Text | Wu hook
This article is reproduced from We All Love Song Dynasty (ID: wugoudasong)
The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and the longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere, after the winter solstice, the day begins to gradually become longer, the night begins to slowly shorten, and spring is gradually approaching. Therefore, the ancients said that "the winter solstice is the beginning of the sun" and "the winter solstice is the beginning of the sun".
The winter solstice is the most solemn festival in traditional China, the significance is heavier than the Spring Festival, and there are still folk proverbs in some places that say that "the winter festival is greater than the year". However, today, the northerners spend the winter solstice, and even the custom of eating a meal of dumplings is left, and the south only eats tangyuan, and some traditional cultural preservation is still relatively intact, such as the Chaoshan region, the winter solstice still retains customs such as sacrifices. Overall, today's winter festival is very cold compared to Christmas a few days later.
However, if in ancient times, Chinese the winter solstice, it was particularly lively. In the Song Dynasty, the winter solstice day Tianzi was to hold a great ceremony in the southern suburbs, and the Song people said that the three-year-old was close to the suburbs. That is, the southern suburbs of Tianzi are held every three years, and the ceremonies in the southern suburbs are particularly popular and the ceremonies are particularly solemn. Interested friends, you can find the "Driving Suburban Altar Ceremony" section of "Tokyo Dream Record" to see. On the day of the southern suburbs, "between the royal roads for tens of miles, living in the curtain, your family's watchhouse, colorful scales, little free place to go." The citizens of Kaifeng all rushed to watch Long Yan.
Every year of the southern suburbs, the Song Dynasty court also had to "teach the car elephant" in Xuandemen Square two months in advance, that is, to train the elephant convoy. After training, "When the elephant went to the Xuande Building, the number of steps in the regiment was formed, so that it could face north and worship, and it could also sing." At this time, people with real estate around Xuandemen Square can watch the elephant taming exercise every day, "the qili, the clan room, the noble family, and the private watch."
At this time, the Royal Street outside xuande gate is also particularly lively, "tourists are playing, and spectators are weaving." Selling clay powder to pinch baby elephants, and paper paintings, watching people return with them, thinking that they are sacrificed. "Giving a will is a gift from relatives and friends to each other.
The winter solstice was also a national holiday of the Song Dynasty, and the state holiday was three days and gave feasts to the courtiers. (By the way, strong appeal: today should also be the winter solstice as a national holiday)
The song dynasty folk also attached great importance to the winter solstice festival. The "Tokyo Dream Record" said, "On the winter solstice, the Kyoshi attaches the greatest importance to this festival, although the poorest, within a year, accumulate false loans, so that it is easier to produce clothes, prepare food, and enjoy the ancestors." Officials let go of the pass and celebrate the exchanges, just like the New Year's Day. "Even poor families have to buy new clothes, wine and food for the winter solstice. Every family must sacrifice ancestors, ancestors generally use wontons, "Xian Chun Shi Ji" said: "Enjoy the first wonton, there is 'winter wonton year wonton' language." Your family is curious, a tool of dozens of colors, called a hundred flavor wontons. "There are more tricks to eat wontons than there are today's dumplings." Friends and relatives should also celebrate each other, which is called "One Yang He Dong". On this day, the government will also relax the ban on gambling to facilitate the people's carnival.
Therefore, on the winter solstice day of the Song Dynasty, the street market was really lively, and the "Wulin Old Things" said: "The people of the capital are the heaviest, the yang he winter, the carriages and horses are all fresh, and the five drums have been filled and mixed in the ninth street." Women and children, gorgeous costumes, coming and going like clouds. Yue Ancestral Hall City God Temple, incense burners are especially prosperous. Within three days, the shops were all closed to the market, and the curtains were hanging down, which was called 'doing festivals'. "In order to enjoy life, the shops stopped doing business, and they lowered their curtains to drink and have fun.
The winter solstice can be said to be a carnival of the Song people, which lasts for three consecutive days.
Some people today believe that the winter solstice is an agricultural festival, which is the embodiment of the backwardness of the productive forces of traditional agricultural society, and it is inevitable that it will decline in the commercial era. In fact, Christmas is also an agricultural festival, the source of Christmas is the European Saturnalia and Sun Festival, in the Roman Empire era, December 17, Saturnalia Day, is also a day for people to find fun and give each other. In fact, the most grand traditional festivals in the East and the West are similar in time, all in the agricultural leisure season.
END