The tradition of sharing red eggs in different places.
The tradition of sharing red eggs has always existed in Chinese folklore, mainly to celebrate the birth of a child or to pray for an heir. The following are a few small places where the custom of red eggs remains.
1. Weishan County, Shandong Province, in the bride sent into the bridal chamber, assisted by the sedan chair women to open her face, with the red egg dyed in her face rolled a few trips, while rolling while reading the auspicious words: "red eggs, full of strings, this year to eat your happy bun, next year to eat your happy eggs."
2. There are also rural areas in the first one or two days before the wedding, the female party to carry out a beauty process: face strangulation, they will be exposed to the forehead and the back of the neck of some of the velvet with two twisted into a twist-like red line "strangled" down, specifically two sisters-in-law to take turns to operate, a tight and a loose, a loose and a tight, to the velvet! "strung" off, "strung" after the face, with two red eggs rolled in the face, while rolling a singing: "red eggs, full face string, this year to drink wine, next year to the 'hi! See you next year!" . Then, in the bride's face to put some powder, both to cover the "strung" out of the blood spots, but also beautify the face. Red eggs also play a role in this program, although the specific lyrics are different, but the expression of the same content;
3. old Jiao County boy born on the third day to the bride's family to report good news, the girl on the sixth day to report good news, the in-laws to go to the family with 1 catty steamed buns 20, the bride's family must be all left behind, otherwise the child is not good to raise, the bride's family should be returned to the 19 red eggs, 4 bowls of millet, the road to meet the first person to send the red eggs, which is called "everyone's happy!
4. Penglai County, the birth of a boy with a rooster to report good news, the birth of a girl to report good news with a hen, which can be seen in the chicken and eggs in the folk customs play an important role in the tradition;
5. Zou County, the boy to report good news with a book, the girl to report good news with a flower, in addition to neighbors and friends to send a "good news egg". "Annunciation eggs", that is, dyed red eggs, the mother's family and friends and neighbors to congratulate the new happy, called "send congee rice" or "send Tommy"; in Kaifeng area, the baby was born after the Annunciation often with red eggs. If it is a boy, to six or eight, must be an even number, dyed red, but also at the end of the egg with a black dot in ink, said the "great joy", the boy to send an even number of reasons is that the child grows up to find a daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law pairs, will be able to spend a good month. If it is a girl, the eggs are only dyed red, without black dots. The number of eggs is 5 or 7, and must be an odd number, which means "small happiness". The gift of an odd number of eggs means that there is a girl in the family, so it is good to get married in the future.
Three, the origin of the red egg folklore.
The tradition of partaking of red eggs exists in many ethnic groups around the world, the main point of view are: egg myths, auspicious things said, totem worship, said, said, said, said, said, and said, said five to ward off evil and avoid disasters.
1. Oviposition myth:
China's forefathers traced the formation of heaven and earth, the origin of mankind in their imagination, the comprehensive ancient texts can be summarized in the "oviposition" myth of influence. In the Three Kingdoms Xu whole by the "three five calendar record" in the earliest ancestor Pangu's open heaven and earth story has described: "heaven and earth is chaotic as a chicken, Pangu was born in its order, ten thousand eight hundred years old, heaven and earth opened, Yang Qing for the sky, Yin turbid for the ground ......" and the "Records of the Historical Records" of the origins of the merchants: The daughter of the Ancient Name of Jane Dee "see the Xuanbird aborted its eggs, Jane Dee to take swallowed, due to pregnancy birth Che", Che for the origin of merchants; and the origin of the Qin people: Zhuanxu's granddaughter of the female repair in the weaving of silk, "Xuanbird meteoric eggs, female repair swallowed, the birth of children Daiye", Daiye is the ancestor of the Qin people. It is this hazy for the "egg" of the original worship, in the folk will be formed and the birth of eggs, the traditional culture of succession linked. And red in folklore is seen as a color of celebration and auspiciousness, so most of the red-skinned eggs.
2. Auspicious objects said:
Red eggs, not only food, folk since ancient times, "carving eggs and painting eggs" of crafts, but also in the customary information can be found in many historical records. Southern Liang Zong懔 "荆楚岁時记 "记有 "镂鸡子 "practice,注云："Anciently the great family, the food is called painting eggs. Nowadays, they are still dyed with mixed colors of blue and white, and are still carved and carved, and are paid to each other, or placed on the plate and chopping board." It can be seen, "skeleton chicken" or painted eggs, is the coloring on the eggs, friends as a gift to each other, edible goodies. Song Chen Yuanliang, "Years and Seasons", Volume 15, cited in "Yecheng Ji", there is also "Cold Food Day, the custom of painting chickens in order to pay each other", which shows that this custom has always been passed down in the folklore, and gradually developed and matured into a traditional folk crafts, in a variety of celebratory occasions to become a good gift, the color has also slowly evolved to a single most rendering the meaning of the joy of the red! The color has slowly evolved to a single red color that can render the most festive meaning. Until now, carving eggs painting eggs is still a folk crafts, people from the "egg" worship, developed into a favorite red eggs and regarded as auspicious things.
3. Totem worship:
From the archaeological point of view can be explored in the primitive culture of China has a considerable proportion of the "bird" of the totem worship, Hemudu, Liangzhu, Majiayao culture has a large number of bird images, and the ancients called "Xuanbird", including later became a "bird of prey". The so-called "Xuanbird" of the ancients, including the phoenix, which became one of the representative totems of the Chinese nation, are the prototype of the untamed chicken. So, "chicken" has become the people's primitive totem worship in the reality of the support. In the Records of the Grand Historian (史记?) Qin Benji" in the egg-swallowing female repair, its descendants Dalian "real bird common clan", "the body is a bird and can human speech. And the cloud mouth and hands and feet like a bird." From this we know that the Qin people also take the pheasant as a totem. From the love of chicken veneration, gradually developed into a folk custom of red eggs, infiltrated with rich historical information.
4. Reproductive worship:
Red egg custom is the legacy of the primitive society of human reproduction worship culture, the egg can incubate chickens, so people eat eggs will be able to give birth to a child, so the ancients every "chicken" instead of the egg. This thinking based on the understanding of the function of the egg, can be deduced from a series of specific behavior. Yunnan Heqing around the Bai young women, every spring before the plowing more to the river pond begging for child-rearing, begging for child-rearing in the hands of two hard-boiled red eggs, to the pond to bathe, and red egg roll rubbing the body, go home and share with their husbands eat red eggs. This red egg rolling body behavior, and the beginning of this article in the ballad sung in the "red eggs, full of strings" is very similar. Then, itself has the function of incubating heirs, why the egg is dyed red? In this regard, the "reproduction worship theory" also made a different explanation from the "egg-birth myth" that red is the color of celebration, but that it is the inheritance of the concept of blood worship of the first people. This view is evidenced by the "Chinese Historical Manuscripts": "It is understood that some modern still in the primitive stage of the clan tribes, some believe that the red color represents blood, is the source of life and the soul of the host" (Guo Moruo edited by "Chinese Historical Manuscripts", Shanghai People's Publishing House, 1976 edition, p. 31).
5. Warding off evil spirits and avoiding disasters:
The custom of red eggs also originated from the use of witchcraft and medicine to ward off evil spirits and avoid disasters. Ancient people to chicken for the long of all birds, that it has the role of suppressing demons, such as the "Spring and Autumn Annals of the Duoshu" cloud: "Yu Heng star essence scattered as chicken"; "Spring and Autumn Annals of the interpretation of the rhetoric" cloud: "chicken for the accumulation of Yang, the South of the image of the fire and Yang essence of the inflammation of the upper, so the sun out of the chicken," and so on, reflecting the ancient people of the divine nature of the chicken, and so on. Ancient knowledge of the divinity of the chicken. Chicken from the egg, egg from the chicken, the egg also has a divine nature is a matter of course. In the old days, the folk also prevailed in the custom of divination with eggs; the ancients also thought that in all cases of celebration, there will be demonic disturbances, or some specific festivals and hours, there will be disease and epidemic infestation, so eat eggs to prevent. Like today's central and southwestern regions of the "March 3, eat eggs" custom, as well as popular folk wedding night so that newcomers to share the red egg tradition, can be deduced from the red egg custom by the egg to ward off evil sorcery deduction.
In summary, the red egg in Chinese folklore is auspicious things, blessing to send a son to celebrate the meaning of peace and happiness, this article began the ballad song, that is, before the wedding or the ceremony of the crowd of friends and relatives for the newcomer's life of peace and happiness, the family of the best wishes for the grandchildren.