Rural customs and habits
(Lunar calendar) The fifth day of the first month, commonly known as the "Broken Five" Festival. On this day, women are not allowed to visit, which is unlucky. "Clear Bi Chao" contains: "On the fifth day of the first month, women are not allowed to go out." On this day, all families eat jiaozi, which means wrapping them in jiaozi for good luck. Nowadays, although people do not attach importance to women's visits, it has become a habit to eat jiaozi on this day.
the Lantern Festival
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, commonly known as "Lantern Festival" or "Lantern Festival", the annual Lantern Festival in Jinan is extremely spectacular. At this time, all kinds of lanterns are hung in parks, factories, mines, enterprises and streets. At night, palace lanterns, gauze lanterns, fish lanterns, basket lanterns and racing lanterns are radiant and beautiful.
Especially the annual Baotu Spring Lantern Festival is unique. All kinds of lanterns, bird and beast lanterns, lantern lanterns, story lanterns, riddle lanterns, etc. Or magnificent, or simple and elegant, or original, with distinctive local color. On this day, it is popular for every household to eat Yuanxiao.
In addition, around the Lantern Festival, the streets and alleys of Jinan are full of stilts, roller coasters, dragon lanterns and lions. People put some myths and legends, historical stories, strong love and hate and good wishes into this folk art rich in national traditions, adding a festive atmosphere.
The dragon looks up
On the second day of the second lunar month, the Spring Dragon Festival is commonly known as "the dragon looks up", which means that the dragon is prosperous and controls the rain, and the weather is good. In Zhu Yizun's Textual Research on Old Stories of Sun in Qing Dynasty, it says, "Everyone calls February the leader." On this day, citizens get up early and fry "scorpion claws" (that is, after the beans are pickled) to prevent insects from biting scorpions; Old people and children have haircuts to see if they can avoid disasters; In rural areas, it is popular to "smash" with furnace ashes to wish a bumper harvest. These customs have been continued by people to this day.
Qingming custom
Qingming is the fifth of the 24 solar terms in China. The ancients attached great importance to this solar term and left many interesting customs. In Jinan, there are "hiking", "sweeping graves", "swinging", "inserting willows" and "planting trees".
spring outing
In ancient times, it was also called hiking or going far, but now it is called spring outing or outing, which is the main custom in Tomb-Sweeping Day. In ancient times, on this day, people got together to make friends, help the old and bring the young, play in the spring suburbs, then sit around for a picnic and return at dusk. Jinan has beautiful scenery and beautiful scenery. Every time I go to Tomb-Sweeping Day, the spring is bright and the weather is sunny. People visit Qianfo Temple in the south and Huming Lake in the north, and there are many tourists. This custom of spring outing has been preserved until now.
Pay tribute to the dead at their graves.
On the fifth and sixth day of April in the solar calendar, citizens bring paper, incense and offerings to the grave to pay homage to their ancestors, add soil to the grave and remember their ancestors. It is said that this custom has a long history, starting from the Qin dynasty, and the inheritance of the Qin system in the Han dynasty has not changed. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that grave-sweeping activities were held in Tomb-Sweeping Day. Bai Juyi, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote in "Ode to Cold Food and Wild Hope": "Who cries for cold food and wild food outside the Guo Gate of the Autumn Ruins? The wind blows paper money in the wilderness, and the ancient tomb is full of spring grass. " This is a scene to describe sweeping graves in rural areas. In the Song Dynasty, people paid homage to their ancestors to sweep graves at Qingming Festival, and Kyoto people left the suburbs, and the fields were like cities. Today, Tomb-Sweeping Day has become a day for people to remember heroes and forget their dead relatives.
play on the swing
During the period of Tomb-Sweeping Day, the custom of swinging was also spread in urban and rural areas of Jinan. On this day in Tomb-Sweeping Day, men and women, old and young, wear new clothes, or set up a wooden frame, erect a crossbar, hang two ropes, and tie a board horizontally under the ropes. People can sit on the board or stand on the board, and they can float up and down with two ropes in their hands, which is very fun. According to legend, swinging was originally a game of northern conference semifinals. During the Warring States Period, when Liu Huan-gong went north, he brought this game to the Han nationality. Since the Han and Tang Dynasties, it was mostly used in the harem of emperors and gardens of dignitaries, and then gradually spread to the people.
Planting trees by inserting willows
Qingming is the season of "green willow and yellow are not connected". In urban and rural areas of Jinan, there used to be a custom of putting willows in the door. Women and children wore willow branches and balls. It is said that this custom is to commemorate Shennong, the founder of "teaching human crops", which was later discovered to remember the year and express the good wish of longevity. For example, the lonely village of Chai Men in the poem "Cold Food" by Zhao, a poet in the Song Dynasty, also taught Liu to remember the words of the years; There is an agricultural proverb in the countryside, "Wear a flower, and it will give birth to 180; insert one, and it will give birth to 190". Later, the custom of wearing willow was gradually eliminated, while inserting willow and planting willow prevailed and spread, and later evolved into afforestation in the Qingming period. In the 4th year of the Republic of China (19 15), Tomb-Sweeping Day was designated as Arbor Day. Now, around Tomb-Sweeping Day, large-scale afforestation campaigns are being carried out everywhere. Green willows not only bring infinite vitality to the earth, but also place infinite hope on people.
Bathe the Buddha and set him free.
It is a religious festival to bathe the Buddha and set him free. Every year, the eighth day of the fourth lunar month is the Bathing Buddha Festival.
By the Song Dynasty, there had been a "Jade Buddha Society". Folk incense medicines and sweet water are given to each other, and Buddhist temples burn incense and give alms, which is called "bathing Buddha". Or buy fish, turtles, snails, mussels and other aquatic animals to release. There are many special release ponds in the temple for people to keep animals. Legend has it that the eighth day of April is the birthday of Sakyamuni Buddha. There are many temples in Jinan. In the past, it became a habit to release Buddha on the eighth day of April. On this day, monks and Taoists in Dongyue Temple and Arctic Temple set up a platform to recite scriptures, and many good men and women flocked to the temple to compete for money. Some people also recite the release mantra all day and throw the bought aquatic animals such as fish, turtles, snails and mussels into the water to express their compassion and piety to religion.
Dragon boat festival custom
The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the traditional Dragon Boat Festival in China. The ancients also called May "noon month", and often wrote the fifth day as "noon day", and "end" also meant "beginning", so the fifth day of May was called "Dragon Boat Festival". Because the words "noon" and "noon day" are repeated, the Dragon Boat Festival is also called "heavy noon" and because the ancients often regarded "noon" as "nurturing", so the Dragon Boat Festival is also called "Duanyang Festival".
Since the Tang Dynasty officially designated the Dragon Boat Festival as an important festival, it has gradually begun to receive attention. People in Jinan celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival with the following characteristics: painting door symbols. On the Dragon Boat Festival, people use the images of "five poisons" (scorpion, centipede, poisonous snake, frog and gecko) to make paper-cuts as symbols of doors. It is said that this is done to drive away the "five poisons" and prevent the plague. Stick a moxa stick and hang Ai Hu. On the morning of Dragon Boat Festival, people will stick moxa sticks on the doors, or weave wormwood into "Ai Hu" and wear it in the center of the lintel to ward off evil spirits and keep healthy. Drink realgar wine and eat zongzi. Before breakfast on the Dragon Boat Festival, you should drink a cup of realgar wine first, and then eat zongzi wrapped in glutinous rice and red dates. Drinking yellow wine is said to kill insects and ward off evil spirits, and making zongzi is to pay tribute to the patriotic poet Qu Yuan. Put on a sachet and tie a colored silk thread. The sachet is worn on the lapel, and the doll is cute. It is also a popular custom in Jinan Dragon Boat Festival to wear sachets for children and tie colorful silk threads on their wrists. This sachet is embroidered with cotton cloth and silk thread. In addition to realgar and atractylodes rhizome, the sachet also contains spices made of herbs, which can drive away insects and filth when worn on the body. Multicolored lines symbolize five-colored dragons and can subdue monsters. On the Dragon Boat Festival, some celebrities in Jinan went boating on the Ming Lake, gathered for drinking, and wrote poems together. Some of these customs have continued to this day, such as inserting moxa sticks and making zongzi on the Dragon Boat Festival, which is still very popular in Jinan today.
Bitong drink
Lotus plays an important role in Jinan people's life. In the use of lotus, Jinan has some special customs. Among them, the most interesting is the blue tube drink.
According to the records of Ren Duan in Youyang Miscellanies in the Tang Dynasty, in ancient times, when the lotus flowers in Daming Lake were in full bloom, some officials and scholars often went to the lake to escape the summer. They cut off the big lotus leaves in the lake, filled them with wine, and then stabbed them in the center with hairpins to make them communicate with the hollow lotus stems. People drink wine from the end of the lotus stem, and the taste, in the words of the literati who experienced it at that time, is "the wine is mixed with lotus fragrance, and the fragrance is better than water cooling." This is the beautiful talk "Bitong Drink" handed down by literati in Tang and Song Dynasties.
In addition to serving wine, Jinan lotus leaf can also be used to make many special foods. For example, fresh and green lotus leaves are slightly scalded with hot water, covered with porridge when cooking, and the cooked porridge is cooled with sugar, which is called "lotus leaf porridge" and is a famous snack in Jinan in summer; According to the production method of "rice flour meat" or "steamed meat", the pork is cut, the rice is fried and mixed with soy sauce, then the tender lotus leaf produced in Daming Lake is selected, washed, a piece of pork is wrapped in the lotus leaf with a proper amount of fried rice, spread in a bowl, placed in a steamer and steamed to obtain "lotus leaf meat". Eating is eating meat with lotus leaves, which is delicious with pork and the fragrance of lotus leaves, especially delicious. Similarly, you can also make fine dishes such as lotus leaf chicken and lotus leaf fish. In addition, wrapping food with lotus leaves is also a unique custom in Jinan. In the past, many steamed buns, pot stickers, cooked meat and pickles sold in food stores were wrapped in lotus leaves, which were neither oil-permeable nor water-permeable, and had a fragrant taste, which was very popular among people.
In addition, people in Jinan used to eat lotus. Among them, "fried lotus petals" is a famous dish unique to Jinan in summer. Wash fresh, complete and clean lotus petals, hang a thin layer of egg paste, fry in oil pan, sprinkle with white sugar after frying, and eat in your mouth. They are delicious, memorable and deeply loved by people.
"eat spring"
People in Jinan like to eat Toona sinensis. Toona sinensis is a kind of tree with fragrant and edible leaves. In the Qing Dynasty, people called picking and eating young leaves of Toona sinensis in spring "eating spring", which means welcoming the New Year. Zhonggong area in the suburb of Jinan is rich in Toona sinensis. Every spring, when Toona sinensis sprouts and grows leaves, it is also the time for Jinan people to "eat spring". At this time, farmers will break off tender purple or light green buds and take them to the market to sell; People who like to "eat spring" rush to buy them home and taste the sweetness of spring. Toona sinensis can be eaten in many ways. And Jinan's "stinky tofu mixed with Toona sinensis buds" is even more famous. People wash the buds or tender leaves of Toona sinensis, marinate them with salt, rub them and marinate them for about one night. When in use, the pickled Toona sinensis bud is cut into powder, then the steamed diced tofu and Toona sinensis bud powder are put into a plate, sprinkled with refined salt, and added with sesame oil and mixed evenly. Another way is to "fry Toona sinensis"-wash the tender Toona sinensis, drain the water, add salt and knead it evenly, then dip it evenly in the adjusted batter, fry it in hot oil and take it out to eat. It is crisp and fragrant. Because the whole Toona sinensis looks like a fish after being fried, it is also called "fried Toona sinensis fish" in Jinan.
Pu Cai in Jinan
The custom that Jinan people love to eat Pu Cai has a long history. Typha is an aquatic herb. The general dishes in Daming Lake and the beautiful vegetables in Jinan have long been famous in China. "Jinan Express Tour" records: "Pu Cai in Daming Lake tastes like bamboo shoots and is the treasure of plants in several northern provinces." Shandong Tongzhi and its products call Pu Cai "Sun Pu", which is a common product of Jinan people's "daily vegetables". The ways to eat Pu Cai are: "Pu Cai in milk soup" and "Pu Cai in boiling pot" (cold dish). As for Jinan people's favorite instant noodles, glutinous rice balls and plain food, they are also popular foods. Anyone who has tasted these delicious dishes will be full of praise.
On July 30th, the river lantern was released.
In Jinan, in the past, every night on July 30th, Buddhist temples held bonsai meetings to educate Buddhist scriptures. Some people want to burn a large number of incense sticks on the walls and tunnels in the yard and stick them on the ground to show their piety to the earth treasure king. Others turn out the ghosts who died in the river in the form of river lanterns. It is said that the 30th day of the seventh lunar month is the day when the Tibetan King and Bodhisattva became monks. When he became a Taoist, he vowed to save all the sinful people. Therefore, July 30th became a day to turn over the dead.
River lanterns are made of wet noodles. After drying, pour the soybean oil into the lamp bowl, rub it into a wick with cotton, light it, put it into the river and let it flow downstream. At this time, I saw the bright lights on the river, flashing and fluttering, and the river was red. It is said that the drowning "ghost" in the river can be super-living when it sees light. Setting off river lanterns is a superstitious activity of Buddhism.
At that time, the Taoist priest of the Arctic Temple on the north bank of Daming Lake in Jinan also turned over the dead on the 30 th day of the seventh lunar month. They recite the scriptures during the day, entertain the "benefactors" who come to burn incense in the temple, find workers who frame paper and paste colored paper into large "French boats" and put them in the lake in front of the temple to attract tourists. In the evening, the Taoist priests put on colorful and resplendent vestments, blew cymbals and sheng flutes, lined up dozens of steps from the Arctic Temple and burned their heads in front of the French boat. At the same time, they burned the French ship tied with colored paper. For a time, the flames were blazing, and the lake was brightly lit, which caused a sensation throughout Jinan City. As a result, temples and lakes are crowded with people. After liberation, with the destruction of feudal superstition, activities such as "putting river lanterns" have disappeared.
Ming Hu Zou ou
Jinan is rich in lotus roots, especially in Hu Ming. Before the liberation of Daming Lake, at that time, except for the water and navigation channels around Lixiating, the rest of the water crisscrossed, forming paddy fields. On the paddy field, there is a lotus in the east and a cattail in the west. Earth dams stop water, and reeds cover lotus flowers, which is endless. Because the water is deep and the mud layer is thick, we can only plant lotus root, Bly and so on. Picking lotus roots, you can only go into the water and step on it with your feet. Therefore, stepping on lotus roots in Huming Lake has become a traditional custom in Jinan.
When stepping on the lotus root, the person stepping on the lotus root wears a leather waterproof "jumpsuit". Leather clothing softens when it meets water, so the wearer can use it freely in water. I saw my head or fur coat flowing on the water, which was very rhythmic. This is the lotus root surfer who explores the lotus root underwater with his feet. After finding the lotus root branch, you need to find a suitable lotus root node, then step on it hard, and a fresh lotus root will be broken off from the root, then dig out the water in the lotus root with your feet, grab a piece of black mud on the lotus root and apply it outside the fracture to avoid pouring water. Because there is air in the lotus root, it can float on the water, otherwise it will sink into the water. Finally, collect the lotus roots floating on the water and sell them in the market.
Be smart on New Year's Eve.
The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is a traditional folk festival in China. This is the day when Cowherd and Weaver Girl meet on Tanabata. In the evening, women wear a seven-hole needle, and whoever finishes it first is clever, so the custom of begging for cleverness and begging for cleverness on Tanabata is very popular in Jinan. Qixi Begging for Qiao began in Chu Huaiwang as early as the Warring States Period. According to Kao Gongji's annotation, "Vega's auspiciousness, machine sacrifice, seeking cleverness." Because Tanabata is the day when cowherd and weaver girl meet, people hope to get more wisdom and skills from weaver girl and weave better cloth. Legend has it that cowherd and weaver girl can be heard talking under the grape trellis this evening.
In ancient times, before Tanabata, every household decorated with lanterns and colored lanterns, and women and children wore new clothes. In the city, "the rich, in the high-rise dangerous pavilion, set up a feast and reward festival." In the future, although the Qiao Qi Building may not be completed, the activities on this day are still very interesting. That night, everyone "Zhang Jinxiu, Chen diet, trees and fruits, burning incense in the court". Secondly, the participants looked at the moon, and secondly, they offered sacrifices to cows and girls. Only after the sacrifices were completed did they formally seek cleverness. Some use seven stitches, colorful silk thread, and a full moon to thread the needle. Whoever dresses fast will get it right.
Some put a basin of water on the console table, with melons and fruits soaked in it. Skilled people have a mirror in their hands. Whoever reflects the moonlight in the mirror to the melons and fruits in the basin is lucky. Some people catch a spider, put it in a jewelry box, and observe the density or roundness of its web the next morning. At noon on July 7, some people took off the teeth and hands of "smart buds" (peas and mung beans) that had been born in advance, threw them into a basin and took a picture in the sun. Anyone who has smart buds like needles, scissors, flowers, birds and insects. There will be a dexterous hand in the future. As a folk song goes: "Qiao Leiqi, born in a pot, picked on July 7." Sister, sister, take a picture. It's like flowers and vegetables to see who has a quick brain. "
The Mid Autumn Festival moon
Mid-autumn festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. This is another important folk festival in China. According to historical records, the Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Tang Dynasty, and then the custom of offering sacrifices to the moon, Yue Bai and enjoying the moon appeared. Until the end of Yuan Dynasty, the story of eating moon cakes on August 15th was widely circulated among the people.
The Mid-Autumn Festival in Jinan is no exception. According to 1928 Local Investigation Records and Customs of Licheng County; "On the fifteenth night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, moon cakes and melons are arranged in the yard to sacrifice to the moon, and family members gather under the moon to eat and enjoy the moon."
In the past, on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival every day, when the bright moon rose from the east, people would set up incense tables in the yard to provide candy, cakes, fruits and so on. The whole family got together to celebrate the moon in Yue Bai. After the ceremony, the elders in the family presided over the ceremony, distributed the sacrifices to everyone, and cut the moon cakes symbolizing "reunion" into pieces for everyone to share.
The custom of eating moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival is very common. Legend has it that after the ruler of Yuan Dynasty ruled China, in order to prevent the people from rebelling, it was stipulated that only 10 families could share a kitchen knife, and every 10 family had to support a slave of Mongolian slave owners. These slaves run amok and do evil, and the people gnash their teeth. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, there was a serious famine in all parts of the country, and the victims were displaced, hungry and cold, and could not live any longer. One Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhang Shicheng, a native of Taizhou, secretly connected in series and wrote: "Kill Tartars and destroy Yuan; August 15, everyone started working together "; "Bright moonlight, neat rows and rows, a good world of the Ming Dynasty" and other notes calling on people to get up and overthrow the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty are hidden in moon cakes, and everyone passes them on and contacts each other. On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, every family ate moon cakes and saw a note, so Qi Xin joined forces and held a national uprising, which soon overthrew the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty. The Yuan Dynasty perished, but the custom of eating moon cakes has been passed down to this day.
"Ninth Five-Year Plan" Qianfoshan Ascending the Mountain
The ninth day of the ninth lunar month is the traditional Double Ninth Festival in China. On this day, the ancients would stick their heads in Evodia rutaecarpa, carry chrysanthemum wine and climb high to play. It is said that this can avoid disasters and seek peace and happiness in life. This "99" climbing custom has been passed down to this day.
In Jinan, people climb Qianfo Mountain every Double Ninth Festival. Since the Yuan Dynasty, this day has been designated as the Thousand Foshan Temple Fair, so it is more lively. In the past, on the morning of September 9, people from all walks of life in Jinan wore dogwood to climb the mountain. It's late autumn, the sky is crisp, and the wild chrysanthemums in full bloom are bright and fragrant. Therefore, it is a great pleasure to climb the mountain and enjoy chrysanthemums on the "Chrysanthemum Rock". In addition to enjoying chrysanthemums, Jinan people also have the custom of eating chrysanthemums, picking white chrysanthemum petals and dipping them in flour for frying; Or make chrysanthemum hot pot with meat and have a picnic on the mountain with chrysanthemum soaked in wine. It's really unique and fragrant. The poet Zhao Zhu once wrote in "Poems on Double Ninth Festival": "Recruit three or two friends at leisure and get drunk in Nanshan. Jingxi Gaomatsushita, Xiangye Chrysanthemum Room. " This poem is a vivid portrayal of thousands of Foshan such as Chongyang.
In addition to climbing mountains, Jinan people used to eat steamed jujube cakes on the Double Ninth Festival. There are jujube cakes on the street, mostly made of glutinous rice and jujube or red beans and jujube, which are steamed and cut and sold on the street. Jujube cakes made by residents' families are stacked one by one to form a tower shape, covered with a chrysanthemum-shaped top, and steamed to eat, called chrysanthemum jujube cakes. Why do you want to eat jujube cakes on the Double Ninth Festival? Because "Gao" and "Gao" are homophonic, eating jujube cake means climbing high. As for why I went up the mountain on this day, according to Wu Jun's "Continued Harmony", there was a man named Fei Changfang in the Eastern Han Dynasty, who was well-connected, able to call the wind and rain, and send ghosts and gods. One day, he said to his disciple Huan Jing, "There will be a disaster in your home on September 9, so you should make preparations early." Huan Jing asked, "What can be done to avoid this disaster?" The big room told him: "On this day, your family will make a red cloth bag, put it on the dogwood, hang it on your arm, and take some chrysanthemum wine to the mountain to drink, so you can avoid this disaster." Huan Jing listened to master. On September 9, the whole family spent a day in the mountains and went home at night, just for safety. Since then, it has become a habit to "climb mountains nine times to avoid disasters in the scenery".
In recent years, the Qianfoshan Temple Fair is even more grand. Although people no longer climb mountains to avoid disasters, and the custom of drinking chrysanthemum wine and eating chrysanthemum hot pot is rare, people still come to climb mountains in an endless stream. When people browse or choose various local products; Waiting until the top of the mountain, looking at the great rivers and mountains and the picturesque new look of Jinan, you can't help but imagine and feel a kind of beautiful enjoyment.
Drink water in the winding canal with a glass floating on it to wash away evil.
Since the Han Dynasty, the fourth day of the first three months of the lunar calendar has been designated as "Shangsi". On this day, people go to the seaside to wash, to eliminate the ominous, which is called "mending". After Wei and Jin Dynasties, he decided that this day was the third day of March. After this day's retreat, people will hold picnics, banquets and feasts of poetry and wine. Recreational people sit in rows by the winding water, put wine into cups, put it on trays, and put it on the water in the upper reaches of the stream to make it float downstream. When the cup floats to a tortuous corner, it often stops; Even if you don't stop at the previous corner, you will stop at the next corner. Whoever stops in front of the glass has to drink, and after drinking, he has to sing a poem. If he fails poetry, he will be fined. This is called "running water" or "running water". In the record of Jingchu Chunqiu, the Jin Dynasty recorded that "on March 3rd, the gentry came out of the river pond, which was a glass of water".
As early as the Northern Wei Dynasty, the literati in Jinan and Qushuiting Street built the Qushuiliu Cup Pool. Li Daoyuan of the Northern Wei Dynasty wrote in the book "Notes on Water Classics": "The spring source competes under the calendar temple, and the northward flow experiences the east and the north. The water diversion is a cup pool, and the state banquet is mostly public and private." Liu Beichi is now Wang Fu Pool. The water in the pool flows northward and twists and turns eastward, and it has reached Qushuiting Street. At that time, it was an ideal place for meandering water, with clear streams, willows and soft grass.
Qushuiting Street is now located in the north of Pearl Spring and south of Baihuazhou on Daming Lake. The Qushui Pavilion is still there, but the stream has no twists and turns, and the Shuige has already been demolished. But if you follow the current, from Wangfuchi to Qifeng Bridge, you can still vaguely find traces of meandering back and meandering water. Especially in this area, there is also a spring city style of "every spring, every household hangs upside down". Although you can't see the "meandering water flow" here, the beauty here is enough to make people linger.
Keep old on new year's eve
New Year's Eve, commonly known as "Thirty Nights", is the last day of the Lunar New Year. It is said that the purpose of observing the New Year's Eve is to drive away the "hundred ghosts" who are still at home at this time and let people live a peaceful year. In the past, in Jinan, on New Year's Eve, every household used "Yimen Shentao Fuchun Sticker" to spread sesame stalks everywhere, display fruits and welcome ancestors. Resign on New Year's Eve, light firecrackers, and the family wine will not leave "("Customs of Local Questionnaire in Licheng County "), some of which have been passed down to this day.
The custom of changing peach symbols on New Year's Eve originated earlier. A history book in the Warring States Period recorded a myth that there was a big peach tree on Dushuo Mountain in the East China Sea, and its branches extended to the death gate in the northeast, where all ghosts went in and out. Under the tree, two immortals, Tea God and Lei Yu, guard the ghost's behavior. When they found out which ghost was doing evil, they tied it up with straw rope and fed it to the tiger. So there is a saying that ghosts are afraid of peach trees. Therefore, since the Spring and Autumn Period, people have placed two red wooden boards on both sides of the door every New Year to replace Shen Tu and Lei Yu as a sign to prevent ghosts. During the Warring States period, some people carved people in peach wood and put them by the door, or painted two gods (or wrote their names) instead of peach people. The portraits of Shen Tu and Lei Yu on the Fu Tao became "door gods". After the Tang Dynasty, the "door gods" appeared in the images of Qin, Qin and Qin. Hang it on the door, destroy Fu Na, and let the devil avoid disaster.
After the Song Dynasty, couplets began to rise. In the Ming Dynasty, Fu Tao should be called Spring Festival couplets. In A.D. 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of Ming Dynasty, lived in Jinling (Nanjing). On New Year's Eve, all the families of officials and scholars posted Spring Festival couplets, traveled incognito in person and watched from house to house for fun. He also took the opportunity to write a pair of handwritten couplets and gave them to the official Tao Nong: "There is no one like you in the country, and Hanyuan articles are the first; Give it to a civilian butcher: "Split the road of life and death with both hands and cut off the root of right and wrong with one knife." Since then, Spring Festival couplets have become popular in cities and rural areas. Therefore, on New Year's Eve, "changing peach charms, changing door gods and pasting Spring Festival couplets" has become a custom all over the country and has been passed down. Now most people no longer believe in feudal superstitions such as "door gods". People put up Spring Festival couplets and New Year pictures with new ideas to decorate a better life and welcome the arrival of the New Year.
It is said that attending the banquet is the day when the gods descend to earth and the dead ancestors return home, so every family should sprinkle sesame stalks, cereal grass and so on. Everywhere, incense is lit and offerings are displayed to welcome gods and dead ancestors. Setting off firecrackers on New Year's Eve has a long history. It is said that there was a monster named "Mountain" in the deep mountains of Chu in ancient times, and he often made trouble with people. As soon as people meet the "mountain", they will get sick, get cold and have a fever. From long-term practical experience, people found that this kind of monster was most afraid of listening to the sound of firecrackers, so they burned bamboo on the fire and scared them away by the crack of bamboo. Later, in order to live a peaceful year, people burned green bamboo tubes and used firecrackers to drive away evil spirits in the mountains, which was called "Peace Firecrackers". In the Tang dynasty, people first put gunpowder in bamboo tubes to detonate, making a louder noise. Since the Northern Song Dynasty, people began to make firecrackers and fires with gunpowder wrapped in paper. After years of improvement, there are more and more varieties of firecrackers, and the patterns are constantly being refurbished. Nowadays, people not only like to set off firecrackers during the Spring Festival, but also like to set off firecrackers in major festivals or festive activities to increase the happy atmosphere.
Nowadays, no one has associated this activity with exorcism, but it has become a tradition of family reunion and holiday celebration. That night, the whole family stayed up all night. It's really interesting for everyone to sit around, relax, have New Year's Eve dinner and drink Tu Su wine to welcome the New Year.
Laba Festival
The eighth day of December every year, commonly known as "Laba Festival". On this day, citizens get up at dawn, and every household makes laba porridge. "Li Cheng" contains: "Laba porridge is made on December 8, and the giver helps the poor." "Sun Wen Kao" in Qing Dynasty also said: "On December 8th, Guan Bai porridge was given. Folk also make Laba porridge, which is made of rice and fruit. The better the product, the better it is, covering the story of the Song Dynasty. " At the same time, the public also washed and dried garlic cloves, pickled them in sweet and sour jars, and they can be eaten in a few days, commonly known as "Laba garlic".