What are the folk customs of Xiaoman? Customs and activities of Xiaoman solar term

What folk activities are there during Xiaoman? The Grain Full solar term of 2017 is approaching. Grain Full is the second solar term in summer, which means that the temperature in summer will continue to rise. Next, let’s take a look at the folk activities related to the Grain Full solar term.

What folk activities are there in Xiaoman?

Worship the Silkworm God

According to legend, Xiaoman is the birthday of the silkworm god, and during the farming period, people regarded silkworms as gifts from heaven. In order to pray for forgiveness from heaven and a good harvest from silkworm breeding, the Silkworm Prayer Festival is held in April every year when the silkworms are released. Therefore, there is no fixed date for the Silkworm Festival. It is held on the day when each family releases silkworms before or after the Grain Full Moon. Silkworm farmers would go to the "Silkworm Goddess Temple" and "Cicada God Temple" to offer fruits, fine wine, and sumptuous dishes and kneel down to worship. In particular, they would place "noodle cocoons" made of flour on a mountain of straw to pray for a good harvest of silkworm cocoons.

Worship the God of Chariots

Grain Full Festival falls in early summer, which is also the busiest season for farmers. In the old days, waterwheels for irrigation and water drainage were important events in rural areas, so during the Grain Full solar term, many places held folk activities to worship the waterwheel god. As the saying goes, "Three wheels move during Grain Full", which refers to the silk wheel, oil wheel and field wheel. Legend has it that the "God of Carts" is a white dragon. During the Grain Full period, farmers place fish, meat, incense and candles in front of the water-carrying wheels as offerings. The special thing is that there is a cup of white water among the offerings, which is poured into the fields during the sacrifice, with the intention of wishing for a prosperous water source.