Introduction to traditional Chinese festivals
One of the Spring Festival legends: Staying up late on New Year's Eve
Staying up late on New Year's Eve is the custom of not sleeping on the last night of the old year and staying up late to welcome the arrival of the new year. It is also called staying up late on New Year's Eve. The common name is "staying through the year". Looking into the origin of this custom, there is an interesting story spread among the people:
In ancient times, there was a ferocious monster that lived scattered in the deep mountains and dense forests. People called them "Nian". It has a ferocious appearance and a ferocious nature. It specializes in eating birds, beasts, and scale insects. It changes its taste every day, ranging from kowtowing insects to living people, making people talk about "New Year". Later, people gradually grasped the activity pattern of "Nian". It would rush to crowded places to taste fresh food every three hundred and sixty-five days, and its appearance time would always be after dark, until the rooster crows and dawn. , they returned to the mountains and forests.
Having calculated the date when the "New Year" would be rampant, the people regarded this terrible night as a critical moment, called it "New Year's Eve", and came up with a whole set of ways to celebrate the New Year's Eve: every day. On this night, every household has prepared dinner in advance, turned off the fire and cleaned the stove, fastened all the chicken pens and cattle pens, sealed the front and back doors of the house, and ate the "New Year's Eve dinner" hiding in the house. The dinner has an unlucky meaning, so it is very sumptuous. In addition to having the whole family gather around to dine together to express harmony and reunion, one must also offer sacrifices to the ancestors before eating, pray for the blessings of the ancestors' gods, and spend the time in peace. That night, after dinner, no one dared to sleep, so they huddled together and chatted to strengthen their courage. Gradually, we formed the habit of staying up late on New Year's Eve.
The custom of keeping the year old arose in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and many literati in the Liang Dynasty wrote poems and essays about keeping the year old. "One night lasts two years, and the fifth watch divides two years." People light candles or oil lamps and keep vigil all night, which symbolizes driving away all evil plagues and looking forward to good luck in the new year. This custom has been passed down to this day.
Spring Festival Legend 2: Wannian created the calendar
According to legend, in ancient times, there was a young man named Wannian who had an idea when he saw that the seasons were very chaotic at that time. The plan to set the seasons accurately. But he couldn't find a way to calculate time. One day, when he was tired from going up the mountain to chop firewood, he sat under the shade of a tree to rest. The movement of the tree shadows inspired him. He designed a dial to measure the sun's shadow and measure the time of the day. Later, the dripping spring on the cliff inspired him, and he made a five-layer clepsydra to calculate time. As time went by, he discovered that every three hundred and sixty days, the four seasons cycled around again, and the length of the days repeated themselves.
The king at that time was named Zu Yi, and he was often distressed by the unpredictable weather conditions. After Wan Nian found out, he took the sundial and the clepsydra to see the emperor and explained to Zu Yi the principles of the movement of the sun and the moon. After Zu Yi heard this, Long Yan was overjoyed and felt that it made sense. So he left ten thousand years to build the Sun and Moon Pavilion in front of the Temple of Heaven, and built the sundial platform and leaky pot pavilion. He also hopes to accurately measure the laws of the sun and the moon, calculate the accurate morning and evening times, and create a calendar to benefit the people of the world.
Once, Zu Yi went to learn about the progress of the ten thousand year test calendar. When he climbed up to the Temple of the Sun and Moon, he saw a poem carved on the stone wall beside the Temple of Heaven:
The sun rises and sets three hundred and six times, starting all over again.
There are four seasons of vegetation and trees, and there are twelve circles in one year.
Knowing that the Wannian Calendar had been established, I personally went to the Sun Moon Pavilion to visit Wannian. Wan Nian pointed to the sky and said to Zu Yi: "Now is the end of the twelve months. The old year is over and the new year has begun. Please pray to the king to set a festival." Zu Yi said: "Spring is the beginning of the year, so let's call it the Spring Festival." It is said that this is the origin of the Spring Festival.
Winter passed and spring came, year after year, ten thousand years after long-term observation and careful calculation, an accurate solar calendar was formulated. When he presented the solar calendar to his successor, his face was full of silver. Must. The monarch was deeply moved. In order to commemorate Wannian's achievements, he named the solar calendar "Wannian Calendar" and named Wannian the sun, moon and longevity star. Later, people hung pictures of longevity stars during the Chinese New Year, which is said to commemorate the ten thousand years of high moral character.
Spring Festival Legend Three: Pasting Spring Festival Couplets and the Door God
It is said that the custom of pasting Spring Festival couplets began in the Hou Shu period more than a thousand years ago, which is evidenced by history. In addition, according to the records of "Jade Candle Collection", "Yanjing Chronicles" and other works, the original form of Spring Festival couplets is what people call "Peach Talisman".
In ancient Chinese mythology, it is said that there is a world of ghosts. There is a mountain in it. There is a large peach tree covering three thousand miles on the mountain, and there is a golden rooster on the treetop. Whenever the golden rooster crows in the morning, the ghosts who wandered out at night will rush back to the ghost land. The gate of the ghost realm is located in the northeast of the peach tree. There are two gods and men named Shen Tu and Yu Lei standing by the gate. If a ghost does something harmful to nature at night, Shen Tu and Yu Lei will immediately discover it and catch it, tie it up with a rope made of awning reed, and send it to feed the tiger. Therefore, all the ghosts in the world are afraid of Shen Tu and Yu Lei. So people carved their images out of peach wood and placed them at their doorsteps to avoid evil and harm. Later, people simply engraved the names of Shen Tu and Yu Lei on peach boards, thinking that doing so could also suppress evil and eliminate evil. This kind of peach wood board was later called "Peach Run".
In the Song Dynasty, people began to write couplets on peach boards, one without losing the meaning of peach wood to suppress evil, the other to express their good wishes, and the third to decorate the door for beauty. Couplets are also written on red paper, which symbolizes joy and auspiciousness, and are pasted on both sides of doors and windows during the New Year to express people's best wishes for good luck in the coming year.
In order to pray for the happiness, longevity and health of the family, people in some places still retain the habit of sticking to the door god. It is said that if two door gods are posted on the door, all monsters and ghosts will be intimidated. Among the people, the door god is a symbol of righteousness and force. The ancients believed that people with strange looks often have magical talents and extraordinary abilities. They are upright and kind-hearted, and it is their nature and responsibility to catch ghosts and demons. Zhong Kui, the ghost-hunting master that people admire, has such a strange appearance. Therefore, the folk door gods always have angry eyes and ferocious looks, holding various traditional weapons in their hands, ready to fight any ghosts who dare to come to the door. Since the doors of Chinese houses usually have two doors opening opposite each other, door gods always come in pairs.
After the Tang Dynasty, in addition to the previous two generals Shen Tu and Yu Lei, people also regarded the two Tang Dynasty generals Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong as door gods. According to legend, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was ill and heard ghosts calling outside his door, making him restless all night. So he asked the two generals to stand guard by the door with weapons in hand, and the next night there were no more ghosts to disturb him. Later, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty asked people to draw the images of these two generals and paste them on the door. This custom began to spread among the people.
Dragon Boat Festival
The fifth day of the fifth lunar month , is a traditional Chinese folk festival - the Dragon Boat Festival. It is one of the ancient traditional festivals of the Chinese nation. The Dragon Boat Festival is also called Dragon Boat Festival and Duanyang. In addition, the Dragon Boat Festival has many other names, such as: Noon Day Festival, Chongwu Festival, May Festival, Bath Orchid Festival, Girl's Day, Tianzhong Festival, Di La, Poet's Day, Dragon Day and so on. Although the names are different, generally speaking, the festival customs of people in various places are more similar than different.
Celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival has been a traditional habit of the Chinese people for more than 2,000 years. Due to the vast territory, numerous ethnic groups, and many stories and legends, not only have many different festival names been produced, but there are also festivals in various places. Have different customs. The main contents include: when the daughter returns to her parents' home, hangs the statue of Zhong Kui, greets the ghost ship, avoids the afternoon, puts up the leaf talisman at noon, hangs the calamus and mugwort, travels against all diseases, wears the sachet, prepares the wine for the sacrifice, races the dragon boat, competes in martial arts, and hits the ball. , playing on swings, coating children with realgar, drinking realgar wine, calamus wine, eating Wudu cakes, salted eggs, rice dumplings and seasonal fresh fruits, etc. Except for the superstitious activities that have gradually disappeared, the rest are still spread throughout China and neighboring countries. Some activities, such as dragon boat races, have achieved new development, breaking through time and geographical boundaries and becoming international sports events.
There are many theories about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, such as: the theory of commemorating Qu Yuan; the theory of commemorating Wu Zixu; the theory of commemorating Cao E; the theory of starting from the Summer Solstice Festival of the three generations; the theory of avoiding evil months and evil days, and the theory of Wuyue Nationality Totem sacrifice said wait. Each of the above statements has its own origin. According to more than 100 ancient book records and expert archaeological research listed in the "Dragon Boat Test" and "Dragon Boat History Education" by scholar Wen Yiduo, the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival is a totem festival held by the Wuyue people in southern China in ancient China, earlier than Qu Yuan . However, for thousands of years, Qu Yuan's patriotic spirit and touching poems have been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Therefore, people "cherish and mourn him, comment on his words from generation to generation, and pass them on from generation to generation." Therefore, commemorating Qu Yuan has the widest and deepest influence. occupy a mainstream position. In the field of folk culture, Chinese people associate dragon boat racing and eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival with the commemoration of Qu Yuan.
To this day, the Dragon Boat Festival is still a very popular and grand festival among the Chinese people.
The origin and legend of the Dragon Boat Festival:
The Dragon Boat Festival is an ancient traditional festival that began in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period in China and has a history of more than 2,000 years. There are many origins and legends of the Dragon Boat Festival. Here are only the following four:
Originally commemorates Qu Yuan
According to the "Biography of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng" in "Historical Records", Qu Yuan was born in the Spring and Autumn Period. Minister of King Huai of Chu. He advocated the promotion of talents and empowerment, enriched the country and strengthened the military, and advocated uniting Qi to resist Qin. However, he was strongly opposed by the nobleman Zilan and others. Qu Yuan was dismissed from his post, expelled from the capital, and exiled to the Yuan and Xiang rivers. In exile, he wrote immortal poems such as "Li Sao", "Heavenly Questions" and "Nine Songs", which were concerned about the country and the people. They were unique in style and had far-reaching influence (therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival is also called the Poet's Day). In 278 BC, the Qin army captured Kyoto, the state of Chu. Seeing his motherland being invaded, Qu Yuan was heartbroken, but he still could not bear to abandon his motherland. On May 5, after writing his last work "Huaisha", he bouldered into the Miluo River and died, risking his own life. Composed a magnificent patriotic movement.
It is said that after Qu Yuan died, the people of Chu State were extremely sad and flocked to the Miluo River to pay their respects to Qu Yuan. The fishermen rowed their boats and fished for his true body back and forth on the river. A fisherman took out rice balls, eggs and other food prepared for Qu Yuan and threw them into the river "plop, plop", saying that when the fish, lobsters and crabs were full, they would not bite Dr. Qu's body. People followed suit after seeing it. An old doctor took a jar of realgar wine and poured it into the river, saying it was to stun dragons and water animals so as not to harm Doctor Qu. Later, for fear that the rice balls would be eaten by dragons, people came up with the idea of wrapping the rice with neem leaves and wrapping it with colored silk, which developed into zongzi.
Since then, on the fifth day of May every year, there has been the custom of dragon boat racing, eating rice dumplings, and drinking realgar wine to commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan.
Commemorating Wu Zixu
The second legend of the Dragon Boat Festival is widely circulated in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. It commemorates Wu Zixu during the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC-476 BC). Wu Zixu was a member of the Chu State, and his father and brother were both killed by the King of Chu. Later, Zixu abandoned the dark side and turned to the bright side, and rushed to the State of Wu to help Wu attack Chu. After five battles, he entered Yingcheng, the capital of Chu.
At that time, King Ping of Chu was dead, so Zixu dug up the grave and whipped three hundred corpses to avenge the death of his father and brother. After the death of King Helu of Wu, his son Fucha succeeded to the throne. The Wu army had high morale and won every battle. The country of Yue was defeated. King Goujian of Yue asked for peace, and Fucha agreed to it. Zixu suggested that the Yue Kingdom should be completely wiped out, but Fu Chai refused to listen, and the Wu State slaughtered him. He was bribed by the Yue Kingdom and framed Zixu with slanderous words. Fu Chai believed it and gave Zixu a sword, and Zixu died with it. Zixu was a loyal man and regarded death as home. Before he died, he said to his neighbors: "After I die, dig out my eyes and hang them on the east gate of Wu Jing to watch the Yue army enter the city and destroy Wu." Then he committed suicide and died. After hearing this, he was furious and ordered Zixu's body to be packed in leather and thrown into the river on May 5th. Therefore, it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival is also a day to commemorate Wu Zixu.
Commemorating the filial daughter Cao E
The third legend of the Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate the filial daughter Cao E who saved her father and threw herself into the river in the Eastern Han Dynasty (23-220 AD). Cao E was a native of Shangyu in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Her father drowned in the river and her body was not seen for several days. At that time, her filial daughter Cao E was only fourteen years old and cried along the river day and night. Seventeen days later, he also threw himself into the river on May 5th. Five days later, he took out his father's body. This was passed down as a myth, and then passed down to the county governor, who ordered Du Shang to erect a stele for it and his disciple Handan Chun to write a memorial in praise of it.
The tomb of the filial daughter Cao E is located in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province today. It is later said that the stele of Cao E was written by King Yi of the Jin Dynasty. In order to commemorate Cao E's filial piety, later generations built the Cao E temple where Cao E threw herself into the river. The village and town where she lived was renamed Cao E town, and the place where Cao E died for her father was named Cao E river.
Origined from the ancient Yue national totem sacrifice
A large number of unearthed cultural relics and archaeological research in modern times have confirmed that in the vast areas of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, in the Neolithic Age, there was a culture characterized by geometrically printed pottery. remains. Experts infer that the tribe that remains is a tribe that worships the dragon totem - known as the Baiyue tribe in history. The patterns on the unearthed pottery and historical legends indicate that they had the custom of breaking their hair and getting tattoos, lived in water towns, and compared themselves to being descendants of dragons. The tools they produce include a large number of stone tools, as well as small bronze tools such as shovels and chisels. Among the pots and jars used as daily necessities, the printed pottery tripods for cooking food are unique to them and are one of the symbols of their ethnic group. Until the Qin and Han Dynasties, there were still Baiyue people, and the Dragon Boat Festival was a festival created by them to worship their ancestors. In the course of thousands of years of historical development, most of the Baiyue people have integrated into the Han nationality, and the rest have evolved into many ethnic minorities in the south. Therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival has become a festival for the entire Chinese nation.
Mid-Autumn Festival
The traditional Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month every year. This is the middle of autumn, so it is called Mid-Autumn Festival. In the Chinese lunar calendar, a year is divided into four seasons, and each season is divided into three parts: Meng, Zhong and Ji. Therefore, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called Zhongqiu. The moon on August 15th is rounder and brighter than the full moon in other months, so it is also called "Yuexi" and "August Festival". On this night, when people look up at the bright moon in the sky, they naturally look forward to family reunions. Wanderers who are far away from home also use this to express their longing for their hometown and relatives. Therefore, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called the "Reunion Festival".
Our people have had the custom of "autumn twilight and evening moon" in ancient times. On the eve of the moon, worship the moon god. By the Zhou Dynasty, every Mid-Autumn Festival night would be held to welcome the cold and worship the moon. Set up a large incense table and place mooncakes, watermelons, apples, dates, plums, grapes and other offerings. Mooncakes and watermelons are absolutely indispensable. The watermelon should also be cut into lotus shapes. Under the moon, the moon statue is placed in the direction of the moon, with red candles burning high. The whole family worships the moon in turn, and then the housewife cuts the reunion moon cakes. The person who cuts the food must calculate in advance how many people are in the family. Those who are at home and those who are out of town must be counted together. They cannot cut more or less, and the sizes must be the same.
According to legend, Wu Yan, an ugly girl from the ancient Qi State, worshiped the moon devoutly when she was a child. When she grew up, she entered the palace with outstanding moral character, but she was not favored. On August 15th of a certain year, the emperor saw her under the moonlight while admiring the moon. He thought she was beautiful and outstanding, so he made her his queen. This is how the Mid-Autumn Festival came to worship the moon. In the middle of the moon, Chang'e is famous for her beauty, so the girl worships the moon and wishes that she "looks like Chang'e and has a face like the bright moon."
In the Tang Dynasty, admiring and playing with the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival was quite popular. In the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty. On the night of August 15th, people all over the city, rich and poor, old and young, wear adult clothes, burn incense and worship the moon, express their wishes and pray for the blessing of the moon god. In the Southern Song Dynasty, people gave each other mooncakes as gifts to symbolize reunion. In some places, there are activities such as dancing grass dragons and building pagodas. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival have become more popular; many places have formed special customs such as burning incense, planting Mid-Autumn Festival trees, lighting tower lanterns, releasing sky lanterns, walking on the moon, and dancing fire dragons.
Today, the custom of playing under the moon is far less popular than in the past. However, it is still very popular to hold banquets to admire the moon. People drink wine to celebrate the wonderful life, or wish their relatives far away to be healthy and happy, and to "live thousands of miles away" with their families.
There are many Mid-Autumn Festival customs and different forms, but they all express people's infinite love for life and yearning for a better life.
The origin and legend of the Mid-Autumn Festival:
The Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history. Like other traditional festivals, it also developed slowly. Ancient emperors worshiped the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. The etiquette system of Mid-Autumn Festival has been recorded in the book "Zhou Rites" as early as "Mid-Autumn Festival".
Later, nobles and literati also followed suit. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, they would look at the bright and round moon in the sky, watch and worship, and express their feelings. This custom was spread to the people and became a traditional activity until the Tang Dynasty. After that, people paid more attention to the custom of worshiping the moon, and the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival. "Book of Tang·Taizong Ji" records the "Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th". This festival was popular in the Song Dynasty and became popular in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is as famous as New Year's Day and has become one of the major festivals in our country.
The legends of the Mid-Autumn Festival are very rich. Mythical stories such as Chang'e flying to the moon, Wu Gang conquering Gui, and the Jade Rabbit making medicine are widely circulated.
One of the legends of the Mid-Autumn Festival - Chang'e flying to the moon
According to legend, in ancient times, ten suns appeared in the sky at the same time, which caused the crops to wither and the people to live in dire straits. A hero named Hou Yi, who Infinitely, he sympathized with the suffering people, climbed to the top of Kunlun Mountain, exerted his magical power, drew his magical bow, and shot down more than nine suns in one go, and strictly ordered the last sun to rise and set on time to benefit the people.
As a result, Hou Yi was respected and loved by the people. Hou Yi married a beautiful and kind-hearted wife named Chang'e. In addition to spreading his skills and hunting, Hou Yi stayed with his wife all day long. People envied this loving couple with talent and beauty.
Many people with lofty ideals came here to learn from Tou Shi, and Peng Meng with evil intentions also got in.
One day, Hou Yi went to Kunlun Mountain to visit friends and seek enlightenment. He happened to meet the Queen Mother who was passing by, and asked the Queen Mother for a package of elixir. It is said that if you take this medicine, you can immediately ascend to heaven and become an immortal. However, Hou Yi was reluctant to leave his wife, so he had to temporarily give the elixir to Chang'e for collection. Chang'e hid the medicine in the treasure box on the dressing table. Unexpectedly, the villain Peng Meng saw it. He wanted to steal the elixir and become an immortal himself.
Three days later, Hou Yi led his disciples out for hunting. Peng Meng, who had evil intentions, pretended to be sick and stayed. Soon after Hou Yi led everyone away, Peng Meng broke into the backyard of the inner house with a sword and forced Chang'e to hand over the elixir. Chang'e knew that she was no match for Peng Meng. In the critical moment, she made a prompt decision, turned around, opened the treasure box, took out the elixir and swallowed it in one gulp. Chang'e swallowed the medicine, and her body immediately floated off the ground, rushed out of the window, and flew to the sky. Because Chang'e cared about her husband, she flew to the moon closest to the world and became an immortal.
In the evening, Hou Yi returned home, and the maids cried and told what happened during the day. Hou Yi was frightened and angry, so he drew his sword to kill the villain, but Peng Meng had already escaped. Hou Yi was so angry that he beat his chest and was heartbroken. He looked up at the night sky and called out the name of his beloved wife. At this time, he was surprised to find that the moon today was particularly special. It is bright and bright, and there is a swaying figure that looks like Chang'e. He chased the moon desperately, but he chased three steps, the moon took three steps back, he took three steps back, and the moon took three steps forward. No matter what, he couldn't catch up.
Houyi had no choice but to miss his wife, so he had to send people to Chang'e's favorite back garden, set up an incense table, put her favorite sweetmeats and fresh fruits, and offer sacrifices to him in the moon palace. of Chang'e. After the people heard the news that Chang'e flew to the moon and became an immortal, they all set up incense tables under the moon and prayed to the kind-hearted Chang'e for good luck and peace.
Since then, the custom of worshiping the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival has spread among the people.
Mid-Autumn Legend No. 2 - Wu Gang won the laurel
There is another legend about the Mid-Autumn Festival: It is said that the laurel tree in front of the Guanghan Palace on the moon grows luxuriantly and is more than 500 feet tall. There is a man below who is always cutting it down, but every time he cuts it down, the cut area immediately closes up again. For thousands of years, this osmanthus tree has been cut down as it goes. This osmanthus tree can never be cut down. It is said that the man who cut down the tree was named Wu Gang, who was from Xihe in the Han Dynasty. He once followed the immortals to practice Taoism and reached heaven. However, he made a mistake, and the immortals demoted him to the Moon Palace, where he did such futile and hard work every day as punishment. . There is a record in Li Bai's poem "If you want to cut the laurel in the moon, you will hold on to the salary of those who are cold".
The third legend of the Mid-Autumn Festival - Zhu Yuanzhang and the Mooncake Uprising
Eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival is said to have begun in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the vast number of people in the Central Plains could not bear the cruel rule of the Yuan Dynasty's ruling class, and they revolted against the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang united various resistance forces to prepare for the uprising. However, the officers and soldiers of the court conducted a very strict search, making it very difficult to convey the news. Military counselor Liu Bowen came up with a plan and ordered his subordinates to hide the note with "uprising on August 15th" in the cakes, and then sent people to deliver it to the insurrectionary armies in various places, informing them to respond to the uprising on the night of August 15th. . On the day of the uprising, all rebel armies responded together, and the insurrectionary army was like a spark igniting a prairie fire.
Soon, Xu Da captured Yuan Dadu and the uprising was successful. When the news came, Zhu Yuanzhang was so happy that he quickly passed down an oral order to let all the soldiers and the people have fun during the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, and to reward the officials with the "mooncakes" that were used to secretly convey the message when the army was launched as seasonal cakes. Since then, the production of "mooncakes" has become more and more sophisticated, with more varieties, and the large ones are as big as discs, which have become a good gift. From then on, the custom of eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival spread among the people.
The Double Ninth Festival is also known as the Climbing Festival. On this day, people climb high and look far away, missing their loved ones. As the poem says: "Every festive season, we miss our loved ones even more." So how did the Double Ninth Festival come about?
It turns out that in ancient my country, nine was called the "Yang number". On September 9th of the lunar calendar, the two nines coincided with each other, both of which were Yang numbers, so it was called "Double Ninth Festival". The Double Ninth Festival comes from a Taoist fairy tale:
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a rural young man named Huan Jing in Runan County. He had two parents, a wife and children. Although life is not good, I can still get by with half food and half food.
Who knew something unfortunate would happen. A plague broke out on both sides of the Ru River. Every household fell ill, and corpses were everywhere and no one was burying them. This year, Huan Jing's parents also died of illness.
When Huan Jing was a child, he heard adults say: "There is a plague demon living in the Ru River. Every year it comes out and walks around the world. Wherever it goes, it brings the plague. Huan Jing is determined to visit his teacher and ask for help. He learned skills to fight plague demons and eliminate harm for the people. He heard that there was a great immortal named Fei Changfang living in the southeast mountains, so he packed his bags and set off to study under Fei Changfang.
Huan Jing was given a sword to subdue demons. Huan Jing got up early and went to bed late, practicing day and night under the stars. In a blink of an eye, it was another year. When Huan Jing was practicing swordsmanship, Fei Changfang came up and said, "This is the ninth year of the year." On the ninth day of the lunar month, the Ruhe plague demon will come out again. You hurry back to your hometown to eliminate harm to the people. I will give you a pack of dogwood leaves and a bottle of chrysanthemum wine, so that the elders in your hometown can climb high to avoid disaster. "After the immortal said this, he pointed with his hand, and a crane flew over with spread wings and landed in front of Huan Jing. Huan Jing climbed on the crane and flew towards Runan.
Huan Jing returned to his hometown and summoned his fellow villagers. . On September 9th, he led his wife, children, and villagers to a nearby mountain and gave each of them a piece of dogwood leaf, saying that the plague demon would not dare to carry it with him. Then he poured out the chrysanthemum wine and everyone took a sip. He said that after drinking the chrysanthemum wine, he would not be infected with the plague. He arranged for the villagers to go back to his house and sat alone. Inside the house, I waited for the plague demon to come and fight against it.
After a while, I heard the roar of the Ru River and the strange wind swirling. The plague demon came out of the water and walked ashore, passing through thousands of houses. Not seeing anyone, he suddenly looked up and saw people gathering on the high mountain. It rushed down the mountain, feeling the smell of wine and the dogwood filling its lungs. It didn't dare to go up to the mountain, so it turned back and walked towards the village. Sitting in the room, Huan Jing roared and rushed forward. He quickly fought with his sword for several rounds, but Huan Jing couldn't fight him and ran away with a "swish". Throwing the Demon-Subduing Azure Dragon Sword, the sword flashed with cold light and chased after the plague demon, piercing the heart and lungs and stabbing the plague demon to the ground.
After that, the people on both sides of the Ru River were no longer protected. The plague demon was invading people. The story of ascending to a high place on September 9th to avoid disaster and stabbing the plague demon with Huanjing sword has been passed down from father to son and from son to grandson. From then on, people celebrated the Double Ninth Festival. There is a custom of climbing high during the Double Ninth Festival.
The Double Ninth Festival is almost late autumn. The atmosphere is cool, the air is fresh, and the visibility is high. This is probably the reason why people choose to climb up and enjoy the view.
Double Ninth Festival! There are many customs on the festival, including climbing high, admiring chrysanthemums, drinking chrysanthemum wine, eating Double Ninth Cake, planting dogwood, etc. Climbing high
In ancient times, people had the custom of climbing high during the Double Ninth Festival, so the Double Ninth Festival is also known as the Double Ninth Festival. It is called "Climbing the High". According to legend, this custom began in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Literati in the Tang Dynasty wrote many climbing poems, most of which were about the customs of the Double Ninth Festival. Du Fu's Qilu "Climbing the High" is a famous poem about climbing on the Double Ninth Festival. There are no uniform regulations, but it is generally a custom to climb mountains and towers.
Eating Double Ninth Cake
According to historical records, Chongyang Cake is also known as Double Ninth Cake. Flower cakes, chrysanthemum cakes, and five-color cakes are all made in a random way. At dawn on September 9, people put a piece of cake on their children's foreheads and uttered words to wish them well. This was the original intention of the ancients in making cakes in September. The Double Ninth Festival cake should be made into nine layers, like a pagoda, with two lambs on top to match the meaning of the Double Ninth Festival (sheep). Some people also put a small red paper flag on the Double Ninth Festival cake and light candles. It means "lighting up lamps" and "eating cakes" instead of "climbing high", and using small red paper flags instead of dogwood. Today, there is still no fixed variety of Double Ninth Cake. The soft cakes eaten in various places are called Double Ninth Cake. .
Appreciating chrysanthemums and drinking chrysanthemum wine
Double Ninth Festival is the golden autumn season of the year, when chrysanthemums are in full bloom. It is said that appreciating chrysanthemums and drinking chrysanthemum wine originated from Tao Yuanming, a great poet of the Jin Dynasty. . Tao Yuanming was famous for his seclusion, his poetry, his wine, and his love of chrysanthemums. Later generations followed suit, and the custom of appreciating chrysanthemums during the Double Ninth Festival was established. In the old days, literati and officials would combine chrysanthemum appreciation with banquets in order to get closer to Tao Yuanming. In Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, the custom of chrysanthemum viewing on the Double Ninth Festival was very popular. At that time, there were many varieties of chrysanthemums in various shapes and forms. Folks also call the ninth month of the lunar calendar the "Chrysanthemum Moon". During the Double Ninth Festival when chrysanthemums are in full bloom, viewing chrysanthemums has become an important part of the festival. After the Qing Dynasty, the custom of appreciating chrysanthemums became particularly prosperous, and it was not limited to September 9, but it was still most prosperous around the Double Ninth Festival.
Inserting dogwood and hairpin chrysanthemums
The custom of planting dogwood during the Double Ninth Festival has been very common in the Tang Dynasty. The ancients believed that planting dogwood on the Double Ninth Festival can provide refuge and eliminate disasters; it can be worn on the arm, used as a sachet with the dogwood inside and worn, and some can be placed on the head. Most of them are worn by women and children. In some places, men also wear them. Wearing dogwood on the Double Ninth Festival is recorded in Ge Hong's "Xi Jing Za Ji" in the Jin Dynasty. In addition to wearing dogwood, some people also wear chrysanthemums on their heads. This was already the case in the Tang Dynasty and has been popular in all dynasties. In the Qing Dynasty, the custom of the Double Ninth Festival in Beijing was to stick chrysanthemum branches and leaves on doors and windows to "remove evil and filth and attract good luck." This is the custom of hairpin chrysanthemum on the head. In the Song Dynasty, people cut colored silk ribbons into dogwoods and chrysanthemums and gave them to each other as gifts.
In addition to the above common customs in celebrating the Double Ninth Festival in various places, some places also have some unique ways of celebrating the festival. The Double Ninth Festival is the official harvest season in northern Shaanxi. There is a song that goes: "On the Double Ninth Festival in September, we are busy harvesting and harvesting. Millet and millet are coming to the field."
In northern Shaanxi, the Double Ninth Festival is celebrated at night, and during the day there is a whole day of harvesting and hunting. At night, when the moon rises above the treetops, people like to enjoy buckwheat noodles and mutton. After dinner, people walk out of their homes in twos and threes, climb to the top of a nearby hill, light fires, chat, and return home only when the rooster crows. When hiking at night, many people pick a few handfuls of wild chrysanthemums and put them on their daughters' heads when they get home to ward off evil spirits.
In Puxian, Fujian, people follow the old custom of steaming nine layers of rice crackers during the Double Ninth Festival. In ancient my country, there was a custom of "eating bait" during the Double Ninth Festival. "Bait" is today's cakes, rice crackers and the like. The "Jade Candle Collection" of the Song Dynasty says: "Those who eat bait and drink chrysanthemum wine for nine days should collect millet and millet at the same time, so as to taste the new ones due to the delicious flavor of sticky rice, so it becomes a long-standing habit." Song Zuqian, a Puxian poet in the early Qing Dynasty, said in his "Fujian Wine Song": "I was surprised to hear that the Double Ninth Festival was approaching, and I picked up wild incense with a basket in my slender hands. I pounded the jade pestle into green powder and wet it, and I called for the man to taste each pearl." In modern times, people have transformed rice crackers into a very distinctive nine-layer rice crackers. Wash the high-quality late rice with clean water, soak it for 2 hours, take it out and drain it, mix it with water and grind it into a slurry, add alum (dissolve in water) and stir, add red sugar (mix it with water and boil it into a sugar concentrate), and then put it in a steamer Place a clean cooking cloth on the pot, then scoop in the rice pulp in nine batches, steam for a while until cooked, and apply peanut oil on the surface of the rice. This rice cracker is divided into nine overlapping layers, which can be uncovered and cut into water chestnuts. The four sides are clearly layered and translucent. It is sweet, soft and tasty, and does not stick to the teeth. It is the best gift to honor the elderly during the Double Ninth Festival.
People in some places also take advantage of the opportunity of climbing mountains on the Double Ninth Festival to visit their ancestors' tombs and commemorate their ancestors. There are more people in Puxian worshiping their ancestors on the Double Ninth Festival than on the Qingming Festival. Therefore, there is a saying that the third month is the Little Qingming Festival and the Double Ninth Festival is the Great Qingming Festival. Since Puxian is located along the coast, the ninth day of September is also the anniversary of Mazu’s death. Many villagers go to the Mazu Temple in Meizhou or the Tianhou Ancestral Temple and Palace Temple in Hong Kong to offer sacrifices and seek blessings.
After the founding of New China, the Double Ninth Festival was also called "Old Man's Day". In 1989, my country's Double Ninth Festival was officially named Old Man's Day. The Double Ninth Festival, which falls on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month every year, is designated as the National Respect for the Aged Day. The Chinese nation has a traditional virtue of respecting the elderly. Before and after the Double Ninth Festival, the party and the government carry out various activities to respect the elderly, such as holding symposiums, senior banquets, senior tours, physical examinations, giving gifts, helping with labor, etc., which are rich and colorful. . Most places also organize mountaineering and autumn outings for the elderly to broaden their horizons, exchange feelings, exercise, and cultivate people's noble character of returning to nature and loving the great mountains and rivers of the motherland.