As the first month of the lunar calendar, the first lunar month plays a pivotal role in traditional customs, especially during the Spring Festival, which is given a special folk significance almost every day. Today, the eleventh day of the first month is also an important festival, which the ancients called "Son-in-law's Day", that is, the day when the father-in-law feasted on his son-in-law. In the past, when a daughter wanted to return to her mother's house on a specific date after getting married, the Spring Festival would usually be chosen to go with her husband on the second day of the Chinese New Year. Etiquette is an indispensable tradition, so it is chosen to prepare a sumptuous banquet on the eleventh day of the first month to feast on the son-in-law, and the "Son-in-law Day" comes from this.
The reason why it is chosen on the eleventh day of the first month is because the common belief says that the ninth day of the first month of the first month is the birthday of the heavenly father, in order to give the heavenly father a birthday will prepare a rich banquet, this day the banquet will be left with a lot of food, the first nine and the first ten can not eat, to the eleventh day of the first month, the mother's family just use these delicacies to entertain the son-in-law, there is no need to spend money, so it is called "eleven please son-in-law". There are also folk songs that sing that "whoever is a woman, the room is also IKEA, and now it is only the day of the son-in-law, and the Ming and the peace period." ”
In order to show respect and attention, the mother's family to pick up the son-in-law and daughter is usually all out of the way. A sumptuous banquet will also be prepared as an answer to the daughter's second birthday, and the family will gather together with joy and laughter. In some places, in addition to the warm hospitality of the mother's parents and brothers, the mother's parents will also hear the news and feast, and the saying that "the son-in-law is half a son" is vividly reflected. So, the eleventh day of the first month was a very lively day in the past. If there are many parents in the mother, there will be a situation where the last meal is not eaten and the next meal is invited, and the mother's love for the daughter is fully expressed in the enthusiasm for the son-in-law, and all the etiquette is full of human warmth. However, today, it seems that the legendary son-in-law's day to use leftovers to entertain is really humiliating, but many of the traditions of the old times seem incomprehensible today.
In addition to inviting a son-in-law, there is also a more common custom on the eleventh day of the first month called "Ying Zi Gu". According to popular beliefs, Zigu was the name of a woman in ancient times, and legend has it that she was a person who was deeply bullied. Her story originated earlier, is said to have begun during the Six Dynasties, flourished in the Tang and Song dynasties, and was still very common in the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the Song Dynasty's "Alien Garden", it is recorded as follows:
"There is a purple girl in the world, and it is said in ancient times that she was a concubine, who was jealous of the eldest woman and died on the fifteenth night of the first month. Later generations made their form, and the sacrifice said: 'Zi Xu is not there, Cao Fu is also gone, and the sister-in-law can come out.' 'The catcher is moved, and it is God who has come. To take advantage of the multitude. Xu, son-in-law's name also. Cao Fu, the eldest woman also. ”
The ancient book "Xianyilu" also has related legends:
"Zigu, a Laiyang person, surname He Mingmei, the word Liqing." Shouyang Li Jingna was a concubine. His wife was jealous, and died in the toilet on the fifteenth day of the first month. The Emperor of Heaven had mercy and was ordained as the god of the toilet. Therefore, the world took its form, and greeted the people in the toilet at night to occupy the affairs of the people. Commonly known as Sangu. ”
Zigu's tragic encounter in the Book of Manifestations was given the title of "Toilet God" by the mercy of the Emperor of Heaven, specializing in protecting weak women in the mortal world. Although the duties were clear, the ancients often used divination to pray to Zigu. In the "Chronicle of the Jing Chu Years", there is a record that "on the fifteenth day of the first month, the night greets Zigu with the future silkworm mulberry". In fact, the ancients were not just divination of silkworm mulberries, and marriages related to women were often among the divination.
In today's view, the matter of inviting Zigu is obviously superstitious and gloomy, and it is also the opposite of the festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival. Especially in areas where the sericulture industry is not thriving, such customs are even more common. Even if there is, the time will vary from region to region, and in addition to the eleventh day of the first month, it is also recorded on the fourteenth or fifteenth day of the first month. In general, it was still very common in the old days to invite a son-in-law on the eleventh day of the first month, and the son-in-law would receive a grand hospitality from the father-in-law on this day, which was a blessing for the Spring Festival.