Farewell to the Gods (December 24th of the lunar calendar)

"Farewell to the Gods" is also the day when the Kitchen God and other gods used to observe the good and evil of people's words and deeds in the human world. It is an important day to return to heaven to report the good and evil in the world to the Jade Emperor to determine the good and bad luck of people in the coming year.

▲The Stove God also begins to make porridge as a commemoration after Laba. Do the year-end cleaning work. The 16th day of the twelfth lunar month is the end of the year. On this day, we have to worship the God of Land. Businesses hosted a banquet for employees on that day. In the past, if the boss wanted to fire an employee, he would just point the chicken head at the employee and it would be tacit. The festival food on this day is "Guabao". The Kitchen God is worshiped on the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month. Legend has it that the Kitchen God is sent from heaven to live in every household. At the end of the year, the Kitchen God will return to heaven to report the good and evil of the family for the year. In order to get the Kitchen God to say good things, people bribed him with rich offerings and blocked his mouth to prevent him from snitching.

■New Year's Eve

This. Every family in Tianjin who has traveled far away or separated will go back to their hometown to spend the reunion night and have New Year's Eve dinner around the fire. The most important thing in the New Year's Eve dinner is a big fish, but it cannot be eaten to symbolize "there is more than enough every year." After eating, the eldest elder in the family sits in the main hall, and the younger ones pay New Year's greetings in turn. During the New Year greetings, New Year's money is given out. Usually after giving out the New Year's money, most people are allowed to start gambling with small money. Regardless of whether they gamble or not, they usually have to stay up until midnight. As soon as the firecrackers are set off, the new year officially begins. We also go to a nearby famous temple to worship in the middle of the night to prepare for the "first incense".

■The first day of the new year

According to the zodiac signs. The official opening time is set, and when the time comes, firecrackers are set off, and sweets—red dates, winter melon, sugar, peanut candy and other candies are offered in front of the gods, and gold paper is burned to worship together. At dawn, spring couplets are pasted on the door and lit. Candles and incense are used, and offerings of tea, sweet tea, peanut candy, and honey are used to worship the gods.

After setting off firecrackers at the memorial tablets of the Buddha and ancestors, the whole family worships together, which is called the beginning of spring. In addition to worshiping the gods and Buddhas at home on the first day of the Lunar New Year, you can also go to the temple you believe in to worship. In addition, the first day of the Lunar New Year is the first day of the year. At the beginning, in order to have a good start, the family should not say unlucky words, scold, shout, beat, etc., nor use knives and forks, let alone destroy things. The whole family, men, women, old and young, should all wear new clothes, or go to the hospital to give gifts. Relatives and friends pay New Year greetings, go for outings in the countryside, or participate in various games and gambling.

□ Vegetable soup and sweet cakes are not allowed on the first day of the lunar new year.

Vegetarian dishes are required on the morning of the first day of the lunar new year. They don’t cook meat either. They steam the food from the day before. They don’t drink vegetable soup. They can only drink rock sugar tea. Taiwanese people believe that if you drink vegetable soup, you will encounter heavy rain when traveling. Some people experience this from the first to the third day of the Lunar New Year. We don’t eat sweet cakes on New Year’s Day. We only eat them on the second day of the Lunar New Year. The barley must be fried in a pot. There is a proverb in Taiwan: “Fry red, red, red”, which means “poor”.

□Disposal of household garbage

From the first to the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, household garbage must not be taken out and thrown away. Take Fu out. So even trash should be left at home.

Another theory is that returning to one's parents' home on the second day of the Lunar New Year is a rigid social norm. In the past, women's status was not high, and they were worried that after getting married, they would encounter an evil mother-in-law, who might not allow her to return home for the rest of her life. Therefore, this custom was established. On the second day of the Lunar New Year, a married woman, her husband and children bring some gifts back to her natal home to pay New Year greetings. After returning to her natal home, she first pays New Year greetings to her grandparents and parents, and then gives them red envelopes. These elders also give red envelopes to the grandchildren brought back by their daughters. . If there are younger siblings in the family, of course, red envelopes should be distributed. Therefore, every year on the second day of the first lunar month, my parents’ house is filled with joy and excitement.

The pronunciation of the pronunciation is the same as the word "deficit" of extreme poverty. It is an unlucky day, so it is not suitable to go out or entertain guests. According to another folk legend, the night of the third day of the lunar month is the wedding day of the rat. On this day, lights should be avoided in the middle of the night. Everyone should go to bed early and sprinkle some food in the corner of the home to express that the year's harvest will be shared with the rat. Early farmers believed that being associated with rats on this day could reduce the losses caused by rats.

■The fourth day of the first lunar month

The day to receive the gods (the fourth day of the first lunar month)

The gods go to heaven to report their duties and report the good and evil in the world. They will return to the world on the fourth day of the first lunar month. , continue to accept sacrifices and monitor the good and evil in the world, so it is necessary to be very careful to welcome the gods to earth on this day, so it is called "the day to receive the gods".

The fourth day of the first lunar month is the day to welcome the gods, and the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month of the previous year is the day to send off the gods. When sending off the gods, all the gods in the lower world ascend to heaven to pay New Year greetings to the Jade Emperor and report the good and evil of human behavior. On the fourth day of the first lunar month, he descended to earth again. As the proverb goes: "It's early to send the gods off, and it's late to receive the gods." Therefore, it is necessary to send the gods early in the morning, but to receive the gods around four o'clock in the afternoon. Every household prepares sacrifices, fruits and vegetables, burns incense, burns gold paper, and sets off firecrackers to show their respect. . It is said that during the period from the 24th of the twelfth lunar month to the fourth day of the first lunar month, the heaven sent other gods to patrol the lower realm, monitor everything and then report to the gods.

As you wish, I also hope that business will be more prosperous and financial resources will be abundant in the coming year. On the fifth day of the first lunar month, merchants usually start their business to welcome the God of Wealth, which is called opening the market or opening. First choose an auspicious time, open the door and set off firecrackers. In addition, sacrifices are made to worship "Master Guan", who is called the God of Wealth by businessmen. The fifth day of the Lunar New Year is separated by a period of Chinese New Year. The New Year holiday usually ends on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year and everything returns to normal.

■The sixth day of the first lunar month

The sixth day of the first lunar month is the day to start work by cleaning up water and fertilizer at home and irrigating crops in the fields. Although there is no need to pump fertilizer anymore, industry and commerce are still open today. This is a traditional evolution. In addition, the sixth day of the first lunar month is the birthday of the Patriarch Qingshuiyan. On this day, all the Patriarch temples must decorate with lights, prepare sacrifices or perform performances to offer sacrifices.

■The seventh day of the first lunar month

The first day of the first month is Rooster Day, the second day is Dog Day, the third day is Pig Day, the fourth day is Sheep Day, the fifth day is Ox Day, and the sixth day is Ox Day. The seventh day is the horse day, the seventh day is the human day, and the eighth day is the grain day. Legend has it that the Creator created human beings today and ate seven kinds of vegetables as soup. In order to expel evil spirits and diseases, Japan learned from China and ate seven kinds of vegetables on the seventh day of the first lunar month. The seven herbs on the seventh day of the first lunar month came from this, but Taiwan no longer has them. This is the trend.

The nobility of the Godhead.

The ninth day of the first lunar month is the birthday of the Jade Emperor, which is called Tiangongsheng in Taiwanese. The Jade Emperor is called "Emperor" in Buddhism, "Yuanshi Tianzun" in Taoism, "Haotian God" in Confucianism, and "Tiangong" in folk belief. He is considered to be the creator of all things and the greatest god. The festival is held from midnight to four in the morning. During worship, heavenly gold is burned. Heavenly gold is commonly known as Tai Chi gold. It is a very noble gold paper and is used when worshiping God and the three realms.

■Fifteenth Day

Lantern Festival (Shangyuan Festival)

The Lantern Festival is also known as the "Shangyuan Festival". In ancient times, it was a festival that continued the lively atmosphere of the Lunar New Year. , so it is also known as the "Little New Year".

Worship Tianguan Dadi (the 15th day of the first lunar month)

Since Tianguan Dadi’s status is as revered as the God of Heaven, the way of worship and the offerings prepared are all the same as the time of worshiping the God of Heaven. resemblance. The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is Shangyuan, also known as Yuanxiao. It is also the birth day of Emperor Tianguan. Emperor Tianguan is one of the three emperors. The three emperors refer to Shangyuan to bless Tianguan Ziwei and Zhongyuan to pardon the sins of the earth official Qingxu. The Great Emperor, the Great Emperor Dongyin of Xia Yuan Jie E Shuiguan. The whole family reunites and eats glutinous rice balls on Lantern Festival night to signify that the New Year holiday is over. Tangyuan is also called Yuanxiao. In general stores, because of the large quantity, they are usually shaken, which is called Shake Yuanxiao. On the evening of the 15th, there is an activity of guessing lantern riddles. This is a noble game in ancient Taiwan, popular among scholars and students, and now it is popular all over the world. In addition to guessing lantern riddles, there are also activities to welcome lanterns.

▲ Lantern

In the early years of agricultural society, the Lantern Festival activities included stealing onions. People in ancient times used to say: "Stealing onions will marry a good husband. Stealing vegetables will marry a good son-in-law." ” Therefore, it is a good sign that an unmarried girl can steal onions or vegetables grown by others on Lantern Festival night. Other traditional activities include wearing lamps and listening to incense.

There is a proverb in Beijing during the Chinese New Year: "(The twelfth lunar month, the twelfth lunar month) The 23rd day is sticky with sugar and melons; the 24th day is the day to clean the house; the 25th day is the day to paste the windows; Stew the meat on the 26th (Sunday); kill the rooster on the 27th (Sunday); make the noodles on the 28th (Sunday); steam the steamed buns on the 29th (Sunday); stay up all night on the 30th (Sunday); twist and twist on the New Year's Day "

The fifth day of the first lunar month is called "Po Wu", and you cannot cook with uncooked rice until "Po Wu". The seventh day of the first lunar month is called "Ren Day", "Ren Sheng Festival", or "Qi Yuan". During the Spring Festival, Beijingers like to go to temple fairs. You can ring the Yongle Bell at the Big Bell Temple, touch stone monkeys and see money eyes at the Baiyunguan Temple Fair, and enjoy antiques, calligraphy and paintings, copybooks, jewelry, jade and other rare things at the Changdian Temple Fair. There are flower performances such as stilts, Taiping drum, trolley car performance, and five tiger sticks.

Basic concepts:

1. Farewell to the gods

It is the Kitchen God and other gods who used to observe people's words and deeds in the human world and return to heaven once a year. It is an important day to report the good and evil in the world to the Jade Emperor, so as to determine the good and bad fortune of people in the coming year.

Customally, December 24th of the lunar calendar is the "Send-off Day". It is also the day when the Kitchen God and other gods, who used to observe people's words and deeds in the human world, return to heaven once a year to pay homage to Jade. It is an important day for the emperor to report the good and evil in the world to determine the good and bad luck of the people in the coming year. Therefore, special sacrifices should be prepared for the Kitchen God on this day so that he will not say too many bad things about people when he returns to heaven. Among them Especially the Kitchen God (Zao Lord).

According to folklore, the Kitchen God was originally the third prince of the Jade Emperor. Because of his lecherous behavior and misbehavior, he was punished by the Jade Emperor and sent to the kitchen stove in the human world, where he lived with women all day long and stayed in the human world as a supervisor. The earth god who speaks and does good and evil in the world. However, after the gods are sent away, there are still gods to take over the duties, and they will not return to the human world until the "God Acceptance Day" to continue their tasks. It is also commonly known as "send the divine wind and receive the divine rain", which is to hope that the gods will be assisted by the wind god to ascend to heaven early; when receiving the gods on the fourth day of the first lunar month, they hope for rain. This is regarded as the divine rain brought by the gods when they descend to earth. .

You can send gifts to gods after the 15th or 16th day of the twelfth lunar month. However, if you choose a good and auspicious day, remember that it cannot conflict with your own zodiac sign. For example, if you are born in the Year of the Rooster, you cannot choose a noon day. , Mao day or Chen day, etc. For details, you can check Dr. Zheng's monthly good and bad fortune forecasts, or check Dr. Zheng's "2011 Business Feng Shui Guide for High-end Elites".

2. Xie Zao

Xie Zao time: We often hear that officials are three and people are four (in the emperor's era, officials all Xie Zao on the 23rd), and ordinary people Xie Zao on the 24th The stove is fine.

3. Reunion dinner

On New Year’s Eve, the family gathers together to have a meal, which means family reunion. However, in today’s society, everyone is busy with work, so there is no rigidity. The best time for reunion this year is after 5pm on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month.

4. Burning incense

means to burn incense and worship Buddha or gods in the temple after 11:15 on the 30th of the year; if you are at home, then you must Burning incense facing the west, praying to the gods and Buddhas to bring good luck to the family throughout the year, stable business, and smooth financial resources.

5. The market is open

If the market is open, Dr. Zheng recommends that you choose a good and auspicious day to open the market, and at the same time, the day cannot conflict with your own zodiac sign. The year is going well and business is booming. For details, please refer to Dr. Zheng's "2010 Business Feng Shui Guide for High-end Elites". .

6. Good luck

Most people like to take a trip during the Spring Festival holiday, which can help them have everything going well in the new year. This year, there will be great benefits in the east and west. Therefore, if you want to increase your luck this year, you may wish to leave your home on the morning of the first day of the year and walk east or west and stay there for a while to accept the good energy, so as to increase your luck throughout the year. Auspicious aura.

Specific steps for Xie Zao:

Xie Zao is a farewell feast. The farewell banquet we hold needs to be held before the other person sets off. Otherwise, they will have already left and there will be no need to wait. How can we see him off? Therefore, the time cannot be later than the day when someone leaves. The same is true for Xie Zao. On the other hand, the farewell cannot be too early. The departure is in October. You cannot give the other party a farewell banquet in February. If the time is too far apart, it will be too ridiculous.

When should the Lord Zao leave the human world and return to the Heavenly Palace?

This requires first knowing when the Lord Zao left the human world and returned to the Heavenly Palace.

In fact, the day of Huitian Palace is on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month. Generally speaking, it is best to hold sacrifices to the stove on this day, which is the most appropriate. However, if it cannot be carried out on this day for various reasons, it should be done before this day, but not too early, not earlier than December 14th. In other words, from December 14th to the 24th, you can give up the stove on any day.

The offerings used by Xie Zao have their own characteristics, which are different from the prayers to other gods. Because Xie Zao means bribery, it must make Lord Zao happy and sweet.

There are twelve kinds of offerings to Xie Zao

1. Three branches of sandalwood

The aroma of sandalwood is special and can convey the thoughts of the praying person to the gods.

2. Three branches of longevity incense

This is not necessary, but if the home environment allows for a larger incense burner that can accommodate three branches of longevity incense, the offering of sandalwood can be greatly enhanced. significance.

3. A pair of red candles

The candlelight emits light, showing respect for the Kitchen God, making the Kitchen God feel like a distinguished guest.

4. Three glasses of wine

Wine is a luxury, but it can make people feel happy physically and mentally during a feast. There must be no shortage of wine. Delicious food without wine is always a fly in the ointment. Offer three cups of fine wine to the Kitchen Lord, and let Xiu drink it. His mind will be a little drunk, and he will be a little confused, so that he can forget some of his duties and be flattered. Wine is an indispensable thing for Xie Zao, and it is especially best to use some high-quality and fragrant wine.

5. Three cups of tea

The value of fine tea is not inferior to that of fine wine and delicacies. When worshiping the Kitchen Lord, don't use bland and tasteless "cheap" tea indiscriminately. Use a little high-quality tea that can be brewed with boiling water to bring out the fragrance, in order to please the Kitchen Lord.

6. Three rice bowls, three pairs of chopsticks

This is used for the Kitchen God to enjoy food. Although there is no food in the bowl, it already contains the meaning of inviting people to eat.

7. Gold and silver paper

This is a symbol of treasure. How can you lose money by paying bribes? There is a good way: wealth can connect with gods! Therefore, you need to prepare gold and silver paper and dedicate it to Zao Lord. , Make Zao Lord happy. When praying to different gods, the combination of gold and silver paper will be slightly different. You can learn more about this from the paper shop.

8. Soup balls

Before using the stove, boil some soup balls. The function is that the Zao Lord will have a sweet feeling in his mouth, and it will be sweeter to speak to the Jade Emperor. He didn't say anything bad, but when he wanted to say something bad, the soup pill was sticky and stuck to his mouth, making it difficult for the Jade Emperor to speak clearly.

9. Candy and other desserts

Candies and other desserts are used to worship the Kitchen Lord. The meaning is the same as Tang Jiu. The sugar makes Zaojun feel sweet and talk sweeter. You can directly use a bowl to hold some white sugar, brown sugar, rock sugar, tablet sugar, etc. It is better to use maltose, because maltose is quite sweet and has a very strong stickiness. Using maltose as a sacrifice can not only make the stove Jun's mouth is full of sweetness, and the maltose can stick to Shou's mouth like paste, so that when Shou wants to say something good, he will say it very sweetly; but when he wants to say something bad, he will not make any sound.

10. Vegetarian dishes

The Kitchen God is not a vegetarian. You can eat meat or vegetables. Otherwise, how can you become a Kitchen God? You must know that most people in the world eat meat and vegetables together. Yes, offering vegetarian dishes to Zao Lord is to let Zao Lord enjoy the delicious taste of vegetarian food.

11. Roasted pork

Roasted pork can best highlight the flavor of meat. Roasted pork also has the best flavor, so it can be served as roasted pork; the whole golden pig The best thing to offer is the so-called gift to many people, but it is also okay to just use a large piece of roast meat.

12. Five fruits

You can use oranges or apples to quench Zaojun’s thirst.

Sacrifice ceremony to thank the Kitchen God:

When thanking the God of the Kitchen, one should prepare a table in front of the God of the Kitchen and put all the offerings on it. Including all food and gold and silver paper, they are neatly placed on the table, with an incense burner in the center.

First, light the incense candle, bow three times respectfully, and then insert it into the incense burner. Then pray sincerely, kneel in front of the God of the Kitchen God, put your hands together respectfully, and tell all your wishes, such as praying for the safety of your family, etc., and ask the God of the Kitchen not to say bad things in front of the Jade Emperor, but to say more good things, so that your home will be blessed by the Jade Emperor. .

Then, sprinkle a little of each cup of tea and wine on the ground in front of the shrine to express tea and toast.

Pick up the gold and silver paper, bow it respectfully in front of Kitchen God three times, then hand the gold and silver paper to the red candle to burn it, and then place it in the cornucopia for incineration. When the gold and silver paper is incinerated, the stove is considered complete.

Remind friends: after giving up the stove, it is indispensable to receive the stove. To give up the stove is to send away the stove king; to receive the stove is to welcome the stove king. The Kitchen Lord will not stay in heaven forever. He goes to the Heavenly Palace to report. On the fourth day of the first lunar month, he will return to the human world and "stand guard" in the kitchen of every house. The method of receiving the altar is relatively simple. There is no need to use desserts, just some fruits, three sticks of incense, and then sincerely prostrate.