What are the myths and legends about the Spring Festival?

Chinese New Year Legend 1: The Legend of Receiving the God of Wealth at the Chinese New Year

The day of receiving the God of Wealth at the Chinese New Year is the fifth day of the first month, which is said to be the birthday of the God of Wealth. Out of the first day, to prepare to meet the god of wealth. On the evening of the fourth day of the first month, every household will organize a banquet to celebrate the birthday of the God of Wealth and to welcome the God of Wealth.

Who is this God of Wealth? Legend has it that during the Song Dynasty, folk believed that Chancellor Cai Jing was very rich, so they said he was born as the God of Wealth, and because he was born on the fifth day of the first month, folk worshipped Cai Jing as the God of Wealth. Later, when Cai Jing fell, the people changed the god of wealth to Zhao, the surname of the state in the Song Dynasty, so the people named the god of wealth "Zhao Xuan Tan", and then worshipped him.

Chinese New Year's Legends II: The Story of Lapa Porridge

"Children, children, children, don't be greedy, after Lapa is the year. Laha congee, drink a few days", this is the northern New Year's Eve song, the beginning is the eighth day of the first month of the Lunar New Year, drink Laha congee. The custom of drinking Laha congee on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year does not originate from folklore, but from Buddhism. It is said that Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, went on a monastic journey and practiced hard for six years before attaining enlightenment and becoming a Buddha under the Bodhi tree on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year.

So his disciples in order to remember Sakyamuni for the creation of Buddhism suffered six years of suffering, will be in the beginning of the eighth day of the month of porridge every year, the eighth day of the month of porridge has also become the "anniversary of the Buddha's path". The eighth day of the eighth month is a grand festival of Buddhism, every day, the conditions of the temple will hold a Buddhist bath, the production of congee, for the Buddha chanting sutras, and the congee will be given to the general public who come to pray for peace. Later, this spread to the people and became a custom.

Chinese New Year Legend 3: The Legend of the Wannian Calendar

The Wannian Calendar is the oldest of all ancient Chinese calendars, a solar calendar, not a calendar. Legend has it that in ancient times, a young man named Wanli felt that the seasons at that time were very chaotic, so he wanted to create a punctual and accurate method. When Wanli went up the mountain to cut firewood, he was inspired by the shadows of the trees and the dripping springs on the cliffs, and created a sundial to measure the sun's shadow and set the time, as well as a five-tiered funnel pot to calculate the time.

Wanli knew that Zuyi, the king of the country at that time, was worried because of the uncertainty of the time of day, so he recommended himself. After hearing about Wanli's method, Zuyi left him behind, hoping that Wanli would be able to project the exact time of morning and evening and create a calendar for the benefit of all the people. A few years later, when Zu Yi visited Wanli and saw the poem of the celestial time inscribed on the altar of the sun and moon where the celestial time was measured, he knew that the legislation had been finalized.

Wannian pointed to the celestial signs and said to Zu Yi, "As the new spring resumes, please set a festival, Your Majesty." Zu Yi said, "Spring is the first day of the year, let's call it Spring Festival." This is said to be the origin of the Spring Festival. A few years later, after a long period of observation, Wanli formulated an accurate calendar called the Solar Calendar. When he presented the solar calendar to the king of the country, Zu Yi.

The white-bearded Zu Yi was so impressed that he named the solar calendar the Wan Nian calendar in honor of Wan Li's achievements. In honor of Wannian, people named the first year "Nian".

Chinese New Year legend four: the legend of the mouse marrying a daughter

The mouse marrying a daughter is folklore. Northern rat marriage is the night of the 25th day of the first month, this night households do not turn on the lights, the whole family sitting together, without saying a word, eating in the dark with flour made of fried soybeans, "rat claws and paws" and "scorpion tail". Do not turn on the lights, no sound is for the mouse to marry the daughter to provide convenience, for fear of disturbing the marriage. I don't know if you have this custom, but we don't seem to have heard of it here.

Chinese New Year legend five: "year" beast Legend

Legend that in ancient times there was a kind of monster called "year", fierce and very! Later, an old fairy came to the village and taught people to drive away the "Nian", which was afraid of red color, fire and explosions, so every family would wear red clothes, put up red New Year's paintings, stick red paper and set off firecrackers in the Spring Festival, which then evolved into the New Year's custom.

Legend of Chinese New Year 6: Legend of setting off firecrackers on New Year's Day

The sound of firecrackers is the first year of the year, and the spring breeze sends warmth into the tusu. The original intention of the New Year firecrackers is to dispel the plague, bad luck, bring good luck. According to ancient records, firecrackers initially with a mysterious color, ancient times is a kind of evil supplies, wild sleep can also use it to drive away wild animals. Later, people in addition to the Spring Festival, in other grand festivals and happy days will be burning firecrackers, said auspicious celebration.

Chinese New Year Legend 7: Stick the door god

Ancient myths say that there are two generals to catch ghosts, to protect the peace, the name of the God Tantra, Yu base, folk will be used to make peach charms with peach wood, written on the name of the God Tantra Yu base or carve the image of the door, hanging in the doorway to the town, the evil, to protect the peace. In the Song Dynasty, peach symbols became spring couplets, one does not lose its meaning, the second to express the good wishes, the third to decorate beautiful.

Folk believe that the door god is a symbol of righteousness and force, which can dispel demons and ghosts. Angry eyes, tall weapons and pairs, this is how the door god looks like. After the Tang Dynasty, Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong also became door gods for defending Tang Taizong to sleep peacefully. Nowadays, it is usually these two men, and the god Tuan Yubi is extremely rare.

Legend of Spring Festival VIII: Legend of Spring Festival Couplets

Spring Festival Couplets initially originated from the Shentian Yubi mentioned above, and during the Fifth Generation, people began to substitute Lianhua (连语) for the name of Shentian Yubi, and the Spring Festival Couplets became commonplace from the Song Dynasty onwards, and flourished during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is said that Zhu Yuanzhang after the capital of Jinling, ordered the people of the city to post spring couplets, but also personally travel to enjoy, and later the literati will write couplets as a literary style and elegance, and become a social fashion.

Chinese New Year Legends IX: Legends of the upside-down Fuzhi

The upside-down Fuzhi Prince Gong said, Empress Dowager Cixi said and Zhu Yuanzhang, Queen Ma said three legends, three legends are almost invariably subordinates, the people do not know how to read the characters, resulting in the upside-down Fuzhi, but the "Fukou down! "Harmonized" Fu to "so passed for a moment, into the folk.