Why kill pigs during the Spring Festival?

Why kill pigs during the Spring Festival?

Introduction: Speaking of the custom of killing pigs in the New Year, I believe many people don't understand it. In fact, in rural areas, this custom has been well passed down. The custom of killing pigs in the New Year is what people call "killing pigs in the New Year". So why kill pigs during the Chinese New Year? Let me introduce you.

China New Year's Pig Killing Custom

Killing pigs, the traditional customs of Han nationality and ethnic minorities. Two or three thousand years ago, primitive tribes living in Heilongjiang and Songhua River basins had a very developed pig industry. The custom of "killing pigs" is mainly in rural areas.

Although pigs are common, ordinary people seldom eat pork several times a year. The reason is that the pigs raised at home need at least 120 kg to be considered "out of the circle" (killed or sold). Families who usually kill pigs can't finish eating for a while, and usually sell them for money. Except for Chinese New Year (Spring Festival), when the twelfth lunar month arrives, most people will kill pigs to prepare meat for jiaozi and cooking for Chinese New Year, which is called "Killing Year Pig" by the people.

Killing pigs is to prepare for the Chinese New Year, so most of the meat is broken into pieces according to the blood neck, tenderloin, hard ribs, late autumn and other parts, and stored in a vat with the filled blood sausage and vermicelli sausage. Because the Han people have the custom that they can't cut with knives from the first day of the first month to the fifth day of the first month, they usually cut and chop the meat materials to be used in these days according to their purposes before New Year's Eve, put them in pots and bowls in the jar, and then take them out for "slow" (thawing) processing.

It is cold in winter in Northeast China, and pork will not go bad from December to early February. Careful people will use meat as planned, and the Han people "eat meat constantly" throughout the first month.

The Year Pig represents reunion, the first meal of Killing Year Pig is to entertain neighbors, and the Year Pig represents neighborhood harmony. After killing pigs in, the proper curing and storage of pork also embodies the most traditional farming idea of harvesting in autumn and storing in winter.

As the saying goes, the year of the pig crows, and the year is approaching. It can be seen that many farmers will regard killing pigs as the last thing at the end of the year. Due to the continuous development of this custom, many mountain villages in Lin 'an have gradually formed their own unique characteristics. For example, some villages have the custom of worshipping the kitchen god for the first time after killing the pig, hoping that the six animals will prosper and the crops will be bumper in the coming year. In these places, after killing Nian pig, the pig's head and tail will be put together, indicating that there is a head and a tail, and there is more hope for life.

Yi people's custom of killing pigs in the New Year.

During the Chinese New Year of the Yi people, every household has to kill pigs for the Chinese New Year, and generally does not want to kill other livestock. The choice of Chinese New Year pigs is particular, such as no disability or defect, no old sow and short tail. In short, the image should be perfect, and there is no other sign.

A village should kill pigs in a certain order during the New Year. Those with high qualifications kill pigs first, and those with low qualifications kill pigs again. When killing pigs, you should drink "pig-killing wine" first, and every strong man who takes part in killing pigs should take a sip. Then put the red-hot stones, golden bamboos and clear water into a wooden ladle or bowl, and purify them with pure steam to remove all evil spirits from the pigs last year, indicating sincere worship to ancestors and gods.

Yi people like to cook meat with fern grass in the mountains, because fern grass is auspicious, flammable and delicious. Burn pig hair with fern grass, roast yellow pig skin, smear pork with charcoal ash and water, and scrape it clean. This kind of pork has no moisture, and it is tender and delicious.

The custom of killing pigs in Chengdu during the New Year.

Bashu farmers have worked hard for a year, and at the end of the year, they used a fat pig as a symbol of bumper harvest, and their expectations for the year were unobstructed. On the eve of the end of the year, choose an auspicious day to kill pigs. Generally speaking, pigs are not killed in Hai Ri, Hai Shi and "Eight" and "Six", commonly known as "bad days". It is generally believed that the zodiac of pig killing day should be different from that of all family members, otherwise it will be unfavorable to people with the same zodiac.

When killing pigs, there is a pig-killing bench across the yard. One person twists the ear, one person holds the pig hair with his knee, and the other person holds the tail, presses the pig sideways on it, and wipes the hoof with a cloth, which is called "washing feet". Superstitious people think that by doing this, pigs can walk well and the pigs raised at home will not get sick. The man with the knife holds the pig with both hands. Generally, children are ordered to hand over knives, which can avoid the crime of killing pigs. Children are innocent because they are young and ignorant.

When choosing to kill your mouth, follow the principle of "killing your legs big and killing your mouth small" You must choose the right way to kill the mouth, or the pig will not die. It makes sense to kill the pig with one knife, and everything goes well. If the craft is not good, one knife can't kill you, so you don't draw a knife immediately. If you change direction at the mouth of the knife, you will kill two more knives and three more knives, which means "continuous promotion to the third level" and resolve bad luck. If the pig is still alive after the knife is cut, stab it to death with bamboo pieces or wooden sticks from the original knife path. The blood released by killing pigs is called "two knives". The owner burned paper money and dipped it in the blood of the pig knife, which was called "sending pigs to buy road money"

Then the pig is inflated, boiled, shaved and washed. The pig's head is placed opposite the hall door. Some people put wine and rice in front of the pig's head for ancestors to enjoy, and then cut the pork open and divide it into several pieces. Related to this, a series of production procedures and techniques of pork every year, as well as the specific name of each piece of pork, also have significant folk characteristics.

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