The custom of counting nine in cold weather

There are many traditional customs in Han nationality, among which "Jiujiu Song" is the most extensive and has a long history. These songs skillfully use the phenological phenomena in nature and vividly reflect the laws of weather changes during the Ninth Five-Year Plan period. As far as most parts of China are concerned, the weather is not the coldest from 1929 to 29, but "1929, I can't reach it." Most of March 9 and April 9 belong to the slight cold solar terms, which is the coldest time of the year, so we say "March 9 and April 9, freezing women to death". After May 9, the earth gradually rejuvenated and the weather gradually warmed from cold, so "May 969, look at the willows by the river; 7989, walking alone. " By 1999, it was already a "thunder" solar term, so the thunder of 1999 made a lasting noise.

The custom of "painting nine" appeared in the Ming Dynasty. The so-called painting is actually a picture that calculates the warm date of spring after the winter solstice. In the Ming Dynasty, "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital" contained: "From winter to the sun, draw a plum flower, one in eighty petals. Dye one petal a day, and 99 petals will come out, then the spring will be deep, saying that 99 will eliminate the cold. " In addition, there are poems and pictures of "Eliminating Cold in 1999" in the Qing Dynasty, including four and thirty-six sentences every nine days, ranging from "Huang San ruled the world" in ancient times to "sitting in the Qing Dynasty in the golden years" in this dynasty, which can be called exquisite historical "memorabilia".

After "painting nine", the custom of "writing nine" appeared in Qing Dynasty. "Writing Nine" has a strong cultural flavor, and words such as "weeping willows in front of the pavilion and cherishing the spring breeze" or "sending fragrant flowers into the house in spring" are often used (of course, traditional). Tick them into a picture first and fill them in from the ninth day (similar to "painting red" in calligraphy practice). Black with a thick brush, nine strokes per word, one stroke per day, and it takes just 8 1 day to fill in these nine words. Interestingly, after filling in a stroke every day, you have to use a fine brush to record the weather of that day on the strokes. Therefore, a line of "writing nine" is also more detailed meteorological data in the past nine days.