When sending stoves, people use various methods to deal with the kitchen god, in order to make him "speak well from heaven and return to the palace for good luck." Some worship it with chewing gum candy to stick the teeth of Kitchen God so that it can't talk nonsense; Some people paint the kitchen door with distiller's grains, calling it "drunk commander", so drunk that the kitchen god dare not talk nonsense. Kitchen God is treated specially. It is certainly not good for him to "eat others' mouths short" and speak ill of him. This is actually a kind of moral self-discipline among the people.
Seven days later, on New Year's Eve, the Kitchen God will be brought back. Because, on the night of New Year's Eve, Kitchen God will come to the earth to celebrate the New Year with the gods, and there will be ceremonies of "receiving the kitchen" and "receiving the gods" on that day. According to the general local custom, the master is responsible for receiving the kitchen god, and the harem does not participate. In ancient times, there was a saying that "men don't Yue Bai, women don't sacrifice stoves".
After seeing off the Kitchen God, it was the turn to worship the ancestors, which was called "hanging shadows" by the people. On this day of off-year, it is necessary to hang portraits or photos of ancestors on the wall, prepare drinks and tributes, and accept the worship of the people until New Year's Eve.
On the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, it is also commonly known as "off-year" or "festival of offering sacrifices to stoves". "Over the New Year" is an important symbol of entering the Spring Festival. On this day, people in China have the customs of offering sacrifices to stoves, ancestors and dusting, and the traditional folk activities are very rich.
The folk proverb goes: "Twenty-three, sacrifice to the chef; Twenty-four, sweeping the house; Twenty-five, grinding bean curd; Twenty-six, cut meat; Twenty-seven, steaming jujube hill; Twenty-eight, paste New Year pictures; Twenty-nine, go to buy wine; Three miles, eat jiaozi; On New Year's Day, I bowed my spine ... "
In the past, the folk New Year was celebrated for 45 days from the twelfth lunar month to the fifteenth day of the first month. In this one and a half months, it is divided into three stages: preparing for the New Year, celebrating the New Year, and celebrating the New Year. From the twelfth lunar month to New Year's Eve, it is "preparing for the New Year". People who leave home should hurry home, and people at home should buy new year's goods and make all the preparations for the New Year. From New Year's Eve to the fifth day of the first month, it is the "Spring Festival", when families get together to worship their ancestors and welcome the new year and receive blessings. The sixth day of the first month to the fifteenth day of the first month is the "New Year", and the flower market is brightly lit, and the whole people are beaming and beaming.
Why does it take a month to "prepare for the Year"? This is related to China's long-term self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy. Grinding rice and flour, killing pigs and sheep, sewing new clothes and preparing sacrifices are all hands-on. On the day of "off-year", everything should be ready. Only in this way can "Kitchen God" repay his kindness to heaven and his family pray for all the best in the new year. People think that a few good words from the Kitchen God in front of the Jade Emperor will bring happiness to the family and bless the family's peace in the coming year. Therefore, on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, every household has to offer sacrifices to the kitchen god and ask him to speak well and say auspicious words the day after tomorrow. This ceremony of sending the kitchen god is called "sending the kitchen stove" or "resigning the kitchen stove".
In addition to bread, you need a plate of stove cake, a bag of sesame candy, a handful of forage and a slaughtered rooster: stove cake is for the kitchen god to fill his hunger on the way to and from heaven; Sesame candy is used to stick the kitchen god's mouth so that he can't speak ill; The rooster is the "Tianma" of the kitchen god; As for forage, it is naturally fed to Tianma.
Most sacrificial stoves are held at dusk. First, the stove cake, sesame candy, rooster and other items are enshrined in front of the official statue of the stove, and then three incense sticks are lit in front of the statue, and the whole family takes turns kowtowing to the kitchen god. While kowtowing, he burned gold, silver, paper and silk, and then put sesame sugar on the fire to make it "sparse" and paste it on the mouth of the kitchen god.
After the ceremony, throw the forage on the top of the kitchen to feed Tianma. Then take off the official image of the stove and take it to the yard to burn. While burning, I "wish" (pray): "I will go on the 23rd and come back on the 15th of the first month. Kitchen God, you are the head of the family. Please get on the horse, take dry food and go to the Heavenly Palace. Say more good things and don't say bad things. In the lower bound, bring more luck and everything will be fine. Please-"After that, set off a set of firecrackers to clear the way for the Kitchen God, even if the Kitchen God is sent to heaven.