Every year on June 15th and October 15th of the lunar calendar, Chaoshan is commonly known as the mother grain birthday. The mother of grain is also called big grain, the god of grain, the Lord of grain, which is homophonic. Say it's Shennong, say it's the God of Grains. Why does "Mother of Grains" have two birthdays? There are two other sayings: First, Chaoshan is the place where rice is harvested twice a year. In order to repay God's kindness, two festivals, summer and autumn, are held in the middle of the month after two bumper harvests, that is, June 15th and October 15th of the lunar calendar. It is said that the birthday of the God of Grains was originally on June 26th. After the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, the Qing Dynasty tried a law to test people's hearts, so that October 15th was designated as the birthday of the God of Grains, which was convenient for people to sacrifice, and people finally followed it. As a result, this festival has been handed down.
Most of the "mothers of grains" worshipped by the people in China are Shennong. They look like men. Legend has it that Shennong is a human being, and he was named as the "Lord of Grains" because he taught people to grow grain (in ancient times, he referred to five kinds of grain crops, namely, "rice, millet, millet, wheat and rice", which was later extended to be synonymous with grain). Why the "Lord of the Grains" is called the "Mother of the Grains" among the people in China is a confusing case, and no one can tell clearly. However, the folk in China call Master Guanyin the Guanyin Bodhisattva, and the folk in Chaoshan take "Father is the sky, mother is the earth, and wife is the jade emperor" as the mantra, which shows some truth.
According to the old folk custom in China, after the early and late rice harvest on June 15 and June 10/5 every year, every household will hold an activity to worship the mother of five grains. Usually, there are no shrines. When worshipping, some are placed on the dining table, some are placed in front of the rice jar, and some are directly in the harvested fields. Farmers fill rice jars with white rice, and the jar mouth is sealed with fragrant red paper, which is regarded as the "mother of grains" furnace, and some of them are hung up. Many rural temples in Laochenghai County (including Shantou City) and Laochaoyang County also have gods of five grains and golden bodies. Longhu district Xinjin Street invites Wu Gu Jin Shen to visit the local Jishe, Xinshe, Dongshe, Xishe, Nanse and Beishe jurisdictions every year. In addition to three or five sacrifices, fruits and vegetables, there are also "ears of grain" made of rice noodles and peanuts. In Chenghai area, rice flour is also used as stuffing, and glutinous rice mixed with sugar and sesame seeds is used as stuffing to make a "pointed shoulder" for picking straw. There are five bowls of rice, five cups of tea and five cups of wine on the table. When burning incense, thank the god of the valley with the prayer of "the grain is abundant and the rice is enough". Of course, with the development of society, the form of sacrifice is becoming more and more simple, but this custom still exists.
In addition to these two days, whenever the brothers are separated, they should worship the grain mother on the day of separation, saying that they will start a new stove from now on and ask the grain mother to bless Nianfeng Life. When there are happy events at home, that is, entering the house, getting married, worshiping God, etc. We must also worship the mother of grains.
Many people will misunderstand these customs in Chaoshan as superstition. In fact, worshipping the "mother of grains" is a grateful cultural mentality. Every year after the busy farming, farmers should take a breath and look at the fruits put back into the warehouse, thinking of expressing respect and gratitude to their ancestors who brought them the means of subsistence. In the legend of China, Shennong is a saint who spread farming to mankind, so Chaoshan people naturally worship him as a god, and the dates are set on June 15th and October 15th of the lunar calendar after harvesting the fruits of labor. In the past two days, the younger generation of Presbyterian Church told the story that the sages such as Shennong benefited the people, and educated the next generation to remember Zude Zuen and never forget the roots.