What are the customs of Liaocheng Spring Festival?

Liaocheng is located in the vast plain of western Shandong. It has a long history and splendid culture. About 6000 years ago, in the early stage of Dawenkou culture, our ancestors worked hard on this fertile land and created human material civilization and spiritual civilization. There are rich cultural connotations and good national customs here, especially when the annual traditional festival Spring Festival comes, Luxi people will congratulate them with their unique local customs. The more national it is, the more cosmopolitan it is. This means that only those with obvious national characteristics can be recognized by the world and stand in the garden of world culture and be immortal. Therefore, how the people of Luxi have been spending the Spring Festival with their own customs should be well reviewed.

Spring Festival travel rush has two concepts: broad sense and narrow sense. The so-called narrow sense of the Spring Festival refers to the first day of the first lunar month. Before the Revolution of 1911, this day was always called New Year's Day, Yuan Day, Chen Yuan, Jacky and Zheng Dan. After the Revolution of 1911, because it was changed to the Gregorian calendar, the first day of the first month of the Gregorian calendar was designated as New Year's Day, and the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar was designated as the Spring Festival, which was different from the first day of the first month of the Gregorian calendar. Spring Festival travel rush in a broad sense refers to a large time span. China is an agricultural country. The vast rural areas have always arranged agricultural production and farming activities according to the 24 solar terms of the lunar calendar, and farmers are still used to marking the year with the lunar calendar. Because the first day of the first lunar month, that is, the Spring Festival, is around the "beginning of spring", it is also called the Spring Festival. In this sense, the Spring Festival is not just the first day of the first month. The Spring Festival is a grand traditional festival of our Chinese nation, with long duration, large scale and national characteristics.

Speaking of Luxi people celebrating the Spring Festival, it should be counted from the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month.

The 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month is the day of offering sacrifices to stoves. Folk commonly known as "off-year", also known as "off-year", "off-year festival" and "off-year". The gods sacrificed on this day are "Kitchen God", also known as "Kitchen King", "Kitchen God" and "Kitchen God". Legend has it that this day is the day when the Kitchen God went to heaven. People want to bid farewell to the kitchen god, so they are also called "sending the kitchen" and "resigning the kitchen". Speaking of it, this "kitchen god" and "giving a stove" still have a history.

This custom of offering sacrifices to stoves has a long history. To understand the evolution of the custom of worshipping stoves, we must first find out which side the kitchen god is on. There is a saying in the folklore in our area that Kitchen God is a god sent by the Jade Emperor to monitor good and evil. People are respectfully called "Commander of the East Chef", "Kitchen King", "Kitchen King" or "Kitchen God". The second legend is that a rich boy named Zhang married Guo Dingxiang first. This Guo Lilac is hardworking, kind and filial, and this Zhang is fond of the new and tired of the old. She left Guo Lilac and married Li Haitang. Although this Li Haitang has the appearance of being ashamed of flowers and closing the moon, he has the ability to sink fish and fall wild geese, but like this rich boy, he can neither work in the fields nor do housework. After they got married, they had nothing to do. There was a fire at home, and there were no burnt tiles left. This Zhang is also blind, begging in the street. One day, a beggar came to his ex-wife's house. He felt guilty for what he had done before, so he died in front of the stove and was later named the kitchen god. Once upon a time, a big stove was printed with a man, two women and three people, which was based on this legend. The third legend is that the Yellow Emperor was named the Kitchen God by the Jade Emperor after his death. This legend is very similar to that recorded in ancient documents.

Ancient literature records are also different. In The Book of Rites, Kong Ying Da said: "Hitachi, the son of Zhuan Xu, is Zhu Rong and worshipped as the kitchen god." This Zhu Rong is our ancestor and one of the ancient emperors. The Book of Rites Moon Order says: "His emperor Yan Di, his god Zhu Rong, …… his sacrificial furnace". "Huainan Ziyun Lun" said: "Therefore, Emperor Yan died with fire as the stove". In the Han dynasty, Gao lured the sun: "Shennong ruled the world with fire and died in the kitchen god." Whether the legendary Yellow Emperor was named the Kitchen God by the Jade Emperor after his death, or the rich boy was named the Kitchen God before and after Zhang Mo's kitchen, or the Yan Emperor and Zhu Rong's family were named the Kitchen God in ancient literature, there is a * * * feature here. In fact, all the people who sacrificed to him were the dead, not the gods. In particular, the Kitchen God recorded in the literature is Emperor Yan or Zhu Rong, actually offering sacrifices to ancestors who made outstanding contributions to the development of our Chinese nation. Therefore, all this is not superstition. Now the day of sacrifice is on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, but this was not the case in the past. Sacrificing stoves is one of the five major sacrifices in ancient times. According to the records of the kitchen god in the literature, there was a custom of offering sacrifices to the kitchen before and after the Warring States Period. However, Han used to sacrifice to the kitchen god in summer. "Lu Chunqiu Xia Meng" Day "Summer Dream Day" ... its focus was first sacrificed to the lungs ". After the Han Dynasty, it was held in the twelfth lunar month. There is a passage in the Biography of Yin Shi in the Later Han Dynasty: "Those who have a Yin Zi Fang (the ancestor) have a kind education. They cook on the morning of the twelfth, and the kitchen god sees it, and the son worships and is celebrated." There is an antelope at home, so it is worshipped. Nature is extremely rich ... so it is often used to worship stoves in the twelfth lunar month, and antelope is recommended. "Since then, the furnace was changed to the twelfth lunar month. Before the Tang and Song Dynasties, it was mostly in the twelfth lunar month, that is, Laba. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the time for offering sacrifices to stoves was fixed on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month. In the Ming dynasty, there was a saying that "the army has three people and four people" or "the official has three people and four people". In other words, the official sacrificial stove is on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, and the folk sacrificial stove is on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month. After the mid-Qing Dynasty, it was mostly the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month. Most of us in Luxi worship stoves on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month.

This ceremony is also very particular. Sacrifice to the stove is usually carried out after dinner on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. Most of the kitchen gods in western Shandong are stuck on the wall above the stove. On both sides, there are couplets of "Heaven speaks well and goes back to the palace for good luck", and the horizontal batch is the "head of the family". When offering sacrifices, honeydew melons (also called sugar lotus roots), fruits, cakes and jujube cakes are placed, and some jiaozi is also used as an offering, indicating that the people get up and jiaozi falls. Most of the offerings used in this speech are sticky and sweet, which means sticking the mouth of the kitchen god to prevent him from speaking ill of heaven, or making the kitchen god sweeter and only saying good things. It is also necessary to provide kitchen horses and chickens made of straw, so that the kitchen god can ride on the sky, walk well all the way and prosper. After the offerings are set, burn incense and kowtow first, and then take off the old kitchen god and burn it. When cooking, add some cereals, which means that the kitchen god can feed the horses. Kitchen horses and chickens should be cooked together. At this time, the whole family will kneel in front of the kitchen god statue and kowtow while burning. At the same time, the old man also said a word: "Kitchen God, Kitchen God, you go to heaven, talk more about the good, talk less about the bad, and bring all the grains." People who are looking forward to having children read: "On the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the kitchen king went to the west, saying more good things and less bad things, Maweiba brought a fat boy."

In our Luxi area, on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, we not only don't cook, but also have a good habit of cleaning. On this day, or in the next few days, we should sweep away all the corners of the house, move all the movable furniture and tableware into the yard and clean them thoroughly, and then put them back in their original places, indicating that we should celebrate the New Year cleanly.

After the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, every household is busy preparing for the Spring Festival. As the saying goes, "In the New Year, girls want flowers, young men want guns, old ladies want black handkerchiefs, and old men want big felt hats". It shows that the atmosphere of the New Year is already very strong. Men are busy killing pigs and sheep, going to the market to buy new year's goods, while women steam steamed bread, make flower cakes, fried meatballs, stir-fry lotus root boxes, stew chicken, cook the meat and wrap jiaozi at home. From the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month to the New Year's Eve, it was packed.

Legend has it that after leaving the kitchen, the gods went to heaven, while the earth was once and for all. This is the so-called "chaotic year". Marriage does not depend on the date. Every day is fine.

There are so many customs in the off-year that the customs in the off-year are even more complicated. Speaking of New Year, it should include three parts: New Year's Day, Spring Festival (the first day of the New Year's Day) and Lantern Festival. This year's custom has a long history. This book was written in Shangshu in the Warring States Period. In the Han dynasty, there were quite a few folk customs.

The year other than the sun refers to the last day of the twelfth lunar month. Except Sunday night, it is called New Year's Eve, New Year's Eve, big holiday eve, big celebration and so on. New Year's Eve is a watershed for two years. As the saying goes, "one night lasts for two years, and five hours are divided into two years."

In addition to this day, there are many activities, such as posting Spring Festival couplets, hanging ancestral genealogy, placing ancestral tablets, inviting family members, setting off firecrackers, lighting vigils and so on. Sticking Spring Festival couplets is a major feature of the New Year in China, usually starting from the 28th of the twelfth lunar month. Don't be later than lunch except Sunday. As soon as the red couplets are posted, the atmosphere in 2008 will be strong.

The custom of pasting Spring Festival couplets originated from the ancient "Taofu". In ancient times, on New Year's Day, the names of Shen Tu and Lei Yu were written on a mahogany board and hung by the door, thinking that they could ward off evil spirits. In the Five Dynasties, the official court of Houshu began to write couplets on peach symbols. "Song Shi Shu Shi" contains "Meng Chang appointed a bachelor as a peach symbol, pretending to write a title cloud with his non-merit:' New Year's Day, the promise of the first festival. Changchun, ""Since then, Fu Tao has been gradually changed into Spring Festival couplets. Therefore, Spring Festival couplets are also called "Fu Tao".

The content of Spring Festival couplets is very rich, and there are many places to post Spring Festival couplets. Generally, the words "faithfulness is a family heirloom, long live poetry books" or "idle people are not allowed to enter sages, thieves don't come to the road" are posted on the door, and the words "welcome home" and "Vientiane update" are posted on the door. Next to the kitchen god, you should post something like "Heaven speaks well and goes back to the palace for good luck". Grain depots should be labeled with "Five Grains Harvest" and "Five Grains Man Cang", pig, sheep and cattle barns should be labeled with "Six Livestock Flourish", barns should be labeled with "Four Horses Full of Grooves" and buses should be labeled with "Traveling thousands of miles every day". Other places should be blessed. In some places, the word "Fu" is posted upside down in a particularly conspicuous place, and people who see it say "Fu has fallen". "Tao" and "Tao" are homonyms, meaning "Happiness lies here".

Sacrificing ancestors is a very important content except Japan. It mainly includes three processes: hanging ancestral genealogy, inviting family hall and offering sacrifices. Hanging genealogy is to hang the genealogy of three generations of ancestors on the wall of the main hall, and then put the ancestral tablets on the altar of Chongmen according to their generations. Most areas in the northwest of Shandong Province are held in the morning except Sunday, and the southern areas are held in the afternoon. The so-called "inviting home" is the head of the family. Towards noon 12 o'clock (or before dinner), he took three sticks of incense in his hand and walked to the intersection outside the village near the ancestral grave, bowing and burning paper in the direction of the ancestral grave, muttering, "Grandpa and grandma went home for the New Year." Get up and go home after burning the paper. When I came to the gate, I read: "Grandparents are going home for the Spring Festival, please make way for the door god." . Then step into the gate. The younger generation set off firecrackers at the gate at will. At this time, a door stop should be placed at each door. It means to prevent evil spirits from entering the door. Others said that they stopped the outflow of the treasure. In some courtyards, sprinkling sesame stalks or straw is called "trampling on the old". When Tang Jia comes home, please put three sticks of incense in the incense burner of the altar. From then on, the incense burner should not be broken one by one until Tang Jia was sent away the next day. Sacrifice is to prepare new year's goods for the New Year, such as fried chicken, fried fish, fried lotus root, fried meatballs, stewed meat and so on. The offerings are generally five plates and six bowls, with fruit bowls, jiaozi, steamed bread, etc. And three cups of green tea and three glasses of wine. Then, the oldest people in the family burn incense, burn paper, worship four times in front of the altar (that is, kowtow four times), and then the family kowtows one by one. After dark, candles are lit on the table at home and will be lit all night. Family members should also sit around, drink and talk, and stay up all night. This is called shou sui.

In the Luxi generation, the custom of tying lanterns and scattering them at 30 nights was still popular in many places. A sky lantern is to plant a tall pole in the yard and tie it with pine branches and pulleys. Pull the lantern to the top of the pole. Except Sunday night, not only the sky lanterns shine all over the yard, but also lanterns made of radish should be placed along the street inside and outside the yard. The whole village is bright.

In most areas of western Shandong, besides the sun, there is also the custom of offering sacrifices to heaven. In front of the main house, there is an altar dedicated to "the throne of the gods of heaven and earth". Some people also worship the paintings of the Jade Emperor, Mother Earth and other gods. The offerings are richer and the specifications are much higher than those on the table at home. Generally, there are three pieces of whole chicken, whole fish and pig head, and then five bowls of vegetables, five-color snacks, five steamed buns or a pair of jujube cakes are served. When offering sacrifices to heaven, parents lit three sticks of incense, then kowtowed and bowed down, and said, "Pray for God to bless us". Then others turn and bow down, and then burn paper. At noon on this day, we will also go to wells, mills, mills, barns and other places to offer sacrifices. On the one hand, it means not forgetting what is useful to human beings, on the other hand, it means that it will be used smoothly in the coming year. This lunch is very important except Sunday. Put some vegetables prepared for the New Year, and then enlarge the cabbage, vermicelli, meat and so on. , and cooked a pot of food called family portrait, one bowl for each person. The staple food is steamed bread or steamed cakes. It means family reunion, and everyone is blessed and getting higher and higher. In the old society, some landlords who were rich and heartless wanted to drive people away because they didn't want the bearers to eat this meal. Therefore, in rural areas, there is a jingle of "don't cheat, don't cheat, have a meal at noon on New Year's Eve". Dinner in Japan is not complicated, but it is also very particular. It is usually supplied by jiaozi. When you wrap jiaozi, you have to wrap some zygotes, that is, food with a little stuffing between the two skins, and you have to grab some noodles. This jiaozi is an ingot, and this zygote means that you can get double profits. This kind of noodles is a rope for wearing money (because money used to be made of holes), and it is cooked in a pot with three pieces. Eat a little of all kinds, which means that all the money has come this year. Besides before lunch, before dinner and at 0: 00 on New Year's Eve, setting off firecrackers is an important part of Chinese New Year. This custom has existed since the Song Dynasty at the latest. Wang Anshi has a poem: "One year old in firecrackers" is an example.

To sum up, besides the sun, it has three characteristics, one is red, the other is loud, and the third is fire. Red is to paste couplets, ring is to set off firecrackers, and fire is to scatter street lamps and light vigils. Why are there these three characteristics? There's a reason. According to folklore, in ancient times, Nian was a fierce monster, and it would come out to hurt people and kill people every New Year's Eve. Once I went to a village and happened to be whipped in a game. When I heard the sound of whipping, I turned around in fear and ran to the second village. I saw a red dress in front of the door and I ran away in fear. I ran to the third village and saw the lights flashing. I lost my mind in fear and ran away. Since then, people have celebrated the New Year by putting up Spring Festival couplets, setting off firecrackers, lighting vigils and scattering street lamps to prevent this beast from harming human beings again. Of course, this legend can't be taken seriously, but these three characteristics really set off the festive atmosphere of the New Year and express the happy mood of the people, so it will last forever.

The first day of the first lunar month, that is, the Spring Festival in a narrow sense. It used to be called New Year's Day, Yuanri, Jacky, Chen Yuan, Yuanshuo, Zheng Dan, Zhengshuo and so on, with more than 30 names. Strictly speaking, Spring Festival travel rush started at zero o'clock on the first day. At this time, firecrackers exploded, the noise was deafening, and the festive atmosphere enveloped thousands of families, reaching the climax of the New Year. Every household also began to package jiaozi. Jiaozi is also very particular about this day. Generally, the jiaozi cooked at this time is vegetarian, which means that the year is clean and plain, and the days are smooth. Besides, there will be a coin in the jiaozi. Whoever eats this jiaozi will have money to spend in a year. Some are wrapped in candy or peanuts, and whoever eats them indicates that this year will be sweet. Although I have no appetite in the middle of the night, everyone has to eat something, which indicates that I can have a good meal all year round.

Eat jiaozi until dawn, and the New Year begins. New Year's greetings are an important activity in Chinese New Year. First, the family pays homage, the younger generation kowtows to the elders, and the elders give the younger generation lucky money. People of the same age should also pay New Year greetings. Then it pays New Year greetings to the elders who have not given Wufu to their relatives, and then it pays New Year greetings to the families in the village. The reason why New Year greetings are passed down from generation to generation is that New Year greetings can enhance and deepen feelings and eliminate barriers. Especially in the countryside, there is a little friction between the two families, and no one cares about anyone. Through the Spring Festival greetings, the small contradictions were solved as soon as the uncles shouted.

There are many taboos in grade one. When family members pay New Year greetings in the morning, they should avoid calling by name and address. Go to the front, kneel and kowtow. You can make a phone call when you go to someone's home to pay a New Year call. Don't sweep the floor on this day, because every family has a memorial tablet of the god of heaven and earth or ancestors, saying that sweeping the floor will dust off the face of the god or ancestors and put away the broom to avoid being seen; Avoid sewing and washing clothes until the fifth day of the fifth month. Avoid eating meat, eating meat for a year is not plain and clean; Avoid eating onions and garlic, hitting people and swearing, and so on. On this day, domestic chickens, ducks, geese, sheep, pigs and so on. It should be a fence, saying that it is afraid that these animals will pollute or disturb the New Year. Another reason is fear of setting off firecrackers. Setting off firecrackers will make chickens fly away and make them fidget.

The next day, it is the day to send home. In Luxi, some people send their families home after breakfast, while others send their families home before dinner. When sending the family home, the elders at home light three sticks of incense, take a group photo in front of the ancestral tablet, and then burn paper and kowtow in front of the altar. At this time, the young people took away the bars on every door, and the elders read: "Grandparents, grandparents and grandchildren, will take you home after the New Year." Young people bring incense, paper, jiaozi, cakes, firecrackers and other offerings, but also use pots or bottles, especially those with dumplings, to accompany the old people to the mausoleum. After each grave burns incense and paper, the dumplings are thrown on the ground and firecrackers are set off, even if the ancestors are sent back to the mausoleum.

Since the second day of junior high school, the activities of stringing relatives have begun. Especially newlyweds, most of them go to their mother-in-law's house in the second day (and also in the third day).

The fifth day is called "Breaking Five". On this day, I have to pack jiaozi and wash clothes (except clothes changed on the New Year's Day, I can only wash them on this day). Since then, all the taboos of Chinese New Year have been broken, so it is called Breaking Five. But we usually don't visit relatives on this day. Linqing district sent it to the family hall after breakfast that day. Besides, Linqing also had the custom of not stringing relatives before the 15 th National Congress, saying, "Seven don't walk and eight don't move; After walking nine times, my mother-in-law died; Turn around and die. " . This turning point refers to the period from the tenth day to the fifteenth day. Where there is such a saying, you can't string relatives.

The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is called People's Day. Dong Fangshuo said in the gauntlet that the first day of the first month is a chicken, the second day is a dog, the third day is a pig, the fourth day is a sheep, the fifth day is a cow, the sixth day is a horse, the seventh day is a man, and the eighth day is a valley. The seventh day has a long history. It was called "Man Conquest Festival" in the Tang Dynasty. The Chronicle of Jingchu said: "The seventh day of the first month is a day for people, and seven kinds of dishes are soup." It is said that people are prosperous and healthy. Therefore, eating noodles at noon is often used to pray people for good health. Some people use the weather of this day to check whether they have received it this year. On Men's Day, women are forbidden to sew in the northwest part of Shandong. How to say: "People sew every day, but they only prick grandma's eyes." In a word, people can have a rest in a day and improve their lives.

The fifteenth day of the first month is the Lantern Festival. The main activity of this day is to see lanterns, so it is also called Lantern Festival. This is a major festival after the Spring Festival.

The custom of enjoying lanterns can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. There is a custom of enjoying lanterns in the twelfth lunar month in Han Dynasty. According to the "History of Becoming a Monk", the dark day of the twelfth lunar month in the western regions is called the Great God Change, and the lights are lit on that day to show the Buddha. After Emperor Han Ming introduced this custom, it gradually developed into enjoying lanterns. In the Tang Dynasty, the time for viewing lanterns was officially set at the fifteenth day of the first month. Shi Zai, Zong Rui Jing Yun, the fifteenth night of the first month of the second year (7 1 1). A 20-foot-high lantern wheel was made outside Anfu Gate, decorated with splendid flowers and hung with 50,000 lanterns, just like a huge flower tree. In Xuanzong, Lantern Festival is more popular. It is stipulated that it will be closed for three nights before and after the Lantern Festival. Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties all followed the old system of the Tang Dynasty. It is stipulated that three nights before and after the Lantern Festival, the market will be opened to enjoy the lights. The government and the people have fun together to show peace in singing and dancing. During the Republic of China, the Lantern Festival was celebrated three days before and after it. Fourteen are called test lights, fifteen are called positive lights, and sixteen are called residual lights, which have continued to this day.

There is also a taboo to celebrate the Lantern Festival in the rural areas of western Shandong, that is, the newly-married daughter-in-law can't spend fifteen years in her husband's house in the first three years, saying that in the first three years, the new daughter-in-law "looked at the lights, but her father-in-law died." Therefore, wherever there is such a custom, the new wife will go back to her parents' house to hide from the lights.

There are many kinds of lanterns in Luxi, and there are differences between cities and villages.

Most of the lights in the city are colored lanterns. Government, enterprises, workshops, shops, etc. The main streets should be decorated with colored lights. There are many kinds of colored lanterns, including China's traditional drama stories, such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin and The Journey to the West. Some have animal images, such as dragon lanterns, tiger lanterns, rabbit lanterns, chicken lanterns and fish lanterns. Some use crops, such as millet lanterns, corn lanterns and cotton lanterns. There are also some with melons and fruits, such as Beigua Lantern, Watermelon Lantern and Wanshou Lantern. In a word, all kinds of colored lights are beautifully made, rich in content and dazzling. Watching lanterns on the Lantern Festival has become a kind of spiritual enjoyment and artistic enjoyment for people. Every Lantern Festival, farmers in the suburbs of the city flock to the city to see lanterns. The main street is crowded with people and very lively.

In remote rural areas, although there are not as many colorful lanterns as there are in cities, according to the specific situation in rural areas, lanterns are made of bamboo chips or straw, and most of them are carved with radish. At the Lantern Festival night, they are scattered in their own huts, hutongs outside the yard and main intersections outside the village. Looking from a distance, the lights are brilliant, such as the milky way landing, and there is no interest.

There are not only lanterns in these three days, but also various large-scale performances such as lion dance, dragon dance, walking on stilts, dry boat, flower drum, yangko and donkey driving. These days, the streets and alleys are full of gongs and drums, singing and dancing, and the audience is even more crowded, and the whole city is boiling like a tide. A scene of living and working in peace and contentment, singing and dancing.

The 16th day of the first month is the end of the Lantern Festival. Also known as residual light. Luxi people attach great importance to this day. Luxi people think this day is a good day to go out for a walk, and the masses call it "walking away from all diseases." On this day, men and women put on holiday costumes, visit relatives and friends, and some people go out to climb mountains and wade and cross bridges. There is a jingle in the countryside called "Run and run, never get old." "Move, cure all diseases." Therefore, in some rural areas, elderly people with mobility difficulties should also walk out on shelves to show filial piety. In rural areas, the atmosphere of Chinese New Year lasted until February 2nd. This is too far away from the Spring Festival, so I won't go into details.