month is called "sending the god off". On the fourth day of the first lunar month, the Kitchen God is invited back to his place again, which is called "receiving the god", which is another kind of worship. Times have changed, and grand stove-sacrifice ceremonies are now rare, but some families still have the habit of "sending gods off". Watching the year around the fire on New Year's Eve is also related to the custom of offering sacrifices to the stove.