One day, Wannian went up the mountain to collect firewood and sat under a tree to rest. The movement of the shadow inspired him, so he made a sundial and measured the shadow to calculate the length of the day. However, cloudy, cloudy, foggy and rainy days affect the measurement. He wants to make another timer to make up for the lack of sundial. That day, he went up the mountain to collect medicine and came to the spring to drink water. The spring on the cliff was ticking rhythmically, which caught his attention. He looked at the spring and lost his mind. After thinking for a while, I came home, drew a picture, tried it, and made a five-story clepsydra. Since then, he has measured the shadow of the sun, looked for loopholes and worked hard. Slowly, he found that every 360 days, the length of the day would be repeated from the beginning. The solstice in winter is the shortest day.
At that time, the son of heaven was called Zuyi. The disorder of the festival made him very anxious. Just call a hundred officials. Discuss the difficulties of chaos in Korean festivals. The name of the festival official is Aheng. If he didn't know the laws of the sun and the moon, he said that people were careless and offended God. Only by kneeling devoutly can we get God's forgiveness. Zuyi took a vegetarian bath. Take officials to the Temple of Heaven to offer sacrifices, and send a message to the whole country to establish a platform for offering sacrifices to heaven.
But the sacrifices have come and gone, without any effect, and the season is still very chaotic; In order to build the altar, people all over the country have to serve and donate money. It's really bile mixed with coptis chinensis. Add pain to suffering. I can't do it for ten thousand years. He took the sundial and the clepsydra to see the son of heaven.
I met the son of heaven ten thousand years later, and talked about the winter solstice and the cycle of the sun and the moon. Zu Yi was overjoyed. Even though he built a large-scale building, he built the Sun and Moon Pavilion, the sundial platform and the leaky jar pavilion in front of the Temple of Heaven. And arranged for twelve boys to serve for ten thousand years. Let six boys keep the sundial and six boys keep leaky cauldron for ten thousand years, carefully record and report on time.
One day, Zuyi asked Ah Heng to go to Riyuege to inquire about calendar making. Wannian pointed to the calendar and said, "The sunrise and sunset are 360, and everything starts again. The vegetation is divided into four seasons and there are twelve laps a year. " Hearing this, Aheng was deeply touched, but he was uneasy. He thought to himself, if the festival is set in ten thousand years, the son of heaven will be happy and reuse it for ten thousand years. Who will listen to me? Aheng thought and thought, bent on getting rid of ten thousand years.
On that day, Aheng found that he was a good shooter, so he sent someone to invite him to his home, held a banquet, explained the reason and promised him a heavy gift. The assassin promised to assassinate him that night. On the second drum beat that day, the assassin left Aheng and ran to Riyuege. However, around the Temple of Heaven, the adult Sun Moon was guarded by guards, so the assassin could not get close, so he pulled out his bow and arrow and shot Wan Nian who was watching the stars on the Sun Moon Pavilion. Who knows that the assassin drank too much, his eyes were dim, and the arrow only hit Wan Nian's arm. Ten thousand years fell to the ground with a sigh, and all the boys cried for the thief. When the guards heard the shouts, they went out together, caught the assassin and leaned forward to see the son of heaven.
Zu Yi asked the truth, sent a command to put Ah Heng in prison, and made a ten thousand-year seal to go out of the palace to visit Sun Moon Pavilion. Wan Nian was very moved and pointed to Shen Xing and said, "Shen Xing has caught up with silkworms and astrology has been restored. When the children are handed in at night, the old year has passed and it is spring again. Let's hope that the emperor will make a festival. "
Zu Ti said: "Spring is the first year of the year, so we call it Spring Festival. Ai Qing has been in the cabinet for three years, and she has the courage to make the lunar calendar according to the full moon. This is really a great achievement. Now that Ai Qing has been assassinated by a traitor, come with me to the palace to recuperate. "
Wannian said: "Although the lunar calendar was originally created, it is still not accurate, and there are still a few hours at the end of the year. If you don't decorate the end of the year, the sun and the moon will fly around like a shuttle, and it's wrong to come and go. I am disappointed with the expectations of all beings, and I am deeply grateful to the emperor. I am willing to break my heart and carefully calculate and set the calendar. "
In this way, ten thousand years in the sun and moon pavilion, carefully observe the rise and fall of vegetation and wheat bran, carefully calculate, and moisten the end of the year. In May of that year, Zu Yi went to the Temple of Heaven to offer sacrifices to the gods, then boarded the Sun and Moon Pavilion and presented the May Peach to the God of Ten Thousand Years. The lunar calendar is presented in units of 10,000 years, and Zu Ti is looking forward to these 10,000 years of hard work day and night. His eyebrows are white and his beard is white. He was deeply moved, so he named the lunar calendar the perpetual calendar and named it the birthday star of the sun, the moon and the moon. Therefore, people later called the Spring Festival "Year". During every Spring Festival, Shou Xingtu is hung in the house, symbolizing the longevity of the New Year and paying tribute to the great achievements made this year.
The origin of the Spring Festival (2)
In Guanzhong area of Shaanxi Province, there is a magical legend about the Spring Festival.
According to legend, the Jade Emperor sent Maitreya from the Heaven Palace to the earth to rule the world. When the Tathagata learned about this, he thought: I am the Buddha, why don't you let me go? So, I went to talk to the Jade Emperor. The jade emperor was speechless and had to say, "Let's discuss it." Taking advantage of the discussion, the Jade Emperor thought of a solution.
He invited Maitreya Buddha and Tathagata Buddha, put two pots of flowers in front of them, and said, "Each of you will take care of one pot of these two pots of flowers. Whoever blooms first will come down to earth to take care of the world." The Tathagata was thoughtful and knew that the Jade Emperor was definitely partial to Maitreya, because he guessed that the Jade Emperor was afraid that what he said was unacceptable, so he did it under the pretext of offering flowers. I'm afraid the Jade Emperor has secretly made arrangements for these two pots of flowers, so he also came up with a subtotal. He took the opportunity of Maitreya's closing his eyes to thank him and quietly changed the position of two pots of flowers. The next day, the Tathagata bloomed, so Maitreya took care of the world for one day, which was the first day of the first month. Legend has it that Maitreya has a kind heart. On this day, he made people eat, dress and sleep well, so on the first day of the first month, people spent the day happily. Later, in order to commemorate Maitreya, people called these two Buddha statues "Spring Festival" when they handed over in early spring. Some people say that because Tathagata was blinded by stealing flowerpots, until now, there are still thieves in the world.
The origin of the Spring Festival (3)
In Fujian Province, there are wonderful legends about China New Year.
According to legend, in ancient times, there was a fierce monster with a huge body and horns like horns on its head; Eyes are round. Like two lanterns. A big mouth can swallow a person. The name of this monster is Nian.
Living in a cave in 2008, he is the overlord in the mountain. Tigers, lions and black bears run for their lives when they see it; Goats, monkeys and rabbits collapsed to the ground after hearing its roar. In 2008, I hunted in the mountains, and when I was full, I slept in the cave. Whenever the cold is almost over and the Spring Festival is coming, Nian will run down the mountain and eat people in the village. So humans are also afraid of it, and children cry. As long as their mother says "the year is coming", the children will cry with fear.
It is said that there were two children herding cattle at that time, one named Ashan and the other named Ashui. They are good partners and very brave. They often drive cattle to the mountains to eat grass. The family said to them, "son, there are still years on the mountain, so I can't go!" " "
"Not afraid!" A Shan and A Shui have a plan, saying, "We will carry bows and arrows on our backs. If the new year comes, we will climb the tree and shoot! " "
Having said that, they went up the mountain several times, but fortunately they had never seen Nian. In a blink of an eye, it is already the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month, and it is already dusk. A Shan and A Shui are driving the cows home. Strangely, the cows screamed in panic and huddled together. What's going on here?
"Hey, let's go!" A Shan and A Shui waved bullwhip and hit them several times. Suddenly I heard a strange cry. A monster ran towards the road in front of the village.
A Shan said, "Ah Shui, look, a year has passed!" "
"It is strange that Nian is a fierce beast. Why did you run away in fear after seeing us? " The water feels strange.
"Well," said Yashan decisively, "let's go after it."
These two little shepherd boys are really bold. They kept waving bullwhip to urge the cows to go. The bullwhip crackled and Nian escaped even faster. "Oh, yes!" Ashan suddenly realized: "I'm afraid of the sound of bullwhip!" "
Ashan and Ashui drove the cattle into the village and saw Nian running to Wu Gonggong's house from a distance. Father Wu has a bright red dress in front of his house, so he turned his head in fear and ran towards the back of the village.
There is also a village over there. At this time, night fell, and I saw bright lights flashing in the windows of every household, which made it dizzy and turned my head and ran away. At this time, Ashan and Ashui have driven the cattle into the shed to chase them. They whipped the whip on purpose and ran up the hill screaming in horror.
Ashan and Ashui saw all this clearly and returned to the village. They said to the villagers. "In the original, I am afraid of ringing, red and fire. We know its weakness and can resist it in the future. "
Hearing this, the villagers quickly came up with a good idea. Everyone lit a bonfire in front of the village. Ashan and Ashui threw bamboo, and the fire made a crackling sound. Run down the mountain for a few years. Seeing the bonfire and hearing the noise, I really ran back. In this way, the night passed and the villagers were safe. The next day, on the first day of the first month, the villagers took out red oranges, peanuts and other delicious things to eat together and congratulated each other: "Congratulations!" "
Since then, people have called the first day of the first month "China New Year". On this day, every household sticks red couplets, sets off firecrackers, lights red candles and wears red clothes, and regards "red" as a symbol of good luck. It is said that these customs evolved gradually in those years by boycotting "Nian".
The origin of the Spring Festival (4)
There are fairy tales about celebrating the Spring Festival in Handan, Hebei Province.
Celebrating the Spring Festival, commonly known as the Chinese New Year, is a traditional folk festival that people attach importance to. People put up couplets during the Spring Festival, and the words "Go to Xia Zhishi" are often written on the couplets. The lunar calendar in China began in the Xia Dynasty, so it is also called the Xia calendar.
Legend has it that Wang Xia rules the world, with fine weather, national peace and people's safety. People have ample food and clothing, live and work in peace and contentment, and live a beautiful life! But later, I don't know how many years passed, and I don't know which dynasty it was. The world was in chaos. Sometimes it is dry, sometimes it is waterlogged, sometimes it is windy, and sometimes it rains heavily. Some people are poor, some are rich, some become rich, and some become slaves.
At that time, there was a rich man in the village, and his family hired several people looking for Han (that is, long-term workers). One day, after dinner, people offered sacrifices to the kitchen god. After Xiaomi Han saw it, he quietly knelt in front of the kitchen god and prayed: "The kitchen god shows great power. Don't be sunny when it is cloudy, and don't be sunny when it is dark; If you are sick, don't kill yourself. " No, that's just what the rich hear. After Xiaomi left cold, the rich man knelt in front of the kitchen king and prayed, "The kitchen king shows his spirit, when the sky is dark, when the ground is dark, it is bright." If you want to get sick, tell him to get sick in his spare time, and don't make a living when he is busy. "
At this time, the kitchen god is dozing off. Did not hear clearly; In a daze, I remember the words "cloudy, sunny, rainy, windy, sick, miserable ...", so I kept them firmly in my mind.
While speaking, a year passed. On the night of the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, all the immortals went to heaven to meet the Jade Emperor, and of course the Kitchen God also went. He went earlier than anyone else, because he always thought about the prayers of the rich and Xiaomi Han. After seeing the jade emperor, he said without saying anything, "Your Majesty, the little god has something to say. At present, the imbalance of yin and yang in the world, wind and rain disasters, people can not survive. You should send a great god to treat it as soon as possible ... "
Hearing this, the Jade Emperor was surprised: "Is this true?" "Really." "Really?" "Really." Therefore, the Jade Emperor soon issued an imperial decree that a great god should be appointed to take charge of the people's food, clothing, housing and transportation. Pass the national decree, you all look at me, I look at you, no one will accept the national decree.
At this time. Suddenly, outside the worse gate, he shouted, "The gods stand back and I'll do it!" " "I looked up and saw a bald, chubby, paunchy, grinning god-Maitreya. This Maitreya Buddha is broad-minded and generous. He looked at the scenery outside the worse gate all day. He just wanted to do something good for people, so he automatically took on this important task.
It is said that the first thing Maitreya did when he came to the world was to let people live a good year, eat well, dress well and not work. Therefore, people will follow his wishes and hold Spring Festival activities at every party, which is really busy. Maitreya also made special provisions: sweeping the house on the 24th; Twenty-five, grinding bean curd; Twenty-six, steamed bread; Twenty-seven, shopping; Twenty-eight, killing pigs; Twenty-nine, playing yellow wine; Thirty, eat flat food. At the same time, all the immortals should be invited and the preparations should be complete. On the first day of New Year's Day, that is, the first day of the New Year, every household should set off five watches, set off firecrackers, dress neatly, congratulate each other and have fun. At the same time, we will visit relatives and friends and visit our ancestors. ...
Only in this way can the world be truly peaceful. The Jade Emperor brushed aside the clouds and looked down at the world. This is a happy scene, and he is naturally happy. A few days later, on the fifth day, it was just dawn and suddenly there was a noise. It turned out to be Jiang Taigong's wife (people call her a dirty god, who specializes in dealing with toilets and dirt). She is quarreling with Maitreya with a big belly.
It turns out that on New Year's Eve, when people invite God, they forget the dirty God. She was angry and went to Maitreya to make trouble. Maitreya was all smiles, but he didn't answer. This foul air is so uncomfortable that I'm going to explode. Maitreya saw that the situation was serious and said, "Let's do it! Today is the fifth day of the Lunar New Year's Eve. It costs a lot of money to let people give you more shots and get a jiaozi! " -this is the origin of "breaking five".
I don't want to. These guns arrived at the Heavenly Palace, where the Jade Emperor was playing chess. When he heard the gunshot, he thought something had happened in the world. He sent the God of Wealth to travel around the world. The god of wealth is the god in charge of gold and silver treasures in heaven. When he came to this world, he saw incense, foil and paper everywhere, so he was so happy that he forgot to go back
The Jade Emperor also sent Guan Cang to the world. He was the god in charge of the warehouse. He saw that every household was filled with steamed bread for burning incense, and he didn't want to return to heaven.
The Jade Emperor sent several immortals to earth, but there was still no reply. It has been half a month, and the jade emperor has finished playing chess. It suddenly occurred to him that several sent immortals didn't come back, so he went to see for himself. When he saw people wearing new clothes; Eating rice, white flour and meat dishes, doing nothing, he was very angry, so he called Maitreya to drink: "I put you in charge of civil affairs, but who told you to let people eat and dress well instead of living?" Maitreya smiled and said, "Your Majesty, calm down. You asked me to take care of people's food, clothing, housing and transportation, but you didn't ask me to let people work! " In a word, the Jade Emperor was silent. The jade emperor thought about it, and he was right. Now that he has done it, he can only do it once a year. After the spring, he will go to work in the fields. So since then, the old convention has been left, and there is a Spring Festival once a year.
After that, Maitreya could never go back to the worse gate. To this day, there are still statues of him in some temples. People say that Maitreya can't be blamed. After all, he wants to do good for people. So people burned incense for him as usual.