Chinese New Year Festival and Cold Food Festival

Category: Society/Culture >> Holidays

Ans:

On the 15th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar, the Bon Festival is also known as the Mid-Yuan Festival. "

On the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, the Bon Festival is also known as the Mid-Yuan Festival, commonly known in some places as the Ghost Festival and the Festival of the Dead, or the Half of the Moon.

"Ghost Festival", commonly known as "half of July" (some areas for the thirteenth or fourteenth). According to popular legend, the ancestors who died in early July was released by the King of Hell for half a month, so there is the beginning of July to receive the ancestors, July half to send the ancestors custom. Send ancestor, paper money burned a lot of money, so that "ancestors to enjoy". At the same time, written in the enjoyment of the person's name in the paper seal filled with money and paper, burned during the sacrifice, called "burning package. The person who died in the year burned a new bag, more than a big deal, the person who died more than a year burned the old bag.

Both rich and poor people have to prepare food and wine, paper money to pay tribute to the deceased, to show the memory of the deceased ancestors. The Mid-Yuan Festival is generally seven days, and there are new dead and old dead. Those who died within three years are called the new dead, and those who died three years ago are called the old dead. Superstition says that the old and new deceased should go home to see during this period, and it also says that the old and new deceased do not come back at the same time, the new deceased first, and the old deceased later. Therefore, it is necessary to pay tribute to them separately. Burning paper money time to choose the night in the dead of night, the first lime in the yard sprinkled a few circles, said the paper money burned in the circle in the lonely ghosts dare not come to grab, and then a pile of a pile of burning, burning mouth but also can't stop chanting: "so-and-so to receive money." Finally, we have to burn a pile of outside the circle, said to burn to the lonely souls and wild ghosts. The dead people go back to the day, rich or poor people have to do a good meal to honor the dead, also known as "send the dead".

Indian Buddhist rituals in order to recommend the ancestors of Buddhists held "Bon", Buddhist scriptures in the "Bon scripture" to repair filial piety to motivate the disciples of the Buddha's purpose, in line with the Chinese mourning for the ancestors of the far away from the customary beliefs, and so the more popular. There is a popular story about a monk who saved his mother's life: "There was a monk named Meguren who had great magical power. When his mother fell into the path of the hungry ghosts, the food she ate turned into flames, and she suffered too much from hunger. Unable to save his mother, he sought the Buddha's advice, and he said the Bon Sutra, which teaches that a bon should be made on the 15th day of the 7th month in order to save his mother."

China began to follow this example in the Liang Dynasty, and it became the Zhongyuan Festival. But later, in addition to the fasting and offering to the monks, there were also added activities such as worship, fireworks and so on.

On this day, beforehand, in front of the village of Jiekou, set up the Venerable Master seat and Shi Kuotai. In front of the seat of the Venerable Master, there is the Bodhisattva Jizangwang, who is responsible for overcoming the ghosts of hell, and underneath there is a plate of noodles, peaches and rice. On the Siguotai, there were three spirit cards and a soul waving flag. After noon, every family puts a whole pig, a whole sheep, chickens, ducks, geese and various kinds of cakes, fruits, melons and so on onto the Shi Kuotai. The master of each offering were inserted into a blue, red, green and other colors of the triangular paper flag, inscribed with the words "Bon Festival", "Manna door open" and so on. The ceremony begins with solemn temple music. Immediately afterward, the priest rings the bell and leads the monks in chanting various mantras and true sayings. Then food is given, and plates of peaches and rice are scattered in all directions, repeated three times. This ceremony is called the "fireworks".

In the evening, families also burn incense in front of their homes, incense on the ground, the more the better, symbolizing the abundance of grains, which is called "Bu Tian". In some places, there are water lantern activities.

The so-called water lanterns, that is, a small wooden board with a lamp, most of which are made of colored paper in the shape of a lotus flower, called "water and drought lights. According to the traditional saying, the water lamp is to give the ghosts of the dead to lead the way. When the lights go out, the water lanterns have completed their task of leading the ghosts across the Naihe Bridge. On that day, the stores are all closed, giving the streets to the ghosts. In the middle of the street, every hundred paces to set up a case of incense, incense on the case for fresh fruits and a "ghost buns", behind the table, there are Taoist priests sing people do not understand the song of sacrifice to the ghosts, this ceremony is called "Shi Ge'er".

Shangyuan Festival is the Lantern Festival on earth, people celebrate the Lantern Festival. The middle of the year from the first yuan and come. People believe that Zhongyuan Festival is a ghost festival, and should also open lights to celebrate the festival for ghosts. However, there is a difference between humans and ghosts, therefore, the lights are not the same on the Middle Yuan as on the Last Yuan. People are yang and ghosts are yin; land is yang and water is yin. The mysterious darkness under the water reminds people of the legendary Underworld, where ghosts sink. Therefore, Shangyuan Zhangleng is on land, and Zhongyuan Zhangleng is in the water.

The Cold Food Festival is the three days before, during and after the Qingming Festival in the Chinese lunar calendar. According to legend, when Chong Er (Jin Gongzi Chong Er) traveled around the world, through all the hardships. Once, when he was starving and had no other choice, Jie Zhitui cut off the meat from his thigh and gave it to him to eat. When Chong Er became king (Duke Wen of Jin, one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period), he went to look for Jie Zhitui, who was hiding in the mountains with his mother. When he couldn't find him, he ordered the mountain to be set on fire to force him out, but in the end, he and his mother were found burned to death. Heavy ear is very regrettable, it is stipulated every year at this time not to make fire, all eat cold food, known as the Cold Food Festival (Shanxi Province, the local residents of the city of jiexiu still have a deep memory of this, but only limited to the idea of the actual festival of these three days has not eaten the activities of cold food). In fact, the real origin of the Cold Food Festival, is derived from the ancient system of drilling wood and seeking new fire. Ancient people used different trees to drill fires due to different seasons, and there was a custom to change fires in different seasons. And every time after changing the fire, it was necessary to get a new fire. Before the new fire arrived, people were forbidden to make fire, which was an important event at that time. Customs of the Cold Food Festival include visiting graves, picnics, cockfighting, swinging, playing rugs, and pulling hooks (tug-of-war), etc. Among them, the custom of visiting graves is a very important one. Among them, the custom of going to the grave is very old.

In China, spring festivals used to be celebrated on the Cold Food Festival until it was changed to the Qingming Festival. However, in Korea, the tradition of spring festival on the day of cold food is still maintained.

baike.baidu/view/318