Introduction to the custom of the sixteenth day of the twelfth lunar month

1. For most farmers in the north, the 16th of the twelfth lunar month is a good auspicious day, and many people will choose to hold their wedding today. In the south, everyone calls the 16th of the twelfth lunar month "the tail tooth". It is reported that "Tail Teeth" is a traditional folk festival, the "end" of a year's activities of merchants and the "first sound" of Spring Festival activities of ordinary people.

Abundant food refers to the ritual activities of the god of wealth twice a month in traditional customs. In our countryside, the local god of wealth is the land god. People believe that the land god can bless the prosperous business and the wedding as a cloud. Therefore, on the sixteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, meat sacrifices such as chicken, pork and fish will be offered to worship the land god. Generally speaking, teeth are made on February 2 of the lunar calendar, commonly known as "head teeth", and teeth are made on December 16, called "tail teeth". In ancient China, after making teeth, people always shared the meat that worshipped the land god, commonly known as "teeth are sparse".

Nowadays, enterprises or shops often hold annual meetings on the day of "Tail Teeth" to summarize last year's situation and reward employees who have made contributions. At the same time, the owners of enterprises or shops will also invite employees to get together on the day of "Tail Teeth", and the party meal can be called "Tail Teeth Banquet".

In the north, there is no custom of "tail teeth", so people don't pay much attention to eating. However, in southern Fujian, people will eat wet cakes and cut buns on the 16th of the twelfth lunar month. Farmers who may have lived in the north for a long time have never eaten these two things, but many farmers in southern Fujian are no strangers to these two local cuisines.