It is said that many years ago, at the foot of the beautiful dingyang mountain, there was a small village. On the hillside of the village head, there is a small stone house where a young man named Wan Nian lives. His family was poor and he made a living by gathering firewood and herbs. At that time, the seasons were so chaotic that the farmers could not farm. Wannian is a scheming young man who wants to make sure the festival order. But where to start?
One day, thousands of years ago, he went up the mountain to collect firewood and sat under a tree to have a rest. Inspired by the movement of the shadow of the tree, he made a sundial to measure the shadow of the sun and calculate the length of the day. However, the weather was cloudy, cloudy, foggy and rainy, which affected the recording. He wanted to make another timepiece to make up for the deficiency of the sundial. That day, he went up the mountain to dig medicine and came to the spring to drink water. The spring on the cliff was ticking rhythmically, which attracted his attention. He looked at the spring and thought for a while. When he came home, he drew and tried to make a five story leaky pot.
From then on, he measured the shadow of the sun, looked at the water leakage, and worked diligently. Slowly, he found that every 360 days, the length of days would be repeated from the beginning. The shortest day is the winter solstice.
At that time, the son of heaven was called Zuyi. He was so worried about the disorder that he summoned all officials to discuss the cause of the disorder. The seasonal officer is aheng. He doesn’t know the law of the sun and the moon. He says that people do things carelessly and offend the God. Only by kneeling devoutly can they be forgiven by the God. Zu yizhai took a vegetarian bath, led all officials to the temple of heaven to offer sacrifices, and told the whole country to set up a platform to offer sacrifices to heaven.
However, sacrifices come and go, but no results are achieved. The seasons are still chaotic. People everywhere have to serve and donate in order to build sacrificial platforms. It is really bile mixed with Coptis – adding bitterness to bitterness. Wannian couldn’t help it, so he took his sundial and leaky pot to see the son of heaven.
Ten thousand years saw the emperor, said the winter solstice, and talked about the cycle of the sun and the moon. After hearing this, Zuyi was overjoyed and ordered a large-scale construction to build the sun moon Pavilion, the sundial platform and the leaky pot Pavilion in front of the temple of heaven. Another twelve boys were assigned to guard the leaky pots, carefully record and report on time.
One day, Zuyi asked aheng to go to the sun and moon pavilion to inquire about the calendar making. Wannian pointed to the grass calendar and said, “the sunrise and sunset are threehundred and the cycle starts from the beginning. The plants and trees wither and flourish at four hours, and there are twelve circles in a year.” Hearing this, ah Heng felt deeply justified, but he was uneasy. He thought to himself: if Wannian decides on the festival, and the emperor is happy and reuses Wannian, who will listen to ah Heng? Ah Heng thought and thought and thought with all his heart to get rid of Wannian.
That day ah Heng found out about an assassin who was good at shooting, so he sent someone to his home to have a wine feast to explain the reason and Xu Yizhong gave him a heavy gift. The assassin promised to assassinate that night.
At the second drum, the assassin left aheng and ran to the sun moon Pavilion. However, around the temple of heaven, your excellency sun and moon, were guarded by guards. The assassins could not come near, so they drew their bows and arrows to shoot at Wannian who was watching the stars on the sun and moon Pavilion. But the assassin’s eyes were dazzled because he drank too much, and the arrow only hit his arm for thousands of years. Ten thousand years fell to the ground with a cry, and all the boys shouted for the thief. When the guards heard the cry, they went out together to catch the assassin and see the son of heaven.
Zu Yi inquired about the truth, and ordered aheng to be put in prison. He went out of the palace and went to the Riyue pavilion to visit Wannian. Wannian was very moved. He pointed to Shen Xing and said, “Shen Xing has caught up with the silkworm hundred stars, and the stars have recovered. When the night is over, the old year is over, and spring begins again. I hope the emperor will fix a festival.”
Zuyi said, “spring is the beginning of the year, so let’s call it the Spring Festival. Aiqing has been in the cabinet for three years. He is so brave that he can make the lunar calendar according to the full moon. He has really made great achievements and great virtue. Now Aiqing has been plotted by crafty men. Let’s go to the palace with me to recuperate.”
Wannian said, “although the lunar calendar was first created, it is still not very accurate. There are still a few hours left at the end of the year. If you don’t leap in at the end of the year, the sun and the moon will fly like a shuttle. In the past, you will miss the calendar again. I live up to the expectations of all sentient beings and am deeply indebted to the son of heaven. I am willing to be fascinated by the sun and moon Pavilion, calculate carefully, and fix the calendar.”
In this way, in the sun and moon Pavilion, Wannian carefully observed the ups and downs of plants, trees, wheat and beans, carefully deduced, and put the accumulated days at the end of the year into the leap of the month. In May of that year, Zu Yi went to the temple of heaven to offer sacrifices to the gods. After that, he went to the Riyue Pavilion and gave the May fresh peaches to Wannian. Wannian presented the lunar calendar to Wannian. Zu Yi looked at Wannian who worked day and night. His eyebrows and beard were white. Deeply moved, he named the lunar calendar Wannian and also named Wannian the birthday star of the sun and the moon.
Therefore, later, people also called the Spring Festival “new year”. During the Spring Festival, a picture of the longevity star should be hung in the house to symbolize the new year and longevity, so as to send a feeling of nostalgia for the thousands of years of high achievements and moral values.