Original title: China people celebrate their birthdays with Buddhism. It is said that Confucius' birthday is September 28th, and this year marks the 2560th anniversary of Confucius' birthday. The ceremonies of offering sacrifices to Confucius in various places are still very lively. Sadly, however, Confucius had never seen such an elaborate birthday party when he was alive, and even the phrase "Happy Birthday" had never been heard-people at that time had no idea what a birthday was. Looking through the history books, before the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, we couldn't find any records about birthdays, and people didn't have the consciousness of "celebrating birthdays". Yili, The Book of Rites and Zhou Li are all about etiquette, and there are no birthday gifts. There is a cloud: "If you go to court with him, call him by name, long live." Some people say that this "reflects the lively scene of people celebrating their birthdays at birthday banquets in the Spring and Autumn Period", which is probably a guess. Judging from the whole poem, this poem is nothing more than the working people toasting each other after a year of hard work. It is not someone's specific birthday celebration, let alone a birthday party. After Wei and Jin Dynasties, there was a saying of having a birthday. It is a custom in Jiangnan to make new clothes for the first time. Since we came here, if we have two parents, we have food and drinks every day. People without education, although exposed, eat all day long, indulge in singing and be sentimental. "It means that in the Jiangnan area during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, popular people ate a big meal on their birthdays, even though their parents had passed away, they still ate correctly and were not melodramatic. Yan Zhitui doesn't seem to agree with people who eat and drink on their birthdays, but it also shows that during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, people had the custom of celebrating their birthdays every year. After entering the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong took his birthday "Qian Qiu Festival" as a national legal holiday. Since then, emperors have followed suit and followed suit. Up and down, people celebrate birthdays, and the custom of celebrating birthdays gradually rises. Even the bear monster in black wind mountain celebrated his birthday while reading "Etiquette of Ancient Interpersonal Communication in China". Gu said, "This ceremony began between Qi and Liang. After the fall of the Tang and Song Dynasties, there was no decoration from heaven and earth to Shu Ren. "China people's birthday custom rose in the Wei and Jin Dynasties and flourished after the Tang and Song Dynasties, which is no problem. The question is, why did it happen at this time? In the cultural history of China, the introduction of Buddhism is a great event, which has had various influences on China culture. For example, many funeral ceremonies in later generations came from Buddhism. The development of Buddhism in China just rose in the Wei and Jin Dynasties and flourished after the Tang Dynasty. Is there any connection between the popularity of Buddhism and China's birthday? Buddhist culture seems to attach great importance to birthdays. Many Buddhist festivals are actually the birthdays of Buddha and Bodhisattva. For example, the Buddha's birthday on the eighth day of April, the most important festival in Buddhism, is Sakyamuni's birthday. In addition, there are Maitreya's Christmas on the second day of the first month, Avalokitesvara's Christmas on February 19, Samantabhadra's Christmas on February 2 1 6, Manjusri's Christmas on March 13, Sanzang's Christmas on July13, and pharmacists' Christmas on September 30. These Buddhist festivals were also introduced into China with Buddhism. According to The Journey to the West's records, during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, bathing Buddha on his birthday has become a custom in Jingchu area: "April 8th. Five-color scented bath Buddha, Dragon Boat Festival. "In addition to bathing the Buddha, another important activity of the Buddha's birthday is' Walking Like', which is a religious ceremony. The Buddha statue is carried around the streets of the city by a treasure car. In 200 AD, Wei Di Wu Tai "obeyed Taizong and Taizong. On April 8, walking in refraction, the emperor kissed the gatehouse and looked at the scattered flowers, so respectful. "It can be seen that this custom was formed very early. In addition, Lu Zhi Day and Sui Ji of Jingchu also recorded the activities of many folk elephants.
Buddhist customs may have brought some new ideas to China people: Buddha's birthday is the eighth day of April, when is my birthday? On the birth day of Buddha, we should "bathe Buddha" and "walk like a statue". Can I hold some special ceremonies on my birthday? This thought is the ideological basis of China's birthday custom. Tang Xuanzong was very confident, just like a bodhisattva. After making his birthday a holiday, the public's recognition of the new folk custom of "birthday" is overwhelming. Interestingly, after the birthday culture took root in China, Taoism also absorbed this culture. After the Tang Dynasty, Taoism arranged birthdays for immortals such as Laozi, Jade Emperor and Tianmu, and these "Christmases" became important festivals in Taoism. The above is about birthdays. By extension, we will find a strange phenomenon: China culture does not seem to pay much attention to the anniversary. We look at the traditional festivals in China, most of which are calendar and meteorological festivals. There are few festivals to commemorate people and events. On the other hand, most Buddhist festivals are anniversaries. In addition to birthdays, such as February 8th when Sakyamuni became a monk, February 15 on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, June 19 when Guanyin Bodhisattva became a monk, September 19, and Ancient Guanyin Bodhisattva Day, all are anniversaries of certain events. Important festivals in the west, such as Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, etc. It is also a memorial in Sina Weibo. It is because China does not pay attention to the anniversary that we have changed dynasties so many times in ancient times, but we have never heard of a "National Day".