Folk customs and customs of Tongxiang

1. The 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month - Sending the Kitchen God

The 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month is the New Year's Eve, commonly known as the "Send the Kitchen Day". Every household sends the Zao Bodhisattva to heaven, hoping that he will "go to heaven" Say good things and the lower world will be safe." After New Year's Eve, the Kitchen God will be brought back from the sky in the early morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, which is commonly known as "receiving the stove".

On this day, every family cooks red bean and glutinous rice. First, they serve a large bowl in front of the Kitchen Lord, and then the whole family comes to eat. After eating, everyone kneels down and worships at dusk. After worshiping, the statue of the Kitchen King was taken down from the stove and placed in a stove sedan chair.

2. The twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month - dust the dust

The folk proverb says, "On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, dust the dust and sweep the house." To welcome the New Year, the most important things for Tongxiang people are "sweeping dust" and "worshiping ancestors". Because "dust" and "chen" are homophonic, sweeping dust in the New Year means "removing the old and spreading the new". It means sweeping away all "bad luck" and "bad luck" and saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new with a new look.

3. On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month - make tofu with grinding mill

Folk proverb says: "On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, make tofu with grinding mill." In some places, people eat tofu residue before New Year's Eve. It is said that after the Kitchen King went to heaven to report, the Jade Emperor would visit the lower realms to see if each household was as the Kitchen King had said. So every household ate tofu dregs to express their poverty and avoid the Jade Emperor's punishment.

4. The 26th day of the twelfth lunar month - making rice cakes

New Year's Eve, rice cakes are indispensable. Especially in rural areas, in addition to chicken, duck, fish, meat and fruits, rice cakes must be indispensable on the sacrificial table. During the Spring Festival, when people go to the homes of relatives and friends to pay New Year greetings, they often bring a few pieces of rice cake, which means "every year is prosperous".

Extended information:

Tongxiang is the main producing area of ??sericulture in the south of the Yangtze River. There are rich sericulture customs spread in the countryside, and the Qingming silkworm flower rolling is the most representative activity.

In the 20th century, with the rise of chemical fiber fabrics, the sericulture economy and silkworm rolling temple fairs were affected and almost disappeared. After the reform and opening up, the country paid more and more attention to the protection of folk customs. In 2010, Tongxiang sericulture customs, as a sub-project of China's sericulture and silk weaving skills, were included in the "List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO.

China News Network - 14 foreign friends walked into Tongxiang, Zhejiang to experience the traditional folk customs of the Qingming Festival