Longevity noodles are essential for birthdays. How did the custom of eating longevity noodles come from?

There is a custom in China to eat a bowl of longevity noodles on birthdays, because noodles are the longest in Chinese food. Eating noodles on birthdays means prolonging life and indicates longevity. Do you know why you want to eat longevity noodles for your birthday? The custom of eating longevity noodles on birthdays can be traced back to the Western Han Dynasty.

According to legend, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty believed in ghosts and gods and physiognomy. One day, when talking about people's life span, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty said: According to the number of images, the longer people are, the longer their life span will be. If he is 1 inch long, he can live to 100 years old. "Dong Fangshuo, the minister sitting next to Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, burst out laughing. All the ministers were puzzled and accused him of being rude to the emperor. When Emperor Wu asked him what he was laughing at, Dong Fangshuo explained, "I'm not laughing at your majesty, but at Peng Zu. People live 100 years old, and people are 1 inch long. Peng Zuhuo is 800 years old and his people are 8 inches long. How long is his face? "

Everyone laughed when they heard it. It seems impossible to live a long life with a long face, but you can think of a flexible way to express your desire for longevity. The face is the face, and the kind of "face length is face length", so people borrow long faces to wish longevity. Gradually, this practice has evolved into the habit of eating noodles on birthdays, which is called "longevity noodles". This custom has been passed down to this day.

On birthdays, besides birthday cakes, the most traditional one is the bowl of hot longevity noodles. People eat longevity noodles on their birthdays, which means "longevity". So, when did the custom of eating longevity noodles originate? Where does it come from?

From historical documents, we can find that ancient emperors never stopped pursuing immortality.

In reality, the emperor who can't get the elixir of life wants to turn to the gods. According to legend, one day, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took his minister to the garden and could not help sighing that life was too short. He said to the minister, "It is said that the longer people live, the longer they live. An inch of people is equivalent to 100 years old. I don't know if I can grow up. "

The words sound just fell and nearly minister Dong Fangshuo laughed aloud. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was very angry and asked, "Ai Qing laughed so hard, I don't know why?" Dong Fangshuo quickly explained, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I am laughing at Peng Zu, the birthday girl. According to legend, Peng Zu lived 800 years. According to this statement, how long is his whole face? " Hearing this, the crowd burst out laughing.

Later, there was a popular saying. If you want to live a long life, you have to have a long face. As the old saying goes, face is face. People who want to live a long life write articles about noodles according to the extended meaning of noodles. Thus, "longevity noodles" were born. People hope to live longer by eating "longevity noodles".

Later, the custom of eating longevity noodles on birthdays spread.

Today's longevity noodles are varied and even become a food culture. In some places, longevity noodles are very wide, accompanied by thick soup of bone and blood, which means "plump noodles". In other places, vegetables, eggs, etc. They are all added to the surface, meaning "happiness is complete and evergreen is always there".

No matter how the pattern of longevity noodles is renovated, its purpose of carrying people's longevity aspirations has never changed.