/kloc-what's the date of April 0/8?

April 18 of the lunar calendar is the birth day of Taishan Temple God, also known as the day of praying for heirs.

People call it "April 18, grandma prayed for a doll in the temple". At that time, people went to grandma's temple to burn incense and sacrifice, and invited clay dolls to pray for happiness and prosperity, and to have many children and grandchildren. Then catch up with the temple fair, go shopping and watch performances. It's very lively. In the 1950s, this activity stopped, and now there is a trend of recovery in some places.

origin

In the traditional culture of China, "there are three unfilial sons, and no heirs", which makes the whole society, from emperors and generals to ordinary people, attach great importance to the custom of praying for heirs.

As early as the pre-Qin period, the custom of praying for heirs already existed. People hope to have more children and grandchildren, whether they are offering sacrifices to Gao or to Guanyin and grandma Taishan. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was still popular to worship Bi Xia Yuan Jun, the grandmother of Mount Tai, and pray for her successor. According to historical records, Emperor Qianlong also built a cultivation palace in the inner court where he left the palace to worship Emperor Bi Xia.

Every year on April 18 of the lunar calendar, a celebration ceremony is held in the palace, and the queen goes to pay homage to pray for her children. In addition, Emperor Qianlong also issued an imperial edict, which officially opened the system of sending envoys to Mount Tai and offering sacrifices to Yuan Jun. ..