Why do we send away poverty on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year? How do we send away poverty on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year?

Every day of the New Year has different customs and practices. In the blink of an eye, it is the sixth day of the New Year. On this day, many people are preparing to return to work. There is a folk custom of sending away poverty on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. So why do we send away poverty on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year?

Why do we send away poverty on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year?

"Sending away poverty" on the sixth day of the first lunar month is a very distinctive seasonal custom among the ancient Chinese people. The meaning is to offer sacrifices to the poor ghosts and gods. A poor ghost is also called a "poor son". According to the "Sui Shi Guang Ji" by Chen Yuanliang of the Song Dynasty, which quoted "Wen Zong Bei Wen", "During the reign of Emperor Zhuanxu Gao Xin, a son was born in the palace. He did not wear complete clothes and was called the poor son in the palace. He died on the last day of the first month of the lunar calendar. The palace buried him and said, 'Today we send off the poor son.'"
According to legend, the poor ghost was the son of Zhuanxu. He was weak and short, and liked to wear tattered clothes and eat porridge. Even if he was given new clothes, he would tear them or burn holes in them before wearing them, so he was called the "poor son" in the palace. On the last day of the first lunar month, Qiongzi died. The palace servants buried him and said, "Today we send away Qiongzi." From then on, Qiongzi became a poor ghost that everyone feared, so it was necessary to send him away.

How to send away the poor ghost on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year

1. Send away the five poverty: poverty of wisdom, poverty of learning, poverty of literature, poverty of life, and poverty of friendship;
2. Garbage is a symbol of poverty, so it should be cleaned up;
3. Send away poverty as far as possible, you can set off firecrackers to "break out poverty" or go out for a picnic;
4. Take a few days off and work hard today, saying that you “hate being poor”. Send away the poor ghosts to have good fortune!
5. In the northwest of Shanxi Province, before the sun rises, people lift up the kang mat, sweep up some kang dirt and send it out into the wild; they fire cannons, burn incense and offer paper, which is called "sending away poverty".
6. The Cantonese people regard the third day of the Lunar New Year as the "Day to Send Away Poverty", while the Hakka people call this day "Triple Day" or "Worm Day" based on the homonyms of the two words "send away poverty". The Fujianese have the same saying, believing that this day is the "Poor Ghost Day" (or "Red Ghost Day"). It is said that after New Year's Day, people cannot sweep the floor until at least the third day of the first lunar month. On this day, cleaning out the garbage at home or dumping it into the ditch has the good intention of clearing out the "poor ghost".