[Original Debut]
Talk about the Sting Festival
"It's spring again." Unconsciously, it is the "stinging" season of the year again. "Sting" is one of the 24 solar terms of the year, so what does "sting" mean in "sting"? What are the customs of the "Sting" festival?
First, what is the meaning of "sting" in "sting"
"Sting" refers to the dormant state of living things. It doesn't mean a quiet atmosphere. There's a little bit of a dormant meaning. "Sting" refers to the dormant state of living things! Creatures dormant! Creatures dormant!
Sting, also known as "enlightenment", is the third of the twenty-four solar terms. The sun reaches 345° ecliptic longitude and crosses on March 5-6 in the Gregorian calendar.
Stings reflect the phenomenon of germination and growth of natural organisms affected by rhythm changes. Spring thunder begins to sound, the temperature rises, insects sprout, "nine nine" has been exhausted, "nine peach blossoms bloom, spring ploughing can not rest." Phenology: peach red plum white, warbler swallow coming, cuckoo to promote farming. Everything sprouts, bacteria breed, and it is easy to cause colds, fevers and liver diseases. Health care needs to pay attention to preventing spring temperature flu, eating a light diet to nourish the liver and spleen, eating more vegetables to clear the stomach and intestines, going to bed early and getting up early to exercise more.
In the season of stinging, the spring breeze sprouts, and nature has a new vitality. The so-called "spring thunder and hundred insects" refers to the time of stinging, the spring thunder begins to sound, awakening the stinging insects that are lying underground for wintering. The hallmark of the stinging festival is the sudden movement of spring thunder and the vitality of all things. Judging from the natural phenology and climatic processes in various parts of China, the "stinging of the first thunder" only coincides with the natural rhythms in some parts of southern China.
Second, the custom of stinging
At the time of the sting, some areas are popular to worship the white tiger, eat pears, beat the villain, eat flapjacks, and sacrifice to the god of thunder.
1. The sacrifice of the white tiger is a special activity of the sting, and in folklore, in addition to being a sacred beast that guards one side, it also controls the tongue and right and wrong of Chinese folk.
2. "Sting and eating pears" is a popular folk custom, because "pear" and "away" are harmonious, which means to stay away. When the sting is also the time when the insects wake up, farmers eating pears on this day is said to keep the insects away from the crops. Because "pear" and "away" are harmonious, they have the meaning of far away. When the sting is also the time when the insects wake up, farmers eating pears on this day is said to keep the insects away from the crops.
3, beating the villain is also the custom of stinging, in the past everyone believed that some unclean things are like insects living in dark corners, at the beginning everyone is holding incense, wormwood, smoking the four corners of the house, driving away these unclean things. Later, it developed into a wooden slipper slapping paper doll, called "beating the villain".
4, eating flapjacks is a custom in Shandong, when stinging people use grain flapjacks, praying that this year's grain can be harvested.
5, sacrifice to the god of thunder, menggupi: on this day of stinging, there is a thunder god in the heavenly court to beat the heavenly drum, and the human world also uses this opportunity to cover the drum skin.