The reason why ducks are eaten on the Hungry Ghost Festival
The Hungry Ghost Festival on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month is also a festival for worshiping ancestors. Chickens cannot be used as sacrificial offerings, because the chicken's claws will dig out the money and things sent to the ancestors, and the younger generation's thoughts cannot reach the ancestors, so ducks are given as sacrificial messengers. Why send ducks as sacrificial messengers? Because we have to cross the river to go to the "underworld", there is only one Noihe Bridge on the river. There are too many "messengers" and the bridge is crowded, but ducks can swim to the other side with ancestors' offerings, so ducks are the main offering on the Ghost Festival day. After the sacrificial ceremony, people "spread blessings" on the remaining ducks, so the custom of eating ducks on the Ghost Festival has been passed down.
It is also said that ducks are eaten on the Hungry Ghost Festival because it is said that the deceased ancestors will go home to visit relatives on the Hungry Ghost Festival and have to cross the Naihe Bridge, but there is no boat to cross. So the living people had to send some ducks down, let them swim and take them back. Over time, eating ducks on Ghost Festival has become a tradition.
It is said that in ancient times, northerners attacked the south, but could not cross the river for a long time. Until mid-July, when no ducks were caught, the northerners wanted to kill and eat the ducks, praying that they could adapt to the water, which also meant celebrating the Spring Festival in advance. As time goes by, it has become a tradition for people to eat ducks during the Ghost Festival and Ghost Festival.
Later, people from various places gave them various legends, which basically meant to ward off evil spirits. "Duck" means "pressure", which is its homophonic pronunciation. Eating duck is to suppress ghosts. Dongguan people usually eat lotus root and roast duck.
"Ghost Festival" is actually a kind of soul worship. On this day, people burn incense to worship their ancestors, pray for the health and safety of their families, and take this opportunity to reunite with their families. Ducks are eaten on this day. Another reliable saying is that before rice was planted in rural areas of Guangxi, every household bought 10 ducks to raise. After the rice is cut, the ducks can eat the millet and small animals that fell in the field, reducing costs. During the second season of rice cultivation, farmers, in order to reward themselves, began to kill ducks for the festival. Over time, people became accustomed to eating duck on this day.
The beginning of April every year is a good time to raise ducks. By the end of July and the beginning of August, it is when the ducks grow up and mature, and the meat is delicious. At this time, duck is the best food to worship ancestors and drive away ghosts. Some people also believe that eating duck at this time can dispel liver fire and prevent autumn dryness caused by seasonal reasons.
In addition, duck meat is suitable for people with internal heat and internal heat, especially for people with low-grade fever, weak constitution, loss of appetite, dry stool, and edema. It is also suitable for people with malnutrition, physical weakness, night sweats, spermatorrhea, menorrhagia, dry throat, and postpartum thirst.
The choice of duck breeds is also particular. Peking duck is delicious, but its fat content is as high as 40%, making it too greasy to eat in summer. It is best to choose thinner lake ducks and mallards (the feathers on the head are green). First, it contains less oil; second, it has a strong diuretic and dampness removing effect.
"Chicken soup, duck flavor", duck stew is the best in summer, not only delicious, but also the most nutritious. Duck meat stewed with ham and sea cucumber is good for nourishing the yin of the five internal organs; duck meat boiled with glutinous rice can nourish the stomach, nourish blood and promote fluid production. Stewing duck meat and kelp can soften blood vessels, lower blood pressure, and prevent arteriosclerosis, hypertension, and heart disease.
Although duck meat is rich in nutrients, you should pay attention when eating it: duck meat is a fatty food, so you should not eat too much. Especially people with obesity and arteriosclerosis should eat less. Cold patients should not consume it. People with colds should eat foods that are pungent, and duck meat nourishes the pathogenic factors, which can make the cold lingering and difficult to recover from. Patients with chronic enteritis should use it with caution because duck meat is sweet, salty, slippery, and rich in oil. Eating it will aggravate enteritis and diarrhea.
Traditional food eaten during the Ghost Festival
1. Eat rice noodles.
During the Ghost Festival, Dongguan has the custom of eating glutinous rice flour, and it is widely used in almost all Dongguan. Of course, different regions have different ways of eating rice noodles. Seto noodles, a traditional food at Dongguan birthday banquets, mean longevity, blessings and longevity.
The most famous thing in Dongguan is the roasted goose wrasse. The most exquisite thing about roasted goose is a pot of delicious soup, which is made from a whole chicken, large pieces of meat and bones, and many special herbs and spices. When eating, blanch the Seto flour with hot water and put it in a bowl, then add a tablespoon of stock and spread a layer of crispy roasted goose on the flour.
2. Steamed Noodles with Sheep
In old Beijing and rural areas in northern China, on July 15th, grandfathers and uncles would give live sheep to their little nephews. Popular among the people. This custom is related to the legend of agarwood splitting mountains to save its mother. After Chen Xiang cut off the mountain to save his mother, he had to hunt down his uncle Erlangshen who abused his mother. Erlangshen gives Chen a pair of live sheep every July 15th to rebuild the friendship between brother and sister and between uncle and nephew. It is said that this is the homophony of "Yang", the surname of Chen Xiang and Chen Xiang's mother, for the purpose of reuniting the two families. From then on, the folk custom of giving live sheep to the uncle remained, and later gradually evolved into giving a pair of sheep.
Another version of this folk custom is that the mother shapes a pair of sheep out of white flour for her married daughter, and of course steams them, and the sheep's heads are wrapped in red cloth strips. The bride's family will form a small team to send the sheep to the new uncle's house. The new uncle will cut the noodle sheep and hang the first cut piece with a red rope in the living room. This "noodle mutton" cannot be removed until the new noodle mutton is delivered on July 15 of the following year. What is emphasized is "When Yang Chen sees new sheep, he will have more than his own every year." After the new son-in-law has sheared the sheep, he eats the sheep's head, and the married daughter eats the sheep's feet, and the rest is distributed to the man's elders and neighbors to show harmony and beauty.* **Enjoy happiness and good fortune.
3. Eat colorful buns.
Before July 15th, folk women were popular in dough sculpture activities, especially in northern Shaanxi. I only have one steamed bun at home, and my neighbors help me. First, give each person a big bag based on the actual number of people in the family.
The flower buns given to young students should be made into a flat shape and are called noodle sheep. The lambs will kneel on the ground when sucking milk. I hope young students will not forget the kindness of their parents. The flower buns given to the older generation should be shaped into the shape of an adult, called a noodle man, which means that the family will be full of children and grandchildren, and they will live a long life. The flower buns given to fellow travelers should be shaped into fish, called noodle fish, which means continuous for more than one year.
4. Eat duck.
On the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, which is the Chinese New Year, ducks are eaten in many places across the country. Why? It turns out that "duck" means "pressure". Taking its homophonic pronunciation, eating duck means "pressure". Moreover, the chicken's claws are rake-shaped and can easily catch the ghost's clothes (probably because they are afraid of accumulating evil and refusing to return to their original place), so it is reasonable to choose a flat-footed duck. Dongguan people usually eat lotus root and roast duck.
The reason for eating ducks on the Hungry Ghost Festival is because it is said that the dead ancestors will go home to visit relatives on the Hungry Ghost Festival and have to cross the Naihe Bridge, but it is impossible to cross without a boat. So the living people had to send some ducks down, let them swim and take them back. Over time, eating ducks on Ghost Festival has become a tradition.
5. Eat light food
In Dongxian Town, Jiangsu Province, many villagers eat Bianshi (a dustpan-shaped food made of flour and sugar) during the Ghost Festival. Some people now call flat food dumplings, but they are very different from dumplings. The difference between flat food and dumplings lies first in the skin, and secondly in the filling.
As far as the skin is concerned, the dumpling skin is thick, while the flat food skin is as thin as cicada wings and crystal clear. The dumplings are very small, only about the size of your thumb, so the dumplings are also relatively small. Although there are more than a dozen dumpling bowls, they only take up one-third, and the rest is soup. Moreover, the fillings of dumplings are relatively simple. Vegetarian vegetables and seasonings are mostly added to the pork. But plain food is quite different. Not only can you stuff meat and vegetables, but you can also stuff chicken, duck, fish, crab, prickly heat, tender soybeans, etc. Pay special attention to the combination, such as chicken breast with celery, pork with shepherd's purse, eggs with leeks, etc.
6. Eating "dumpling cakes"
In Tiantai, Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, they eat "dumpling cakes", a food similar to spring rolls. According to legend, glutinous rice balls were left behind by Jigong: when Jigong became a monk at Guoshou Temple, he saw a lot of leftover dishes from each meal and thought it was a waste, so he wrapped them in a battered skin and prepared them for the next meal. This practice was loved by all monks and spread to the people.
Make dumpling wrappers, fry the fillings and set aside. Common fillings include pork, pork liver, shredded eggs, tofu skin, winter bamboo shoots, bean noodles, celery, bean sprouts, kelp, dried fish, etc. Then paste the previously prepared flour on the "sugar" and paste it into a thin round crust (paste peeling). Finally, wrap the ingredients in the batter in order. It should not be too "fat" or too "thin", otherwise it will not look good. After the dumplings are puffed up, they are also fried on the "smoke" until the outer skin is golden and shiny.
In addition, in Lingdu County, Shandong Province, the Ghost Festival is called the "Chokou Festival" by the locals, and every family has the custom of eating simple meals.
The "Mid-Autumn Festival" roast duck sells well
Guangxi people celebrate the "Ghost Festival". They rarely go out, swim or do other commercial activities. In the afternoon, the shops on the street closed early. The "Ghost Festival" brings people a good excuse to be lazy, and the living people have a reason to eat gluttony. Prepare in advance the incense, candles, ingots and paper money used to worship ancestors, buy cakes and fruits, and the most important thing is that people in Guangxi eat duck on this day! Early that morning, the poultry stalls at the farmers market were already full of people who wanted to buy ducks! (Ducks on this day can be sold at the highest price throughout the year). In Guangxi, river lanterns are placed near rivers to comfort the souls of ancestors and the recently deceased. There are many places with water in the south, so they will think that rivers pass through dead people and dead people.
According to the old man, when worshiping ancestors, the paper money and clothes used have to be carried across the Naihe Bridge by ducks. So you must eat duck during the Ghost Festival. For a long time, eating ducks has become an essential part of the "Ghost Festival", just like eating dumplings on New Year's Eve. Some locals also said: "Eating duck on July 14th is mainly because there is no duck to eat in Guangxi. July 14th is such a big day to worship heaven, earth, ghosts and gods, how come there is no decent ancestor worship?" History Experts believe that before planting rice in rural areas of Guangxi, every household will buy about ten ducks to raise; after the rice is harvested, the ducks can eat millet and earthworms in the fields, reducing costs. During the second season of rice cultivation, farmers, in order to reward themselves, began to kill ducks for the festival. Over time, people became accustomed to eating duck on this day.
As early as the Ming Dynasty, roast duck had become a treasure in the homes of dignitaries. After Zhu Yuanzhang established Nanjing as his capital, the chefs of the Ming Palace used Nanjing's meaty lake duck to prepare dishes. To enhance the flavor of the duck, the chef roasts it over charcoal fire. The cooked duck tastes crispy, fragrant, fat but not greasy, and is praised by people.