There are hundreds of tree species in China, why is only the locust tree regarded as the "sacred tree"?

In many places in our country, especially in the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Henan, and Qin, there is a traditional habit that people regard the locust tree as an auspicious tree and plant it in the courtyard. Gates, crossroads.

When the locust trees grow up, especially those ancient locust trees, they are regarded as "sacred trees", and many small signs such as "Lingying" and "Blessing" are nailed on the trees. , enshrine it, worship it, and be very pious. When there are dead branches and leaves, people are unwilling to touch them. Beautiful birds live in them, and children are not allowed to climb up and down. Some even wither, but they are not cut down.

What is the reason for this? It turns out that this traditional habit is closely related to the migration of people in the Ming Dynasty. It comes from the legend of "breaking locust branches" during the migration.

When the immigrants set off, people were reluctant to leave. Some people grabbed the locust tree one after another, as if holding the hand of their relatives, and refused to let go. When the immigration officials and escorting officers saw this, they became furious and used sticks to drive them away, threatened them with whips, and tried to force them to do so, but to no avail. If you pull this group away, the other group will go up; if you pull this group away, this group will go up again.

So they drew their swords, cut off the locust branches that the people were holding, and drove them off. The ruthless swords separated the immigrants from the ancient locust tree. They grasped the branches of the locust tree and looked at the big locust tree, unwilling to throw it away and unable to bear to leave. They looked at the ancient locust trees that were far away, and looked at the locust trees in their hands. They looked at the locust trees in their hands, and then looked at the ancient locust trees that were far away. The big locust tree gradually disappeared, and only the locust branch in the hand became the symbol of the ancient big locust tree in people's minds.

My feelings for my hometown and my nostalgia for my relatives are all poured into this small locust branch. Treasure it and carry it with you. Thinking of their hometown and relatives, they quietly picked them up and took a look. They carefully brought these locust branches to their new place of residence. In order to show that they do not forget their homeland, to connect their new home with their homeland, and to love the new place as much as they love their homeland, people planted locust branches broken off from the ancient locust trees in the courtyard of their new home, watered them diligently, and cultivated them carefully.

The locust trees took root in the new soil and grew leaves; the immigrants settled in the new place and felt at ease. The locust trees are blooming and bearing fruit, and the immigrants are multiplying their descendants in the new land. They regard this locust tree as a symbol of their hometown and their ancestors. Love it, respect it, and regard it as the most auspicious tree. "Every festive season, people miss their loved ones even more." During festivals and festivals, people face the small locust tree, miss their hometown, miss their relatives, and send all their emotions to the locust tree.

Some people even offered delicious food, burned incense and kowtowed to the locust tree. When there is something difficult at home, or when a family member is sick, they face the locust tree and pray for the blessings of their ancestors. As time went by, this practice became a custom, and later gradually evolved from worshiping ancestors to worshiping gods. To this day, people still use this habit.

Source: Hongdong Tianxia