The first day of the tenth month of the lunar calendar is the Winter Clothes Festival, which is called the "October Dynasty" in some places. So how much do you know about the customs of the Winter Clothes Festival in various places? The customs of Winter Clothes Festival vary from place to place. I will introduce them to you below.
Customs of the Winter Clothes Festival in various places
October 1st of the lunar calendar is the "Winter Clothes Festival". The Winter Clothes Festival falls on the "beginning of winter" solar term. In order to protect themselves from the cold, people put on extra clothes and coats, and also thought of their ancestors under the Nine Springs, so there were ritual activities of burning paper and paper clothes.
According to legend, Meng Jiangnu traveled thousands of miles to the place where Qin Shihuang built the Great Wall to deliver cold clothes to her husband Wan Xiliang. But after searching the Great Wall construction site, he couldn't find his husband, so he burst into tears on the spot. The cry was full of hatred and shocked the inside and outside of the Great Wall. A section of the wall collapsed, allowing her to see her husband's body. It just so happens that this day is the first day of October. From then on, every year on this day, people would face the Great Wall and burn paper money and paper clothes to express their condolences to their deceased relatives, which was called "sending cold clothes". Over time, it became a custom and became a festival to worship ancestors and burn paper clothes every October 1st.
The customs of the Winter Clothes Festival vary from place to place. I will introduce them to you below:
Shandong
The first day of the tenth lunar month is It is a traditional day for people to visit their ancestors' graves and offer products from the autumn harvest, in order to report to their ancestors that the harvest has been completed. In addition to burning paper when going to the tomb on this day, people also cut clothes and hats out of colored paper and burn them in front of the tomb. There is a saying that "on October 1st, people go to the tomb to burn cold clothes", which means that the ancestors brought winter clothes with them.
Most Huantai residents use "fried stuffed food" to worship their ancestors. In addition to visiting the graves of ancestors in Zichuan, people in Zichuan also go to wild intersections in the evening to offer sacrifices to the deceased who have no descendants and to buy "warm clothes" for them. In southwestern Shandong, in addition to preparing cold clothes during the Cold Clothes Festival, paper bundles based on the operas or mythological stories that the deceased loved during his lifetime are also made for the entertainment of the deceased.
Guangdong
Huizhou’s traditional “October Dynasty” is actually the day of cattle sacrifice. Folks in Huizhou have always attached great importance to the "October Dynasty" cattle sacrificial activity. Huizhou people believe that cattle have worked hard for humans for a year, and they should care for them on this day. Folks in Huizhou have always attached great importance to the activity of sacrificing cattle in October. In the past, people in the suburbs often prepared a large number of glutinous rice cakes and three animals to sacrifice to the cattle god.
On this day, the cattle rest from farming, and people wrap the cooked glutinous rice dumplings in vegetable leaves and stuff them into the mouths of the cattle for them to taste. In some places, Nizi is hung on the horns of cows and "draped in red and colorful", which is like the old man wearing a robe to celebrate his birthday. On the day of the October dynasty, residents in Huizhou City will offer rice cakes to their ancestors, and then share the food with the whole family or give it to neighbors.
Beijing
In the past, there was a proverb in Beijing called "October 1st, send cold clothes." This custom has been around since the Ming Dynasty. Liu Tong's "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital" writes in great detail, such as "knowing one's surname and character is like sending a letter" and so on. It means that the weather is cold and the whole family is wearing new clothes. They should also send some cold clothes to their deceased relatives.
Every year on the first day of October, people always paste "winter clothes bags" and "gold and silver bags" in advance, write the address on the outside of the baggage, collect it from someone, and then incinerate it. In early October, after giving away cold clothes, it is said that in the Qing Dynasty, almanacs were also issued and printed and sold in various bookstores. In the old days of Beijing, in alleys, we often saw people carrying a cloth bag and holding a stack of almanacs in their hands, hawking as they walked: "Sell the imperial calendar, sell the imperial calendar." This can be considered a scene in old Beijing.
Henan
There is a saying in Luoyang: "October 1st, oil chirps." This means that on October 1st, people cook fried food, chop meat, and make dumplings. , prepare food for ancestors.
Xin'an County has another special rule: on the first day of October, a newly married daughter-in-law must add earth to her husband's family for the newly deceased; those who go to family temples to worship their ancestors must also play drums.
Shanxi
When sending cold clothes in southern Shanxi, people pay attention to wrapping some cotton in five-color paper. In the northern Shanxi region, five-color paper is made into various styles of clothing, hats, shoes, and quilts.
They even have to make a set of paper houses, with clear tiles and pillars, and complete doors and windows.
On this day, people put the clothes made of paper of various colors into a red paper bag and write the identity and name of the deceased on it. On the night of the first day of the Lunar New Year, paper bags are offered in the hall as a memorial, and then burned outside the door to show their respect for the deceased, pray for blessings and blessings, and make hot soup of the newly harvested red beans and glutinous rice to taste.
Shaanxi
Among the people in the suburbs of Xi'an, "cold clothes" and "humong notes" are usually prepared by the deceased's daughter and delivered to the home before the festival or on the same day. At that time, the children and grandchildren of the deceased will go to the grave to burn sacrifices.
Generally, some paper clothing, shoes, hats or five-color paper are burned in front of the deceased's grave to symbolize cloth and silk to protect the deceased from the cold. In addition, some ghost coins and banknotes are burned for relief. Those lonely souls who have no one to pay homage to. If the tomb is out of town and it is impossible to visit it in person, this ceremony is usually held at a crossroads.
Jiangsu
On the Cold Clothes Festival, Nanjing people put Mingyi made of paper of various colors into a red paper bag, and write the identity and name of the deceased on it. On the night of the first day of the Lunar New Year, paper bags are offered in the hall as a memorial, and then burned outside the door to show their respect for the deceased, pray for blessings and blessings, and make hot soup of the newly harvested red beans and glutinous rice to taste.