[Traditional Culture] Zhou Xiaoping, who respects the ancestors of filial piety

The Zhongyuan Festival of respecting the ancestors

Zhou Xiaoping

"July Half" was originally a ancestral sacrifice festival in the ancient times, and the "Zhongyuan Festival" was originally derived from Taoism after the Eastern Han Dynasty. Taoism calls it "Zhongyuan Festival", Buddhism calls it "Obbin Festival", and folk is commonly known as the "Ghost Festival".

Or because of geographical differences, some places "July Half" refer to the lunar calendar on July 15th, but some places also refer to the three days of July 11th to 13th. Whenever this day comes, adults are always careful to speak and do things, seemingly taboo. Those spicy women who usually speak loudly, at this time they are as low as possible and restrained as possible, and the awe of the gods and ancestors is overwhelming.

However, the children are not sensible, and they are childish and ignorant. They will invite each other to conceal their parents to secretly take a bath, or go to the hillside to eat barbecue, and play crazy as ever. On the usual day, adults can ignore this behavior, but at this special time, the light will be rejected strictly, and the heavy person must endure the suffering of the flesh.

Because before and after the "Zhongyuan Festival", there are always scattered bad news that spread into people's ears: saying that a bathing boy was drowned under the Daheba Bridge in the county seat; The daughter -in -law of the family quarreled with her husband and drank pesticides in a full anger. She also said that one morning, a large truck of a large elbow hit a battery car, and the middle -aged man riding a battery car directly "drove" ...

The intermittent accidents occur intermittently, such as the haze of the sky, which has been disperse for a long time. People are like tight bow string, as if there is a risk of broken at any time. In addition to heavy and trembling, people add these thrillers to some imagination and hints, and then "series" and "processing", or people who are drowning in the river are looking for "substitutes" to be born, or they say that a certain family and certain family People are disrespectful to the ancestors' gods, and it is punishment that heaven has fallen ... Many sayings make the "Zhongyuan Festival" more and more mysterious and weird.

Although science has improved now, it is still unclear about some invisible and invisible things. In particular, these thrillers happened, and the personnel recalled carefully afterwards, and found that some key branches were actually a omen or warning, but people did not know at the time, maybe the opportunity could not be leaked. What is unclear scientific interpretation is commonly known as "superstition", especially in the special time period of the "China Yuan Festival".

For the peace and health of the whole family, all things, people choose to worship the gods in the autumn harvest season, worship the ancestors, and pray for the protection of the gods and ancestors, so they are logical.

Before July 11th of the lunar calendar, people must prepare fragrance, candle, paper money coins, and write "lizum". The so -called "lizi" is the encapsulated "underworld", which is dedicated to the "money" used for the underworld. On the morning of the 11th, people prepared the incense case and put on a "lizard", etc., and began to listed the ancestral list to worship. In the center of the house walls of the households in the village, a rectangular red paper is affixed to the five characters, which are written with a brush dipped in ink. Below a square -shaped table for fragrance. On the table, there was a "lizard" on the inside out of the wall. In the past, the cover of the "Ligo" was all written by hand. From the Yuanzu, Gao Zu to the name of Zadu, and the names of the relevant loved ones, it took time and energy. Fill in the number of ancestors, names, the number of "money" and worshipers worshiped, and the names of the worshipers, and finally write the date of Minghua.

A pair of red candles and three pillars were burned in front of the incense case, and behind it was the "lizard", fruit and "knife head" (cooked pork cooked). Maybe when the night is quiet, the gods and ancestors will really come out to "enjoy" these "wine and wine". On the third day of July 13th (the new man is July 12), people take out a bite of old iron pot or stainless steel pots in the patio garden dam after dinner. Zero scattered paper money, and then slowly put the sealed "lizard" and all the supplies, commonly known as "sending the ancestor".

In the past, the "Scenery" of the "Zhongyuan Festival" of the county seat still remembered. On the evening of July 13th, the residents of the four -door and four streets of the county seat burned the "ligament" on the street at the door of the house. Jumping, like the god's nodded, and smiled like ancestors. In short, the scene was spectacular. At this time, the streets and alleys of the county have already been smoky, and the fire light almost reflected the red sky, seriously polluted the environment and air, and there were still many hidden fire hazards. Now that the government has vigorously carried out the work of the creation of sanitary cities, the county has long banned the "Zhongyuan Festival" to incinerate "ligament", leaving only rural farmhouses still maintain this custom.

"July Half" is the early autumn, and the crops are gradually mature. Regardless of the passage of time and the change of dynasties, the "Zhongyuan Festival" sacrifice the gods and the world's secular world has been practicing for more than 2,000 years, and it is popular in the Han cultural circle and overseas Chinese regions. In May 2010, the "Central Yuan Festival" declared by the Ministry of Culture was included in the national intangible cultural heritage list.

In fact, the "Zhongyuan Festival" is not weird, and some very accidents often occur.It is just because in the midsummer season in the middle of the lunar calendar, the river water is easy to rise. If you do n’t pay attention, you will have a bathing and drowning accident in the river. At this time, people always think of many mysterious and weirdness of the “China Yuan Festival”."Kuraki knows the etiquette, and he knows the glory and disgrace."The "Central Yuan Festival" sacrifice under the process of modern civilization is a cultural tradition of respecting ancestors and filial piety.Although the city is no longer allowed to burn "lizum", as long as you remember the special day of "July and Half of July" and "Zhongyuan Festival" in your heart, you can also silently report to the ancestors in your heart., Type the expectations of a better life in the future.

Write on August 2, 2022

Source: Sichuan Provincial Local House Work Office

Author: Zhou Xiaoping (Member of the Association of Ya'an Writers Association, retired cadre of the CPPCC of Lushan County. Like literature, insist on writing, there are many works publishing provinces, municipal newspapers, and online platforms)

Picture: Fang Zhi Sichuan

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