What are the customs on the Beginning of Spring?

The beginning of spring is the first of the twenty-four solar terms. The beginning of spring, like the beginning of summer, the beginning of autumn and the beginning of winter, represents the beginning of a season. In other words, the beginning of spring means the beginning of spring.

The beginning of spring is also called the Beginning of Spring Festival, the Chao Festival, the New Year's Day, and the New Year's Day. It mainly occurs when the sun reaches 315° of the ecliptic longitude, mostly on February 3, 4, or 5 in the Gregorian calendar. sky.

Li means beginning; spring means warmth and growth. The beginning of spring means that the cold winter has passed, the weather has gradually warmed up, and it is about to enter the warm and warm spring, and flowers are about to bloom in this season.

Customs of the Beginning of Spring

Customs of the Beginning of Spring 1: Beating the Spring

The Beginning of Spring is also called "Dating the Spring", "Bite the Spring", and "Heralding the Spring". Like many festivals, this festival has many folk customs, including celebrations and activities to welcome the spring, "beating cattle" to beat the spring, and the custom of eating spring pancakes, spring plates, and biting radishes.

Our country has been an agricultural country since ancient times. Spring is the key to planting and harvesting in autumn. There is a folk proverb that "the plan for a year lies in spring". The old custom of the beginning of spring is not only an ancient solar term, but also a major festival. On the first day of spring, the emperor will personally lead the princes and officials to welcome the spring in the eastern suburbs and carry out the order of charity and charity. "Shi Ji Yuan" records: "The Duke of Zhou began to make the native cattle at the beginning of spring, and built the native cattle to indicate the morning and evening of farming." On this day, feudal rulers of all generations would hold the ceremony of whipping the spring in order to encourage farming and develop production.

There is a popular folk song with the word spring in Shanxi: "The spring breeze blows in spring, the spring river flows in spring. Spring people drink spring wine, and spring officials whip spring cows." It talks about the grand occasion of spring cow hunting.

Customs of the Beginning of Spring 2: Announcement of Spring

In the old custom, on the day before the Beginning of Spring, there are two artists wearing crowns and ribbons, one is called the Spring Official and the other is the Spring Official. People shouting along the street: "Spring is coming", commonly known as "Herald of Spring". Regardless of whether they are scholars, farmers, workers, or businessmen, they must bow to the officials when they see them. When people come across vendors and shops, they can take whatever goods and food they want, and the shopkeepers will greet them with a smile. On this day, states and counties will hold grand "Spring Welcome" activities. In the front is the drum and honor guard as the guide; in the middle are all the officials led by the state and county magistrates, all wearing official clothes; behind is the team of farmers, all holding farm tools. Come to the eastern suburbs of the city and meet the pre-made Mang God and Spring Ox. When arriving in front of the Mang God, one must kneel twice and kowtow six times. The deacon holds the pot and pours the wine to the officer. After the officer takes the wine and pours it on the ground, he kneels twice and kowtows six times. Then he bowed in front of the spring ox. After the ceremony, it was as lively as when they came, welcoming the God of Light and Spring Niu back to the city.

At the beginning of spring the next day, the local governor still led his officials and farmers to whip the spring. Yin and Yang officials must first perform certain traditional rituals. The local officials presided over the Spring Festival Ceremony, presenting the first, second, and final honors. Then he beat the spring ox three times with a colorful whip, and then returned to the office after the ceremony. The farmers beat the spring cattle to pieces.

Nowadays, spring whipping activities are no longer held in cities, but some rural areas still have the custom of whipping cattle. Before the beginning of spring, a cow is made of clay, which is called a spring cow. Women carry their children and circle the spring cow three times. It used to be said that they would avoid diseases, but now it has become entertainment. On the first day of spring, the village elects an old man to symbolically hit the spring cow three times with a whip, which means the beginning of the year's farming. Then the villagers beat the mud cows to pieces, divided the soil, returned it, and sprinkled it on their own farmland. In the Luliang area, it is popular to use spring cow soil to write the word "Yichun" on the door. In the southeastern Shanxi region, it is customary to apply spring cattle soil on the horns of plowed cattle. Legend has it that rinderpest can be avoided. In southern Shanxi, people pay attention to using spring cow soil to paint stoves, which is said to be able to get rid of earthworms.

At the beginning of the Spring Festival, folk artists make many small clay cows, which are called "spring cows". Sending them to various families is called "send spring". The master will reward those who "send spring". It is essentially a festive sales event, but everyone is happy. In some places, a yellow paper with a spring cow picture is posted on the wall. Yellow represents the land, and the spring cow represents farming. It is commonly known as the "Spring Cow Picture".

At the beginning of the Spring Festival, girls cut the ribbon into a swallow, which is called a "spring chicken"; the feathers are made into a butterfly, called a "spring moth"; and the velvet is wrapped into a staff, called a "spring pole." Wear it on your head to look stunning. Girls in the southeastern Shanxi region like to exchange these headgear, which is said to bring prosperity to silkworms. In Xiangning and other places, it is customary to use silk to make small dolls, called "Chunwa", and wear them on children. People in the northern Shanxi region pay attention to sewing small cloth bags, filled with beans, grains and other grains, and hanging them on the horns of plowing oxen, which means the animals are prosperous, the grains are abundant, and the four seasons are safe and auspicious.

Beginning of Spring Custom 3: Biting Spring

During the Beginning of Spring Festival, people are accustomed to eating radish, ginger, green onions and flour cakes, which is called "biting spring". Newly married girls in Yuncheng area are taken back by their parents' families, which is called "Welcome to Spring". In Linfen area, it is customary to treat the son-in-law to eat spring cakes.

Bite spring refers to the custom of eating spring dishes, spring pancakes, spring rolls, and chewing radishes on the first day of spring. The word "bite" expresses many food customs of the season.

Spring pancakes are made of vegetables, fruits, cakes, etc. and are served as gifts to relatives and friends or for oneself. They are called spring pancakes. Du Fu's poem "The Beginning of Spring" says: "On a spring day, a plate of thin lettuce is on the plate, and I suddenly recall the plum blossoms in the two capitals." Zhou Mi's "Old Wulin Events" records: "The Houyuan made spring dishes for the emperor, and gave them to the prime ministers of your residence, giant geese, green willows and red silk, golden roosters and jade swallows. They were extremely exquisite and each plate was worth ten thousand yuan."

Chunpan existed in the Jin Dynasty and was called "Five Xin Pan" at that time. In a broad sense, Wuxin refers to a dish made of five spicy vegetables (onions, garlic, peppers, ginger, and mustard). Taking Wuxin can sterilize and dispel cold. At that time, spring cakes and vegetables were placed on the same plate. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, the custom of eating spring pancakes became popular, and the emperor gave spring wine and spring pancakes to all officials and ministers. Chen Yuanliang of the Song Dynasty wrote "Sui Sui Guang Ji" and said: "On the day before the beginning of spring, spring pancakes were produced in the palace, and wine was given to ministers.

"The spring dishes at that time were extremely particular and exquisite. In the Qing Dynasty, the emperor also rewarded his ministers with spring pancakes and spring pancakes, and the recipients were filled with tears.

This custom of eating spring pancakes and spring pancakes, It spread to the people, and people even enjoyed eating cakes and cooking dishes and giving them to each other. According to the "Beiping Customs·Sui Sui" in the Qing Dynasty, at the beginning of spring, rich families eat spring cakes, prepare various kinds of meats, smoke them in sauces, and cook them in salt, and cook various kinds of vegetables. , such as spinach, leeks, bean sprouts, dry powder, eggs, etc., and rolled into pancakes with flour. This is the custom of old Beijingers eating spring pancakes during the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. This custom is still passed down in Beijing today. As the saying goes, "eat spring pancakes in the spring".

Speaking of spring pancakes, people who were fastidious in the past went to pot cake shops to buy them. According to old people, there was a shop called "Bao Pancake" on Baozi Street in Xidan, Beijing in the early Republic of China. Yuan Zhai's steamer shop, the spring cakes baked there are authentic in quality and exquisite in craftsmanship. They are second to none in the capital. You can buy them at home and heat them briefly. Add shredded croissant horns and green onions, smear Liubiju's sweet noodle sauce, and add "hezi vegetables" "A bowl of millet porridge is a seasonal delicacy.

Nowadays, spring pancakes can be made at home at any time. They can be scalded with warm water, baked or steamed. The shape can be as big as a round fan. It is as small as a bowl, and one kilogram of flour can bake about 16 sheets. When baking, apply some sesame oil on one side of each pancake, and it will be easy to peel off when eating. It is also known as spring plate in ancient times. In addition to the must-have sweet noodle sauce with shredded scallions, other dishes can be as much or as little as the family likes. They include both raw and cooked dishes, and include both meat and vegetables. Among them, the hot dishes should include stir-fried vermicelli, bean sprouts, and pickled vegetables. Eggs), stir-fried leeks, preferably dried tofu. When eating spring pancakes, old Beijing people are very particular about rolling them into tubes and eating them from beginning to end. As the saying goes, it is a joy to eat with the whole family around the table at the beginning of spring. Endless.

Beginning of Spring Custom 4: Fried Spring Rolls

Fried spring rolls are also a traditional seasonal food served on the spring plate in ancient times. "Sui Sui Guang Ji" says: "The wealthy people in the capital made noodles. Silkworms, stuffed with meat or vegetarian food... are called Tanguan silkworms. Because this was done at the beginning of spring, it was also called "spring silkworm exploration". Later, the homophonic sound of the word "silkworm" was transformed into rolls, which are the "spring rolls" that are commonly eaten today. In ancient times, the buds of the Chinese chrysanthemum tree were often used as stuffing, and in the Yuan Dynasty, mutton was used as stuffing. Mostly stuffed with pork, bean sprouts, leeks, leek, etc., it is burnt on the outside and fragrant on the inside. It is a good spring food.

Begin of Spring Custom 5: Radish

In ancient times, radish was called radish. , Su Dongpo has a poem saying: "The roots of the reeds still contain the morning dew, the autumn comes and the east garden is covered with frost and snow, the reeds give birth to children and grandchildren." "The old pharmacopoeia believed that radish roots and leaves can be eaten raw or cooked, as vegetables or as rice, and have great medicinal value. Regular consumption of radish can not only relieve spring sleepiness, but also help soften blood vessels, lower blood lipids and stabilize blood pressure. It has the functions of nourishing, keeping fit and curing diseases, etc. This is probably the original intention of the ancients who advocated chewing radishes at the beginning of spring. Northerners like to eat raw radishes, especially Xinmei and small carrots. In old Beijing, the radish from Dahongmen in Nanyuan was the most popular, and there was a saying that "the radish in Dahongmen was called Jingmen".

In old Beijing, radish sellers and farmers often carried or pushed them. He sells radish on a pick cart in the alley: "Water radish, so crispy and sweet!" "After the housewives picked out the radishes from the hospital, the hawker used a small knife to cut off the top of the "heart beauty" with a sharp knife, then quickly unscrewed the radish skin with a few knives, and then cut the carrot core into squares without cutting it

It is cut into square strips with several knives. The whole radish is cut into pieces like a blooming red peony flower, which is very beautiful. When you take it home and the whole family breaks it open and bites it, it is really crispy. It's sweet and a little spicy, a very refreshing spring food.