What customs are there on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month? Worship the Kitchen God?
Introduction: Do you know what festival is on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month? Have you heard of "Little New Year's Eve"? The twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month is also known as Little New Year's Eve. It is the day to worship the Kitchen God in our traditional Chinese culture. Why do we worship the Kitchen God on the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month? What other Feng Shui customs are there on this day? Next, please follow the editor to learn about it! Mr. Shui Mo has carefully sorted out many customs and precautions about the Chinese New Year for you. If you want to know more exciting content, please go to Mr. Shui Mo’s New Year’s Eve special topic to see more!Introduction to the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar monthThe 23rd day of the 12th lunar month is also known as Little New Year's Eve. It is the day for worshiping the kitchen god, sweeping the house, and eating kitchen sugar in traditional Chinese culture. The folk song "Twenty-three, sticky sugar melons" refers to the Kitchen God worship on the twenty-third or twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month every year. There is a saying that "officials worship on the twenty-third, common people on the fourth, boatmen on the fifth" or "officials worship on the third, common people on the fourth, monks and Taoists on the fifth", that is, government officials worship on the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, ordinary people on the twenty-fourth, and boatmen or temples or Taoist temples on the twenty-fifth day. Later it gradually evolved into the saying "On the 23rd, celebrate the Little New Year".Folk legend of "worshipping the Kitchen God"According to traditional folklore, the Kitchen God goes to heaven to report the sins of mankind. Once accused, one’s life span will be shortened by 300 days for major sins and 100 days for minor sins. In the "Tai Shang Ganying Pian", there is a record that "the God of Life will take away the person's life span according to the severity of the crime." Siming refers to the Kitchen God, one hundred days are counted as one hundred days, and Ji refers to twelve years. Here, the penalty for serious crimes has been increased to a reduction of twelve years in life. Therefore, when offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God, one must ask for his favor.Detailed explanation of the folk custom of "worshipping the Kitchen God"Every year on the 23rd and 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, worshiping the Kitchen God and sending off the Kitchen King is a custom that has a great influence and is widely spread among the Chinese people. In the old days, almost every kitchen had an altar for the Kitchen God. People call this deity "Siming Bodhisattva" or "Kitchen God Siming". Legend has it that he is the "Kitchen God of the Nine Heavens East Kitchen Siming" appointed by the Jade Emperor. He is responsible for managing the kitchen fires of each household and is worshipped as the patron saint of the family. The Kitchen God's shrine is usually located on the north or east side of the kitchen, with the statue of the Kitchen God placed in the middle. Some families who do not have a stove god niche will simply stick the statue of the god directly on the wall. Some statues only depict the Kitchen God, while others depict both a man and a woman, with the goddess being called "Kitchen God's Wife". This is probably imitating the image of a human couple. Most images of the Kitchen God are printed with the calendar of the year, with words such as "Master of the Eastern Kitchen", "Supervisory God of the World", and "Head of the Family" written on them to indicate the Kitchen God's status. On both sides, the couplet "May God bless us with good things and keep us safe in the world below" is posted to bless the safety of the whole family. The Kitchen God has been staying at home since New Year's Eve of the previous year to protect and monitor the family. On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the Kitchen God will ascend to heaven to report the good or bad deeds of the family to the Jade Emperor in heaven. The ceremony of sending off the Kitchen God is called "sending off the Kitchen God" or "saying goodbye to the Kitchen God." Based on the report from the Kitchen God, the Jade Emperor will then hand over the fate of the family in the new year to the Kitchen God. Therefore, the Kitchen God's report is of great interest to the family. Sending off the Kitchen God is usually held at dusk. The family first goes to the kitchen, sets the table, burns incense to the Kitchen God in the shrine on the stove wall, and offers him sugar-coated melons made of malt sugar and flour. Then paper horses made of bamboo strips and fodder for livestock were brought in. Offering malt sugar to the Kitchen God is to make him happy. In some places, people also put sugar around the mouth of the Kitchen God, saying as they do so: "Say more good things and don't say bad things." This is to use sugar to stuff the mouth of the Kitchen God so that he won't say bad things. In the Tang Dynasty work "Nianxia Sui Shi Ji", there is a record of "smearing wine dregs on the stove to make Siming (Kitchen God) drunk". After people painted the Kitchen God’s mouth with sugar, they took down the statue and sent it to heaven along with paper and smoke. In some places, sesame straw and pine branches are piled up in the yard at night, and the statue of the Kitchen God, which has been worshipped for a year, is taken out of the shrine and burned along with paper horses and straw. The yard was brightly lit by the fire. At this time, the family members knelt around the fire, praying as it burned: It is the 23rd again this year, and we respectfully send the Kitchen God to heaven. With strong horses and fodder, you will have a safe journey. The sugar melons offered are sweet, please say nice things to the Jade Emperor. When seeing off the Kitchen God, in some places there are still a few beggars who disguise themselves and go from house to house singing songs and dancing to see off the Kitchen God, which is called "sending off the Kitchen God" in exchange for food.Summary: The above article content is what the editor wants to introduce to readers about the customs and activities on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month. You can read it. If you want to know more, you must continue to follow Mr. Shui Mo! |
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