Renri

Renri(Chinese: _zh. 人日, literally "Human Day")refers specially to the 7th day of "zhengyue"(正月, the first month in the Chinese calendar). According to Chinese customs, "renri" was the day of creation of human beings. It is celebrated not only in China, but also other regions influnced by Chinese culture.

Origin

According to "Questions and Answers on Rites and Customs"( _zh. 答問禮俗說) by Dong Xun in Jin Dynasty, the days of creations of different animals are::First of "zhengyue" : Chicken:Second of "zhengyue" : Dogs:Third of "zhengyue" : Boar:Fourth of "zhengyue" : Sheep:Fifth of "zhengyue" : Cow:Sixth of "zhengyue" : Horse:Seventh of "zhengyue" : Human.By "Book of Divinationan"( _zh. 占書),an earlier of publication by Dongfang Suo in Western Han Dynasty, on the eighth of "zhengyue" was the creation of cereal.

Hence, Chinese tradition set "zhengyue" 1 as the "birthday" of chicken, "zhengyue" 2 as the birthday of dogs, etc. And "zhengyue" 7 is viewed as the common "birthday" of all human beings.

Legends

In Chinese myths, nüwa( _zh. 女媧) is the godness who created the world. She created the animals on different days, and human beings on the seventh day after the creation of the world.

Celebration

=Chinese=

In legend, the customs dates back to the Han Dynasty, and became more important after The Three Kingdoms period and Jin Dynasty. Traditional Chinese wear "Rensheng"(人勝) on their heads, or put sliced gold on "pingfeng" and hair. Poems are composed too. Emperors after Tang Dynasty may grant beautiful clothes to his fellows on this day.

If the weather on "renri" is fine, it can be forecast that God will give luck to all people on earth. Fireworks and"Hua Pao"(花炮) are lit, so renri celebrates the "birthday" of fire as well.

Since the first days of "zhengyue" are considered "birthdays" of different animals, Chinese people avoid killing the animals on the respective birthday and punishing prisoners on renri.

Nowadays in "zhengyue", renri is celebrated as part of the Chinese New Year. Chinese people make lucky food in the new year, where "Seven-vegetable soup"(七菜羹), "Seven-vegetable congee"(七菜粥) are "Jidi" congee"(及第粥) are specially for renri. The Malaysian and Singaporean Chinese use "Seven-colour sliced fish"(七彩魚生) instead of "Seven-vegetable soup".

Japanese

In Japan, "renri" is called Nihongo|Jinjitsu|人日|jinjitsu. It is one of the Nihongo|five seasonal festivals|五節句|gosekku. It is celebrated on January 7. It is also known as Nihongo|Nanakusa no sekku|七草の節句|nanakusa no sekku, "the feast of seven herbs", from the custom of eating Nihongo|"seven-herb kayu"|七草粥|nanakusa-gayu to ensure good health for the coming year.

The celebration of the feast in Japan was moved from the 7th day of the first lunar month to the 7th day of January during the Meiji period, when Japan adopted the solar calendar.

References

* [http://hk.travel.yahoo.com/050215/82/19fh9.html 初七人日　中國朝姓之旅]
* [http://www.zaobao.com/chinese/region/singapore/festival/singapore_festival300101.html 初七人日撈魚生慶生日]
* [http://www.nongli.com/Doc/0501/27161137.htm 農歷網]
* [http://culture.people.com.cn/BIG5/40472/55544/55547/55554/3865273.html 乾隆出生地點之謎]
* [http://iask.sina.com.cn/browse/browse_detail.php?qid=3458486 请教民俗专家：春节前后有哪些传统仪式？]