Tomorrow is the New Year. Xiao Nian, also known as the Stove Festival or Stove King Festival, is a traditional festival in China. Legend has it that the day of the year is the day when the king of the stove goes to heaven, so it is named the stove festival. The Stove King Festival is named because in ancient times, people would go to the local land temple to worship on the day of the New Year. It is important to note that the date of the year varies depending on the region. In our northern region, the small year is the twenty-third day of the lunar month, and in most parts of the south, the small year is the twenty-fourth lunar month.
There are many folk events on this day. First of all, people will do a big cleaning, which means to sweep away the old bad things and welcome the new year. Secondly, the sacrificial stove is an important event. On this day, people will pray to the Lord of the Stove for good luck and good things from heaven to bless the family with peace and prosperity. Finally, eating stove candy is a traditional food in Xiao Nian, and it is said that eating it can stick to the mouth of the stove prince, so that he only says good things and does not say bad things when he reports to heaven about his work.
The small year also means that people start to prepare for the New Year. It expresses a good wish to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new. And the custom of sacrificing stoves on this day in the new year has been around for a long time.
During the Xia Dynasty, the custom of sacrificing the stove in the year has been formed, and the king of the stove is believed to be the guardian god of the family. On this day, the Lord of the Stove will go to heaven to report to the Jade Emperor. It is believed that the Lord of the Stove will describe everything about the family in detail: their virtues, their deeds, the good and bad things they do, and the daily chores of the family. The Jade Emperor will decide the good fortune and misfortune of the family in the new year according to the report of the Lord of the Stove.
The decision was not arbitrary, but was based on an assessment of the family's behavior and character over the past year. The Jade Emperor was very impartial, and he would not be biased because of people's status, nor would he discriminate because of people's wealth or poverty. He only decides everyone's fate based on the report of the Lord of the Stove and his own judgment.
On the evening of the thirtieth day of the Chinese New Year's Eve, King Stove will return to the world with the decision of the Jade Emperor. He will deliver good fortune and evil fortune to this family one by one. The other immortals will go back on the fourth day of the new year, and only the Lord of the Stove will stay in the world for a long time and continue to protect this family.
In the folk song, there is such a saying: "Twenty-three sugar melons are sticky". It describes the custom of sacrificing stoves on the 23rd day of the lunar month every year. Why is there such a custom? In ancient times, it was believed that the Lord of the Stove was the guardian deity of the family, and he would go to heaven to report everything in the family to the Jade Emperor. But people are worried, will the Lord of the Stove speak ill of them in the sky? So, they came up with a way to smear the mouth of the stove lord with sugar. They believed that once the mouth of the Lord of the Stove was smeared with sugar, he could no longer speak ill of his family in front of the Jade Emperor. This is the origin of eating stove sugar.
So, who is the Lord of the Stove? In folk legends, the Lord of the Stove is the "Nine Heavens Destiny Stove King" of the Jade Emperor. There are many legends about the Lord of the Stove, some say that he is the god of fire Zhurong, and some say that it is Emperor Shennong Yan. But as time went on, new legends arose. Next, I will tell you the origin of a stove prince
In ancient times, there was a family surnamed Zhang, and the brothers depended on each other. The eldest brother is a mason, and he is very skilled, especially at the stove. The younger brother is a reader, especially good at painting. The stove of Big Brother Pan is not only beautiful and durable, but also burns very smoothly and does not pour smoke. Because of his outstanding craftsmanship, the villagers in Shili and Eight Villages praised him, and even gave him an honorific title - Stove King Zhang.
Stove King Zhang is a warm-hearted person. Every time he went to someone else's house to build a stove, if he found that there was a quarrel between husband and wife or discord between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, he always couldn't help but take care of it. When encountering an emotional and noisy daughter-in-law, he will patiently persuade and resolve the conflict between them. And when he encounters an unreasonable mother-in-law, he will also stand up and say two words of justice to uphold justice for his wronged daughter-in-law. His words are earnest and powerful, and one cannot but be convinced.
After a long time, everyone in the neighborhood knew about the warm-heartedness and impartiality of the stove king Zhang. No matter what happens to anyone's family, they will ask him to help mediate. Whether it is a quarrel between husband and wife or a dispute between neighbors, as long as Zhang Yi, the king of the stove, comes forward, he can always find a solution.
Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, Stove King Zhang is already seventy years old. It is said that seventy years old is rare, and according to the ancients, seventy years old is already considered a high life. The day he died happened to be the night of the twenty-third day of the lunar month.
As soon as the king of the stove, Zhang, died, the Zhang family was in chaos. It turned out that Zhang Zhang, the king of the stove, was the pillar of the family, and when he was alive, the affairs of the family were arranged by him in an orderly manner.
After the death of the eldest brother, the original harmonious family was gone. Several daughters-in-law began to break up, and they blamed each other and quarreled endlessly. Although the younger brother is not young, he has always been good at writing poems and paintings, and has never interfered in household affairs. In the face of sudden changes, he seemed to be in a hurry and at a loss. Seeing the increasingly chaotic situation at home, my younger brother had a sad face all day long, not knowing what to do.
The younger brother, who was forced to do nothing by the strife in the family, finally came up with a solution on the twenty-third day of the lunar month, that is, the death day of his eldest brother. In the middle of the night, he woke up the whole family and said nervously: "Hurry up, my eldest brother has appeared!" ”
The family trembled with fright at his tone, got out of bed one after another, and followed him to the kitchen. The kitchen was pitch black, except for a single candle flickering in the wind. The younger brother pointed to the wall and said, "Look, that's my eldest brother!" ”
The family looked at it and saw the face of the stove king Zhang faintly visible on the wall. His eyes were serious, as if he was really looking at everything in this home. This scene stunned everyone and didn't dare to speak.
At this time, the younger brother began to recount his dream: "I tell you, I had a dream last night, and I dreamed that my eldest brother had become an immortal. The Jade Emperor named him the Emperor of the Stars, which is what we often call the Lord of the Stove. He observes each of us from heaven, and he sees you all in your eyes when you are usually lazy, disrespectful, and unfilial. Because you are dividing the family and the family is not at peace, the eldest brother is very angry and is ready to go to heaven to tell the Jade Emperor. On the night of the thirtieth night of the Chinese New Year's Eve, he will come to the lower realm to punish you. ”
After hearing his words, the family members turned pale with fright, knelt on the ground and kowtowed, muttering in their mouths to beg the Lord of the Stove for forgiveness. They offered the sweets that the stove king Zhang loved to eat on the stove, hoping to exchange it for his forgiveness.
Since the "apparition" incident that night, the people of the Zhang family have truly united, coexisted peacefully, and lived a stable life. The neighbors found out about this, and the news about the Zhang family quickly spread throughout the village. Everyone came to inquire about what happened to make the Zhang family so harmonious.
It turned out that the statue of the stove king on the stove wall on the twenty-third night of the lunar month was carefully painted by the younger brother in advance. He pretended to be the legend of his eldest brother's apparition in order to deter those family members who had bad intentions and family discord.
Unexpectedly, this method turned out to be very effective. The family members were so frightened that they didn't dare to break up anymore, and they also respected and filial their elders more. They strive to maintain family harmony and unity, hoping to exchange this for the forgiveness and blessing of the Lord of the Stove.
Gradually, the story spread throughout the village. Many people came to ask their younger brother to paint a statue of the king of the stove for them. So, the younger brother began to concentrate on painting the statue of the king of the stove and gave it to the neighbors from door to door. This custom gradually spread, and the kitchen of every house was pasted with a statue of the stove king.
Every year on the twenty-third day of the lunar month, people will make offerings to the king of the stove and pray for the safety of the whole family. This custom has been included in the festival since the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty. Over time, it gradually became a fixed ritual.
Tomorrow is Xiao Nian, and in folk tradition, Xiao Nian is an important festival where people eat traditional foods such as stove candy to pray for good luck and happiness in the coming year.
Here, I wish you all a happy new year! May the Lord of the Stove bless your whole family with peace and happiness! Folktales