三門祭冬：尊祖敬宗承家風

今年立冬日，筆者去采訪在冬至日舉行的“三門祭冬”。

“作為一種文化符號，祭冬承載著人們對自然的敬畏、對祖先的懷念，寄托著長輩對后代的教誨和對未來的希冀，同時也傳遞著勞動的快樂和豐收的喜悅，體現著歷史的厚重和民間風俗的魅力。‘三門祭冬習俗是中華祭祀風俗的有機組成部分，既有與全國各地基本相同的一面，又有一定的自我地域特色。”88歲高齡的非遺“三門祭冬”傳承人楊興亞聊起這個話題聲音洪亮，滔滔不絕。

冬至大如年

位于東海岸邊的浙江臺州三門縣，有豐厚的歷史文化遺存，并以家風淳樸、鄰里相親為傳統。其中，“三門祭冬”可謂代表：2010年入選省級非遺項目，2014年入選國家級非遺項目；2016年中國“二十四節氣”被聯合國教科文組織列入《人類非物質文化遺產代表作名錄》，其10項民俗文化展示部分中，有4項發生在浙江，包括“三門祭冬”。

“三門有山海形勝，千百年來人們耕海牧漁，也講究詩書禮儀，所以特別尊重自然和重視家族關系。”三門縣文化廣電新聞出版局副局長鄭廣闊是土生土長的當地人，在他看來，“三門祭冬”能成為民俗活動的代表，主要在于襟山帶海的獨特自然環境以及村落聚居的區域特色。

祭冬，本意在維護神權和尊重族權。據史料記載，冬至是中國二十四節氣中最早被制訂出來的一個。古人認為，自冬至起，天地陽氣興作漸強，代表下一個循環的開始，由此，祭祀之禮非常隆重。而其在臺州三門地區流傳下來的，也別具特色而顯得豐富。

楊興亞老人打小生活在亭旁鎮楊家村，他自記事開始，就常聽到“冬至大如年”的說法。他說，“三門祭冬”同宗分支族人共祭，每年舉行，時在冬至。冬至前一天，族人前往大龍嶺上的龍潭取水，取水前要有個祭拜儀式，表示對自然稟賦的感恩、對天賜圣水的感謝。取來的龍潭水一般都裝在一個青花瓷壇里，送回楊氏家廟，翌日，一部分供祭祀者凈手，一部分作灑水之用，“龍潭水為長流水，寓意為族氏源遠流長、子孫綿延不斷。”

冬至這天，三門縣內外，遠的如溫州蒼南、寧波象山，楊姓族人都會帶上祭禮陸續趕來，整個村莊像過年過節一樣，一片歡騰景象。

供享在，一切在

“三門祭冬”并不太注重祭祀民間神祇，而是在宗祠對同族祖先作供享。三門縣非遺保護中心陳澎冰主任說，這種對神祇的淡泊，應當視作古代先民在思想意識上的覺醒與進步——認同民族，認同國家，等而下之才是“天子”皇權以及相以“匡正”的禮教與具體禮儀。

宗祠祭祖，用以維系連接一個姓氏血緣關系的紐帶橋梁。“祭如在，一切在。在三門，每個村落、每個姓氏，都完整保存著自己的宗祠。宗祠文化在三門非常興盛。”鄭廣闊先生浸淫于地方文化多年，他告訴筆者，林立的祠堂、頻繁的祭祖活動、繁縟的祀禮儀式，構成了“三門祭冬”的要素。

歷史上，除夕和清明、端午、重陽都是祭祖日。三門以冬至具有繼往開來的意義，因而在這一天灑掃設祭，昭示敬天地、憶先人之意，表達族人之間的和睦、友愛和團結。這民俗具有良好的社會教化功能，有助于培養社會成員的品德，并加強和諧共處，維護社會的穩定。

行走踏看中，筆者在思考，宗祠作為一種文化遺存，應該是中國獨一無二的；這種特有的宗祠文化不正是一方方最具中國特色的“印記”嗎？人們走進宗祠，仿佛感覺到祖先的音容笑貌在每個角落，感受到拙樸、自然、本真的家庭的味道。

陳澎冰女士說，三門縣的村落大都是一村一個姓，每個村建有自己的宗祠，據統計，現存各姓宗祠就有132處，數量之多，在浙江不多見。如今，宗祠除了供“慎終追遠”、供“村民議事”之外，還被賦予了新的功能，如綜合利用改建成農村文化禮堂、老年活動中心、青少年培訓基地等。但萬變不離其宗，宗祠集聚村民，是村民節慶活動的主要場所。

祭冬的文化意蘊

“三門祭冬”是族人聚會的日子，少不了張燈結彩，設宴席，搭戲臺，唱大戲。自然，祭祖儀程是重頭戲，族人提前推選好贊禮人、主祭人、陪祭人以及各執事；臨近冬至，每家每戶按分配做準備工作；前一晚，灑掃庭除后的宗祠掛起列祖列宗畫像，擺好香案。

“祭祖一般從凌晨3點開始，按照本族儀軌進行，一直張羅到六七點結束。”楊興亞老人向筆者述說情景：時辰到，宗祠前短銃齊放、銅鑼敲響，大門開啟，各房子孫依照輩分先后步入，肅穆排序。祠堂里紅燭高照，享堂上茶煙輕飏。祭祖由程式化的“祈天禱福”拉開序幕，一共經過16道儀式。

楊家村黨支部書記楊成來說，中午村民開宴席，請族中頭腦人、年滿60歲老人以及有“功名”的人出席，按年齡就座，80歲以上一人一桌，70歲以上四人一桌，其余是八人一桌。

這一天，村里60歲以上的老人還可以領豬肉、羊肉、饅頭等祭品，俗稱“老人肉”，又稱“功名肉”，其意在教育子孫后代要尊老、敬老、愛老、孝老。“這是老祖宗留下的規矩。如今生活條件好了，村里健康長壽的老人也越來越多，村民們對此非常支持。”

唱大戲是“三門祭冬”延續多年的傳統，全縣每個村都會請來戲班，連唱三天三夜，村民們稱之為“冬至戲”。“現在村民對文化節目的需求多了，要求也高了，省城的一些文藝院團也走進了三門的鄉村小舞臺。”楊成來說。

敬畏自然、尊崇祖先，是“三門祭冬”的要義所在。采訪歸來，筆者想，“三門祭冬”作為一個飽含傳統文化意蘊的民俗現象，應是當下傳承中華傳統文化的好載體，這一獨特的區域民俗文化品牌，體現優秀的傳統文化在民間的傳承、活化和弘揚。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