"Twenty-three, the sacrificial stove; twenty-four, sweep the house; Twenty-five, grinding tofu; Twenty-six, to cut the meat; Twenty-seven, kill a chicken; Twenty-eight, go buy flowers; Twenty-nine, go to sell wine; Chinese New Year's Eve, applique door (paste couplet, hang New Year's painting); On the first day of the Lunar New Year, pouting his ass (New Year's greetings). ”
This is a well-known nursery rhyme in my country to welcome the New Year, which may be sung differently in different places, but the general content is similar, which describes some important customs from the 23rd day of the lunar month to the first day of the first lunar month.
And the time came to February 2, which is the twenty-third day of the lunar month, which is the small year in the northern region, and there is a custom of sacrificing stoves among the people.
Folklore has it that the Stove King will go to heaven on this day to report to the Jade Emperor about the good and evil of every household in the world. Therefore, on this day, it is necessary to send the god of the stove, also called the "sacrificial stove", which is also the most important custom of the year.
Have you ever heard of the old saying "the deadly sacrificial stove, the life-saving Spring Festival couplets", what does it mean? Let's take a look.
Sacrificial stove is an important part of traditional Chinese folk customs, people pray to the king of the stove on this day, hoping that he will "say good things in the heavens, and keep the peace in the lower world".
In ancient times, the Lord of the Stove was the patron saint of the family, in charge of the well-being of the family, so he was favored and respected by the common people.
And every year on the day of the small year (the 24th in the south and the 23rd in the north), people will prepare offerings for the Lord of the Stove, hoping that through this ceremony, the Lord of the Stove can say more good things when he sees the Jade Emperor, and less or no bad words, so as to bring good luck and good luck to himself and his family.
However, although the sacrificial stove is a very grand custom, but in ancient times for many poor people, it was also a very frightening day, in the folk there is a "life-saving sacrificial stove, life-saving Spring Festival couplets" said, do you know what it means?
The "fatal sacrificial stove" does not just refer to the act of sacrificing the stove itself, but refers to the plight that many poor families will face after the young age, especially those who have debts.
In the past, the folk called the days after the sacrificial stove festival "New Year's Pass", and the older generation often said that "the New Year's Pass is sad", in which the New Year's Pass refers to the period after the Sacrificial Stove Festival.
In ancient times, the life of poor families was not easy, and generally only the economic conditions of the landlord and the old rich family were relatively rich. In order to make a living, poor families have to go to the landlord's house to lease land. When the harvest is complete, the grain is sold, and the money is used as rent.
But you must know that in ancient times, farmers relied on the sky for food, and the planting technology was relatively backward, so the output of grain was often not high, and there were often not enough grain to grow for their own families, let alone sell it for money. In this way, many poor families will owe rent to the landlord, and some even have to borrow money from the landlord to live.
And after the 23rd year of the lunar month, the landlord will send people out to the poor to collect debts, which is also the tradition of our people in the past, to settle the previous debts before the New Year, it is not possible to delay the next year, thinking that this is unlucky.
In this way, some poor families owe debts, but have no money to pay back, so they can only hide outside. There are various ways to avoid debts, and some people will even hide in the mountains and old forests, and do not dare to go home until the first day of the Lunar New Year. Therefore, there is the saying of "deadly sacrificial stove", which was a really difficult time for poor families at that time.
The second half of the sentence "life-saving Spring Festival" refers to the fact that after Chinese New Year's Eve, every household posts Spring Festival, then the situation will improve. For these poor families, after the Spring Festival couplets appeared, it also meant that a new turning point appeared.
Because in the past, there was a rule that outsiders could not enter the house after the "Chinese New Year's Eve Applique Gate", and the older generation said that after the Chinese New Year's Eve, if there were outsiders in the family, it would be unfavorable to outsiders, and naturally they could not continue to ask for debts on this day.
This is also the wisdom of the ancients, in order to protect the poor people. Therefore, generally after the Chinese New Year's Eve is pasted, the person who avoids the debt can go home, and there is no need to worry about the debt collection at home. Spring couplets are like a talisman, giving them a chance to breathe and start over. That's why I called this "life-saving couplet".
From this point of view, the Spring Festival couplets are not only a prayer for a better life, but also a symbol of a rare respite from the life of poverty. In that era of material scarcity, the Spring Festival couplets gave people spiritual comfort and motivation for life in their unique way.
However, with the changes of the times, people's living standards have improved significantly, and now this situation is relatively rare.
But if you really meet some people who are not honest and don't repay the money, you still need to go to his house to collect debts. However, it should also be noted that even after Chinese New Year's Eve, you cannot ask for debts during the Spring Festival, so that not only will you not come to the account, but you may also be left behind.