There are many traditional festivals of the ancestors, and the Spring Festival, as the most important festival of the year, people often start to prepare for the Spring Festival during the Waxing Moon. People call the Spring Festival a "big year", there are big and small, there are big years, there will be small years, there will be small years. The twenty-fourth day of the waxing moon every year is what the ancestors called "small year", and some places will also celebrate the small year on the twenty-third day of the waxing moon.
In the small year, there is a very important custom, that is, to send the king of the stove to heaven, also known as "sacrifice stove" and "resignation stove". The old ancestor believed that the emperor of the stove would report to the Jade Emperor at the annual meeting. Therefore, people will send off the king of the stove on the twenty-third day of the waxing moon or the twenty-fourth day of the waxing moon.
Then, in the process of resigning, what kind of customs will the old ancestors have?
Folk old people summed up the "1 taboo 3 do not forget".
The first is to avoid female sacrifice stoves.
Folk have the saying that "men do not worship the moon, women do not sacrifice stoves", that is, on the night of the full moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival, when people worship the moon god, it is generally women who worship. In the Waxing Moon, when people worship the god Vesta, it is usually men who worship, but women are not allowed to worship.
On the one hand, this kind of exquisiteness comes from the traditional ideas of ancient men and women, on the other hand, because the moon god is a woman, and the moon is also yin, so it is necessary for a woman to worship; and the stove god is also called the stove king, the stove fire is yang, and at the same time it is the "head of the family", so it is naturally necessary to worship as a man who is the head of the family.
In addition, folk also believe that there are "three forgets" when worshipping the god Vesta.
One is not to forget to offer wine to the stove king; the other is not to forget to smear the melted sugar melon on the mouth of the stove king.
These two customs of the ancestors are also said. The old ancestor believed that the stove king was the head of the family, and when the stove king came to the house every year in the first month, he would record the good and evil of all the people in a family. After the moon rises to heaven, they will truthfully tell the jade emperor about the good and evil of the family, and then the jade emperor will distribute the family's blessings, wealth, and so on according to the report of the stove prince.
Therefore, in order to enable the stove king to go to heaven to say a few kind words for himself, people will offer a lot of delicious and delicious food to the stove king when the stove king goes to heaven.
Among them, the most important drinks and sugar melons are important. The role of the wine is to make the stove king dizzy and will not make a small report to the Jade Emperor; and the role of the sugar melon is to stick to the mouth of the stove king and not let the stove king say bad things about the family.
At the same time, people in some places will also melt the sugar melon and smear it on the mouth of the stove king, hoping that the stove king can have a sweet mouth, and when the heavens report to work, the mouth is a little sweeter.
The third thing not to forget is not to forget to incinerate the idol of the King of Vesta.
The stove king enshrined in the family is incinerated after the sacrifice stove to show that the stove king has left. Moreover, the folk also have a special point, whether it is the 23rd festival stove of the WaxIng Moon or the 24th festival of the Waxing Moon, we must wait until about 6 pm on the 24th of the Waxing Moon, and then incinerate the statue of the King of the Stove. Remember not to throw it away in your kitchen waste!
These rituals and exquisite rituals of the ancestors are actually just a folk custom and a transmission of an ancient blessing culture. Life at home will not be developed by the sacrificial stove, nor will it be worse off by not offering the stove. More often than not, the sacrificial stove is just a beautiful wish for a good day in the coming year!
In our lives, the festivals handed down by our ancestors often have very distinct characteristics of agricultural life. At the same time, the rituals held by the ancestors when they sacrificed the gods and ancestors can actually reflect the pursuit of the folk ancestors for a good life of auspicious health and happiness!