The origin and significance of Zaosai Festival

Zaosai Festival is second only to ancestor worship in the rituals of the great family of the Chinese nation. How much do you know about Zaosai Festival? Here is my compilation of the origin and significance of Zaosai Festival, welcome to read and share to learn, I hope it will help you.

Table of Contents

What is the meaning of Zaosai Festival

The origin of Zaosai Festival

Zaosai Festival Customs

What is the meaning of Zaosai Festival

Zaosai Festival, which has a long history of folklore in our country, is the traditional festival of the Chinese nation, also known as the small year, Xie Festival, Zao Wang Festival. The tradition of Zao Festival is commonly known as "Sending God" in Chinese folk beliefs, and "Gouwangxie" in Ryukyu language. Firecrackers are set off on the night of the Lunar New Year (the 23rd day of the Lunar New Year). It is said that at the end of each year, Zaojun, the god of the year and the folk gods will go back to heaven to the Jade Emperor to report their duties, especially Zaojun will report to the Jade Emperor on the good and evil on earth, as the basis for human rewards and punishments, so most people worship the gods and Zaojun at home at this time.

Lunar New Year is also considered the beginning of the New Year, the festival of the stove in ancient times, its status is second only to the Mid-Autumn Festival, in ancient times, outside the official, business or study, are in the festival of the stove before the date of the reunion to return home to eat sesame candy, in order to pray to the god of the stove, the whole family peace in the coming year.

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Origin of Zaosai Festival

The 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, known as the small year in folklore, is the festival of Zaosai. The custom of Zaojun has a long history. Zaojun, in the Xia Dynasty, has become a great god of folk worship. In The Analects of Confucius, which describes the words and deeds of Confucius during the Spring and Autumn Period, there is the saying, "Instead of wooing the public opinion, it is better to woo Zao". During the pre-Qin period, sacrificing to the stove was one of the "five sacrifices" (five sacrifices for the stove, door, line, household, and the five gods in the thunder. In Lei is the earth god. Another said for the door, well, household, stove, in the Lei; or said line, well, household, stove, in the Lei). When sacrificing zaos, the god-master should be set up, and abundant wine and food should be used as offerings. To display the tripod and chopping block, set up fruits and beans, welcome the corpse and so on. With very obvious traces of primitive worship.

Zaojun himself, the early Yan Di, Zhu Rong said. Later on, many claims were derived. After the rise of Chinese religion, had borrowed the theory of the "Scripture said", the God of the stove is said to be a female old mother. "Managing human dwellings. Twelve hours, good knowledge of earthly affairs. On the first day of each month, it remembers all the good and bad deeds of man-made people and their merits, records their weight, and at midnight it plays up to the Heavenly Cao to finalize its books." Later on, it developed into the saying that there are both Zaojun grandfather and Zaojun grandmother. In different areas, Zaogun couple by different candidates to act, accompanied by local popular folk legends.

The date of the ancients to sacrifice the stove, has always been said differently, there are the first month, April, May, August, December and so on. In China's feudal society, the coexistence of various religions, the number of gods up to ten thousand, folk customary general respect. May be in order to simplify the unity, easy to remember and easy to do for the sake of the stove Jun monthly report to heaven once said, evolved into a year to heaven. And fixed the time on the twenty-third day of the lunar month. This day has also become a traditional festival of sacrifices to the stove.

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Customs of Zaosai Festival

Folk called the small year, is the festival of Zaojun. The festival of Zaojian, the folk say to eat dumplings, meaning "send off dumplings to meet the wind face". Mountainous areas eat cake and buckwheat. Southeast Jin, the custom of eating fried corn, folk proverb "twenty-three, do not eat fried, the first day of the New Year a pot down" said. People like to fry corn with maltose bonding up, frozen into a large block, eat crispy and sweet.

Stove festival

The day of the New Year, is also the day of the folk festival. According to folklore, every year on the 23rd day of the Lunar New Year, Mr. Zao has to go up to the Jade Emperor to report to the Jade Emperor on the good and bad of the family, so that the Jade Emperor can reward and punish them. Therefore, when sending stove, people in front of the Zaowang statue of the table for candy, water, beans, fodder, couplets, grass; of which, the latter three is for the Zaowang ascension of the mount prepared materials. When sacrificing Zaos, we also have to melt the Guandong candy with fire and apply it on the mouth of Zao Wang. In this way, he will not be able to speak bad words to the Jade Emperor. In addition, on the night of the New Year's Eve, the king of the stove will also come to the earth with the gods to celebrate the New Year, that day there must also be "receiving stove", "receiving God" ceremony. When the family burned sedan chair horse, sprinkle wine three cups, send away the God of the stove, then it is the turn to worship the ancestors.

After the New Year, we buy a new portrait of the god of the stove, and invite the god of the stove back. In the intervening days, without the supervision of the Zaoshen, the average person indulges in overeating, gambling, and indulging himself in some minor faults that he usually thinks he shouldn't commit.

The Great Sweep

In the month of Lunar New Year, every household prepares for the New Year. The purpose of dust sweeping is to get rid of the old and welcome the new, and to pull out the bad luck. Every household should be carefully and thoroughly cleaned, so that the windows are clear and clean. In Beijing, the 24th of Lunar New Year is usually designated as the "house cleaning day.

Dust sweeping is mainly a thorough cleaning of the home, the housewife is usually the first room of the bed furniture covered up, with a head scarf to wrap the head, and then use the broom to sweep the walls up and down clean. After sweeping the house, tables and chairs were scrubbed and floors were rinsed. After sweeping the house, the stores and residents' homes look brand new. The newly-pasted spring couplets are bright and colorful, showing the red-hot Hongfu scenery. The living god of the door, look up to see the happy banner, beautiful window, colorful New Year's paintings, colorful lanterns, and shrine on the bountiful offerings, all show a joyful, thriving festive scene.

Window Decorations

The window decorations were built and put up in the cleaned house, adding a lot of New Year's cheer to the house.

Window pattern has a variety of animals, plants, people and other palindromes, such as magpies, peacocks play peonies, lions rolling embroidered balls, three sheep (Yang) Kaitai, two dragons, deer and crane Tongchun (six contract spring), five bats (Blessed) hold life, rhinoceros looking at the moon, Lotus (Lian) years of fish (Yu), mandarin ducks playing in the water, Liu Hai play Golden Cicada, and the two Immortals, and so on.

Bathing and haircut

Folk have "money or no money, shaved head for the New Year". The activity of bathing and haircutting, mostly focused on the New Year before and after the New Year.

Catch messy marriage

After the twenty-third, the folk believe that the gods have gone to heaven, no taboos. Marrying a daughter-in-law, hiring a girl without choosing the day, known as rush messy marriage. The folk ballad has "the year Yanyan countryside marriage busy, spring post to tease the spring light. Sisters talk to each other in front of the lamp, to keep the year this year is the cave" said.

Eat sugar melons, caramel candies, sesame candies and so on.

Every year on the 23rd day of the Lunar New Year, Master Zao has to go up to the Jade Emperor to report to the Jade Emperor on the good and bad of the family, so that the Jade Emperor will reward and punish. Therefore, when sending the stove, people in front of the Zao Wang statue of the table for candy, water, beans, fodder grass, of which the latter three is for the Zao Wang ascension of the mount prepared materials. During the Zaosai Festival, the candies are also melted with fire and applied on the mouth of the Zaosai King. In this way, he will not be able to speak ill of the Jade Emperor. There is a custom that "men don't worship the moon, women don't sacrifice to the stove", so the sacrifice of Zaoshengwang is limited to men only.

Sugar melon, caramel, sugar and other food for the mouth of the king of the stove to smear food, gradually evolved into a child snacks must be eaten on New Year's Day. Northwest Jinbei have "twenty-three eat sesame, eat not eat sesame gnawing fingers" of the proverb.

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