Why is the twelfth lunar month cleaning day?

Lunar calendar1February 24th is the "dust-cleaning day" for every household. According to folk beliefs, from this day on, the gods no longer paid attention to human affairs and returned to heaven to report their work.

According to folklore, this is the day when the gods die, and only some small gods, such as duty gods and landlords, look after order; Folks believe that after the immortal went to heaven, he would not return to earth until the fourth night of the following year; So there is a legend that during this time, even if you flip the house, you don't have to worry about any details. Using this day to move things or fly around with sand and dust is even more afraid of offending the gods at home.

"Five Classics and Different Meanings" said that the government offered sacrifices to stoves on the 23rd and the people offered sacrifices to stoves on the 24th. According to this book, it was also pointed out that the government chose to give gifts to God when introducing "Yin and Yang" on the 23rd.

Therefore, it actually refers to the boundary time from the 23rd to the 24th, which is still the 24th. Most Chinese in Southeast Asia come from Fujian and Guangxi provinces and are greatly influenced by local folk customs. Therefore, Chinese in Southeast Asia generally regard the 24th as a day to "send the stove" and "sweep the dust".

The significance of "Clean Day";

1) Dust-cleaning Day and God-sending Day are the days when people inject human warmth into the unknown gods. Ordinary people in the world think that the gods should take a rest after nearly a year of taking care of every worshipper.

In addition, people think that the government on the ground must rest, and it is necessary for officials on the earth to report to Beijing, so they infer that the gods in the sky also need this system. Therefore, the world has arranged a holiday schedule for heaven.

2) People choose this day as the rest day of the gods throughout the year, which also reflects people's collective understanding of "entering the year" or "sending the year". Everyone in the whole society needs a period of time to put off their work, make time to deal with their own affairs and prepare for the Chinese New Year.

3) Ancient people believed in animism and believed that knives, wells and stoves at home were in charge of gods; In this way, the world has established the habit of not abusing and wasting any resources.

Based on this belief, people think it is necessary to choose a day to clean the house outside, so that their environment can be clean and tidy every year, and it will not be too messy and dirty. The most suitable day is to choose 6 or 7 days before the new year to prepare for welcoming the new year and saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new.

4) On the surface, it is aimed at the immortal not to let the kitchen god tell right and wrong in the sky, but the connotation of the legend warns people that they should communicate and understand each other in family life, reduce the telling of right and wrong of others, and avoid verbal confrontation and conflict.

In the past, women did not go out, but they always gathered in the kitchen. This legend takes the gods as the source of warning to prevent women with limited social activities from talking about family members. It conforms to people's desire to have a harmonious family and not to think about many things at home.