Lu Yi is the birthplace of Laozi. In the long historical development, various unique folk activities have been formed. Every year on February 15th of the lunar calendar, folklore is his birth day, and a climax of worship is formed around the Taiqing Palace to celebrate his birth. Every year, on the 15th day of the first month, folklore is the day when he became immortal, and a sacrificial climax is formed around Laojuntai (climbing to Sendai) to commemorate his enlightenment. During the period from the 15th day of the first month to the 16th day of February, the people of Lu Yi held a grand temple fair to express their love for this saint, forming colorful legends such as the old gentleman, Lao zi's iron dance, Lao zi's drama, Lao zi's hymn, Lao zi's fist, Lao zi's knife and Lao zi's stick. A variety of commercial products, such as Laojun Twist, LaoMa Jun Film, Li Er Stone Mill Sesame Oil, Laojun Hat, LaoMa Jun Paste, Laojun Clubs and Laojun Clubs, as well as various related rituals, taboos, ancestor worship and other concrete and vivid folk life contents. Entering the second month of the lunar calendar is particularly lively. By then, 20 provinces and cities around Shanxi, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu and Anhui, as well as millions of pilgrims at home and abroad will welcome the old one after another, forming a grand ancient temple fair.
There are many legends about the birth and longevity of Laozi in folk and temple fairs. The most widely known saying in the local area is that Lao Tzu's mother Shi Li was descended from the gods. When Shi Li came to the village to wash clothes with a small basket, she found a Huang Chengcheng plum. Shirley was hungry and thirsty, so she ate it. Unexpectedly, she was pregnant from now on. One day in the early spring after 8 1 year, Li Sheng got off Lao Zi, and then with a flash of lightning, nine blue dragons poured down in a downpour, washing themselves clean for Lao Zi, leaving nine sacred wells where he was born. The boy with white eyebrows and white hair after bathing was born with the appearance of a little old man, and Li named him "Lao Zi". The legend of Laozi's immortality is a reflection of people's admiration for Laozi. It is said that after Confucius came to ask, Laozi soared in the northeast corner of the county. One gasification and three cleanses, soaring to the thirty-third floor, living in the palace of resentment and dominating the three realms, became the ancestor of Taoism and the teacher of emperors in previous dynasties. Every time my hometown is robbed, I come to Lu Yi to solve the problem.
"As soon as the temple fair opened, all directions came to worship, worship God and burn incense, and pray for returning home." This is the activity around Laozi temple fair, the theme of traditional temple fair. Among them, the activity of praying for children with witchcraft can best reflect the core of China traditional culture. This is determined by the nature of China's agricultural society. Thousands of years of feudal society, people's living environment has basically not changed, and the reproduction of future generations has become a top priority for thousands of years. Therefore, in the "doll hall" of Taiqing Palace, the temple fair of Laozi, there is an ancient form of witchcraft-praying for blessings. It tied the sex of the praying son with a rope and placed his infinite good wishes. Laozi's iron dance is the most striking of the sacrificial activities in Laozi Temple Fair. Iron dancing originated in the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song Dynasty. It is the product of the working people living and working in peace and contentment, which embodies the sacred position of Laozi in people's hearts. All those who strike while the iron is hot in Lu Yi have a special respect for Lao Zi. According to legend, this dance was formed when Laozi fought against foreign invasion. Later, the locals created this dance according to the action of striking the iron at that time. Through the continuous improvement of past dynasties, a complete folk dance has gradually formed. The main movement of the dance highlights "slapping", and both hands are slapping. "Strike while the iron is hot, two dozen steels, three dozen sickles and four dozen guns; Five fires, six screens of charcoal, seven hammers and eight arrows; Nine dozen are crescent axes and ten dozen are A Jin steel drills. " I sang a ballad while the iron was hot, which vividly showed the legendary scene of Lao Tzu's benefit to the people and the people's reverence. This kind of dance is rough and humorous, funny but not vulgar. At night, people light torches in the wilderness and carry out torch leisure activities. The leisurely circle represents a peaceful year and expresses people's good wishes for the old gentleman to bring peace to his hometown.
In the early days, Laozi Temple Fair was just a grand ritual activity. With the development of economy and the need of people's communication, Laozi temple fair has gradually integrated into market trading activities while maintaining sacrificial activities, and at the same time increased entertainment activities. There are businessmen, hong merchants and mobile vendors in the city, which are open during the day and do not do night market business. Corresponding to the sale, there are cultural and entertainment performances. The temple fair planning includes program performance area, special snack area, product display area, sacrificial supplies area, small commodity area, children's toy commodity area, senior school research area, children's play area, commodity cutting area, agricultural products area, native products area and poultry trading area. The four heads of the temple fair sang four major plays, and arranged pavilions, lotteries, flying cars, animal training, acrobatics, magic and other Han folk unique skills; There are Han folk customs of observing faces, shaking divination, pulling camels, playing divination and advising the world; Han folk art performances, such as drum, waist drum, dragon dance, lion dance, Erxian Road, iron dance, carrying sutras, stilts, traditional Chinese opera, piano books and falling books, have pushed the temple fair momentum to one climax after another. The local snacks have a fragrant smell, including steamed stuffed bun, sesame seed cake, braised soup, Chili soup, meat dumplings, bean foam, pea stuffing, meat steamed bun, bad fish, spiced chicken, braised chicken, braised pork, duck eggs, fried dough sticks, oil tea, melon seeds, bean jelly, cold rice noodles and so on. They all have different flavors and are very attractive.