Worship at the end of the year is the custom of northern ancestors, but the worship in Chaoshan area is notoriously grand, especially in the peak season of worship at the end of the year, which is generally to thank God. The following is a compilation of prayers thanking God at the end of the year.

At the end of the year, there is a traditional custom in Chaoshan area. At the end of the year, I want to thank the gods for their blessings to the whole family in the past year.

Thank God for keeping the whole family safe, making big profits and winning everything. Chaoshan people are commonly known as worshipping God.

Thank God for his grace:

Paper money, three () products (red, oily) fruits () cigarettes, tea, wine () vegetarian dishes.

Chaoshan people believe in many gods, such as the old man, the kitchen god, the parents of heaven and earth, Mazu and so on. And there are many unspeakable things. When you thank God, please give thanks. In the past year, a god who made a special visit must make a special visit. If you scared a god in the past year because of some bad things (ask a god to help you overcome difficulties and promise to thank you at the end of the year, here "scare" means promise), you must also be especially grateful, otherwise you will be disrespectful to God, and God will not bless you next year, and you may have a bad year. Chaoshan custom is so traditional, complicated and interesting.

Youlai

Worship at the end of the year was originally a custom of northern ancestors, which was first seen in the pre-Qin period. At the end of each year, after the harvest, it is a ceremony to thank God for his gift. The ancestors of Chaoyang migrated from the Central Plains after the Jin Dynasty to avoid the war in the north. Because of their remoteness, they are less influenced by foreign cultures. Therefore, many customs have been passed down from generation to generation, and worshipping God has become the most solemn, important and indispensable activity for every family in Chaoshan.

Worship god's instructions

First, you must choose a good day. Some villages choose a unified date, and some households choose their own auspicious days.

Before worshiping God, we should do a lot of cleaning work, wash the dishes inside and outside the house and worship God, men should have their hair cut and shaved, and those who go out should come back as soon as possible.

And there are many taboos:

If you worship God, you must not have an affair with red and white things;

Women should avoid menstruation;

Family members should be happy and never say anything disrespectful to God.

Debt collectors should also avoid it, and there should be no noise.

Worship of the gods are:

There are about twenty to forty or fifty Jade Emperors, Tian Xuan Gods, Chen Nan Beidou, Sanshan King, Shuangzhong Wang Sheng, Immortals, Master Fude, Pearl Empress, and the unique "masters" and "uncles" in each town.

Worship of God can be divided into two categories: general "worship of God at the end of the year" (commonly known as "worship of God") and "worship of God".

Baipin

The basic ingredients of food are:

Pork, duck and fish (generally mullet or pomfret);

Chicken (worship the jade emperor, God must be a rooster, and worship others is not limited);

Three cups of oranges, needle vegetables, mushrooms, fungus, fried peanuts and tea;

Three glasses of wine, two sugar towers and four bowls of ginger and potatoes.

There are also various products and so on.

There are rice cakes with a diameter of more than 60 cm, large bread with a diameter of more than 676 cm, medium bread, small bread, red peach, flour dough and so on.

All kinds of auspicious paper-cuts with corresponding patterns should be pasted on the food.

The standard of paste sacrifice:

Four pairs of big money (about 90cm×40cm) are written with the words Weijia Qian, money for peace, money for wealth, money for blessing and so on. Three pairs of big money, about half a catty each, one big gold ingot, one sticker, three incense sticks, one pair of candles, four pairs of small bars (the content is the same as that of big money), three pairs of small coins, one ingot of gold ingot and thirty-six gold coins.

When worshipping God, Chao Opera and auspicious drama will be staged, commonly known as "Ten Immortals' Birthday" for "Five Blessingg Company" and "Fame, Wealth and Longevity" for Five Blessingg, which means blessing, auspiciousness and good luck. Local tyrants also need people to cook. Fighting takes "sheds" as a unit, and at least four "sheds" and a dozen to dozens of "sheds" are needed.

Worship at the end of the year, Xie Tianen 2 Chaoshan is famous for its grandeur, and the end of the year is the peak season of worship. At this time, every household, old and young, should be busy, and the old heat is comparable to the Spring Festival.

Sacrifice at the end of the year was originally a custom of northern ancestors, which existed in the pre-Qin period. At the end of each year, after the crops are harvested and scraped, it is a ceremony to thank God for his gift. The ancestors of Chaoshan people migrated from the Central Plains after the Jin Dynasty to avoid the war in the north. Because of their remoteness, they are less influenced by foreign cultures. Therefore, many customs have been passed down from generation to generation, and worshipping God has become the most solemn, important and indispensable activity for every family in Chaoshan.

Do a lot of cleaning work before worshipping God, and wash everything at home. Men need a haircut and a shave, and those who go out should come back as soon as possible. Moreover, there are many taboos. For example, worshipping God must not be ambiguous with weddings, funerals and weddings, women should avoid coming to their official holidays, family members should be beaming, and they must never say disrespectful words to God, and debt collectors should avoid making noise. The deities worshipped are: Jade Emperor, Tian Xuan God, Chen Nan Beidou, Sanshan King, Shuangzhong Wang Sheng, the gods, Master Fude, the Pearl Empress, and the unique "grandfathers" and "uncles" in various towns and villages. There are about twenty to forty or fifty people. Worship of God can be divided into two categories: general "worship of God at the end of the year" (commonly known as "worship of God") and "worship of God".

Generally, there are two kinds of year-end offerings for poor families: pork, chicken (Bai Yudi is a rooster, but not limited to others), ducks, fish (generally mullet or pomfret), oranges, needle vegetables, fragrant shavings, fungus, fried peanuts, three cups of tea, three cups of wine, two sugar towers, four bowls of ginger and potatoes, and so on. Products include Mi Yang with a diameter of more than 60 cm, big bread with a diameter of more than 60 cm, medium bread, small bread, red peach, "dough head" and so on. All kinds of auspicious paper-cuts with corresponding patterns should be pasted on the food. The types of mounting include: large and small coins, coins, ingots, gold bars, stickers, incense, candles and so on.

A god provides food and paste sacrifices. Prominent gods, such as Jade Emperor God (called "God" in Shantou Ren Chao), include chicken, duck, pork, fish, sugar tower, tea, wine, needle vegetables, fragrant shavings, fungus and the biggest piece of food. The pasting sacrifice includes: four pairs of big money (about 90CM×40CM), which are written with affection, peace, seeking wealth, blessing and so on. , three pairs of bills, each about half a catty, a big ingot, a paste, three incense sticks, a pair of big candles (should be more than half a catty), one hundred and twenty gold coins, a string of firecrackers, etc. Generally speaking, this deity is to reduce fish, a piece of meat, a paste, three incense sticks, a pair of candles, four pairs of sticks (the content is the same as that of the big stick), three pairs of small coins, a gold ingot and thirty-six gold coins. When you worship God, you should also put on a Chaozhou opera record, the content of which is the "Loutai Club" in the Chaozhou opera "The Story of Colorful Buildings". A slightly richer family also needs people to compete for food, and the competition for food is based on the "shed". At least four "sheds" and a dozen to dozens of "sheds" are needed. Just a fight costs 1000 to several thousand yuan.

Before worshipping God, everyone should bathe and change clothes, and women should wear tunics. The head of the family lights candles, presents three incense sticks first, and then the women begin to worship. I saw the worshippers holding incense in their hands and muttering to themselves. The content of reading is to report the course of the past year to God, pray to God, make a wish, and make a wish when worshipping God in the new year. I saw that I kept reading as soon as I knelt down, but I didn't stand up for half an hour, and some even fainted when I stood up. While worshipping, others are also burning and offering sacrifices. After worshipping a person, they burn a paste and load a sacrifice. It takes more than two hours just to burn and load a sacrifice. I wonder if the gods have the heart to listen to the long prayers of good men and women. Maybe the fairy was listening and unconsciously fell into the depths of the dream? After worshipping God, the offerings should be distributed to relatives, friends and neighbors, and each household should give one.

Therefore, worshippers at the end of the year spend a lot of money and have to be busy for many days. It costs at least seven or eight hundred yuan to buy a pasting sacrifice. It takes thousands to two thousand for poor families to worship God, and at least thousands to tens of thousands for rich families. Families with low incomes will spend their income in recent months by worshipping God at the end of the year.

There are countless products such as whole pigs, whole sheep, chickens, geese, ducks, fish, etc., and there are also many kinds of paste sacrifices, such as a robe as high as a house and a hat more than one meter long. , and the light framed sacrifice will cost 10 thousand to tens of thousands of yuan. It is also necessary to wrap incense in the temple to ask the gods, and hundreds of people (all men) should bring incense with them. Give everyone in the entourage a gift, at least an umbrella and a towel, and the most important thing is a high-end suit and a pair of high-end leather shoes. We should also invite people to build a theater shed and invite the Chaozhou Opera Troupe to perform. After worshipping the Great God, we should send a big gift package to everyone who participates in the invitation to God.

At the end of the year, I went back to my hometown in Chaoyang on a business trip in the south.

In my impression, I have worked in Beijing for more than 30 years only two or three times and participated in worship. The custom of worshipping gods in Chaoshan three cities has lasted for thousands of years, among which Chaoyang, Chaonan and Dachao are notoriously grand. By the end of the worship season, all families, old and young, should be busy, and the excitement is comparable to that of the Spring Festival. How many people know the ins and outs of such a grand sacrificial culture?

The origin of worship

Sacrifice at the end of the year was originally the custom of northern ancestors in the pre-Qin period. At the end of each year, after the harvest, people thank God for his gift. The ancestors of Chaoshan people migrated from the Central Plains in the late Jin Dynasty to avoid the war in the north. Because of its remote location and little external influence, many customs brought by ancestors have been passed down from generation to generation.

The worship of God in the north has long faded, and the worship of God and gratitude to God have become the most solemn, important and indispensable activities for every family in Chaoshan at the end of the year. Chaoshan people worship the gods, first of all, inheriting the worship and memory of ancestors and roots by the descendants of the Yellow Emperor. The gods worshipped by Chaoshan people are basically people, with names and stories. They are national heroes who have devoted their efforts and even their lives to the inheritance and development of the descendants of the Yellow Emperor in their lifetime. It is one of the quintessence of China literature that Chaoshan people pay homage to the sages' merits from generation to generation, and now it embodies a spiritual sustenance of praying for blessings.

Holy name

Jade Emperor, God, Beidou, Sanshanwang, Shuangzhong (Zhang Xun in Tang Dynasty), Mazu (Song Dynasty), Wang Hai, the God of Wealth in Wu Road (middle), Bigan, the God of Wealth (east), Guan Yu (west), (south), Zhao Gongming (north), immortal, Lord Ford,

Classification of worship

Worship of God can be divided into two categories: general year-end worship of God (commonly known as "worship of God") and "worship of God". Worship of God is more grand. A few days in advance, women have to do a lot of work and prepare two kinds of offerings, called offerings. There are three kinds of food: pork, fish (usually mullet or grass carp), chicken (the jade emperor must worship rooster, and others are not limited to worship), plus lobster and sheep, which are collectively called five animals; Five kinds of fruits such as citrus; More than six kinds of vegetarian dishes, such as needle vegetables, mushrooms, fungus, fried peanuts, yuba and dried bean curd. White sugar tower, ginger and potato sweet soup; Fried sweet potato Lua and oil cake; All kinds of rice flour products.

Paper-cuts with auspicious patterns are pasted on the food. There are also cigarettes, tea, wine and flowers. The offerings of paper paste are: big money (about 90cm×40cm), which reads Weijia Qian, money for peace, money for wealth, money for blessing and so on. Big money pairs, big ingots, red stickers, incense, candles, small money (written like big money), small money pairs, ingots, gold companies and so on.

Of course, the specific varieties and quantities of the two types of sacrifices are different in Chaoshan and every household. What is even more amazing is that the huge market demand has now spawned a long and considerable industrial chain and created a large number of jobs.

When you worship God, you should also put on a Chaozhou opera record, the content of which is the "Loutai Club" in the Chaozhou opera "The Story of Colorful Buildings". Rich people also want to invite the troupe to perform Chaozhou opera and invite Shen Han to play tricks. Acting and fighting skills are based on "sheds", and at least four "sheds" are needed, ranging from a dozen to dozens.