The 29th day of the first lunar month is Filial Piety Day
Introduction: The first month of the lunar year is a very important month with many traditional cultural festivals. Do you know that the 29th day of the first lunar month is Filial Piety Festival? Are there any legends behind it? Now, let’s follow the editor to learn about it. During the first month of the lunar calendar, you will have a good year. The first month is the most important month of spring. Mr. Shui Mo will share with you some knowledge about January.What day is the 29th day of the first lunar month?Aojiu Festival is a traditional folk festival in the ten counties of Fuzhou, Fujian Province, which falls on the 29th day of the first lunar month. On this day, every household cooks Aojiu porridge to offer sacrifices to their ancestors or give it to relatives and friends; married women also have to send Aojiu porridge back to their parents' home to honor their parents.What is the legend of “Aojiu Festival”?Legend 1It is said that in ancient times there was a man named Mulian. His mother was vicious and cruel during her lifetime. She caused the death of others and was imprisoned in a cell in the underworld. When he visited his mother in prison, he often brought food to her, but it was all eaten by the jailer and the little devil who was guarding her. Later, he thought of an idea. He mixed glutinous rice with water chestnuts, peanuts, red dates, longans, brown sugar and other ingredients, cooked them into sweet porridge, put them in bowls, sprinkled a handful of black sesame seeds on them and sent them to his mother. The jailer saw that the porridge was black and asked, "What is this?" Mulian replied casually, "This is black porridge." (In Fuzhou dialect, “九” and “污” are homophones.) The guard believed it and thought the porridge was dirty and was afraid to eat it. Therefore, the "Aojiu Congee" was delivered to Mulian's mother. This day happened to be the 29th day of the first lunar month, and Mulian's mother was also exactly 29 years old that year. In Fujian custom, the first lunar month is divided into "three nines", the ninth day of the first lunar month is called "the upper nine", the nineteenth day is called "the middle nine", and the twenty-ninth day is called "the last nine", so this porridge is called "the last nine porridge". Later, because the porridge was black in color, it was called "Aojiu porridge", and because Mulian was filial to his mother, it was also called "Xiaojiu porridge". No matter it is the 29th day of the first lunar month or the 29th year, both were the years when Mulian's mother fell into misfortune. So people in Fuzhou regard the number nine as a taboo, believing that "nine" is a year of misfortune. Therefore, people who turn "nine" must eat Taiping noodles, and married daughters must also send "nine" to their parents, in order to pray for their parents' safety and health.Legend IIAnother theory is that it originated from sending away poverty. Xie Zhaozhi, a scholar in the Ming Dynasty, said: "The son of Gaoyang, who wore tattered clothes and ate porridge, died on the last day of the first lunar month. His family made porridge and abandoned the rags at the street corners to get rid of the poor ghost." Many scholars in the Qing Dynasty agreed with this theory. Lin Zutao's poem "Miscellaneous Poems on the Seasons in Fujian" reads: "It is said that on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, everyone cooks porridge with syrup and dates and hazelnuts. They sweep away all the dust and dirt, and send away the poor ghost and welcome the money god."Legend ThreeIt is said that the father of the ancient Indian monk Mulian was engaged in business all year round, and his family had many mules and horses and countless treasures. His mother Qingti, on the contrary, hated monks the most. Maudgalyayana wholeheartedly yearned for Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. When he grew up, he went out to do business one day. Before leaving, he said to his mother: "My son is going out to make money, and you should accumulate virtue and do good deeds at home, and treat monks as you would treat me." His mother agreed. Unexpectedly, after Mulian left, his mother remained the same, fiercely driving away all the monks and nuns who came to beg for alms, and was so stingy that she refused to give them even a meal. Half a year later, Mulian returned home and heard that his mother was extremely unfriendly to monks. He asked his mother the reason. His mother became furious and scolded: "You don't believe your mother? If I am not good to monks, I will not die a good death within seven days. After death, I will fall into the Avici Hell!" Seven days later, his mother died suddenly. Mulian buried his mother with great grief, then he gave up all his wealth and fame, took refuge in Sakyamuni, became an Arhat, and became one of the ten great disciples of the Buddha. After inquiring, Mulian found out that his mother had indeed fallen into the Avici Hell after her death. He found his mother in hell who had turned into a hungry ghost and was suffering torture. He was extremely sad and immediately used his bowl to feed her rice. But the rice turned into charcoal before it even entered my mouth. Mulian cried bitterly. Seeing how filial Mulian was, the Buddha said to him, "Although you have become an arhat, you cannot save your mother by your own strength. You must hold many Ullambana festivals so that all the hungry ghosts in the world can be fed. Only then can your mother be saved." So Mulian asked monks from all directions to hold many Ullambana festivals to liberate the hungry ghosts. Only then was his mother able to escape from hell.Legend FourMulian's mother, Lady Qingti, was from a wealthy family, but she was stingy and greedy. However, her son was very kind-hearted and filial. When her son was away, his mother would slaughter livestock every day and cook them at will. She had no concern for her son and never practiced good deeds. After his mother died, she was thrown into the underworld and subjected to cruel punishment. In order to save his mother, Mulian became a monk and practiced Buddhism. He gained supernatural powers and went to hell to see his suffering mother. Mulian felt sorry for her, but because of the sins his mother had committed in her lifetime, she could never escape the realm of hungry ghosts. The food he gave her turned into charcoal before it even entered her mouth. Maudgalyayana was at a loss and very sad, so he prayed to the Buddha again. The Buddha taught Maudgalyayana to hold the Ullambana Festival on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, and to seek help from monks from all directions to feed his mother. Mulian followed the Buddha's instructions, and thus the Buddhist story of setting up the Ullambana festival on the 15th day of the seventh month to offer sacrifices to monks from all directions and to liberate the deceased came into being. Mulian's mother was able to eat her fill and was reincarnated into the human world, where she was reborn as a dog. Mulian continued to practice the sutra for another seven days and seven nights, which enabled his mother to escape from her dog body and enter heaven. The reason why such a Buddhist story has been passed down from the Western Jin Dynasty to the present day, and has been passed down orally, is that the story encourages people to be good and children to be filial, and it also contains the metaphor that "there are no parents who are not good in the world."Summary: Through the above article we know that the 29th day of the first lunar month is Filial Piety Day, a traditional festival in Fuzhou, and we also know its legend. I hope you will like it. I wish you all good luck and smooth sailing in the new year! After reading this article, there are more exciting contents in the special topic of the first month of the lunar calendar. Let’s take a look! |
>>: What is the 29th day of the first lunar month and what are the customs?
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