What are the customs of the Beginning of Spring?

The Beginning of Spring in the 24 solar terms of the lunar calendar, commonly known as "spring", sometimes in the 12th month of the lunar calendar, sometimes in the first month of the lunar calendar, after the Beginning of Spring, it means the end of winter and the beginning of spring. China has been an agricultural country since ancient times, spring planting and autumn harvest, the key lies in spring. There is a saying that "the plan for a year lies in spring". Let's take a look at the Beginning of Spring's customs.

Lift the spring color

According to the Journal of Journey to Guangdong, there was an activity called "lifting Spring" in Chaoshan area during the Qing Dynasty. In the parade on the day of spring, there must be decorated pavilions, sitting on song prostitutes, carried by two people. There is also a difference between Gao Chun and Aichun in Jiaying Meizhou: Aochun sits on the stage for one person, while Gao Chun uses two people: one person stands on the stage, and then a straight wood is hidden in that person's long coat, flush with this person's shoulder. Then tie a stick across the top of the straight wood, which is hidden in the wide sleeves, and stand on the crossbar again. To be on the safe side, tie your feet firmly on the crossbar and dress up as characters in a story. Another man held a long stick wrapped with cloth under the armpit of the man above, and paraded with the Spring Festival procession. If there is an obstacle on the way, the man with a long stick will use a mixer to remove the obstacle.

Paste spring cow

The custom of paste Chunniu began in front of the Beginning of Spring. According to the traditional practice, the county government (county government) hired paper experts and good craftsmen to gather in the county seat before the Beginning of Spring to carefully produce images of Chunniu. Generally, bamboo strips are tied into the skeleton of a cow, spring wood is used to make legs, and then pasted with paper and paint, the image of a cow is made successfully. It is commonly said that there is a lot of red and yellow paper, but that year there was a "bumper harvest" and black paper was pasted, but the harvest was not good. Therefore, the magistrate arranged to use more red and yellow paper to win the hearts and minds of the people. After the spring cow paste is ready, the opening ceremony is held, that is, the incense case is set up and the pilgrimage is saluted.

Bite the spring

Biting spring refers to the custom of eating spring plates, eating spring cakes, eating spring rolls and chewing radish on the day of spring. Spring plate spring cake is the use of vegetables, fruits, cake bait and other dishes for relatives and friends or self-food, known as the spring plate. Du Fu's "the Beginning of Spring" poem said: "in spring, when I served fine lettuce, I suddenly remembered the plum hair in Beijing and Beijing." Spring plate spring cake is the use of vegetables, fruits, cake bait and other dishes for relatives and friends or self-food, known as the spring plate. The custom of biting spring was first seen in the Jin Dynasty. In the Tang and Song dynasties, the custom of eating spring cakes was popular, spread to the people, and ate cakes to make dishes and give gifts to each other. The custom of biting spring and chewing radish. In the Story of Yanjing, there is a saying: "on that day, rich families eat more spring cakes, and women buy more radishes to eat them, which is called 'biting spring'. It is said that you can be sleepy in spring. In the old Beijing, the radish from Nanyuan Dahongmen was the most popular, and there is a common saying that the radish from Dahongmen is called Jingmen.

Beat the spring cow

According to the Chronicles of Chenghai County published in Qingjia Qingben, every spring day, the government must lead people to the suburbs to hold a spring ceremony, and then hold a "whip spring cow" activity. As early as the Zhou Dynasty, there was the activity of whipping spring cattle in spring. Every year before the Spring Festival, the state capitals make clay mango gods and native cattle in advance. On the Beginning of Spring's day, the government, with a spring welcome team, came to the Mangshen Pavilion and Tuniu platform prepared in advance in the eastern suburbs. All the people in the spring welcome team wore blue clothes, used blue cars and blue flags, and people blew horns, sang "Qingyang song", danced feather ceremonies, danced Yunqiao dance, and held a grand spring welcoming ceremony. The ceremony developed to the Ming and Qing dynasties, and it was even more grand. According to the Chronicles of Yanjing, written by the Qing people, "…" The Beginning of Spring first day, Shuntianfu officials went to the spring market one mile outside Dongzhimen to welcome spring, set up the Spring ceremony Department and presented it into the Spring Mountain Throne, Shuntianfu presented a picture of the Spring Niu, returned to the Department after the ceremony, and led the Chunniu to beat it, saying that he would fight the Spring. " The purpose of beating spring cattle is to encourage farming. Chaoshan is located in the Han River Delta with fertile soil. Agriculture is so developed that this custom related to persuading farmers can be preserved in Chaoshan area. However, the specific situation has changed, and it is not necessary to beat the bull.