Overview of important festivals in Taoist lunar calendar

In China, local Taoist festivals are related to folk customs to some extent, and gradually absorb the traditional four seasons with the passage of time, so there are a large number of them, and their festival activities are also rich and frequent. Whenever festivals come, not only Taoists will gather to hold corresponding fasting methods, but also folk believers will gather to burn incense, which also promotes the development of "temple fairs" to some extent. Then let the Chinese New Year Encyclopedia introduce you to important Taoist festivals.

Folk culture is an important source of Taoism. Because it is closely related to folk activities, the frequency of Taoist festivals and their activities can generally be described by "three things and five sacrifices". In view of the disadvantages of frequent festivals, Taoism also tries to adjust the level and standardize it.

For example, Zhu Faman, a Taoist priest in the Tang Dynasty, quoted Volume 8 of the Scripture of the Holy Trace as saying: "On the seventh day of the first month, the ceremony of moving away will be held, on the seventh day of July, the birthday will be held, and on the fifth day of October, the birthday will be held. On the day of the Third Right Meeting, the three officials passed the examination. Fasting by the day, offering a chapter will pray for Jingfu. There are five wax days, the first day of May is natural wax, the fifth day of May is local wax, the seventh day of July is moral wax, the first day of October is national wax, and the festival of December is Wanghoula. Five lats and three yuan, named eight days, can be established as fasting, seeking blessings and offering sacrifices first, named dutiful son, and the blessings are boundless. The rest of the day is called lewdness and guilt. "

From the perspective of standardizing teaching methods, it may be necessary to rectify the holiday order. However, in order to make religious festivals popular inside and outside the church, expand their influence and make them a gathering day inside and outside the church, so as to carry out religious activities and missionary work, there are generally two conditions: one is to have vivid stories as the background of the festival, and the other is to be closely related to folk activities.

The former, like the Buddhist Bonsai Society, developed into a large-scale Buddhist Dharma Society with the story of Mulian saving his mother as the background and China's traditional concept of filial piety. The latter, such as Yan Jiu Festival in Taoism and Christmas in some sects, are closely related to folk activities and developed into a grand Taoist ceremony meeting, and the story of ancestors becoming immortals and saving the world is actually the background of the festival.

As for some Taoist festivals, they are not popular because they do not have such conditions. For example, Zhang Wanfu, a Taoist in the Tang Dynasty, wrote "The Three-hole Classics of Taoist Selection". According to the theory of Yin-Yang and Five Elements, the auspicious days for teaching precepts, writing tables and memorials are calculated. Although reasonable, this complicated calculation method is difficult to pass even in teaching.

Another example is the Taoist book "Zhang Li of Red Pine Son", which lists the opening time of Tianmen, the closing time of Tianmen, the auspicious days of Zhang Shang, Wude Day, Heaven, fasting, Zhang Qi, Liu Jia and all kinds of taboo days. Because it does not have the corresponding conditions, it cannot be popular inside and outside the church. The main Taoist festivals popular inside and outside the church are as follows:

Three days and three days

Dog days and dog days are said to be festivals of Wudou Rice Road. However, from the available data, it seems that the three-day meeting evolved from the three-day meeting.

Lu's "A Brief Introduction to Daomen" describes the activities of Wudou Rice Road, saying: "It is ordered to hold three meetings every year on the seventh day of the first month, the seventh day of July and the fifth day of October, and the people vote for this rule. ..... God will teach and correct school documents in the future. A teacher should be quiet and awe-inspiring. Don't drink, eat meat, talk or laugh. After the meeting, people went home ... Although it is held three times a year, it is limited to1October 5. " This account is the same as that in the Shengjijing quoted earlier.

Zhang Li of Pinus densiflora contains three meeting days, with the fifth day of the first month as the meeting day, and the middle meeting time is the same as the next meeting. At the same time, it lists three days, that is, the fifteenth day of the first month, the middle of July and the end of October, which are called "the day when the three officials of heaven, earth and water inspect the school, and it is feasible to fast and pray".

On the other hand, Shu Wei Shi Lao Zhi described Kou Qianzhi's missionary activities, saying: "Its Taoist altar is in the southern suburbs, with 200 steps. On the seventh day of the first month, the seventh day of July, and the fifteenth day of October, 160 altar owners, Taoist priests, and brothers came to worship the temple. " The first two sessions are the same as Shengjijing and Doumen Coke, and the next session is different from October 5th of Doumen Coke.

Yi Bian (Volume 8), written by Shi Falin in the Tang Dynasty, demonstrated the Taoist festivals, and held that "Taoist fasting utensils such as golden baskets, jade baskets and yellow baskets, as well as eight fasting methods such as cave gods' creation, only have three festivals, which can be said to be successful. Three men and one woman, with orderly rural residents for protection. The fifth day of the first month is Shangyuan Festival, the seventh day of July is Zhongyuan Festival, and the fifth day of October is Xiayuan Festival. On this day, the Taoist wrote a letter saying that it was Cao, hoping to move to it and prolong life. July 15th is not a Taoist festival. "

It is different to test Buddhism and Taoism in autumn. He studied Taoism in Guigudong, Qingxi Mountain, Jingzhou for nearly 20 years, and what he said was generally accurate. July 15th is a Buddhist bonsai, which seems to be a non-Taoist festival.

However, since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Sanyuan Festival has become an important festival in Taoism. For example, Volume 8 of the Book of the Great Immortal Classic in Du Xuan said: "On the fifteenth day of the first month, Tianguan was forbidden and Yuanzhai was forbidden; On July 15, the local official school rang, and the Central Plains fasting day; 1October 15, the water official school rang, and the next Japanese yen lent day. These three days can be lent, and the three officials will be famous and have a good book. " Shangyuan Festival is a folk Lantern Festival and the birthday of Zhang Tianshi Daoling.

July 15 is the Mid-Yuan Festival in Taoism and the Bonihara Festival in Buddhism, which is called "Ghost Festival" in folk customs and retains the legacy of the five ancient La Worship. As for July 7th, it used to be a Taoist meeting, and the folklore is the Cowherd and Weaver Girl Meeting, which is actually a folk Valentine's Day in China. Whether the formation of this festival is related to the "three meetings of men and women" activities of Wudou Midao and Shitiandao in the Southern and Northern Dynasties remains to be verified by folklore scholars.

Wuri

May Day is an important taboo day in Taoism, which is called "five untrue". It is difficult to make a detailed textual research on the origin and development of this taboo day. The method is to commemorate the anniversary of the official branch, and hang a V-shaped sign on the temple gate every six days, that is, Wuzi, Wuyin, Chen Wu, Wuwu, Wushen and Wuxu. This six price is "Wu Ming". There are other so-called "cloudy days", such as cloudy days in April and cloudy days in August. And those who are good at this road will die.

Grandfather's birthday

Taoism is a polytheistic religion, which is composed of three clear and four imperial gods worshipped by various sects and their respective ancestral gods. The former reflects the basic beliefs and teachings of Taoism, while the latter is mostly related to local folk activities and evolved into Taoist festivals with different influences. Many of them are interrelated, and if detailed case studies are added, they often do not conform to historical facts. But Taoist festivals are, after all, custom days for religious activities and folk activities. Now, according to the custom of Taoism, the birthdays of their founders are listed as follows:

On the third day of the first month, Quanzhen's seven sons Sun Buer and Hao Datong were born.

On the ninth day of the first lunar month, the Jade Emperor was born.

On the 15th day of the first lunar month, Zhang Tianshi Daoling was born.

On the 19th day of the first lunar month, the birthday of Quanzhen Wuzi Changchun is Yan Jiu Festival.

On the first day of the second lunar month, Quanzhen's seventh son Liu Changsheng was born.

On February 3rd of the lunar calendar, Emperor Wenchang was born.

On February 15th of the lunar calendar, it's the birthday of Taishang Laojun.

On the third day of the third lunar month, Zhenwu Emperor was born.

On March 18th of the lunar calendar, Quanzhen's seventh son, Wang Chuyi, was born.

On March 28th of the lunar calendar, Dongyue the Great was born.

On April 14th of the lunar calendar, Lv Zu Chunyang was born.

On the 14th day of the fourth lunar month, Zhong Liquan was born.

On April 18th, the lunar calendar, Wei Zi was born.

On the first day of the fifth lunar month, the birthday of the Antarctic immortal emperor.

On the thirteenth day of the fifth lunar month, Guan was born.

On May 30th of the lunar calendar, Quanzhen's seventh son, Ma Danyang, was born.

On the summer solstice of the lunar calendar, Lingbao Buddha was born.

On June 23rd of the lunar calendar, Huozu was born.

On June 24th of the lunar calendar, Lei Zusheng.

Mao Mao Valley was born on June 25th of the lunar calendar.

On July 12th of the lunar calendar, Quanzhen's seventh son, Tan Chuduan, was born.

From August 1st to 27th of the lunar calendar, the Big Dipper descends.

From the first day to the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, the southern bucket stars fall, which is the Nine Emperors' Meeting.

On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, Wang Zhongyang was born.

On the third day of October, Mao Ying was born in Damao.

The solstice of winter in the lunar calendar is the beginning of Buddha's birthday.

Born in Mao Mao on the second day of the twelfth lunar month.

On the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the kitchen god ascended to heaven.