It is said that every year on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the Kitchen God tells the Jade Emperor about the good and evil of this family, so that the Jade Emperor can reward and punish them. Therefore, when sending stoves, people put candy, water, beans and grass on the console table in front of the statue of the kitchen king; Among them, the last three are for the mount of the kitchen king ascending to heaven. When offering sacrifices to the kitchen stove, you should melt the Kwantung sugar with fire and put it on the mouth of the kitchen god. In this way, he can't speak ill of the Jade Emperor. There is a folk custom that "men don't Yue Bai, women don't offer sacrifices to the kitchen", so offering sacrifices to the kitchen Lord is limited to men.
In addition, on New Year's Eve, the Kitchen King and the gods will come to the world for the New Year, and there will be ceremonies to "pick up the kitchen" and "pick up the gods" on that day. When every family burns sedan-chair horses, sprinkles three cups of wine and sends away the kitchen god, it is their turn to worship their ancestors.
attachment: dust removal
In the twelfth lunar month, every household is ready for the New Year. Sweep the dust in order to get rid of the old and welcome the new, and remove the ominous. Every household should be carefully and thoroughly cleaned, so that the windows are bright and clean. In Beijing, the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month is usually designated as "House Sweeping Day"
Dust sweeping is mainly to thoroughly clean the house. Housewives usually cover the bed furniture in the room first, wrap their heads with headscarves, and then sweep the walls up and down with brooms. After cleaning the house, scrub the tables and chairs and wash the floor. After sweeping the house, the shops and residents' homes have taken on a new look. The newly posted Spring Festival couplets are bright and dazzling, showing the prosperous prosperity. Vivid door gods, banners looking up to see happiness, exquisite window grilles, colorful New Year pictures, colorful lanterns, and rich sacrifices on shrines all show jubilant and prosperous holiday scenes. Origin of Lantern Festival
This legend is related to the custom of eating Yuanxiao: It is said that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had a favorite named Dong Fangshuo, who was kind and funny. One winter, it snowed heavily for several days, and Dong Fangshuo went to the Imperial Garden to fold plum blossoms for Emperor Wu. As soon as I entered the garden gate, I found a maid-in-waiting in tears ready to throw herself into the well. Dong Fangshuo rushed forward to help and asked why she wanted to commit suicide. It turns out that this maid-in-waiting is named Yuanxiao, and there are parents and a sister at home. Since she entered the palace, she has never seen her family again. Every year when spring comes, I miss my family more than usual. I think it is better to die than to be filial in front of my parents. Dong Fangshuo was deeply sympathetic to what happened to her and assured her that she would try to reunite her with her family.
One day, Dong Fangshuo left the palace and set up a divination booth on Chang 'an Avenue. Many people are vying to ask him for divination. Unexpectedly, what everyone wants is the signature of "the sixteenth day of the first month burns us". Suddenly, there was a great panic in Chang 'an. People are asking for solutions to the disaster. Dong Fangshuo said, "On the evening of the 13th day of the first month, Vulcan will send a goddess in red to visit the earth. She is the messenger who ordered the burning of Chang 'an. I will give you the transcribed poems, so that the emperor can do something." Say that finish, then dropped a red post and roared off. The common people picked up the red post and quickly sent it to the palace to report to the emperor.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took it and saw that it said, "Chang 'an is robbing, the imperial palace is being burned by fire, and the fire is burning for fifteen days, and the midnight snack is red." He was so frightened that he quickly invited Dong Fangshuo, who was resourceful. Dong Fangshuo thought for a while, and said, "I heard that Vulcan loves to eat glutinous rice balls. Doesn't Yuanxiao in the palace often make glutinous rice balls for you? Let Yuanxiao make dumplings on 15th night. Long live the incense and offerings, and command every family in Kyoto to make dumplings and worship Vulcan together. Then tell the subjects to hang lights together on the fifteenth night, light firecrackers and set off fireworks all over the city, which seems to be a fire all over the city, so that the jade emperor can be fooled. In addition, inform the people outside the city that they will go to the city to watch the lights on the fifteenth night, and they will eliminate disasters and solve problems in the crowd. " Upon hearing this, Emperor Wudi was very happy, so he ordered him to do it according to Dong Fangshuo's way.
On the fifteenth day of the first month, Chang 'an City was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and tourists were bustling and very lively. The parents of the maid-in-waiting Yuanxiao also took their sister to the city to watch the lights. When they saw the big palace lantern with the words "Yuanxiao" written on it, they shouted in surprise: "Yuanxiao! Lantern Festival! " When Yuanxiao heard the shouts, she was finally reunited with her relatives at home.
After such a busy night, Chang 'an was really safe. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was overjoyed, so he ordered that glutinous rice balls should be made for Vulcan every fifteenth day of the first month, and the whole city would hang lights and set off fireworks on the fifteenth day of the first month. Because Yuanxiao makes the best dumplings, people call them Yuanxiao, and this day is called Lantern Festival.