In traditional Chinese folk customs, "Thanking the Earth" (谢土 - Xie Tu) is a sacrificial ritual primarily aimed at thanking the Earth God for protecting and supporting people's lives and agricultural activities. In ancient society, agricultural production was the foundation of the national economy, and land was crucial to people's survival. Therefore, people believed that through the ritual of Thanking the Earth, they could express their reverence for the Earth God and pray for future harvests and peace.
The custom of "Thanking the Earth" can be traced back to the pre-Qin period when the agricultural society had an extremely high dependence on the land. People believed that the land had a spirit, which not only affected the growth of crops but also related to the safety of the village and the health of the residents. Therefore, before the spring plowing or after the autumn harvest every year, and even at important moments such as building a house or moving, a ritual of Thanking the Earth would be held to seek the Earth God's protection.
Usually, Thanking the Earth is chosen to be held on certain specific days of the lunar calendar, such as around the solar terms of the Spring Equinox, Autumn Equinox, Beginning of Spring, and Beginning of Autumn, or on an auspicious day selected according to the Almanac of that year. This is because these time points are often considered important nodes of the alternation of Yin and Yang and climate change, and performing the ritual at this time makes it easier to receive the deities' response.
With the development of the times, although many people in modern society no longer strictly follow the traditional ritual of Thanking the Earth, the cultural value and spiritual connotations behind it are still worth our understanding and inheritance.
