During the Spring Festival, every day is basically a traditional holiday. So what is the holiday on the eighth day of the first lunar month? The beginning of the year is called "Zheng", meaning that the first lunar month is the first month of the lunar calendar. The good or bad days of the first lunar month vary from year to year. Click on Huayi Network's 2022 First Lunar Month Special Edition to learn more.

What is the holiday on the eighth day of the first lunar month?

Day of Release
The eighth day of the first lunar month is also the folk tradition of "releasing animals". On this day, people take some fish and birds they have raised at home and release them into the wild. According to Liu Tong's "Yijing Jingwu Lue" in the Ming Dynasty, it says: "On the eighth day of the first lunar month, the stone steps alley releases animals, with caged birds, fish in basins, and shells in baskets, gathered in front of the hall, monks chanting mantras, thousands facing each other, releasing their wings into the sky, and the birds landing on the roof, which would leave after some time. Water creatures were thrown into the Jinshui River in the imperial palace, where nets and bait could not reach." Releasing animals on the eighth day reflects the ancient people's respect for nature and harmonious coexistence, as well as the hope for all things to recover vitality and flourish at the beginning of the new year.
Day of Worshiping the Stars
According to Taoist and astronomical theories, everyone has a star that governs their fate for the year, also known as "the star that oversees one's fate for the year" (nine stars: the sun, moon, water, fire, wood, metal, earth, Rahu, and Ketu take turns governing the year). The fortune and misfortune of a person throughout the year completely depend on this governing star. On the eighth day of the first lunar month, it is said to be the day when all the stars gather together, and it is also believed to be the day when the stars descend to the world. Therefore, worshiping the stars (known as "worshiping the stars") on this day may bring the blessings of the stars. Thus, some people go to temples to burn incense and worship the stars. However, regardless of whether they go to the temple to offer incense, in the evening, after the stars appear in the sky, each family must hold a ritual to worship the stars. According to "Yanjiang Suiji Ji": "On the eighth day, after dusk, paper dipped in oil is lit as 108 lamps, and incense is burned to worship them, which is called 'worshiping the stars'."

Who's birthday is on this day?

According to Han Chinese legends, the eighth day of the first lunar month is the birthday of millet. If the weather is clear on this day, it indicates a bountiful harvest of rice for the year. If it is cloudy, it suggests poor harvests for crops in the fields. The idea contained in the Grain Day festival of valuing agriculture and cherishing food is worth inheriting.
Folk customs are constantly changing with the development of the times, and there is no unchanging folk custom. In an era where we have long separated from nature and are extremely unfamiliar with crops, reviving the Grain Day festival to feel the importance of agriculture and the significance of food is still very valuable for modern people, especially children, who are not familiar with farming.