Huoshentai Temple Fair in Shangqiu
Huoshentai (God of Fire Platform), located about two kilometers to the southwest of the ancient city site of Shangqiu, Henan Province, was built in memory of Yan Bo, the God of Fire and the earliest ancestor of the Shang clan. In 2300 BC, Yan Bo invented a calendar that marked time based on the movement of Antares, called the "star of fire" by the ancient people, and built a platform to observe the stars to predict natural changes and harvest, making great contributions to astronomy in ancient China. Yan Bo devoted himself to teaching and helping the people and was deeply loved by them and remembered as the "God of Fire."
Legend has it that the seventh day of the first month in the lunar calendar is the birthday of Yan Bo. Since ancient times, the local residents and people living in the neighboring provinces of Shandong, Jiangsu, and Anhui, especially those with surnames originating from "Zi," the surname of Tang who was the first ruler of the Shang Dynasty, would visit the star-observing platform around this day and burn incense sticks to commemorate their ancestor. This activity has gradually evolved into a grand temple fair that usually lasts a month – from the first day of the first month to the second day of the second month in the lunar calendar. There is also another fair, lasting about 10 days around the 23rd day of the sixth lunar month, the alleged anniversary of the death of the God of Fire, when people would come to the platform again to worship the god.
The Huoshentai Temple Fair, deriving from Shangqiu's long history and traditional culture and incorporating its rich, distinct folk customs, has become a public gala infused with strong eastern Henan charatcteristics. A scenic zone is also developed around the platform. In May 2021, the Shangqiu Huoshentai Temple Fair was included in China's list of national intangible cultural heritage.
商丘火神臺(tái)廟會(huì)
商丘火神臺(tái)坐落在河南省商丘市睢陽(yáng)區(qū)古城西南2千米處，是人們?yōu)榧o(jì)念火神閼伯而建。公元前2300年，閼伯發(fā)明了以火紀(jì)時(shí)的歷法，在管火的同時(shí)筑造閼伯臺(tái)觀察星辰，據(jù)此測(cè)定自然變化和年成好壞，為古代中國(guó)的天文學(xué)作出了重要貢獻(xiàn)。閼伯嘔心瀝血、教化民眾，深受人民愛戴，被民間尊為“火神”。
傳說農(nóng)歷正月初七是閼伯的誕辰，自古以來，商丘周邊豫、魯、蘇、皖四省交界的群眾，特別是商湯子姓的后裔子孫，在這一天前后，懷著對(duì)祖先無比崇敬的心情，前去朝臺(tái)進(jìn)香，于是形成規(guī)模盛大的廟會(huì)。廟會(huì)一般從農(nóng)歷正月初一開始，到二月二方散。六月二十三，也是傳說中火神的祭日，周邊四省群眾仍是絡(luò)繹不絕，朝臺(tái)進(jìn)香，廟會(huì)一般也長(zhǎng)達(dá)10天。
火神臺(tái)廟會(huì)以商丘悠久的歷史文化資源為依托，以火神臺(tái)景區(qū)為平臺(tái)，以火神祭祀為載體，整合利用商丘豐富的群眾文化元素及民間民俗文化資源，將商丘地區(qū)獨(dú)具特色的民俗民間文化資源薈萃于此，打造成了具有濃郁豫東特色的民俗活動(dòng)盛典。2021年5月，商丘火神臺(tái)廟會(huì)被列入國(guó)家級(jí)非物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)名錄。
