Today is the twenty-third day of the lunar month, a day full of traditional culture. Also known as Chinese New Year's Eve, this day has a special meaning in traditional Chinese culture. Sacrificing the stove, sweeping the dust, and eating the stove candy are the three activities that are indispensable to this day.
In melodious ballads, we often hear that phrase"Twenty-three, sugar melon sticky", which depicts the ritual of sacrificing to the god of the stove on the 23rd day of the lunar month every year.
This day, for the Chinese, has a profound historical and cultural heritage.
The sacrificial stove is an important ritual in Chinese folk beliefs.
On this day, people pray to the Lord of the Stove for a good harvest and the peace of the family in the coming year.
As the protector of the family, the Lord of the Stove is believed to be able to bless the health and happiness of his family.
In the ritual of sacrificing the stove, people will offer some delicacies and incense to the king of the stove to express their respect and gratitude, and the most important thing in the food is the sugar melon.
Twenty-three, sugar melon sticky", a simple five words, but contains rich connotations.
On this special day, people will sacrifice sugar melons to the god of the stove, hoping to pray for a good harvest and family safety in the coming year.
Sugar melon, is a snack made of maltose, it is usually made in the shape of pumpkin, this sweet snack, not only symbolizes sweetness and beauty, but also carries people's love for life and expectations for the future.
The custom of worshipping the god of the stove has a history of thousands of years in China, and it is the embodiment of the ancient people's reverence for the god of the stove.
As the protector of the home and kitchen, the god of the stove is believed to be able to protect the safety and health of the family and bless the abundant harvest. Therefore, on the 23rd day of the lunar month every year, people will hold a solemn ceremony to worship the god of the stove and pray for the blessing of the god of the stove.
Rituals to the god of the stove are usually held in the kitchen, where sugar melons and other offerings are placed in front of the stove and incense is burned. Although the process is simple, it is full of people's love for life and hope for the future.
On this special day, people also say words of blessing like:"The king of the stove blesses, the house is safe, and the grains are abundant"etc., in order to express respect and gratitude to the god of the stove.
Twenty-three, sugar melon sticky"This folk song depicts not only a simple ritual of sacrificing to the god of the stove, but also a profound part of traditional Chinese culture.
It makes us understand that in the lives of Chinese, beliefs and traditional customs are so deeply ingrained that they deeply affect our way of life and values.
However, in the south, Xiao Nian is on the twentieth day of the lunar month.
It seems that the dispute between the north and the south for the New Year also has a long tradition, you have a small year on the twenty-third, and I want to spend it on the twenty-fourth, postponing it by one day.
That is to say, the day of sacrifice to the god of the stove is twenty-three in the north and twenty-four in the south.
However, in Chinese folk traditions, there is a widespread saying that "the three officials and the four boats are the five of the boats" or "the three of the officials and the four monks and the five of the monks".
The meaning of this sentence is that government officials usually worship the god of the stove on the 23rd day of the lunar month.
Ordinary people carry out sacrificial stove activities on the 24th day of the lunar month.
For the people on the water, that is, those who make a living by fishing or boating, as well as monks from temples and Taoist temples, they will perform a ritual on the 25th day of the lunar month.
In ancient China, there was a great difference between the lifestyles and customs of the government and the common people. As the ruling class, the customs and beliefs of government officials often represent official culture and traditions.
Of course, there is also such a reason, the Stove God is an inspection team sent by the Heavenly Court, they came to the world, and originally wanted to walk around at will, but the government often intercepted them in advance and let the Stove God go to the official house first.
Why, because ordinary people only survive for themselves or dig food in the soil every year, they have no distractions, and they have no dissatisfaction with the heavenly court, let alone do anything wrong, and the government is different, they have many and many of them have some unsightly things, so they urgently need to bribe the god of the stove first and let them say something good.
And the people will definitely not be able to compete with the government, so they have to postpone the sacrifice to the stove god.
Folk beliefs and customs are more diverse and flexible.
At the same time, the monks of the water family, temples and Taoist temples have also formed their unique time and way of sacrificing stoves due to their special lifestyle and professional characteristics.
Their special life makes their sacrifices certainly different from those of the government and the people in terms of form and time.
The sacrificial stove is of great significance in traditional Chinese culture.
Through the sacrifice of the stove, people express their awe and gratitude to the god of the stove, hoping that the god of the stove will bless the peace and prosperity of the family.
The holding of ritual stove activities at different times and places also reflects the diversity and richness of China's regional culture. Whether it is the government, the people, the temple, or the Taoist temple, people have expressed their respect and gratitude to the god of the stove in their own way.
I thought that Mr. Stove God would call back and forth on this errand that day, but it turned out that he would have to stay for three days.
For the god of the stove, whether it is a beauty or a drudgery, only he knows it.
It's just that for three consecutive days, eating sugar melons every day, will blood sugar spike, will there be diabetes, this is in the world, and no one has considered it for the god of the stove.
Even if he doesn't get diabetes, our stove god is still very aggrieved, he doesn't enjoy the heavenly food, he goes to the world to eat sugar melons, and he is so sticky that he can't speak.
Moreover, during the New Year in the world, except for the poor families, who is not a big fish and big meat, you mortals have big fish and meat all day long, and the delicacies of the mountains and seas make the god of the stove can only enjoy sugar melons.
Aren't you afraid that the god of the stove will go to heaven to talk nonsense?
The key is that my country's diet is salty and sweet in the south, sweet in the east and sour in the west, and in addition to the famous eight cuisines, there are countless delicacies that cannot be described in the cuisine, and the delicacies in the world are so rich, why is the god of the stove only worthy of eating sweets? It's so aggrieved.
I wonder if today's Stove God can enjoy food other than sugar melons, including Japanese and Korean cuisine and Western cuisine.
In addition to the sacrificial stove, dust sweeping is also one of the important customs of the Chinese New Year's Eve.
In traditional Chinese culture, sweeping the dust symbolizes removing the old and welcoming the new, sweeping away all the bad things and welcoming the arrival of the new year. People will clean their homes on this day, wash the furniture, and give the home a new look.
Dust sweeping is not only a cleaning activity, but also a ritual that entrusts people's good wishes.
The last essential activity is to eat stove sugar.
Stove candy is a traditional candy that is shaped like a small stick.
After the sacrifice and dusting, people eat some stove candy to celebrate this special day. Stove candy has a sweet taste and symbolizes sweetness and happiness.
It is believed that eating stove candy can ward off illness and bad luck, and usher in good luck and health.
To sum up, Chinese New Year's Eve on the 23rd day of the lunar month is a meaningful day in traditional Chinese culture. The three customs of sacrificing stoves, sweeping dust, and eating stove candy are not only a manifestation of traditional culture, but also people's pursuit and yearning for a better life.
On this day, let's inherit these traditional cultural customs and feel the breadth and profundity of Chinese culture.