These days, wisps of white smoke continue to rise in our villages along the Qihe River, why is this? Because it is July 15 again, every household has begun to "steam the lamb".
July 15 is the Taoist Zhongyuan Festival, the Olan Festival in Buddhism, commonly known as the Ghost Festival, the Mourning Festival, or the Mouth Festival. "Steamed lamb" is to pray for the blessing of the cow king and the horse king and the gods of the three realms, the six animals are prosperous, and the harvest is abundant, and the festival of July 15 is more complicated than other festivals.
How to steam lamb? In fact, it is made of reconciled noodles, kneaded into an abstract animal, called "lamb" by the people, pepper seeds as eyes, cut out four feet with scissors, and pressed a few times with a comb on the feet, and the lamb is made.
"Steamed lamb" is not only the same, but also some wheat stacks, grain stacks, corn, wheat, pomegranates, eggplants, watermelons and other crops, which are generally thanks to the gods for their protection from the past, praying that they can continue to adjust the wind and rain and the grain is abundant. The grain and wheat stacks are sacrificed to heaven and earth, and the rest are made for the gods enshrined in the house and temple. In addition, some snakes, lions, tigers, pigeons and other animals are also pinched to sacrifice the cow king and the horse king, praying for the prosperity of animal husbandry, harvest of crops, and good health, and is also used to pay homage to the ancestors and express their longing for the deceased.
What is the origin of the July 15 Ghost Festival and the Mourning Day? There are many ancient sayings, mainly due to the influence of Taoism and Buddhism and the influence of traditional autumn festivals.
In the past, the people called July 15 "Ghost Festival", and after the founding of New China, it was usually called Zhongyuan Festival. Zhongyuan is a concept in Taoism, which has a trinity of worship of heavenly gods: tianguan, earth official, and water official, three great gods who dominate the misfortunes and blessings of the world. On the fifteenth day of the first month of the first month, the fifteenth day of July, the fifteenth day of the tenth month of the second yuan, and the night of the three full moons are the birthdays of the heavenly officials, the earth officials, and the water officials. Heavenly officials bless people on the fifteenth day of the first month, magistrates forgive sins on july fifteenth, and water officials forgive people on October fifteenth. In Wulong Town, there are Three Officials Temples in Hetou Village, Luoquan Village, Chen Jiagang and Linqi.
Buddhism originated, and the Buddhist scripture "Buddha Says Obon Sutra" records that the Buddha's eldest disciple, Mu Qianlian (Chinese often called Mu Lian), saw his mother suffering in the A-Na region, and his form was pinned to his bones, so he gave it to his mother with a bowl of food, and the mother's pilaf was to be sent to her mouth, and as soon as the rice arrived, it became charcoal.
Mu lian prayed to the Buddha for a way to save his mother. The Buddha said that when your mother was born, she slandered the Buddha and slandered the monks, and did not believe in the Dhamma of cause and effect, so she suffered from this hungry ghost. On July 15, she will offer her to the monks of the Ten Directions with delicious delicacies and fresh fruits, and through everyone's mana, she will be surpassed.
Why July 15th? In Buddhism, the 15th of April to the 15th of July of the lunar calendar is the month of the clergy' residence, and everyone is locked up in the temple to practice, and when it ends on July 15th, it is equivalent to a holiday. July 15 is called "The Day of self-indulgence of the monks", also known as "Buddha's Day of Joy". On this day, Mu Lian made offerings to the monks and rescued his mother. He thanked the Buddha for this and said that all the Buddhists in the world should be allowed to save the seventh parent in this way, and the Buddha agreed. This is the origin of the "Obon Festival". Oban is a Sanskrit word that translates to "upside down" in Chinese, describing the suffering of hungry ghosts, such as people hanging upside down. Only by fasting monks with potted food can the suffering of hanging upside down be lifted.
The traditional autumn festival is to say that our ancestors in the Mengqiu July sacrifice activities, to welcome the arrival of the autumn god. After the sacrifice of the gods, the ancestors should be worshipped. Precious seasonal foods are dedicated to the gods and ancestors. Chinese tradition holds that each of the four seasons is dominated by gods, and the White Emperor who rules autumn is not only the god of harvest, but also the god of torture and killing, and the god of death in China. In ancient China, the treatment of death row prisoners was placed after the autumn, called the autumn after the beheading. The date of the autumn festival used to be arbitrary, and it could be done at any time after the autumn festival, and in the Southern Dynasty, July 15 was set as the day of ancestor worship.
We, the people on both sides of the Qihe River, used to use oxen carts, donkeys to pull mills, and drive things, they are the main "labor" of cultivating land in every household, and autumn ploughing is the most arduous labor of livestock.
Every year on July 15th is also the Temple Fair of Niu Wangye in Xijiang Village, each time singing opera for five days. On the fifteenth day, there was a large-scale material exchange meeting, and the people who rushed to the market were crowded with people, and the worshippers of the cow prince were also in groups. The people who came to burn incense carried lambs and other offerings, and the people of Xijiang Village steamed larger sheep with flowers for the cow king to enjoy.
Traditional festivals, simple people, spread on both sides of the Qihe River for a long time, indicating the prosperity and development of our Chinese nation, the prosperity of the people and the strength of the country! (Xue Shuai)