Face is face, "face length is face length", so people borrow long faces to wish longevity. Gradually, this practice has evolved into the habit of eating noodles on birthdays (festivals), which is called "longevity noodles".
According to legend, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty believed in ghosts and gods and physiognomy. One day, when talking about people's life span, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty said: According to the number of images, a person's life span is long. If he is 1 inch long, he can live to 100 years old. "Dong Fangshuo, the minister sitting next to Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, laughed after hearing this. All the ministers were puzzled and accused him of being rude to the emperor.
When Emperor Wu asked him what he was laughing at, Dong Fangshuo explained, "I'm not laughing at your majesty, but at Peng Zu. People live 100 years old, including 1 inch long, Peng Zuhuo is 800 years old, and his person is 8 inches long. How long is his face? " Everyone laughed when they heard it. It seems impossible to live a long life with a long face, but you can think of a flexible way to express your desire for longevity. In fact, Peng Zushou's 800 years refers to the existence of the big Peng family. Peng Zu was born in Pengshan, Sichuan, and was sealed in Pengcheng, Xuzhou because his descendants took the country as their surname.
This is a very popular story, but it is just an interesting story. I'm afraid it's a little far-fetched for modern people to involve the origin of the custom of eating noodles on their birthdays in this story. Many scholars in the Qing Dynasty mentioned this story, but no one said that the custom of eating noodles on birthdays was related to this story.
Face is face, "face length is face length", so people use long faces to wish longevity. Gradually, this practice has evolved into the habit of eating noodles on birthdays (festivals), which is called "longevity noodles". Generally speaking, there is only one noodle in the whole bowl of longevity noodles. You'd better not break it when you eat it. This custom has been passed down to this day.
The most common way to eat birthdays is to eat longevity noodles, which was moved to the Tang Dynasty. According to historical records, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty moved to another place, wanted to abolish his wife, the queen, and was nervous. One day, she cried and said to Xuanzong, "Your Majesty doesn't miss Ah Zhong's struggle with purple arms. Is it evil for his birthday soup and cake? " When Xuanzong was not in power, he had a hard time with the king and queen, and had no money until his birthday. One year on Xuanzong's birthday, A Zhong, the father of Queen Wang, took off his purple short-sleeved shirt and replaced it with a bucket of noodles to make birthday noodles for Xuanzong. This example tells us that the custom of eating longevity noodles on birthdays has been popular since the Tang Dynasty.
Eating noodles on birthday is actually a symbol of longevity with long noodles, which has no deeper meaning and does not need the induction of legendary events. Eat longevity noodles with eggs. Eggs can hatch chicks and are a symbol of life. Together with long noodles, it contains people's expectations and wishes for longevity. In some places, when eating eggs, the eggs are cooked and peeled, rolled on the face, and then eaten. This is called "rolling luck", which symbolizes the good luck rolling in the new year.
Because the birthday host wants to eat longevity noodles, relatives and friends also regard longevity noodles as common birthday gifts. Whenever relatives and friends celebrate their birthdays, some wealthy families will send a big basket of birthday noodles. Birthday noodles are more than three feet long, so you usually have to make up the double number. When placing birthday noodles, you should first pack them into bundles and roll them into a tower shape, giving people a towering feeling. Then, you should insert the word "birthday" on it, and then cover it with red and green paper to pull flowers, indicating that the birthday person is lucky and longevity.
Nowadays, it is not very common for people to eat longevity noodles on their birthdays, and its position has been replaced by birthday cakes.