The origin and customs of the beginning of spring

The origin and customs of the beginning of spring. The beginning of spring is the first of the twenty-four solar terms. It is also called the first month festival, the new year festival or the spring festival. It is a Chinese tradition. One of the festivals, you should not just know that it is the beginning of spring, but you should also learn more about the origin, customs and customs of the beginning of spring. Let’s take a look. The Origin and Customs of the Beginning of Spring 1

The Origin of the Beginning of Spring

Since ancient times, our country has been a major agricultural producer. People sow in spring and harvest in autumn. The key to harvest throughout the year is spring. Therefore, there is a saying among the people that "the plan for a year lies in spring". In the old days, the Beginning of Spring was not only an ancient solar term, but also a major festival.

According to legend, "Shi Jiyuan" records: "The Duke of Zhou began to make native cattle at the beginning of spring, and built the native cattle to show the morning and evening of farming." On the day of the beginning of spring, the emperor will personally lead the princes and officials to welcome the spring in the eastern suburbs. Perform the order of charity and charity. Later generations of feudal rulers would hold the Spring Whip Ceremony on this day to encourage farming and develop production.

Customs of the Beginning of Spring

1. Welcome the Spring

Welcoming the Spring is an important activity at the Beginning of Spring, and preparations and rehearsals must be made in advance for the event. , commonly known as Yanchun. Then we can officially welcome the spring on the day of Beginning of Spring. The Spring Festival is held on the day before the beginning of spring, with the purpose of bringing back spring and the God of Jumang. After the beginning of spring, people like to go out for spring outings in the warm spring days, which are commonly known as spring outings and spring outings. This is also the main form of spring outings.

2. Spring outing

Spring outing refers to people spontaneously forming parades to welcome the beginning of spring. The procession started with spring heralds dressed as roosters at the front, followed by a group of people carrying a huge image of a spring ox, followed by people dressed as shepherd boys holding cows, people dressed as big-headed dolls delivering spring peaches, and people dressed as swallows.

3. Spring whipping

Nowadays, spring whipping activities are no longer held in cities, but some rural areas still have the custom of whipping cattle. Before the beginning of spring, people make clay sculptures of an ox, which is called the Spring Ox. Women hold their children and circle the spring cow three times, which is said to prevent them from getting sick. On the first day of spring, the village elects an old man to symbolically hit the spring cow three times with a whip, which means the beginning of the year's farming.

Customs of the Beginning of Spring

From ancient times to the present, there has been a popular saying among the people that a girl married on the day of the Beginning of Spring cannot return to her parents' home. The reason is explained in the legend like this:

It is said that this is the Beginning of Spring solar term, which is the busy time for farmers. The year's work will start from today. After the Beginning of Spring ceremony, each household So I went to the fields with the oxen. The girl who got married that day could not go back to her parents' home, and there was no one to entertain her when she returned. Her parents were busy in the fields and had no time to take care of her. If she came back, she would cause trouble for her parents. If she delayed farming, she would be in trouble. .

The second reason is that the parents are afraid that the married girl will go home on the first day of spring and borrow the cattle to go to her husband's family to farm, which will delay their own farming. There is a saying that goes, "If you go to your natal family in spring, you will make your brother-in-law miserable." It means that if a married girl returns to her natal family in spring, she will bring bad luck to her natal family.

The wheel of history keeps turning forward. Now in this era, farming no longer relies on an old scalper at home, and all mechanized production has been realized. The Origin and Customs of the Beginning of Spring 2

The Origin of the Beginning of Spring

The Beginning of Spring is not only the first solar term among the twenty-four solar terms, but also an important festival. In an astronomical sense it marks the beginning of spring. This year's Beginning of Spring begins on February 4th and ends on February 18th.

The understanding of the beginning of spring is explained in the ancient book "Qunfangpu": "Li means the beginning of construction. The spring air begins to establish." During the beginning of spring, the temperature, sunshine, and rainfall begin to rise. ,increase. But all this is just a prelude to spring for most parts of the country, and the prelude of spring has not really begun yet.

Temperature, sunshine, and rainfall are often at a turning point in the year, tending to rise or increase.

Crops grow faster in early spring, and water consumption increases during rape bolting and wheat jointing. Timely watering and top dressing should be done to promote growth. The farmer's proverb reminds people that "when the rain comes at the beginning of spring, get up early and go to bed late." Spring preparations for farming have also begun.

Although spring has begun, it is still very cold in most areas of South China. "The white snow is too late for spring, so flowers are flying through the trees in the garden." These climate characteristics should be taken into consideration when arranging agricultural production.

Customs of the Beginning of Spring

1. Whip the Spring Ox: Also known as whipping the native cow, it originated earlier and has been preserved since then. Shandong folk want to break the native cow into pieces. People compete for the spring cow soil, which is called spring rush, and it is auspicious to grab the cow head.

2. Biting Spring: The Beginning of Spring has its own food, mainly spring pancakes, radish and five-spice dishes, etc. During the Beginning of Spring, there are many vendors selling spring rolls in the market.

3. Ancestor worship: In many areas, ancestors are worshiped at the beginning of spring. For example, according to the records of Xin'an County, Guangdong, people hold events at their ancestral temples on this day, and the food offered to ancestors at the beginning of spring is also special.

4. Hiding from spring: The beginning of spring has a negative impact on some people, and even worse, it will affect the luck of the year, so the custom of hiding from spring emerged.

5. Worship Tai Sui: China has the custom of welcoming Tai Sui. Tai Sui is imagined as a god on duty. If you welcome Tai Sui, you will be safe and prosperous.

Principles of health-preserving diet at the beginning of spring

Nothing “sour”

Spring diet should “save acidity and increase sweetness”, because the liver yang is originally hyperactive in spring. Eating acidic foods can easily lead to excessive liver qi, which can easily damage the spleen and stomach. Therefore, avoid sour foods in spring.

It is not advisable to eat acidic foods such as mutton, dog meat, quail, sea fish, shrimp, crabs, etc. It is advisable to eat sweet, warm and spleen-tonifying products, such as yams, spring bamboo shoots, spinach, jujubes, leeks, etc. You can also use 30 grams each of yam and barley, 75 grams of millet, 25 grams of lotus seeds, and 10 jujubes to make porridge, and add a little sugar as a staple food for long-term consumption.

Second, do not be "quiet"

In spring, the natural yang energy begins to rise. The human body should take advantage of this natural characteristic to focus on nourishing yang. The key to nourishing yang is "moving", and avoid "moving". quiet".

The elderly should actively exercise outdoors. There are more negative oxygen ions in the air in spring, which can enhance the work efficiency of the cerebral cortex and cardiopulmonary function and prevent arteriosclerosis. However, the elderly should not practice spring exercises too early to prevent colds, asthma, and chronic bronchitis due to low temperatures and heavy fog in the morning. They should go out to exercise after the sun rises. In addition, spring training cannot be done on an empty stomach. Elderly people have relatively slow blood flow in the morning and low body temperature. They should drink some hot soup before exercising. At the same time, exercise should be gentle. Elderly people have loose muscles and stiff joints and ligaments after getting up in the morning. They should move their body joints gently before exercising to prevent accidents caused by sudden exercise.

Three Do not be "angry"

Spring is the time when liver yang is strong and the mood is easy to be irritable. It is necessary to be open-minded and harmonious in body and mind.

A happy mood helps to nourish the liver, because a depressed mood can lead to stagnation of liver qi, which affects the liver’s function of dispersion, disorders of the neuroendocrine system, and reduced immunity, which can easily lead to mental illness, liver disease, and heart disease. Cerebrovascular diseases, etc.

The Four Don’ts:

The elderly have relatively insufficient yang energy, and spring is a good time to nourish yang. If sexual desire occurs and sexual intercourse is frequent, it will consume qi and damage essence, further Damage Yang Qi, so the elderly should exercise appropriate abstinence in spring.