Folklore 1: Give parents a leap moon gift.
In some places, it is a custom to give parents leap month gifts in the leap month to thank their parents for their upbringing and hope that their parents will be safe and healthy. The most common gift is shoes. People think that "shoes" and "evil" are homophonic. Wearing shoes for parents means that parents will step on them and increase happiness and longevity. In addition, some places also send trotters and noodles. In fact, no matter what you send, I hope everyone can care more about their parents in their daily lives.
Folklore 2: Go to New Year in February.
Because leap years are one month longer than normal years, the Chinese New Year will last longer. As the old saying goes, "Years prolong life, but it is hard to meet a leap in February in ten years", just to tell us that people will be older than before, and people should keep the pace of years and keep themselves young forever. The way to keep the years is to wear leap moon shoes or eat longevity noodles. I hope time can be slower and I won't let myself get old so fast. This is the way to keep the years. Nobody wants to get old and accomplish nothing. They all hope that time can be slower so that they can do what they like and grow up with their children.
Folk custom 3: Leave Niangniang cake in February.
Leap February is also called "Mother's Stay Year". As the saying goes, "leap month year, stay in the mother's year", the married daughter will go back to her parents' home at this time and bring some delicious food, and among them, she will definitely bring some cakes, also called leap moon cakes, to express her filial piety to her parents and hope that her parents will be healthy. Niangniang cake is a kind of flower cake. When making, it is very particular. After entering the leap month, make a flower cake and write "longevity" or "blessing" on it to give it to mom and dad. I also pray that they will be safe and healthy and stay with me forever, so in February, the business of some pastry shops will be very hot.
Folk custom 4: February is unlucky.
Leap in February, there is also a saying that bad luck goes. The old man thinks that this year is longer than previous years, so it is more prone to bad luck. Therefore, at this time, if bad luck is removed, it is good luck. Bad luck usually means eating eggs. When a family eats together, they will cook a pot of eggs and eat them with their families. I hope bad luck will drive them away, so that we can have good luck and make a good start for spring. In addition, the egg also means round and round, and it also symbolizes the golden ingot, so in this special month, I will eat some eggs to get rid of bad luck.
Folk custom 5: Women should drink Runyue tea.
As we all know, in the old society, men were superior to women, and most women seldom went out. Therefore, only in leap months can women in the village go out. At this time, they will hold a tea party and invite nearby women to have tea and chat, and men are not allowed to attend. Holding a tea party is also a way for women to increase their feelings. Everyone replaces wine with tea and sends blessings to each other, which makes them feel happy.
Folklore 6: Go back to your mother's house for a leap moon meal.
In the former feudal thought, they thought that as long as the daughter married into the door of the man's house and wanted to go back to her family in the future, she had to get the man's consent. Therefore, it is almost impossible for many married girls to return to their parents' homes. Therefore, every leap month, the bride's family can invite the married girl back to her family to have a reunion dinner, also called "leap month meal". However, nowadays, there is not so much pressure. If you want to go back to your family, you can always go back.
Folklore 7: The maiden gives an umbrella to her daughter.
In some places, there is a custom of the bride's family giving umbrellas to her daughters in leap months, which means that the bride's family will always be her daughter's umbrella, and at the same time, I wish her daughter an early opening of branches and leaves for her husband's family and early birth of a baby.
Folk custom 8: It is not recommended to do great things.
For leap month, the older generation always feel that it is not a good day. As we mentioned in the last article, leap month seems to coordinate the contradiction between the two dating methods. So they think that leap month is nothing, and it is not suitable for doing some big things, such as breaking ground to build houses, moving, getting married and so on. However, this statement is unfounded. It's just that the older generation wants their families to be all right and happy.
Summary:
Leaping in February is really rare, and it takes 19 years to meet once. These folk customs formed by the people have no basis for this statement except that the older generation wants their families to live a smooth and happy life.