November 18 is the winter solstice, the winter solstice is not only one of the twenty-four solar terms, but also a very important festival, folk often have "the winter solstice is as big as the year" saying, but also enough to illustrate the importance of this festival. What does the old saying say, "After the winter solstice, it's a birthday"? Whose birthday is it?
What does the winter solstice mean?
Because the earth revolves around the sun, it forms a spring, summer, autumn and winter, with four seasons alternating and reciprocating cycles. The end of winter is connected to the head of the new year, the Chinese New Year's Eve is connected to the Spring Festival, and the sun, moon and stars also move in the opposite direction, one circle a year. In this circle, spring and summer belong to yang, autumn and winter belong to yin, just like the black and white pisces of The Taiji Diagram, circling this big circle, the four seasons cycle.
The winter solstice is the ultimate of the sun's southward travel, the shortest day of the year, the longest night, and the culmination of the rise of the yin. After the winter solstice, the sun begins to return north, the day begins to lengthen day by day, and the yang is born. Therefore, "the winter solstice is born of one yang", and the initial yang is the yang of one yang, which is less yang.
Therefore, the winter solstice is the dividing line between yin and yang, and it is also the dividing line of winter, winter is the old yin, and the winter solstice is the old yin and the young yang, which means that all things have vitality, the heavens and the earth are gradually connected, the power of the occlusion begins to weaken, the yang begins to sprout, and there is the meaning of rebirth, so the winter solstice has become a festival of ancestor worship.
After the winter solstice, it is the birthday
First, the birthday of all things
The three months of winter are: Haiyue, Sub-Moon and Ugly Moon, the middle of Haiyue is the Small Snow Festival, and the ancients divided the Xiaoxue Festival into three seasons: "One weather is hidden; the second weather rises and the earth's atmosphere falls; and the third weather is closed into winter." After the light snow festival, the ground gas does not rise but falls, the weather does not fall but rises, the sky is high and the ground is far away, up and down, so it is called "closed into winter".
As the saying goes, "all things grow by the sun", under the illumination of the sun, the earth's gas rises by heat, and the cold air sinks in the high sky, thus forming natural phenomena such as "wind, rain and thunder". The process of the rise of the earth's gas and the decline of the weather is the "sympathy of yin and yang", and then everything is born. Winter is "closed to winter", up and down, so everything does not grow, grass and trees wither.
After the winter solstice, the sun begins to return north, the yang qi sprouts, the up and down gradually communicate, and everything begins to sprout. Therefore, the three seasons of the winter solstice are "water springs moving", and all things have begun to have vitality, so "winter solstice is born in a yang", which means that everything in heaven and earth has a vitality, and all things are born, that is, the birthday of all things.
Second, the birthday of the person
When the ancients did anything, they would abide by the laws of natural change, especially the previous emperors, who compared themselves to the "Son of Heaven", that is, the sons of heaven, so they attached great importance to the laws of change in heaven and earth. As early as the Zhou Dynasty, the royal family had the customs of the spring equinox festival day, the autumn equinox festival moon, the summer solstice festival, and the winter solstice festival.
In addition to worship, various government decrees will also adapt to the changes of the seasons, such as the "Spring and Autumn Dew" said: "The king is worthy of heaven, which is called his way." When there are four times in heaven, there are four governments in the king, and when there are four governments, there are also all the heavens and men. Celebration is spring, reward is summer, punishment is autumn, punishment is winter. "It means spring celebration and summer reward, autumn punishment and winter punishment."
Emperor Liu Zhao of the Han Dynasty once issued an edict saying: "The king is born and killed, and it is advisable to follow the times." This means that the execution should also follow the change of seasons. People often say "ask for chop after autumn", which refers to after the autumn equinox, because before the autumn equinox, the days are long and the nights are short, that is, the yang is stronger than the yin, so it is after the autumn equinox.
The Tang Dynasty's "Prison Officer's Order" clearly stipulates: "From the spring to the autumn equinox, the death penalty shall not be played." If violated, one year shall be punished. The "Great Ming Law" also says: "After the spring of Ruoli, before the autumn equinox, those who are executed to death will be eighty rods." The "Thousand Golden Moon Order" also says: "On the day of the autumn equinox, do not kill, do not use torture, and do not punish the house."
Therefore, the time of execution by the ancients is between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice, especially the period before the winter solstice, and the execution is the most. This has also made countless prisoners worried, as long as they are after the winter solstice, they are basically safe. Because of the "winter solstice and the birth of the yang", the rulers often pardon the world in order to conform to the initial birth of the yang, even if they are not pardoned, they also have vitality.
Therefore, "after the winter solstice, it is the birthday", which is the time when the Yang Qi is first born, and it is also the birthday of all things, for those prisoners, it is also equivalent to the day of rebirth, and it is also the day of the resurrection of the ancestors, so people celebrate the arrival of the Yang Qi in order to welcome the arrival of the Yang Qi, just like the New Year.