When is the best time to post door gods? Can door gods be posted at any time?

As we all know, many people will put up door gods during the Chinese New Year or some festivals. Nowadays, many people put up door gods as soon as the Chinese New Year begins, without considering the specific time. In fact, this is wrong. So, when is the best time to put up door gods?

When is the best time to post door gods?

The correct time to post door gods is on New Year's Eve, before the New Year's Eve dinner, and after all family members are present. After pasting the door gods, money and wealth in the house can no longer come in and out. In the past, people who owed debts would paste door gods before dawn on New Year's Eve, for fear that someone would come to collect the debt. There are also people who do business. In order to do business, they put up door gods after closing the shop on New Year's Eve, in order to make more money from business. Pasting door gods is a respectful thing to do. As an ancient folk cultural heritage, if you want to do it, you must do it seriously.

In addition, if the family invites gods or ancestors to come home for the New Year, they must first invite the gods and ancestors to the house before they can put up door gods or couplets. If they put up door gods first and then invite the gods and ancestors to come home for the New Year, the door gods will not be allowed to enter the house. It is rumored that once the door gods are posted, they are regarded as "on duty immediately". Family members who enter the house after the door gods may be blocked outside the door as "ghosts" of unknown origin, which will affect the family. Therefore, many friends who worship their ancestors at home on New Year’s Eve must remember that it would be bad to put up door gods after these things are completed, otherwise it would be bad to be stopped outside.

Can I post door gods at any time?

If you want to put up door gods at home, you must do it during the Chinese New Year. Another thing to note is that even if you are not posting door gods during the Chinese New Year, you should choose some special days instead of just posting them on an ordinary day. The door gods you invite in this way will not be of any benefit to your home, because the door gods invited on ordinary days are not capable enough.

The correct way to paste the door god

From the perspective of the person entering the door, the door gods are pasted on both sides of the door. It is the correct traditional way to paste the door gods so that they face each other. Otherwise it is considered as "pasting the door gods wrongly" as circulated among the people.

The Origin of Door God

The first one: Legend has it that after Emperor Li Shiming of the Tang Dynasty ascended the throne after the Xuanwu Gate Incident, he often had nightmares for a period of time. He dreamed that his elder brother and younger brother came with demons and monsters to kill him. He was very scared and had difficulty falling asleep at night. So he asked his two generals, Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong, to stand guard in front of the door with weapons in hand, so that he could sleep peacefully. But as time went on, the two generals could not sleep at night and finally both fell ill. Li Shiming had no choice but to order people to draw their images on paper and stick them on the doors to scare away evil spirits. This is the origin of door gods.

The second type: According to legend, they are Shentu and Yulei who can catch ghosts. In the Customs and Customs written by Ying Shao of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Book of Huangdi was quoted as saying: In ancient times, there were two brothers named Shentu and Yulei, who lived on Mount Dushuo. There is a peach tree on the mountain, and its shade is like a canopy. Every morning, they inspect the ghosts under this tree. If an evil ghost harms the human world, it will be tied up and fed to the tiger.

The third type: A warrior in ancient times named Cheng Qing. It is recorded in Ban Gu's "Book of Han·Biography of Prince Guangchuan": On the door of Prince Guangchuan's (Qu Ji) palace there was a portrait of the ancient warrior Cheng Qing, wearing a short coat, wide pants and a long sword. In the Tang Dynasty, the position of door gods was replaced by Qin Shubao and Yuchi Jingde.