Singing tea-picking songs in Chaoshan Lantern Festival

In the past, it was still a custom to sing tea-picking songs for entertainment in colleges and universities at night. Before and after the Lantern Festival, in addition to playing lanterns, all villages and towns sang yangko, among which the most beautiful and beautiful song was picking tea. It is very touching to choose some boys with fine features in the village to dress up as tea pickers, with 8 or 12 people in each team, carrying flowers in their hands, dressed as tea pickers, singing and dancing. Some people at the head of the team are holding colored lights, and the pace of advance and retreat of the "tea pickers" is commanded by the colored lights at the head of the team. There are two Chaozhou tea-picking songs recorded in Lingnan Miscellanies: "Tea-picking sprouts in February, and both sisters go to pick tea, and the eldest sister picks more and the younger sister picks less, no matter how early she gets home." "Tea picking in March is Qingming, and Niang embroidered towels in the room. Camellia is embroidered at both ends, and tea pickers are embroidered at the center. "