Why does this solar term light snow kill sheep?

The origin of light snow: Light snow is the second solar term in winter, and its solar term begins at around165438+1October 22nd every year, and the sun reaches 240 degrees of the yellow meridian. "Light snow" is a festival that reflects the weather phenomenon. There is little snow and no snow on the ground. This is the original meaning of the solar term "light snow". The solar term is divided into three stages: "When the rainbow disappears; Second, the weather is rising and the atmosphere is falling; It was blocked three times and became winter. " This means that because there is no rain at this time, the rainbow will not appear; Because the sun rises in the sky and the earth falls in the shade, heaven and earth are blocked, and yin and yang do not meet, so everything loses its vitality and heaven and earth are blocked and become a cold winter. The almanac says: "In October, the light snow rises in early winter and points to ourselves. When it is cloudy, the cold is not deep and the snow is not big, so it is named Xiaoxue. " "Light snow" solar terms In addition, the ancient book "Qunfangpu" said: "Light snow will snow when it is cold, and the ground will not even be cold, and the snow is not big. "That is to say, due to the cold weather, the form of precipitation changed from rain to snow in the' light snow' festival, but at this time, because the ground is not very cold, the number of snows is small and the amount of snow is not large, so it is called light snow. So light snow indicates the beginning time and degree of snowfall. Light snow, like rain and Grain Rain, is a solar term that directly reflects precipitation. The folk custom of slaughtering livestock in Xiaoxue Festival is the season for herders to slaughter livestock. After the fifth month of the lunar calendar, the grass is lush, the cattle and sheep are fat, and slaughter begins. But it's not a large amount. You can kill it at any time when you eat it, which can ensure daily meat. Usually don't kill cattle. In winter, before and after light snow, the weather is cold and easy to store. If the cattle and sheep are not thin, kill them once. Sheep and cattle were killed to meet the needs of winter and spring. Herdsmen kill sheep not by cutting their heads, but by cutting the abdomen and cutting off the spinal artery with their hands. This can ensure that the skin is clean and tidy and the body is complete. After the light snow, the temperature plummeted and the weather became dry, which was a good time to process bacon. After the light snow festival, some farmers began to make sausages and bacon and enjoy food during the Spring Festival.

It is the best time to process bacon after light snow. The traditional habit of processing and making bacon not only has a long history, but also has universality. Every year 12 months, that is, before "Xiaoxue" to "beginning of spring", family property owners slaughter pigs and sheep, and the rest of the meat is salted with salt and a certain proportion of spices such as pepper, star anise, cinnamon, clove, etc. After fifteen days, hang it with a palm leaf rope and drip it dry for water treatment. Choose cypress branches, sugarcane skins, Chinese toon skins or firewood to smoke and bake slowly, and then hang them up and smoke slowly with fireworks. Or hung on the top of the stove burning firewood, or hung on the oven burning firewood and smoked slowly with fireworks. There are abundant forests and grass in Qinba Mountain area, and almost every family burns firewood for cooking or heating, which is a favorable condition for bacon. Smoked bacon is consistent in appearance, cooked and sliced, transparent and shiny, bright in color, yellow in red, mellow in taste, fat but not greasy, thin but not stuffed, not only unique in flavor, rich in nutrition, but also has the functions of appetizing, dispelling cold and promoting digestion. Bacon has the characteristics of constant meat quality, long fragrance and long storage from the processing, production and storage of fresh meat. This kind of meat is smoked by cypress branches. In summer, mosquitoes and flies don't climb, and it doesn't go bad for three days. It is a unique local flavor food. Some places in the south also have the custom of eating Ciba in October of the lunar calendar. In ancient times, Ciba was a traditional festival sacrifice in the south of China, which was originally used by farmers to worship the cow god. There is a saying that "in October, Ciba Shao" refers to sacrificial events.