Leap-moon shoes, leap-moon wear, leap-moon elderly live 1000 years old. Leap moon shoes need to be bought before the first day of leap February. Buying shoes for parents in leap month is an expression of gratitude and filial piety to parents.
It is a tradition of the Chinese nation to send leap moon shoes to honor the elderly. In the past, people were poor, had no shoes to wear, and worked barefoot, resulting in bleeding feet. A wanderer from a foreign land bought a pair of cloth shoes for the old man to show his filial piety when he went home for a reunion in the leap month. Since ancient times, there has been a tradition in China that filial piety is the first of all virtues. In ancient times, unfilial people could not be officials. Even in the Han Dynasty, filial piety became the standard for recommending officials.
Experts said that "there is indeed an old custom of sending shoes around the Huaihe River to express care for the elderly. However, different regions have different customs, and even the same custom has different interpretations in different regions. "
Yueyue custom
There are many old customs about leap month. For example, in 2006, it was leap July, and the old man said that leap July was not good for his daughter-in-law, so in some places, there was a custom for her mother-in-law to give gifts to her daughter-in-law. In 2009, it was leap May. Some old people said that leap May was not good for their son-in-law, so in some places, there was a custom for mothers-in-law to give gifts to their son-in-law.
In Jianghuai area, every leap year and leap month, married daughters have to make socks, shoes or clothes for their mothers. As the saying goes, "Seventy-three and eighty-four are the days when the prince didn't invite him", and it is said that seventy-three and eighty-four are the end of the tenth day. Children think that the old man will be on earth soon, so they should give him some delicious food and show their filial piety while they live.
In Fujian, there is a custom of "leap moon banquet", also called "six-parent banquet", that is, every leap month in a leap year, parents and brothers invite their daughters and sisters home for dinner. When their parents are still alive, their parents will invite their married daughter home. If their parents are not alive, their fraternity invites their married sisters back for a "leap moon meal".