Sentence | Li-chi-hsien
Edit | Chestnut Hat
Birthdays are meaningful days for everyone. We can't help but wonder how people celebrated this special day in ancient times when there were no birthday cakes.
During the Yin Shang period, the ancestors of the Chinese nation had initially formed the concept of birthday. In that ancient era, the Yin people were full of awe and respect for the birth of life.
They are convinced that the birth of each human being is inextricably linked to the mysterious forces of heaven and earth, especially the brilliance of the sun.
Therefore, the Yin people chose to use the stem branch of the child's birth as the basis for naming, which is not only a recognition of the uniqueness of the individual, but also a concrete embodiment of the reverence for the sun. However, the documents of the time did not clearly record the celebration of the birthday.
After the Wei and Jin dynasties, the form of celebrating birthdays gradually emerged. Over time, birthday celebrations gradually became a common custom. According to historical records, during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, it was already popular to hold banquets on birthdays, and it is worth mentioning that even those who lost their parents would not feel excessive sadness because of this, and they would celebrate their birthdays as usual.
People of different social status and status also attach different importance to celebrating birthdays. In ancient times, the birthday of an emperor was called an extremely honorable day.
In the Tang Dynasty, Tang Taizong cherished his birthday very much and specially set it as a birth celebration day. In the seventeenth year of Kaiyuan, on the occasion of Tang Xuanzong's birthday, a banquet was set up in the calyx floor to entertain the hundred officials, and on the feast, the hundred officials presented longevity wine, and presented the golden mirror ribbon and the silk weaving bearing bag to show respect.
At that time, the whole country was jubilant, and the emperor even gave the people a three-day holiday. In addition to the grand banquet that day, the monarchs and ministers also used poetry to harmonize and participate in the grand event.
In the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, whenever the emperor's birthday came, a solemn ceremony would be held.
In the Qing Dynasty, the emperor's birthday was summarized in eight characters: "Celebrate with all the heavens, and all the people will be amnesty", so as to avoid the bad luck of passing away on the birthday day.
In the capital that day, where the emperor passed, the government decorated the streets with colorful paintings, splendid scenery, newly built houses and other things, making them colorful and colorful, and the sound of singing and dancing was endless. Hundreds of civil and military officials from all over the country will also set up incense cases to pay big salutes to the capital to wish the emperor a long life.
Birthday celebration ceremony
When the ancients celebrated birthdays, they usually followed certain rituals: birthdays, birthday gifts, and birthday banquets.
Ju-hsien
The ritual held to celebrate a birthday, often referred to as "dosui" or "dosui", usually refers to a birthday once every ten years.
In the traditional culture of the mainland, there are unique and meaningful titles for the birthdays of men and women at different ages. These titles not only reflect the delicate division of the growth stages of life by the ancients, but also highlight the uniqueness of gender roles and the different expectations of society for men and women.
The birthday of the hanging arc refers specifically to the birthday of a man, and the birthday of the hanging arc refers specifically to the birthday of a woman. When the baby reaches the age of one year, parents will hold a ceremony for him to "catch the week". On the 10th birthday of a child, the grandparents or uncles usually send rice, clothes, shoes and hats to express their blessings.
For young and middle-aged people's birthdays, there is usually no fanfare, the practice of inviting guests to celebrate, there is a common proverb that "no three, no four", which means that the age of 20, 30, and 40 years old, does not particularly celebrate birthdays.
At these ages, it's just a matter of adding some meat to your home. Most of the time, families will choose to simply boil a few eggs to celebrate, which is called a "little birthday".
The reason why the birthday banquet is not held at the age of 40 is because the pronunciation of "four" and "death" is similar, and people think that it is not auspicious to be a birthday at this time.
Birthday celebrations are usually valued from the age of 50 onwards, as the 50th birthday is seen as a significant day and represents an important milestone in life. After the age of 60, it is regarded as a symbol of longevity. If the husband and wife are the same age, then such a birthday celebration ceremony is even more meaningful.
In addition, there is a custom of doing seven and not doing eight, indicating that people prefer to hold birthday feasts at the age of 70 rather than 80.
The 80th birthday is sometimes postponed to the next year, which is called supplementary life or additional birthday, and some people choose to celebrate the birthday a year in advance.
In addition, when adults celebrate their birthdays, men usually follow the custom of "doing nine but not ten", that is, not counting according to their actual age, but every full ten, when the imaginary age is nine. Women are "doing enough and not doing zero", that is, celebrating birthdays according to their actual age.
In some places, both men and women follow the principle of "greeting nine but not congratulating". According to the old customs, the 100th birthday was not celebrated because it was believed that the 100th birthday was too complete and that the full year was easy to lose.
In ancient times, most of the people who held birthday celebrations on a large scale were large families or powerful people with noble status, while the poor people basically did not hold birthday banquets.
birthday present
Birthday celebrants prepare "shou peaches" made of rice flour or flour for the birthday celebrity, which increase in size as the birthday star grows older, and then their children or relatives often come forward to distribute them to relatives and friends to announce the upcoming birthday celebration of an elder in the family.
In this celebration, sons-in-law and daughters are usually the main characters, and sons and daughters-in-law play the role of foils.
On the occasion of the birthday of the rich family, the family will specially arrange a solemn and festive hall. On the south wall of Shoutang, there is often a delicately embroidered red satin with the delicate character Shou embroidered on it. Shou Lian is hung on both sides of the Shou Hall, and Shou Hangs on the top, and other Shou Lian can be hung on other walls.
A red carpet is laid on the floor of the house, and a square table is placed under the wall in front of the house, on which are placed with items such as peaches, noodles, flowers, and fruits. There are also candles on the square table, and chairs for guests to sit on either side of the judo.
After the Shoutang is arranged, the night before the birthday, the red candles are lit. After burning incense to worship the ancestors of heaven and earth, the birthday star sits upright in the hall and accepts the bow of the younger generation, which is commonly known as "worshipping longevity". On the first day of the birthday, in the early morning, firecrackers rang out, and relatives and friends came to congratulate them, which was the "birthday".
Birthday feast
As a unique food in the birthday banquet, noodles are called longevity noodles, which is the best wish for the birthday star. In many places, the birthday feast is not only a celebration for the family, but also a grand event for the whole village or the whole clan.
The host will invite the whole village or the whole clan to taste the longevity noodles that represent auspiciousness. The banquet was full of laughter and laughter, and for those who were unable to attend the birthday banquet for some reason, the host family will also specially send longevity noodles to the door. This is not only a sharing of food, but also a transmission of emotions.
When eating longevity wine, everyone toasted to the birthday star, because the wine is homophonic with long, which means that the birthday star can live a long life. The birthday boy himself usually does not sit in the main hall, and usually finds a few old people of the same age to accompany him and sit at another table in the back room.
Naturally, the richer the meal, the better, representing more blessings and longevity. It is worth mentioning that during the birthday feast, guests should be careful not to break the dishes, which is seen as a sign of calamity.
After the birthday feast, I or the children and grandchildren of the family come forward to personally come to the door to express my deep gratitude to the relatives and guests who come to congratulate those who are old and noble, and this custom is commonly known as "return to worship".
On the night of the birthday banquet, the people from well-to-do families will specially invite the troupe to come, and the personnel will sit in the shed and sing, without makeup, performance, or on stage to show their style, but there is always drum music playing, creating a different festive atmosphere. Most of the operas sung by the troupe are those that represent auspiciousness and are full of festive atmosphere, such as the classic "Hitting the Golden Branch" and "Jiuxi Palace".
Compared with ancient times, it is much simpler for people to celebrate their birthdays now, at most they hold a birthday party, but in any case, when celebrating their birthdays, they should always be grateful to their parents and push themselves and others, which will be more ancient and meaningful.