There are many interesting customs in the vernal equinox. These customs not only have profound cultural meaning, but also are connected with the idea of health preservation of the unity of man and nature. Equinox is an important festival in the 24 solar terms. What are the customs about equinox? Why do you erect eggs and eat spring vegetables on equinox?
Custom 1: erect eggs
On the equinox every year, tens of millions of people around the world are doing the experiment of erecting eggs. It is difficult to find out why this "Chinese custom" has become a "world game". But it's easy and fun to play: choose a smooth, well proportioned, fresh egg that has just been born for four or five days, and gently stand it up on the table. Although there are many losers, there are also many winners. Spring is divided into the best time of the egg game, so there is a saying that when the equinox comes, the eggs are pretty. The egg that stands up is not beautiful.
Custom 2: eating spring vegetables
Once upon a time, there was a custom in Siyi, which was called 'eating spring vegetables on the equinox'. 'Chuncai' is a kind of wild amaranth, which is called 'chunbihao' by villagers. On that day, the whole village went to pick spring vegetables. When searching in the field, it is usually light green, thin trees, about the length of palm. Spring vegetables are usually boiled with fish fillets at home, which is called spring soup. There is a doggerel: "spring soup, wash the liver and intestines. The whole family, young and old, is safe and healthy. Gradually, it became a custom. Since the spring of the year, what people pray for is the peace of their homes and strong bodies.
Custom 3: send spring cattle
The spring equinox arrived, and the picture of sending spring cattle from house to house appeared at that time. The picture is printed on the red or yellow paper with the lunar solar terms of the whole year, as well as the pattern of farmers' farming, which is called the picture of spring cattle. The people who send pictures are all good folk singers. They mainly say that spring ploughing and auspiciousness do not violate the farming time. Every time they go to a family, they are even more improvised. They say what they see until they give money to the owner. Although words come out casually, every sentence has its own rhyme. It is commonly known as "Shuo Chun", and the person who says "Chun" is called "Chun Guan".
Custom 4: stick sparrow mouth
On the spring equinox, every farmer has a holiday according to the custom. Every family has to eat more than ten or twenty or thirty soups that don't need to be wrapped in the heart. They use bamboo branches to place them on the side of the field outside, which is called sticky sparrow mouth, so as not to damage the crops. It's also a good time for children to fly kites during the equinox. Especially on the equinox. Even adults are involved. There are three types of kites: Wang Zi kite, silver carp kite, MI moth kite, Lei Gong insect kite and Yue Er Guang kite. The bigger one is two meters high, and the smaller one is two or three feet high. There are kites on the market. Most of them are small and suitable for children to play. Most of them are bigger and paste by themselves. They have to compete with each other to see which one is higher.
Custom 5: Spring Festival
On the spring equinox of February, we began to sweep tombs and offer sacrifices to ancestors, also called spring sacrifice. Before sweeping the tomb, a ceremonious ancestor worship ceremony should be held in the ancestral hall. Pigs and sheep should be slaughtered, and drummers should be invited to play. The ritual students should chant the sacrificial rites and lead the three sacrificial rites. At the beginning of spring equinox tomb sweeping, the first thing to do is to sweep the graves of kaijizu and Yuanzu. The whole family and the whole village have to go out. The scale is very large, and the team often reaches hundreds or even thousands of people. After the tombs of kaijizu and Yuanzu were swept, they were divided into different rooms to sweep the tombs of their ancestors, and finally each family swept the private tombs of their families. In most Hakka areas, spring ancestor worship and tomb sweeping begin at the vernal equinox or earlier, and finish at the latest during the Qingming Festival. There is a saying all over the country that the tomb door will be closed after the Qingming Festival, and the ancestors' spirits will not be used.
Custom 6: worship God
The folk festivals around the vernal equinox include the birthday of kaizhangshengwang on February 15: kaizhangshengwang, also known as' chenshengwang ', was Chen Yuanguang, a military scholar of the Tang Dynasty. He made great contributions to Zhangzhou and became the patron saint of Zhangzhou after his death. On February 19, the birthday of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. On every birthday, many believers go to all the temples to worship. February 25 Sanshan King's Memorial Day: Sanshan King refers to the mountain gods of Dushan, Mingshan and Jinshan in Jieyang County, Chaozhou Prefecture, Guangdong Province. In the early years, spring was the patron saint of Hakka immigrants from Chaozhou, so the believers were mainly Hakka.
Custom 7: Memorial Day
In the Zhou Dynasty, there was a memorial ceremony at the spring equinox. The book of Rites: "sacrifice the sun on the altar. Kong yingdashu: it means equinox. This custom has been handed down from generation to generation. Pan rongbi of the Qing Dynasty wrote "Jisheng at the age of the emperor's capital": "the spring equinox festival and the autumn equinox festival are the grand ceremonies of the country, and the people are not allowed to sacrifice without authorization. '
It is located in the east of Chaoyang temple, which is also called the sun altar. The sun is set at the Mao carving of the spring equinox. During the year of a, C, e, Geng and Ren, the emperor makes sacrifices in person, and the rest of the years are sacrificed by officials.
Custom 8: reward cattle
In Jiangnan area, the custom of rewarding cattle and offering sacrifices to birds was popular. When the vernal equinox is coming, the cattle begin to work for a year. They feed the cattle with glutinous rice balls as a reward. To offer sacrifices to the birds, one is to thank them for reminding them of the farming season, and the other is to hope that the birds will not peck at the grain and pray for a good harvest.