The custom of the 23rd day of the first lunar month.
Inadvertently, tomorrow (day) will be the twenty-third day of the first month. According to the attention of the older generation, this is a very special day, special regardless of men, women and children, including cattle and horses, do no work on this day.
Since I was sensible, every day (day), my mother said that it is the twenty-second day of the first month, and I will finish all the work that can be done with the clothes that can be washed, and do not put it in the next (day), the old man said, "On the twenty-third day of the first month, the old cow and the old horse are idle for a day."
I didn't know what to do, I grew up slowly, and once I asked my mother, why do you call the old cow and the old horse idle for a day? Mother said generally, cattle and horses are the treasure of our crops, farming all depends on cattle and horses, these animals are busy all year round, through the spring ploughing has not yet begun, to give cattle and horses a day off, let them rest for a day, but also take care of their hard work year after year. Therefore, people take a holiday for their livestock, and they do nothing on the twenty-third day, sticking to the cattle and horses. Listening to my mother's words, although I didn't understand what I said, it seemed to make sense.
Today, I put my hand in the salt jar, idle (salty), I want to understand the customs of the 23rd day of the first lunar month, but fortunately, with the help of the teacher, I saved a lot of time to read historical materials.
What are the customs on this day? The twenty-third day of the first lunar month is considered a day of rest in folk tradition. Legend has it that this day is known as the "Cow's Day" and is the birthday of the cow. The cow has an elegant posture and gorgeous fur, it is born with great strength and tenacity, or how can it be said that it is bullish? Cattle are docile, hard-working, never care about their own gains and losses, according to Lu Xun's words, that is, "eat grass, squeeze out milk", is a loyal friend of croppers. In order to give the cattle who help people have enough rest before spring plowing and spring sowing, people give them a birthday leave and let them rest for a day. As a result, the donkey also followed the sticky light, and as a result, it became "the old donkey and the old horse rested for a day", and the cow was put on the dry shore, but the cow was kind and virtuous, and he didn't care about the donkey, let it go!
On this day in ancient times, there was a custom of "sealing knives", that is, all kinds of knives such as kitchen knives and sickles in the home could not be moved. At the same time, adults do not work in the fields, and they do not even do housework, the purpose of which is to "avoid chancre". In ancient times, chancre was a very stubborn disease, which could only be eliminated by burning it with fire, so in ancient times, it was also called the "chancre festival", and people would light a flame and jump over the fire to get rid of the virus and pray for health and safety.
On this day, every household will also hold a "small warehouse" festival activities, as the saying goes, "fill the warehouse, fill the warehouse, millet dry rice mixed noodle soup." "Because in ancient times, the planting technology was backward, and the grain yield was not high, especially after the first month, when it was time to be green and yellow, it was a very generous day to be able to eat millet dry rice and mixed noodle soup.
Some people will also draw a circle on the ground with plant ash as a grain hoard, and at the same time sprinkle grain on the hoard, deliberately sprinkle a few grains outside the hoard, so as to show that the grain is abundant, and the hoard is full of grain overflowing the hoard.
In some places, it is believed that the 23rd day of the first lunar month is the birthday of the Good Wealth Boy, so the custom of worshipping the Good Wealth Boy in order to seek wealth naturally exists.
There are so many customs and exquisiteness on the 23rd day of the first lunar month, but no matter which custom or method, these all express the yearning and expectation of the ancestors for a better life. Nowadays, the pace of society is fast, and I can't care about so much, but it is also necessary to pass on these customs to young people through words, and its formation must be the wisdom of the ancestors, and it is also a very important part of traditional farming culture.
Written by Wei Xufeng.
Proofreading Ren Bo Rope.