China's traditional culture has a long history, and the folk festivals and activities it has nurtured are also colorful. Although many folk festivals in China are not Taoist festivals themselves, the customs of their festivals are inextricably linked with Taoist beliefs. "Spring Festival" is the name of the first day of the old calendar after the introduction of the Western calendar (A.D.) into China. Yan Yun: Led by 100 festivals. Therefore, the Spring Festival is the grandest traditional festival of the Chinese people, commonly known as the "New Year". Every year, just after the halfway point of the lunar month (December), there is a "year" atmosphere. On the twenty-third day of the lunar month, it marks the beginning of the New Year stage (this day is called "the small year"), so there are a series of folk festival activities related to Taoist beliefs: 24 sweep the house; Twenty-five to welcome the Jade Emperor; Chinese New Year's Eve, New Year's Eve, New Year's Eve, Chinese New Year's Eve dinner; On the first day of the first month, the gods are picked up and firecrackers are released; the second day of the first day to sacrifice to the God of Wealth; On the fifth day of the first month, the God of Wealth is received; On the eighth day of the first month, worship Shunxing (natal star); At the beginning of the ninth Jade Emperor's Christmas, he returned to the heavenly realm to send gods; On the thirteenth day of the first month, General Liu Meng was sacrificed; The fourteenth day of the first month welcomes Zigu (there are also on the thirteenth or fifteenth day of the first month); On the fifteenth day of the first month, Shangyuan Tianguan Christmas, and the Shangyuan Festival (Lantern Festival).
The folk sacrifice stove on the twenty-third day of the lunar month, that is, the stove, is a sacrificial activity that sends the god of the stove to the sky. The god of the stove, also known as the king of the stove or the king of the stove. The duty of the god of the stove is to be in charge of food, supervise the messengers of heaven and earth, and control the blessings and blessings of the family. Therefore, the world also calls it "the life of the family".
The folk mostly offer the god of the stove to the stove, and on the night of the twenty-third day of the lunar month, they use the stuffed candy (pasta, sugar wrapped in dim sum, bean paste or finely minced meat, vegetables, etc., called "stuffing") to worship the god of the stove on the stove, hoping that the god of the stove can stick to his mouth when he goes to heaven. On the night of Chinese New Year's Eve, the god of Vesta descends, also known as "welcoming the god". The purpose of offering to the god of the stove is to let him "say good things in the heavens and auspicious things in the lower world".
If the god of the stove reported to the Jade Emperor on the twenty-third day of the lunar month and reported the good and evil of the people, then two days later, that is, the twenty-fifth of the lunar month. According to the situation he has learned, the Jade Emperor will descend from the sky to inspect the good and evil in the world, and commend and punish him.
In order to please the Jade Emperor, there is a move of "welcoming the Jade Emperor". During the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were many records of welcoming the Jade Emperor. "The Scenery of the Imperial Palace, Volume 2" records: "On the 25th day of the (wax month), the five watches burned incense, and the Jade Emperor and the Jade Emperor checked the world. ”
The Jade Emperor is the great god who presides over the way of heaven and governs the three worlds of heaven and earth believed in by Taoism, and is also the highest god of China's folk beliefs. The folk proverb says: "There is a jade emperor in the sky, and there is an emperor on the earth". After half a moon out of the Nether Realm, the Jade Emperor returned to Heaven on the afternoon of his auspicious Christmas day (the ninth day of the first lunar month). Therefore, on this day, the folk worship the Jade Emperor, commonly known as the "Nine Days". The thirtieth month of the month is also known as "Chinese New Year's Eve" or "New Year's Eve", "Chinese New Year's Eve", "New Year's Eve", "New Year's Eve". On Chinese New Year's Eve, the old door god should be "invited" down. Replace it with a new door god. The door god is the god of the door believed in by Taoism due to the folk customs, and it belongs to the Taoist secular god.
Han Dynasty Fengshen tea, Yu Lei; After the Tang Dynasty, it was changed to Qin Qiong (the word Shubao), and Wei Chigong (the word Jingde). Legend has it that the two heroic figures are hung at the door, and the evil spirit rests.
Chinese New Year's Eve and New Year's Day to welcome the stove monarch and receive the gods is an indispensable ritual for the Spring Festival, and the process is solemn and very pious. Most of the gods that people greet are Taoist gods.
On the fifth day of the first month, the God of Wealth is received, and the palaces and people in various places will have the habit of receiving the God of Wealth. The God of Wealth is the five-way God of Wealth believed in Taoism and folklore, namely Marshal Zhao Gong, Zhaobao, Nazhen, Zhaocai, and Lishi.
The God of Wealth is the god in Taoism who is in charge of the world's wealth and treasury. "The God of Wealth, so that people gather wealth", worship or worship the God of Wealth can make people attract wealth into the treasure, the source of wealth rolling, so on this day there is a custom of receiving the God of Wealth in order to seek a year of wealth.
The purpose of receiving the God of Wealth is not to get the wealth of the God of Wealth out of thin air, but more importantly, to learn the spirit of the God of Wealth, to do the right thing for the heavens, to proclaim on behalf of the heavens, to enlighten the world, and to get the wealth in the right way.
Every God of Wealth is the manifestation of morality in Taoism, and the Taoist precept of "Rather give to others than to others" is the spirit of Taoism's pursuit of monasticism.
The eighth day of the first lunar month is not a festival, but legend has it that this day is the day to invite the stars to the lower realm, so there is a custom of worshipping the stars. The star worship is also called "welcoming the star", "seeking the star", and "receiving the star". In addition to ordinary people burning incense and worshipping, most Taoist palaces also set up altars to worship stars on this day. Shunxing, officially called "Tai Sui", commonly known as "Sui Xing" and "Shun Xing", is the sixty star gods believed in Taoism.
The name of each god is obtained by matching the cycle of the heavenly stem (A, B, C, D, G, G, XIN, and 癸) and the earthly branch (Zi Chou Yin, Mao Chen, Si Wu, Wei Shen You, Xuhai). A is the head of the ten days, the son is the head of the twelve branches, the order of the stem branches is matched, from the Jiazi to the end of the Guihai, the full sixty years are a week, so the name is sixty Jiazi.
Every year, there is a star god - Tai Sui is on duty, and the Tai Sui in the natal year is his natal star king or natal Tai Sui, natal star god. On the eighth day of the first lunar month, worship the star of the natal year, pray for peace and prosperity, and be auspicious.
On the fourteenth day of the first lunar month (there are also thirteen or fifteenth), there is a folk custom of welcoming Zigu. According to "Qing Jialu": "The first month looks at the evening to welcome Zigu, and asks the blame for the end of the year." "This Zigu god is also a Taoist secular god.
The Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, also known as the Shangyuan Festival, is the Christmas of the Emperor Ziwei, a product of Shangyuan. The Emperor of Tianguan belonged to the Yuqing Realm and was composed of three qis: green, yellow and white. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, that is, when you go down to the world, you will be able to determine the sins and blessings of people, so it is called "the blessing of heavenly officials". From the 23rd to the 15th day of the first lunar month, it turns out that the Spring Festival, the most delicate and representative of Chinese folk festivals, has such a close connection with Taoism, a traditional Chinese religion.
This also reflects the integrity and inclusiveness of Chinese culture.