What does breaking five mean? What does breaking five mean?

1. Send off the New Year: "Powu" first means "send off the New Year". In some places, the broken five festivals are called "Yuan Nian", which means that the new year is over, and on this day we have to make a summary and draw an end. According to folk custom, after the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, all walks of life have opened for business, and the New Year's customs are basically over. People begin to think about their thoughts, wake up and take a nap, and everything will slowly return to the state before the New Year's Eve, and normal work will resume. and life.

2. Break taboos: Folks are very particular about celebrating the New Year. There are many rules and taboos from New Year's Eve to the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. People should not "act rashly", otherwise it will be unlucky. For example, they cannot cook new meals, say unlucky words, sweep the floor and sprinkle water, women cannot use needlework, and shops cannot open, etc. Su Shi of the Song Dynasty wrote a poem in "Butterfly Loves Flowers": "The general east wind breaks the fifth day. The rivers and willows are slightly yellow, and there are thousands of strands." Fucha Dunchong of the Qing Dynasty "Yanjing Years of the Year: Po Wu": "The fifth day of the new year is called Po Wu, Po Wu "You are not allowed to cook with raw rice, and women are not allowed to go out." But on the fifth day of the lunar month, these taboos are broken, so it is called "breaking the fifth day".

3. Sending ancestors: In many places, on New Year's Eve, the deceased ancestors are invited back to celebrate the New Year. In the middle of the hall, the ancestor's tablet is hung high, and incense is burned to make offerings, which means to invite the ancestors to celebrate the New Year. On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the Chinese New Year is over, so on this day we have to burn incense, burn paper money, and set off firecrackers to send our ancestors back to their homes in the underworld. Please come back until the 30th of the twelfth lunar month.

4. Drive away the five poor: The five poor are also called the five ghosts. It refers to five types of poor people: poor in intelligence, poor in learning, poor in literature, poor in fate, and poor in friendship. It has been seen in Han Yu's "Song Qiongwen". This poet said that these five ghosts are my five troubles, so I have to send them away. On the fifth day of the first lunar month, a custom called "catching the five poor" is popular in many places. People get up at dawn, set off firecrackers and clean the house. Firecrackers were set off from each house and walked out the door as they were set off. It is said that all unlucky things, all monsters and ghosts will be blasted out, and they should be kept as far away from people as possible. In particular, playing "two kicks" (two blasts) means "Bengqiong", which will drive away "unlucky" and "poor energy" from the home and bring wealth home.

5. The God of Sweeping Dirty Gods: Folklore says that on New Year’s Eve, when people invite the gods to the lower realms to celebrate the New Year, they forget about the dirty gods (probably not inviting them intentionally). She was so angry that she made trouble with Maitreya Buddha for five days in a row. Maitreya Buddha was smiling all over his face, but he didn't answer. This dirty spirit was so angry that he beat his chest and stamped his feet, and his orifices were filled with smoke. Seeing that the matter was about to get serious, Maitreya Buddha said: "Let's do it! Today is the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. Let people shoot a few more cannons for you, make dumplings once, and spend money once!" This is also an origin of "breaking the fifth". . Because of the trouble caused by the dirty gods, folk customs do not allow sanitation before the 30th of the twelfth lunar month to the fifth day of the first lunar month. That is, sweeping the floor can only be done in the house, and garbage can only be placed in the corner of the house. Especially on the first day of the Lunar New Year, you can't move it with a broom. If you move it, your good luck will be wiped out. But on Powu, it was time to do a thorough cleaning. After the garbage was swept out of the door and swept to a corner, he also put the firecrackers from the house outside. Then he brought a huge firecracker, placed it on the garbage pile, lit it, and with a bang, the ceremony was completed. Then clean up all the garbage, and the new year will present a clean and tidy new look.