三门祭冬：尊祖敬宗承家风

今年立冬日，笔者去采访在冬至日举行的“三门祭冬”。

“作为一种文化符号，祭冬承载着人们对自然的敬畏、对祖先的怀念，寄托着长辈对后代的教诲和对未来的希冀，同时也传递着劳动的快乐和丰收的喜悦，体现着历史的厚重和民间风俗的魅力。‘三门祭冬习俗是中华祭祀风俗的有机组成部分，既有与全国各地基本相同的一面，又有一定的自我地域特色。”88岁高龄的非遗“三门祭冬”传承人杨兴亚聊起这个话题声音洪亮，滔滔不绝。

冬至大如年

位于东海岸边的浙江台州三门县，有丰厚的历史文化遗存，并以家风淳朴、邻里相亲为传统。其中，“三门祭冬”可谓代表：2010年入选省级非遗项目，2014年入选国家级非遗项目；2016年中国“二十四节气”被联合国教科文组织列入《人类非物质文化遗产代表作名录》，其10项民俗文化展示部分中，有4项发生在浙江，包括“三门祭冬”。

“三门有山海形胜，千百年来人们耕海牧渔，也讲究诗书礼仪，所以特别尊重自然和重视家族关系。”三门县文化广电新闻出版局副局长郑广阔是土生土长的当地人，在他看来，“三门祭冬”能成为民俗活动的代表，主要在于襟山带海的独特自然环境以及村落聚居的区域特色。

祭冬，本意在维护神权和尊重族权。据史料记载，冬至是中国二十四节气中最早被制订出来的一个。古人认为，自冬至起，天地阳气兴作渐强，代表下一个循环的开始，由此，祭祀之礼非常隆重。而其在台州三门地区流传下来的，也別具特色而显得丰富。

杨兴亚老人打小生活在亭旁镇杨家村，他自记事开始，就常听到“冬至大如年”的说法。他说，“三门祭冬”同宗分支族人共祭，每年举行，时在冬至。冬至前一天，族人前往大龙岭上的龙潭取水，取水前要有个祭拜仪式，表示对自然禀赋的感恩、对天赐圣水的感谢。取来的龙潭水一般都装在一个青花瓷坛里，送回杨氏家庙，翌日，一部分供祭祀者净手，一部分作洒水之用，“龙潭水为长流水，寓意为族氏源远流长、子孙绵延不断。”

冬至这天，三门县内外，远的如温州苍南、宁波象山，杨姓族人都会带上祭礼陆续赶来，整个村庄像过年过节一样，一片欢腾景象。

供享在，一切在

“三门祭冬”并不太注重祭祀民间神祇，而是在宗祠对同族祖先作供享。三门县非遗保护中心陈澎冰主任说，这种对神祇的淡泊，应当视作古代先民在思想意识上的觉醒与进步——认同民族，认同国家，等而下之才是“天子”皇权以及相以“匡正”的礼教与具体礼仪。

宗祠祭祖，用以维系连接一个姓氏血缘关系的纽带桥梁。“祭如在，一切在。在三门，每个村落、每个姓氏，都完整保存着自己的宗祠。宗祠文化在三门非常兴盛。”郑广阔先生浸淫于地方文化多年，他告诉笔者，林立的祠堂、频繁的祭祖活动、繁缛的祀礼仪式，构成了“三门祭冬”的要素。

历史上，除夕和清明、端午、重阳都是祭祖日。三门以冬至具有继往开来的意义，因而在这一天洒扫设祭，昭示敬天地、忆先人之意，表达族人之间的和睦、友爱和团结。这民俗具有良好的社会教化功能，有助于培养社会成员的品德，并加强和谐共处，维护社会的稳定。

行走踏看中，笔者在思考，宗祠作为一种文化遗存，应该是中国独一无二的；这种特有的宗祠文化不正是一方方最具中国特色的“印记”吗？人们走进宗祠，仿佛感觉到祖先的音容笑貌在每个角落，感受到拙朴、自然、本真的家庭的味道。

陈澎冰女士说，三门县的村落大都是一村一个姓，每个村建有自己的宗祠，据统计，现存各姓宗祠就有132处，数量之多，在浙江不多见。如今，宗祠除了供“慎终追远”、供“村民议事”之外，还被赋予了新的功能，如综合利用改建成农村文化礼堂、老年活动中心、青少年培训基地等。但万变不离其宗，宗祠集聚村民，是村民节庆活动的主要场所。

祭冬的文化意蕴

“三门祭冬”是族人聚会的日子，少不了张灯结彩，设宴席，搭戏台，唱大戏。自然，祭祖仪程是重头戏，族人提前推选好赞礼人、主祭人、陪祭人以及各执事；临近冬至，每家每户按分配做准备工作；前一晚，洒扫庭除后的宗祠挂起列祖列宗画像，摆好香案。

“祭祖一般从凌晨3点开始，按照本族仪轨进行，一直张罗到六七点结束。”杨兴亚老人向笔者述说情景：时辰到，宗祠前短铳齐放、铜锣敲响，大门开启，各房子孙依照辈分先后步入，肃穆排序。祠堂里红烛高照，享堂上茶烟轻飏。祭祖由程式化的“祈天祷福”拉开序幕，一共经过16道仪式。

杨家村党支部书记杨成来说，中午村民开宴席，请族中头脑人、年满60岁老人以及有“功名”的人出席，按年龄就座，80岁以上一人一桌，70岁以上四人一桌，其余是八人一桌。

这一天，村里60岁以上的老人还可以领猪肉、羊肉、馒头等祭品，俗称“老人肉”，又称“功名肉”，其意在教育子孙后代要尊老、敬老、爱老、孝老。“这是老祖宗留下的规矩。如今生活条件好了，村里健康长寿的老人也越来越多，村民们对此非常支持。”

唱大戏是“三门祭冬”延续多年的传统，全县每个村都会请来戏班，连唱三天三夜，村民们称之为“冬至戏”。“现在村民对文化节目的需求多了，要求也高了，省城的一些文艺院团也走进了三门的乡村小舞台。”杨成来说。

敬畏自然、尊崇祖先，是“三门祭冬”的要义所在。采访归来，笔者想，“三门祭冬”作为一个饱含传统文化意蕴的民俗现象，应是当下传承中华传统文化的好载体，这一独特的区域民俗文化品牌，体现优秀的传统文化在民间的传承、活化和弘扬。endprint

I visited Sanmen this November to see the famous Winter Sacrifice of Sanmen at close hand.

The Beginning of Winter is one of the 24 Solar Terms of China， which were added to the World Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO on November 30， 2016. Though the tradition， which was formed thousands years ago in China， is no longer very important in various ways as China is taking strides toward modernization， the solar terms are observed across China in various ways. Zhejiang accounts for four of the ten places chosen to represent the solar terms tradition in the application for the heritage list. Winter Sacrifice is celebrated in Sanmen in southeastern Zhejiang on the day of Beginning of Winter， which fell on November 7 on the Gregorian calendar this year and the 19th day of the 9th month on the Chinese lunar calendar.

History says that the beginning of winter was the first solar term that was observed across ancient China. Our ancestors believed the day represented the beginning of the whole cycle of the year and they held a sacrificial ceremony to celebrate.

The tradition in Sanmen has been well preserved for centuries. The sacrifice on the Beginning of Winter pays homage to nature and clan. The Yangs Village is typical of the winter sacrifice in Sanmen.

One day before the Beginning of Winter， some clan members of the Yangs are sent out to fetch water from the Dragon Pond on the Giant Dragon Ridge. A brief ceremony is held by the pond to express gratitude to nature for water. A pottery jar is used to carry the water all the way to the Yang Clan Temple in the village. The water in the jar is used partly for the master of ceremony to wash hands before the sacrifice and partly for sprinkling on the ground as part of the ceremony. The sprinkling expresses the wish for the clan to last forever.

By the red-letter day， clan members across the province have arrived at the village， carrying gifts and sacrifice offerings.

The winter sacrifice at the temple doesnt focus on deities in folk religion. Instead， it is dedicated to the ancestors of the clan. It brings all the members of the clan together no matter how far away they are now from the village.

Clan temples abound in Sanmen， noted Zheng Guangkuo， a scholar specialized in studies of the regional culture. The ceremony is designed to pay homage to nature， worship ancestors， and maintain clan harmony and bond. This folk tradition maintains public order and educates community members how to behave toward each other and contribute to community harmony and stability.endprint

In rural Sanmen， clan members primarily live together and a village population is largely composed of a clan. There are together 132 clan temples across the county. Such a density of clan temples in the rural county is not seen anywhere else in the province.

It is really a big occasion in the village. Preparations are made long before the big day. A village banquet is prepared in advance. Lanterns will be made and posted. An opera stage must be set up. A committee assigns all the jobs to individuals and makes decisions on the whole sacrifice rite and other festivities.

The ancestral sacrifice starts at 3 oclock in the morning. Saluting guns are fired in salvos and gongs are sounded before the gate to the temple is open. Descendents walk in and stand in clusters according to lineages and ages. Red candles and incense sticks are lit and tea is offered. The 16-step ceremony is strictly conducted.

At noon， a village banquet is held. Eligible to attend are clan elders， those who are 60 years old and above， and those of success and fame. The seats are arranged in the order of age. An 80-year-old is privileged to enjoy a table alone. Those in 70s sit four to a table. The rest are 8 to a table.

After the ancestral sacrifice， the sacrificial offering is distributed to villagers 60 years of age and above. All villages across the county hold a theater gala to wrap up the winter sacrifice. The entertainment gala lasts three days and three nights. Troupes flood to Sanmen during the season. Some provincial troupes come all the way from Hangzhou.endprint