Information about traditional festivals

--Lantern Festival

The fifteenth night of the first lunar month is our country’s traditional folk Lantern Festival, also known as the Lantern Festival and Lantern Festival. The Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month brings the celebrations that started on New Year's Eve to another climax. On the night of the Lantern Festival, the streets and alleys are decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations. People admire the lanterns, guess lantern riddles and eat the Lantern Festival, which has become a custom that has been passed down from generation to generation.

The custom of appreciating lanterns during the Lantern Festival began in the Han Dynasty. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it developed into a grand lantern market. By the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the lantern market in Kyoto often stretched for dozens of miles. In the Han Dynasty, the Lantern Festival was limited to the 15th night of the first lunar month, but it was extended to three nights by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, it was stipulated to last from the eighth day of the first lunar month to the seventeenth night of the first lunar month. Juggling skills appeared in lantern festivals in the Tang Dynasty, and lantern riddles began to appear in the Song Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, opera performances were added. The lanterns used in the lantern market also include "orange lanterns", "silk lanterns", "colorful sheepskin lanterns", "boneless wheat straw lanterns", "revolving lanterns", "Kongming lanterns" and so on. Lantern riddles, which began in the Southern Song Dynasty, are lively and interesting. After development and creation through the ages, there are more than 100 kinds of puzzle grids that are still in use today, including foundation grid, swing grid, rolling curtain grid, Baitou grid, Xu Fei grid, Qiu Feng grid, etc. Most of them have limited formats, clever requirements, and clever names. , full of wonderful ideas

The custom of eating Yuanxiao during the Lantern Festival began in the Song Dynasty. It is intended to wish the whole family reunion, harmony, and happiness in the new year. There are two types of Yuanxiao: solid and stuffed. It has spicy, sweet, sour and salty flavors. It can be boiled, stir-fried, fried or steamed. Osmanthus wine-stuffed Yuanxiao, five-flavored Yuanxiao made with meat fillings, bean paste, sesame, osmanthus, and nuts, and five-flavored Yuanxiao made with onions, mustard, garlic, leeks, and ginger, which symbolize hard work, longevity, and progress, all have their own characteristics.

Qingming Festival

The Qingming Festival and tomb sweeping are related to funeral customs. According to records, in ancient times, there were "tombs without tombs", which meant that only grave pits were dug and no tombs were built, so the memorial sweeps were not recorded in the records. Later, the tombs were added to the tombs, and the custom of offering sacrifices and sweeping came to have support. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, tomb sacrifices had become an indispensable ritual activity.

"Book of Han. Biography of Yan Yannian" records that even if Yan is thousands of miles away from Beijing, he will "return to the East China Sea to sweep the cemetery" during Qingming. Judging from the development and strength of Chinese people's ancestor worship and kinship consciousness, Yan Yannian's actions are reasonable and reasonable. Therefore, later generations also included the tomb sacrifices that were not standardized in ancient times into the Five Rites: "In the homes of scholars and common people, it is appropriate to visit the tomb, and it is included in the Five Rites, which will always be the norm." With official approval, the trend of tomb sacrifices will inevitably flourish. .

Double Ninth Festival

On the ninth day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar, the two Yang zodiac signs coincide with each other, so it is called "Double Ninth Festival". Double Ninth Festival is also the "Old People's Day". On this day, the elderly either admire chrysanthemums to cultivate their sentiments, or climb mountains to exercise their physical fitness, which adds infinite fun to the evening scene of Sangyu.

On the Double Ninth Festival, people enjoy chrysanthemums, wear dogwoods, climb mountains with wine, and swim and drink. On Double Ninth Festival in September, the sky is high, the clouds are clear, and the golden breeze is refreshing. It is a good season to climb high and have a distant view. Therefore, climbing has become an important custom of the Double Ninth Festival. The people living in the Jiangnan plain had no mountains to climb and no heights to climb, so they made rice flour cakes and put a small colorful pennant on the cakes to show that climbing high (cakes) would avoid disasters.

On the Double Ninth Festival, there are also customs such as planting dogwood, drinking chrysanthemum wine, and eating Double Ninth Cake. Cornus officinalis, also called Yuejiao, is an important plant with a pungent smell that can prevent turbidity. Double Ninth Festival flower cake is a seasonal delicacy made from japonica rice.

Double Ninth Festival Customs

On the Double Ninth Festival, the autumn air is crisp and clear. When you climb up, you can have a panoramic view of the vegetation, mountains and rivers. This is actually a kind of outing, a traditional sports activity for our people.

Appreciate chrysanthemums. Chrysanthemum, also called yellow flower, belongs to the Asteraceae family and has many varieties. During the Double Ninth Festival, when the chrysanthemums are in full bloom, drink chrysanthemum wine. "Yi Wen Lei Ju" quoted "Continuation of Jin Yang Qiu" as saying: "Every September 9th, people climb mountains and drink chrysanthemum wine." It is said that in ancient times, chrysanthemum wine was specially prepared for the Double Ninth Festival of the first year for the Double Ninth Festival of the second year. Brewed sparingly. On September 9th, the first blooming chrysanthemums and some green branches and leaves are picked, mixed with the grains prepared for wine making, and then used together to make wine, and kept until September 9th of the next year for drinking. Legend has it that drinking this wine can prolong your life. From a medical point of view, chrysanthemum wine can improve eyesight, cure dizziness, lower blood pressure, lose weight, lighten the body, replenish liver qi, calm the stomach and intestines, and benefit blood.

Insert dogwood. Cornus officinalis, also known as "Yuejiao" or "Ai Zi", is a small evergreen tree.

Eat Double Ninth Cake. Double Ninth Cake, also called "Chrysanthemum Cake" and "Flower Cake", is the ancient "Pengbao". Because the word "cake" is homophonic with the word "gao" in the name of dogwood, during the Double Ninth Festival, if you can't climb high, you can eat cakes to masturbate. It is said that in the feudal era, the emperor would feast his ministers with flower cakes on the Double Ninth Festival. Mounted shooting activities.

Dragon Boat Festival

The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Duanyang Festival, Wu Day Festival, May Festival, AI Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Chong Wu, Wu Day, Xia Festival. Although the names are different, the customs of people in various places to celebrate the festival are the same. The Dragon Boat Festival is an old custom in my country for more than 2,000 years. On this day, every household hangs a statue of Zhongkui, hangs mugwort and calamus, races dragon boats, eats rice dumplings, drinks realgar wine, travels to all diseases, wears sachets, and prepares sweet wine for sacrifices.

The first significance of the Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate Qu Yuan, the great national poet in history. Qu Yuan, named Ping, was a native of Chu during the Warring States Period. He was born on the seventh day of the first lunar month in the fifth year of King Wei of Chu, or in the twenty-seventh year of King Xuan of Chu, and died in the ninth year of King Xiang of Chu.

The second meaning of the Dragon Boat Festival is the anniversary of Wu Zixu’s death. Wu Zixu was a member of the Chu State, and his father and brother were both killed by the King of Chu. Later, Zixu abandoned the dark side and turned to the bright side, and rushed to the State of Wu to help Wu attack Chu. After five battles, he entered Yingcheng, the capital of Chu. At that time, King Ping of Chu was dead, so Zixu dug up the grave and whipped the corpse three hundred times to avenge the death of his father and brother. After the death of King Helu of Wu, his son Fucha succeeded to the throne. The Wu army had high morale and won every battle. The country of Yue was defeated. King Goujian of Yue asked for peace, and Fucha agreed to it. Zixu suggested that the Yue Kingdom should be completely wiped out, but Fu Chai refused to listen, and the Wu State slaughtered him. He was bribed by the Yue Kingdom and framed Zixu with slanderous words. Fu Chai believed it and gave Zixu a sword, and Zixu died with it. Zixu was a loyal man and regarded death as home. Before he died, he said to his neighbors: "After I die, dig out my eyes and hang them on the east gate of Wu Jing to watch the Yue army enter the city and destroy Wu." He then committed suicide and died. After hearing this, he was furious and ordered Zixu's body to be packed in leather and thrown into the river on May 5th. Therefore, it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival is also a day to commemorate Wu Zixu.

The third meaning of the Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate the filial daughter Cao E of the Eastern Han Dynasty who died saving her father by throwing herself into the river. Cao E was a native of Shangyu in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Her father drowned in the river and her body was not seen for several days. At that time, her filial daughter Cao E was only fourteen years old and cried along the river day and night. Seventeen days later, he also threw himself into the river on May 5th. Five days later, he took out his father's body. This was passed down as a myth, and then passed down to the county governor, who ordered Du Shang to erect a stele for it and his disciple Handan Chun to write a memorial in praise of it. The tomb of the filial daughter Cao E is located in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province today. It is later said that the stele of Cao E was written by King Yi of the Jin Dynasty. In order to commemorate Cao E's filial piety, later generations built the Cao E temple where Cao E threw herself into the river. The village and town where she lived was renamed Cao E town, and the place where Cao E died for her father was named Cao E river.

The fourth meaning of the Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate the modern revolutionary female poet Qiu Jin. Qiu Jin died for his country on June 5th. In order to respect his poems and mourn his heroic deeds, later generations commemorated it in conjunction with the Poet's Day. The Poet's Day was also designated as the Dragon Boat Festival in memory of the patriotic poet Qu Yuan. Qiu Jin, nicknamed Ruiqing Jingxiong, nicknamed Jianhu Nvxia, and nicknamed Yugu, was born in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province. She was good at poetry, lyrics, songs, and rhymes when she was young. She also liked riding horses and fencing. She was known as Hua Mulan and Qin Liangyu in the world. He participated in the revolution at the age of 28 and had a great influence. He planned an uprising and was arrested by the Qing soldiers during a meeting. He was unyielding and died heroically in Xuanhengkou, Shaoxing on June 5, the 33rd year of Guangxu.

Hanging the statue of Zhongkui: Zhongkui catching ghosts is a Dragon Boat Festival custom. In the Jianghuai area, every family hangs a statue of Zhongkui to guard the house and ward off evil spirits. During the reign of Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty, when he returned to the palace from a martial arts lecture at Mount Li, malaria broke out. He dreamed of two ghosts, one big and one small. The little ghost wore bright red crotchless pants, stole Concubine Yang's sachet and Emperor Ming's jade flute, and ran around the palace. The big ghost wears a blue robe and a hat, catches the little ghost, gouges out its eyes, and swallows them in one gulp. Emperor Ming asked, and the ghost said: My surname is Zhong Kui. I failed in the martial arts examination, and I would like to eliminate demons for your majesty. After Emperor Ming woke up, he recovered from the malaria, so he ordered the painter Wu Daozi to paint a picture of Zhong Kui catching ghosts based on what he saw in his dream. The portraits were ordered to be posted all over the world during the Dragon Boat Festival to drive away evil spirits.

Hanging moxa leaves and calamus: During the Dragon Boat Festival, every family uses calamus, moxa leaves, pomegranate flowers, garlic, and dragon boat flowers to make human shapes called moxa figures. Hang mugwort leaves in the hall, cut them into tiger shapes or cut ribbons into small tigers, and stick them on them. Women rush to wear them to ward off evil spirits and ward off miasma. Use calamus as a sword and insert it on the lintel of the door, which has the magical effect of exorcising evil spirits.

Dragon boat race: At that time, the Chu people were reluctant to let go of the death of their virtuous minister Qu Yuan, so many people rowed boats to chase and save him. They scrambled to be the first, but disappeared when they reached Dongting Lake. This was the origin of dragon boat racing, and dragon boat racing was held on May 5th every year to commemorate it. They rowed dragon boats to disperse the fish in the river to prevent them from eating Qu Yuan's body. The custom of racing was popular in Wu, Yue and Chu. Dragon boat racing began in Taiwan in the 29th year of Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty. At that time, Taiwan's prefect, Jiang Yuanjun, hosted a friendly competition at the Half Moon Pond of Fahua Temple in Tainan City. Taiwan now holds a dragon boat race every May 5th. There is ferry racing in Hong Kong, and recently the British have followed the example of the Chinese and organized ghost teams to compete.

Eating rice dumplings: People in Jingchu cook glutinous rice or steam rice dumplings and throw them into the river on May 5th to worship Qu Yuan. To avoid being eaten by fish, they put the glutinous rice in bamboo tubes and throw it down. Later, rice dumpling leaves were gradually used to wrap rice instead of bamboo tubes.

Drinking realgar wine: This custom is very popular among people in the Yangtze River Basin.

Traveling with all diseases: This custom is popular in the Dragon Boat Festival customs in Guizhou area.

Wearing sachets: Children wear sachets during the Dragon Boat Festival, which not only means to ward off evil spirits and dispel plague, but also embellishes their lapels. The sachet contains cinnabar, realgar, and fragrant medicine, and is wrapped with silk cloth, which overflows with fragrance. Five-color silk strings are then tied into ropes and made into various shapes to form a string, which is colorful and exquisite.

Mid-Autumn Festival

The legend of Chang'e flying to the moon

A long time ago, there were ten suns in the sky. They scorched the land until it smoked, scorched the crops, and made the people too hot to survive. At that time, there was a man named Yi. His strength is so great that he can draw a bow weighing ten thousand kilograms and shoot down big snakes and beasts. He sympathized with the suffering people, bent his bow and arrow with all his strength, and shot down nine suns in one breath. The last sun was so frightened that he admitted his mistake, so Yi kept it, letting it go out early and come back late to do more good deeds for the people.

From then on, Yi's name spread throughout the world. He became a hero that everyone admired. Later, Yi married a girl named Chang'e as his wife. They loved each other and lived a happy life.

Chang'e was beautiful, hard-working, and kind-hearted. She often gave the wild animals that Yi hunted and shot to her fellow villagers. One day, Yi went hunting in the mountains and met a Taoist priest on the road. The Taoist priest said to Yi: "You have done great service in eliminating harm to the people. I will give you a pack of magic medicine. If you eat half of the pack, you will live forever; if you eat all of it, you will become an immortal and ascend to heaven." Take the magic medicine home and give it to Chang'e for safekeeping. He planned to find a suitable time to share this packet of magic medicine with Chang'e, and the couple would live forever and never be separated.

After Yi became famous for shooting the sun, many people learned martial arts from him. Among his disciples was a man named Fengmeng, who also learned archery skills from him. On the surface, Peng Meng was very respectful to Yi, but he had a bad heart. He knew that Yi had a magical medicine hidden in his house, so he secretly came up with bad ideas. On August 15th of this year, he took his apprentice out hunting.

In the evening, Pengmeng sneaked back alone, broke into Chang'e's house, and forced Chang'e to hand over the magic medicine. Chang'e shouted loudly, but Yi had not returned from hunting. How could she hear her? In order to prevent the magic medicine from falling into the hands of the shameless Peng Meng, Chang'e had no choice but to open the medicine package and swallow all the magic medicine into her mouth. Suddenly, Chang'e felt that her body was as light as a swallow, and she flew out of the window involuntarily, fluttering into the sky. Chang'e couldn't bear to leave her family and home, so she flew to the moon closest to the ground and lived in Guanghan Palace.

When Yi heard about this after returning home, he hurried out to chase after him, but it was already too late! I saw the faint shadow of Chang'e on the round moon. The villagers said that Chang'e would come back and advised Yi to wait patiently. On August 15th of the next year, Yi missed Chang'e, so he took out Chang'e's favorite fruits and placed them in the yard. He also made round moon cakes to express his wish for reunion and look forward to Chang'e's return. Year after year passed, but Chang'e still didn't come back. Gradually, people began to have the habit of celebrating festivals. Every August 15th, moon cakes, fruits and other foods should be prepared.

“Every twelve-degree circle is beautiful, and the extreme circle is the Mid-Autumn Festival.” The “Mid-Autumn Festival” mentioned in this poem refers to the Mid-Autumn Festival that is well known to women and children.

In our country, there are many festivals related to the age of the year, and the Mid-Autumn Festival is one of people's favorite festivals and the most poetic festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival also has other names such as August Half, Reunion Festival, and Moon Eve. Because the Mid-Autumn Festival falls on August 15th, which is exactly one-half of August, it is commonly known as "August and a half". Because during the Mid-Autumn Festival, people have the custom of inviting relatives and friends to drink and play with the moon at night, and there is also a custom that the daughter-in-law must return home on this day when she returns to the province. With the full moon as a symbol, the Mid-Autumn Festival is called the Reunion Festival. And because it is said that Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty visited the Moon Palace at night on this day, the Mid-Autumn Festival was called Yuexi. As for when the Mid-Autumn Festival began, there is no answer in the literature. The ancient monograph "The Records of the Years of Jingchu", which was devoted to recording the festivals of the year, does not contain anything about the Mid-Autumn Festival. Even in the "Ji Xue Ji" written in the Tang Dynasty, there is no text about the "Mid-Autumn Festival".

As for the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the ancients generally have two views: one is that the Mid-Autumn Festival is related to the Autumn Society.

Zhou Yunjin and He Xiangfei co-authored the article "Talking about Seasonal Events in Leisure" said: "Perhaps because our country is an agricultural country, family affairs are closely related to the seasons. When planting seeds, the ancients worshiped the land god and prayed. During the harvest, people also worship the land gods to report the harvest and thank the gods for their protection. The former is called "Spring Prayer" and the latter is called "Autumn Announcement". August 15th is the day when rice is ripe. What each family worships is also the land. It is possible that the Mid-Autumn Festival is the legacy of the "Autumn Announcement", which has gradually become more popular through subsequent generations." Another theory is that the Mid-Autumn Festival is related to the ancient custom of worshiping the moon. The book "Chinese Customs" co-authored by modern Xu Jieshun and Chen Shunxuan said: "The origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival may be related to the original belief in the moon in ancient times. In ancient Chinese mythology, there are stories of Nuwa holding the moon and Chang'e flying to the moon. Story. There is a description in "Book of Rites: Sacrifice Law" that "at night, it is also necessary to worship the moon." In the etiquette before the Qin and Han Dynasties, there was a rule that the emperor went to the moon altar in the western suburbs of the capital to worship the moon on the night of the autumnal equinox. The Moon Altar was the place where emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties worshiped the moon. From Tang poems about the Mid-Autumn Festival, we can see that the myth of Chang'e flying to the moon was linked to the Mid-Autumn Festival. By the Song Dynasty, the festival had become very grand. In the Southern Song Dynasty, because of the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hangzhou, people were doing business all day long until the five drums were played, and tourists were dancing in the city until dawn. p>

The origin and legend of the Spring Festival. The concepts of the Spring Festival and the year originally came from agriculture. In ancient times, people called the growth cycle of the grain "year", "Shuowen". "Hebu": "The year means that the grain is ripe:. In the Xia and Shang dynasties, the lunar calendar was produced, using the moon's waxing and waning cycle as the month, and the year was divided into twelve months. The day when the moon is not visible is the new day of each month, and the first day of the first lunar month is the new day. Zushi is called the beginning of the year, which is the beginning of the year, also called the year. The name of the year began in the Zhou Dynasty, and was officially fixed in the Western Han Dynasty, and continues to this day. However, in ancient times, the first day of the first lunar month was called. It was regarded as "New Year's Day" until the victory of the Revolution of 1911 in modern China. In order to adapt to the farming season and facilitate statistics, the Nanjing Provisional Government stipulated the use of the lunar calendar among the people, and implemented the Gregorian calendar in government agencies, factories, mines, schools and groups, with the first day of the first month of the Gregorian calendar as the day. New Year's Day, the first day of the first lunar month is called the Spring Festival.

On September 27, 1949, the People's Republic of China was founded. At the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the use of the Gregorian calendar that was common in the world was adopted. , the first day of the first lunar month of the Gregorian calendar is designated as New Year's Day, commonly known as the Gregorian calendar year; the first day of the first lunar month is usually around the beginning of spring, so the first day of the first lunar month must be the "Spring Festival", commonly known as the lunar calendar year.

Traditional meaning. The Spring Festival on the twelfth lunar month refers to the period from the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month or the twelfth lunar month to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, with New Year's Eve and the first day of the first lunar month as the climax. Ethnic groups hold various celebration activities, most of which focus on offering sacrifices to gods and Buddhas, paying homage to ancestors, bringing in good fortune, and praying for a good harvest. The activities are rich in variety and have strong national characteristics.

One of the legends of the Spring Festival: Staying up late on New Year's Eve

Staying up late on New Year's Eve is the custom of staying up late on the last night of the old year to welcome the new year. It is also called staying up late on New Year's Eve, and is commonly known as "staying up late on New Year's Eve". ". Looking into the origin of this custom, there is an interesting story circulating among the people:

In ancient times, there was a ferocious monster that lived scattered in the deep mountains and dense forests. People called them "Nian". Its shape It has a ferocious appearance and a ferocious nature. It specializes in eating birds, animals, and scale insects. It changes its taste every day, ranging from kowtowing insects to living people, which makes people talk about "Nian". Later, people gradually mastered "Nian". The activity pattern is that they rush to crowded places to get a bite every three hundred and sixty-five days, and they always appear after dark. When the rooster crows and dawn breaks, they return to the mountains and forests. < /p>

Having calculated the date when the "New Year" would be rampant, the people regarded this terrible night as a critical moment and called it "New Year's Eve". They also came up with a whole set of ways to celebrate the New Year: every time On this night, every household prepared dinner in advance, turned off the heat and cleaned the stove, fastened all the chicken pens and cattle pens, sealed the front and back doors of the house, and hid in the house to eat the "New Year's Eve dinner". Dinner has an unlucky meaning, so it is very sumptuous. In addition to having the whole family gather together to dine together to express harmony and reunion, you must also offer sacrifices to your ancestors before eating, pray for the blessings of their gods, and spend this time safely. One night, after dinner, no one dared to sleep, so we sat together chatting and staying up late on New Year's Eve.

The custom of keeping the year old arose in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and many literati in the Liang Dynasty wrote poems about keeping the year old. "One night lasts two years, and the fifth watch divides two years." People light candles or oil lamps and keep vigil all night, which symbolizes driving away all evil plagues and looking forward to good luck in the new year. This custom has been passed down to this day.

Spring Festival Legend 2: Wannian created the calendar

According to legend, in ancient times, there was a young man named Wannian who had an idea when he saw that the seasons were very chaotic at that time. The plan to set the seasons accurately. But he couldn't find a way to calculate time. One day, when he was tired from going up the mountain to chop firewood, he sat under the shade of a tree to rest. The movement of the tree shadows inspired him. He designed a dial to measure the sun's shadow and measure the time of the day. Later, the dripping spring on the cliff inspired him, and he made a five-layer clepsydra to calculate time. As time went by, he discovered that every three hundred and sixty days, the four seasons cycled around again, and the length of the days repeated themselves.

The king at that time was named Zu Yi, and he was often distressed by the unpredictable weather conditions. After Wan Nian found out, he took the sundial and the clepsydra to see the emperor and explained to Zu Yi the principles of the movement of the sun and the moon. After Zu Yi heard this, Long Yan was overjoyed and felt that it made sense. So he left ten thousand years to build the Sun and Moon Pavilion in front of the Temple of Heaven, and built the sundial platform and leaky pot pavilion. He also hopes to accurately measure the laws of the sun and the moon, calculate the accurate morning and evening times, and create a calendar to benefit the people of the world.

Once, Zu Yi went to learn about the progress of the ten thousand year test calendar. When he climbed up to the Temple of the Sun and Moon, he saw a poem engraved on the stone wall beside the Temple of Heaven:

The sun rises and sets three hundred and six times, starting all over again.

There are four seasons of vegetation and trees, and there are twelve circles in one year.

Knowing that the Wannian calendar has been created, I personally went to the Sun and Moon Pavilion to visit Wannian. Wan Nian pointed to the sky and said to Zu Yi: "Now is the end of the twelve months. The old year is over and the new year has begun. Please pray to the king to set a festival." Zu Yi said: "Spring is the beginning of the year, so let's call it the Spring Festival." It is said that this is the origin of the Spring Festival.

Winter passed and spring came, year after year, ten thousand years after long-term observation and careful calculation, an accurate solar calendar was formulated. When he presented the solar calendar to his successor, his face was full of silver. Must. The monarch was deeply moved. In order to commemorate Wannian's achievements, he named the solar calendar "Wannian Calendar" and named Wannian the sun, moon and longevity star. Later, people hung pictures of longevity stars during the Chinese New Year, which is said to commemorate the ten thousand years of great virtue and respect.

Spring Festival Legend Three: Pasting Spring Festival Couplets and the Door God

It is said that the custom of pasting Spring Festival couplets began in the Hou Shu period more than a thousand years ago, which is evidenced by history. In addition, according to the records of "Jade Candle Collection", "Yanjing Chronicles" and other works, the original form of Spring Festival couplets is what people call "Peach Talisman".

In ancient Chinese mythology, it is said that there is a world of ghosts. There is a mountain in it. There is a large peach tree covering three thousand miles on the mountain, and there is a golden rooster on the treetop. Whenever the golden rooster crows in the morning, the ghosts who wandered out at night will rush back to the ghost land. The gate of the ghost realm is located in the northeast of the peach tree. There are two gods standing by the gate, named Shen Tu and Yu Lei. If a ghost does something harmful to nature at night, Shen Tu and Yu Lei will immediately discover it and catch it, tie it up with a rope made of awning reed, and send it to feed the tiger. Therefore, all the ghosts in the world are afraid of Shen Tu and Yu Lei. So people carved their images out of peach wood and placed them at their doorsteps to avoid evil and harm. Later, people simply engraved the names of Shen Tu and Yu Lei on peach boards, believing that doing so could also suppress evil and eliminate evil. This kind of peach wood board was later called "Peach Run".

In the Song Dynasty, people began to write couplets on peach boards, one without losing the meaning of peach wood to suppress evil, the other to express their good wishes, and the third to decorate the door for beauty. Couplets are also written on red paper, which symbolizes joy and auspiciousness, and are posted on both sides of doors and windows during the New Year to express people's best wishes for good luck in the coming year.

In order to pray for the good health of the family, people in some places still retain the habit of sticking to the door god. It is said that if two door gods are posted on the door, all monsters and ghosts will be intimidated. Among the people, the door god is a symbol of righteousness and force. The ancients believed that people with strange looks often have magical talents and extraordinary abilities. They are upright and kind-hearted, and it is their nature and responsibility to catch ghosts and demons. Zhong Kui, the ghost-hunting master that people admire, has such a strange appearance. Therefore, the folk door gods always have angry eyes and ferocious looks, holding various traditional weapons in their hands, ready to fight any ghosts who dare to come to the door. Since the doors of Chinese houses usually have two doors opening opposite each other, door gods always come in pairs.

After the Tang Dynasty, in addition to the previous two generals Shen Tu and Yu Lei, people also regarded the two Tang Dynasty generals Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong as door gods. According to legend, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was ill and heard ghosts calling outside his door, making him restless all night. So he asked the two generals to stand guard by the door with weapons in hand, and the next night there were no more ghosts to disturb him. Later, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty asked people to draw the images of these two generals and paste them on the door. This custom began to spread among the people.