Today is the twenty-third day of the Waxing Moon,
In the north, people call this day
"Little Year".
The twenty-third lunar month of the north,
The twenty-fourth of the Southern Moon,
Although there are slight differences in time,
But when the little year comes,
The year is coming.
After this day, people officially opened the "New Year mode",
Families are beginning to prepare for the New Year.
(Illustration production |.) Fan Wei)
The origin of the little year
The legend of the little year
Legend has it that the prince of The Stove was originally a commoner Zhang Sheng, and after marrying his wife, he spent all day drinking wine, and lost his family business and fell to begging on the street.
One day, he begged to the house of his ex-wife Guo Dingxiang, ashamed and embarrassed, and went under the stove and burned to death.
After the Jade Emperor knew, he thought that Zhang Sheng could change his mind and not be bad to the end, since he died at the bottom of the pot, he was crowned as the king of the stove, and every year on the twenty-third and twenty-fourth days of the waxing moon, he reported to the heavens, and Chinese New Year's Eve returned to the bottom of the stove.
The common people felt that the king of The Stove must be respected, because he had to report to heaven. As a result, the people have a "small year" of the 23rd and 24th lunar months, praying for peace and fortune in the coming year.
In ancient times, there was a tradition of "officials, three people, four boats, and five ships" in the small year.
The small year of the official family is the twenty-third day of the waxing moon,
The people's house is the twenty-fourth day of the waxing moon,
And the water people are the twenty-fifth day of the Waxing Moon.
Legend has it that this day is the day when "the king of the stove goes to heaven",
In the Northern Song Dynasty, xiaonian was not called xiaonian, it was called "Jiaonian Festival",
It means before and after the spring, the turn of the year.
During the small period, the main folk activities are the Spring Festival,
Window flowers, sacrificial stoves, etc.
What day is the Little Year?
There are different concepts and dates around,
The northern region is the twenty-third day of the Waxing Moon,
Part of the southern region is the twenty-fourth day of the Waxing Moon,
Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai region put "the 24th of the Waxing Moon" and "Chinese New Year's Eve the night before"
They are called small years.
As the saying goes, "little year" is not small,
After this day,
People are starting to enter the stage of preparing for the New Year:
Twenty-three sugar melon sticky;
Twenty-four sweep houses;
Twenty-five milled tofu;
Twenty-six stews of large meats;
Twenty-seven slaughtered roosters;
Twenty-eight dough hair;
Twenty-nine steamed steamed buns;
Stay up for thirty nights,
Twist and turn at the beginning of the New Year!
Small Year customs
Clean up
Every time the New Year comes, every household must clean the environment, clean all kinds of utensils, remove and wash the futon curtains, sprinkle the room courtyard, dust and cobwebs, and clean up the Spring Festival.
The north is called "sweeping the house", and the south is also called "dust dust".
Because of the harmonic sound of "dust" and "Chen", the new spring sweeping dust has the meaning of removing "Chen" (dust) and spreading new, and its intention is to sweep out all the "poor luck" and "obscurity" out of the door, pinning people's good wishes for breaking the old and building a new one.
Window flowers
The window flowers are mostly themed with auspicious motifs such as magpie Dengmei, Deer Crane Tong Tsubaki (Six Contract Spring), Five Bat (Fu) Bou Shou, Lotus (Lian) Nian Youyu (Yu), Mandarin Duck Splashing in the Water, and Hehe ErXian and so on.
Add joy to the red window flowers that are pasted on the cleaned house.
Eat stove sugar
Stove sugar, there is a layer of sesame seeds on the outside, and the inside is coagulated with maltose, which has the effect of strengthening the spleen and stomach, nourishing the yin and clearing the fire, moisturizing the lungs and suppressing cough.
According to folklore, every year on the twenty-third day of the lunar month, the Emperor of the Stove would go to heaven to report the good and evil of the family to the Jade Emperor, and let the Jade Emperor reward and punish.
So the people sacrificed the stove, which means to paste the mouth of the stove king with sugar, and say some sweet words after the day.
Eat dumplings
In the New Year, folk eat dumplings. It means "sending off dumplings to the wind".
In many areas, dumplings are eaten in various ways as soon as the waxing moon arrives.
The winter solstice should be eaten, the small year should also be eaten, and the Chinese New Year's Eve, the first five and the first seven must also eat dumplings...
Shower haircut
When I was young, adults and children had to take a bath and get a haircut, and there was a saying that "there is no money, shave your head for the New Year".
Removing the dust and obscurity of the previous year and bringing good luck to the new year is the purpose of bathing.
Therefore, in addition to the new look in the home, every family member should take a bath, get a haircut, fade the obscurity of the past, and start a good omen for the auspicious and smooth New Year.
Little Year poems
Off
Wen Tianxiang (Song)
Yan Shuo is poor, and Jiangnan worships Xiao Nian.
When he was born and happy, he died in his life.
The noise of a thousand mountains and snow, the sky is flying.
Going out is vague, looking around but dazed.
Sacrifice stove poems
Lü Mengzheng (Song)
A bowl of clear soup poems, the stove jun today on the blue sky.
If the Jade Emperor asks about human affairs, the articles in the chaotic world are not valuable.
Sacrifice stove words
Fan Chengda (Song)
On the twenty-fourth day of the ancient Fu La, the Emperor of The Stove wanted to say something to the heavens.
The cloud car wind horse small stay, the family has cups and plates of abundant ceremonies.
Pork head rotten hot pisces fresh, bean sand and pine powder bait balls.
The boy offered his daughter to avoid, and the wine burned money stove Junxi.
Sons of struggle Jun Mo Wen, cat dog horns Dirty Jun Mo Fu;
Send the king drunk and full to the gate of heaven, and the long and short do not return to the clouds,
Begging for the return of the city of Scoring.
The second verse of the sacrificial stove - the seven masterpieces
Su Shi (Song)
The north ship is less than a pearl of rice, drunk and depressed for half a month.
Tomorrow the owner will be the sacrificial stove, and only the chicken fighting wine will be fixed.
Matsuri and Neighbor Qu Sanfu
Lu You (Song)
Having been fortunate enough to hang the car to show off to his descendants, he is about to sacrifice the stove and ask for neighbors.
When the customs are passed down for a long time, the guests and hosts laugh and laugh.
Snow sideburns sit deeply and respect the elderly, and the tile pots are full of shame and poverty.
Ask the king this night at the bottom of the eaves, what is the original head of the music society god?
Little Year's Eve
"Spring Festival in Beijing"
Lao She (excerpt)
Twenty-three days to celebrate the New Year, almost the New Year's "rehearsal". In the old society, on this night, the family worshiped the king of the stove, and from the first time the black firecrackers sounded, with the sound of the cannon, the paper statue of the king of the stove was incinerated, and his name was sent to the king of the stove to heaven.
In the past few days, the street has sold more or less maltose and rice candy, which are either rectangular or large and small melons. According to the old saying: There is sugar sticking to the mouth of the King of Stove, and when he reaches heaven, he will not report bad things in the family to the Jade Emperor. Now, there are still sugar sellers, but they are only enjoyed by everyone, and they no longer stick to the mouth of the king of the stove.
After twenty-three, everyone will be busier, and the New Year will arrive in the blink of an eye. Before the Chinese New Year's Eve, every family must paste the Spring Festival, and must clean up once, which is called sweeping the house. Meat, chicken, fish, greens, rice cakes, and so on must be prepared sufficiently, at least enough to eat for a week - according to the old custom, the majority of shops, closed for five days, and not open until the sixth day of the first month. If you do not prepare for the next few days of food, it is not easy to replenish temporarily.
"Peking New Year"
Liang Shiqiu (excerpt)
After the sacrifice, the year is closed. The family was busy taking the tin incense burner, tin wax sticks, tin fruit plates, and tin tea trays out of the cobweb-sealed boxes for the annual scrubbing.
Palace lamps, yarn lamps, horn lamps, all out of the cage. New Year goods should also be prepared early, including dry goods used in the kitchen, dried apples and fruits used to worship the gods and ancestors, etc., the peony daffodils offered in the house, and the thick and thin mixes that the children eat.
The honey offering has long been customized at the Baiyun Temple, and when the time comes, it will be delivered to the door bowl by large basket of paper paste. The size of the home, going in and out, like a stroke demon. Of course, the housewife has an extra burden, to prepare new clothes, new shoes and new socks for everyone, although it is a cloth shoe cloth socks cloth coat, always have to get on and off a new one.
"Past Years"
Mo Yan (excerpt)
After half a month of staying up for another half a month, it was the day of resignation. We also call the birthday a small year, and we live more seriously. Breakfast and lunch are still rough food on weekdays, and dinner is a meal of dumplings. In order to wait for this dumpling, I ate very little breakfast and lunch.
At that time, my meal was so large that I couldn't say how many dumplings I could eat. There is a ritual for the stove, that is, when the dumplings come out of the pot, first put two bowls on the stove top, and then burn half a knife of yellow table paper, and burn the stove horse together.
After burning, drizzle the dumpling soup on the paper ash, and then prostrate your head, even if the sacrifice stove is completed. This is the simplest. The richer families should buy some Kanto sugar for the stove, which is probably meant to let the stove prince who is about to report to heaven taste some sweetness and say more good things before God. Some people also say that kanto sugar is used to stick to the mouth of the stove king. This kind of statement is not reasonable, you stick to his mouth, bad words can not be said, but good words can not be said!
Today's little year
May you and your family be at peace
Responsible Editor | Du Runnan
Articles are synthesized from | China Education Daily, People's Daily, Xinhua Net, etc