In Chinese folklore, Nüwa, the mother goddess, created the six different types of animals for six consecutive days before creating humans. As a result, the first to the sixth day of Chunjie are respectively dedicated to the said six domestic animals, and the fourth lunar day corresponds to "Sheep Day". In ancient Chinese characters, "sheep" was a homophone of "auspiciousness", standing for good fortune. Therefore, slaughtering goats remains a taboo on this day, to ensure prosperity for both humans and livestock in the coming year. On Sheep Day, we also "welcome the Kitchen God" at home to pray for a blessed year ahead, and do a thorough cleaning and eat leftover dishes to "send away God of Poverty".

在中国民间传说中，创世女神女娲先连续六天创造了六畜，然后才造了人，因此初一到初六分别为六畜之日，正月初四对应的正是羊日。在古文字中，“羊”与“祥”通，羊象征着吉祥。因此，这天忌屠羊，以保佑来年人畜兴旺。在“羊日”，人们还会在家中“迎灶神”以向灶神祈求来年顺遂、“扔穷”（大扫除）以及“吃折罗”（将节日剩菜合在一起享用），进而送走穷神。

策划：禹振华 秦慧英 冒蕞

视频：唐煜斯 王柯沣 王月

翻译审校：欧阳凤

责编：冯宇轩

一审：唐煜斯

二审：秦慧英

三审：禹振华

来源：湖南日报·新湖南客户端