In March, when the spring equinox arrives, the grass grows and the Orioles fly, the flowers turn red and the willows turn green. The weather is getting warmer and warmer, and the mood is also pleasant. The arrival of the spring equinox means the beginning of a good year. There are many customs around the spring equinox. Come and see what they have.
Erect egg
On the day of the spring equinox every year, tens of millions of people around the world are doing the egg test. How this play, known as "Chinese custom", can become a world game is still difficult to verify. But it's easy and fun to play with: choose a smooth and symmetrical fresh egg that has just been born for four or five days, and set it up on the table. Although there are many losers, there are many winners. Spring is divided into the best time of egg games, so there is a saying that 'the equinox comes, the egg is pretty'. The eggs are not beautiful.
Eat spring vegetables
In the past, there was a non festival custom in Siyi. It was called 'spring equinox eating spring vegetables'. Spring vegetable is a kind of wild amaranth, which is called "spring Artemisia". On the day of Spring Festival, the whole village went to pick spring vegetables. When they searched in the fields, they found many green and slender trees about the length of palms. The spring dishes collected are usually "boiled soup" with fillets of fish, which is called "spring soup". There is a slip of the road: 'spring soup is used to wash the liver and intestines. The family, young and old, is safe and healthy. 'slowly it became a custom. Since the spring of one year, people have prayed for a peaceful house and strong body.
Spring cattle
Spring equinox is coming, when there will be a picture of sending spring cattle from house to house. The picture is printed on red paper or yellow paper with the solar term of the whole year, and the farmer's farming pattern, which is called "the picture of spring cattle". Those who send pictures are folk singers who are good at saying that spring ploughing and auspiciousness are not against the time of farming. When they come to a house, they are more like the scene, what they see and what they say, until they get the master's music and give money. Although words come out at will, every sentence has a rhyme. It's commonly known as "say spring". People who say spring are called "spring officials".
Stick the beak of freckles
On the day of spring equinox, farmers have a holiday according to the custom. Every family has to eat Tang yuan. Besides, they have to cook more than ten or twenty or thirty Tang Yuan that don't need to be wrapped in the heart, and put them on the edge of the outdoor field with a bamboo fork, which is called sticking the beak of finches, so as not to damage the crops. The spring equinox is a good time for children to fly kites. Especially on the Equinox Day. Even adults are involved. The kites are Wang Zi kites, silver carp kites, mite kites, Leigong kites and Yueer light kites. The big ones are two meters high and the small ones are two or three feet high. There are kite sellers in the market, most of them are relatively small, suitable for children to play, but most of them are pasted by themselves. When flying, they have to compete with each other to see which one is higher.
rites for ancestor-worshipping in spring
At the spring equinox in February, people began to visit tombs and worship ancestors, also called spring sacrifice. Before the tomb sweeping, a grand ancestor worship ceremony should be held in the ancestral hall, in which pigs and sheep are killed. The drummer is requested to play, and the Li Sheng will recite the sacrifice and lead the three offerings. At the beginning of spring equinox tomb sweeping, the first thing to do is to sweep and sacrifice the tombs of kaijizu and Yuanzu. The whole family and the whole village have to go out on a large scale, often with hundreds or even thousands of people. After the tombs of kaijizu and Yuanzu were swept, the tombs of ancestors in different rooms were swept and sacrificed, and finally the private tombs of families were swept and sacrificed. In most Hakka areas, spring ancestor worship and tomb sweeping starts at the vernal equinox or earlier, and ends at the latest in the Qingming Dynasty. There is a saying all over the country that the tomb gate will be closed after the Qingming Dynasty, and the ancestors' spirits will not be used.
worship Gods
Before and after the spring equinox, the folk festival has the birthday of Kaizhang Shengwang on February 15: Kaizhang Shengwang, also known as Chen Shengwang, is Chen Yuanguang, a military scholar in the Tang Dynasty. He has made great contributions to Zhangzhou and became the patron saint of Zhangzhou after his death. On February 19, the birthday of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. Every birthday, many believers go to Avalokitesvara temples to worship. February 25 three mountain king's Memorial Day: Three Mountain King refers to the mountain gods of Dushan, Mingshan and Jinshan in Jieyang County, Chaozhou Prefecture, Guangdong Province. In the early years, Chaozhou Hakka immigrants took spring as the patron saint, so the believers were mainly Hakka people.
Memorial Day
In the Zhou Dynasty, there was a ceremony to sacrifice the sun at the spring equinox. "Book of Rites": "sacrifice to the sun at the altar. 'Kong yingdazhu:' it's called the spring equinox. This custom has been handed down from generation to generation. Pan rongbi of Qing Dynasty, Ji Sheng at the age of the emperor's capital, said: 'the sacrifice of the sun at the spring equinox and the moon at the autumn equinox is a great ceremony of the country. Scholars and people are not allowed to sacrifice without permission. "Ritan is located in the east of Ritan Road, Southeast of Chaoyang Gate, Beijing. It is also called chaoritan. It is the place where Ming and Qing emperors sacrifice Daming God (sun) on the spring equinox. During the spring equinox, the emperor offered sacrifices in person in the years of a, C, e, G and Ren, while the officials offered sacrifices for the rest of the years.
Treat cattle
In Jiangnan area, the custom of rewarding cattle and sacrificing birds is popular. When the equinox is over, the cattle begin to work for one year. They are rewarded with glutinous rice dumplings to feed the cattle. To offer sacrifices to hundreds of birds, one is to thank them for reminding the farmers. The other is to hope that the birds will not peck at the grain and pray for a good harvest.