門神,是舊時中國農(nóng)歷新年貼于門上的一種畫類。門神畫中的門神,本身是中國道教徒和民眾共同信仰的守衛(wèi)門戶的神靈,古時人們常常將其神像貼于門上,用以驅邪避鬼,以助衛(wèi)家宅、保平安、降吉祥。因此,門神是中國民間最受人們歡迎的保護神之一。每逢新年,中國人家家戶戶要做的第一件事,就是貼門神和寫春聯(lián)。
The Door God was a type of painting that used to be pasted on doors during the Chinese Lunar New Year in ancient times. The door god in this type of painting was in fact a keeper of doors jointly worshipped by both Taoists and common people. In ancient times, people often pasted a picture of the god on their doors to help drive away demons, so as to safeguard their family, protect their security and bring them good luck. Therefore, the door keeper is the most popular god of protection among Chinese communities. Every year during the lunar New Year, the first thing every Chinese household does is to invite a door god and paste written couplets onto their doors.