What are the characteristics and customs of off-year

Off-year, that is, the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month, is a festival to worship the kitchen god. It is the beginning and foreshadowing of the whole Spring Festival celebration, and there are two main activities: sweeping graves to celebrate the New Year and offering sacrifices to stoves.

In addition, the characteristics and customs of off-year are: eating stove candy, making rice cakes, eating rice cakes, cutting window grilles, lotus root clips, bathing and hairdressing, and in some places, eating fire, eating sugar cakes, oil cakes and drinking tofu soup. Among the many customs of off-year, I think five customs are worth mentioning. Let's take a look:

? One of the characteristics of off-year customs: making rice cakes?

On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, people commonly call it "off-year", and people in Wuxuan and Guiping in Guangxi have the custom of making rice cakes. The rice cake is made of glutinous rice flour as the main material, peanuts, sesame seeds and sugar as the ingredients, put into a mold to make it round, and then steamed at high temperature, with a unique flavor and the meaning of "round and round".

The rice cake was born in the Hakka settlement in Lingnan, and it was inherited and developed in Guangdong and Guangxi. Many places in Guangdong and Guangxi have a tradition of making rice cakes. Legend has it that the practice of rice cakes originated in the late Qing Dynasty. At that time, many ordinary people were poor and could not afford to buy chicken, duck and fish for the New Year, so they made rice cakes instead of the rich local glutinous rice and sucrose. The mold for making rice cakes is called "cake printing" locally. There are many kinds of cakes, such as blessing, good luck, longevity and happiness, as well as flowers, birds, insects and fish, which make this folk snack show festive atmosphere and interest everywhere. ?

Lingnan in ancient times, especially Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan. The migration time route of Hakkas entering Wuxuan was probably in the Kangxi period of Qing Dynasty, and Wuxuan Li San was mostly Hakkas. So, can we boldly infer that the rice cake is a traditional delicacy brought by the migration of Hakkas in Qing Dynasty? People have improved the technology and materials for making cakes, and gradually formed the tradition of making rice cakes for every household. Playing rice cakes is a job that the whole family can participate in. Adults and children are mobilized by the whole family, and men, women and children are gathered together, which is fun and delicious!

? The second characteristic custom of off-year: the custom of offering sacrifices to stoves?

On the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, offering sacrifices to the kitchen god is what people call off-year and, as the name implies, it is the day when the Chinese New Year officially begins.

In ancient times, an old couple had only one son. They regard their son as the apple of their eye and love him very much. However, because the family is poor, there is no way to go around the lake, so we have to reluctantly let our son go to the coal mine to dig coal.

The old man has missed his son for a long time. On this day, the old woman told the old man to visit the coal mine. On the way, the old man met a barefoot fellow traveler, and the two became more and more familiar and got along well. During the chat, the old man learned that Barefoot was instructed by Rebecca to find 100 miners in the mine. The old man was in a hurry and begged his son to stay barefoot. Barefoot generously agreed and told him not to tell anyone. Seeing his son, the old man pretended to be ill, and his son was waiting around and unable to go down the well. Soon, something happened in the coal mine, and the old man hurried home with his son.

Three years passed in a blink of an eye. On the night of the twelfth lunar month, the old man remembered the risks of that year and couldn't help telling his wife. Who knows, this statement was heard by Chef Jun. On the evening of 23rd, Chef Jun went to heaven and told the Jade Emperor about it. The Jade Emperor became angry from embarrassment, and immediately punished the barefoot piece and took away the old man's son.

Because of this, on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, people respect Zhao Jun for eating sweets, hoping that he will stop gossiping when he arrives in the Heavenly Palace. As time goes by, people sacrifice stoves on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. Therefore, Han people hold ceremonies on December 23rd and 24th of the lunar calendar to celebrate the custom of "off-year" and pray for peace and good luck in the coming year.

? The third characteristic of off-year custom: eating "Nianzong"?

Nanning people had the custom of eating "Nianzong" in their early years. Nianzong is a symbol of good luck in the New Year. As the saying goes, "every year, every year, every year, high school (zong)." The New Year's Zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival is different from Liang Zongzi. With stuffing, the appearance is large and small, long and short, round and flat. After peeling off the leaves, the skin is glutinous rice, and the stuffing is mung bean and pork. Some people use their favorite food as stuffing.

Eat zongzi? Festival customs of Zhuang, Han and Yi people. Popular in western Guangxi. It is hard work to pack jiaozi for the New Year. Usually we don't eat zongzi on New Year's Eve, but worship ancestors and gods. The rice cake also takes its homonym "high every year". This moral is the same as eating honeydew melons in the north. I hope that Kitchen God can speak well in heaven on this day and bring auspicious things and rich financial resources in the coming year.

? The fourth characteristic custom of off-year: the custom of sweeping dust?

On the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, dust removal: On this day, every household should clean the house, clothes and quilts, corners of the roof and dirt on tables and chairs, which is called "dust removal". Dust removal is one of the new customs of removing old cloth in the coming year.

Legend has it that everyone is attached to a three-corpse god. He often reports to the Jade Emperor and speaks ill of the world. In a short time, the Jade Emperor received many tips from him, saying that the world was going to rebel against heaven. When the Jade Emperor saw this, he was furious. He immediately summoned three corpse gods and ordered him to write their crimes on the walls of people who spoke ill of the Jade Emperor, and then let spiders weave a big net and hang it under the eaves. The Jade Emperor also ordered Wang Lingguan to go to the lower bound on New Year's Eve, and all families marked by the Three Corpses God would be beheaded.

Seeing that the plot was about to succeed, they could monopolize the beautiful world. The three resin gods quickly descended to earth and marked the walls of each house. The Kitchen God discovered the conspiracy of three corpse gods, and quickly found the kitchen gods of each family to discuss countermeasures: from the day the kitchen delivered it, every family should clean it up before New Year's Eve. When Wang Lingguan visited the lower bound on New Year's Eve, he found that every household was clean without any trace, and the people were quiet and hardworking.

The Jade Emperor learned from Wang Lingguan and Chef Jun that the Three Corpses God had wronged a good man and was furious. He put the Three Corpses God in prison forever. Since then, the kind kitchen god has been embraced by everyone. Every year, on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, offering sacrifices to stoves and sweeping dust on the 24th have also become "off-year", praying for peace and good luck in the coming year.

? The fifth characteristic custom of off-year: taking a bath and getting a haircut?

In the tradition of childhood, adults and children have to take a bath and have their hair cut. There is a folk saying that "people have money but no money, so they shave their heads for the New Year".

As for the origin, it is also related to the kitchen god. The Kitchen God who reported his life to the Jade Emperor is about to leave. If you want to please this "life Committee member", you must pay attention to personal hygiene and keep yourself clean.

After the "off-year", adults and children should take a bath and get a haircut, including a health care coup-taking a hot bath. When the water temperature is slightly higher than the body temperature, it can dilate skin blood vessels, promote blood circulation and enhance metabolism.

Off-year is usually regarded as the beginning of a busy year, which means that people should start to prepare for the new year, which indicates that the new year should have a new atmosphere and expresses the good wishes of the working people in China to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year.