From the 11th to 18th of the first month, every household in Chaoshan has the custom of playing lanterns and hanging chandeliers. Because "Deng" and "Ding" are homophonic in Chaozhou dialect, lighting and Gading are close sounds, so chaozhou people thinks that lighting is a good omen for Gading. On the Lantern Festival, people carry lanterns, prepare paper and silver incense one after another, light them in temples in the countryside, and hang them on shrines at home and bedside, which is called "hanging happy lanterns".
Step 2 enjoy the light
The midnight snack is a full moon night. If the weather is clear and the bright moon is in the sky, the full moon is printed on the lanterns of hipsters, which is pleasing to the eye. In towns, counties and cities, light sheds are set up to hold light shows, and large lanterns and lanterns are hung in temples and ancestral halls in rural areas. Children carry small lanterns bought or made by themselves and cross the streets in droves to "camp and play lanterns", which is very festive. From the eleventh day of the lunar calendar, it is called "raising lanterns" (that is, "raising lanterns"). In those days, families with boys would go to the ancestral temple in the village to hang lanterns, which was regarded as a ceremony for newborn boys to join the clan. Every night, they hold their children to the ancestral temple to light lamps and receive congratulations from the villagers until 18.
Step 3 eat diced tea
In the past, families with men at home had to prepare refreshments and invite relatives to eat and drink. This is the so-called "drinking tea with a lamp". As long as you are in a good mood that night, even if you are not invited, you will be warmly received by your host.
Step 4 make a table
There are two kinds of banquets, one is called "dragon boat banquet", that is, many square tables are connected, and guests are divided into two sides to eat, just like rowing a dragon boat; The other is called a "horse-riding mat", which means that no matter how close friends or relatives are, people you know or don't know can come in for dinner, and then leave after eating, and the host will put on dishes to entertain another group of guests, one after another. The latter type of banquet is usually held by richer and more generous families. In the old society, people who follow the fashion are eager to compare with their neighbors and love face. Every family with boys attaches great importance to setting the table and is proud of doing it decently. Even poor families borrow money everywhere to lose face, resulting in heavy debts, or reluctantly sell their brothers and use the money they get to cope with heavy desk expenses. This is the origin of the saying "Give birth to a good child and sell a big one".
After liberation, due to the progress of the times and ideas, although hipsters still have the custom of holding tripod tables during the Lantern Festival, they usually do it in their own homes and only entertain relatives and friends. People are rich and thrifty, and no one cares.
Step 5 swing
Swing, commonly known as "autumn climbing". Spring comes early because of the tide, unlike the Central Plains, which is not suitable for swinging until Qingming. On that day, some villages organized swing competitions or performances, and many villagers spontaneously tied up swings to play, and some even evolved strange customs. For example, in Taoshan Township, Jieyang City, men, women and children can swing in the first month, but on the Lantern Festival, men are forbidden to board the swing shed. In some villages in Chaozhou, there are swings under banyan trees at midnight snack, and villagers throw dung at young couples in order to have a boy that year.
6. Solve the riddle on the lantern
In the past, the solve riddles on the lanterns game in Chaoshan was only held at midnight snack, that is, a piece of paper with riddles was pasted on the lanterns for the lantern viewers to guess. With more and more literate people and the popularization of riddle knowledge, guessing activities are popular in various festivals, but the Lantern Festival is the most grand and lively, and hanging riddles has become a riddle quiz. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, lantern riddles became more popular in Chaoshan, among which Chenghai was awarded "the hometown of China folk art (lantern riddles)" by the Ministry of Culture.
7. Fighting She songs
She songs are actually beautiful tea-picking songs introduced by She people. That night, the boys with fine features selected from the village dressed up as tea pickers, lined up, carrying flower baskets, singing and dancing, and performing the dance steps of tea pickers, all following the dance steps of the first two leaders, which were euphemistic and moving.
8. Quasi-Valentine's Day
In feudal society, unmarried women were locked in boudoir and were not allowed to go out freely. Only on major festivals can you travel together, so the Lantern Festival is often an opportunity for unmarried men and women to meet or lovers to meet. The Chao Opera "Chen San Wu Niang" tells the story of young men and women falling in love at first sight during the Lantern Festival.
9. Seek happiness
On the Lantern Festival, there are many ancestor worship activities in the countryside. Temples and ancestral temples are brightly lit and smoky, and good men and women are scrambling to pay homage, which is extremely crowded and lively. Sacrificial products such as chicken, goose, duck, candy, rice fruit, candle and Daji (Chaozhou orange) placed in front of the altar are regarded as sacred objects. Both men and women who visit the shrine take sacrifices home, which is called "seeking happiness". People think that using these sacred objects can make their homes safe and increase their wealth. Those who bring the holy things home will return them more or less next year. So some people took advantage of the crowded opportunity to secretly take the sacrifices in front of the altar and go home to eat, which means "eat well."
10, Sugar Lion
Worship the sugar lion before the Lantern Festival in Chaoshan, praying for good luck and prosperity in the new year. Legend has it that the lion is one of the mascots of Chinese descendants in China. It can ward off evil spirits and is a symbol of dignity and wealth. It has always been especially loved by people who are affected with damp. Qiu Yishan (pen name Shi Weng), a Chaozhou poet in Hong Kong, recited the poem Yuanxiao: "The Lantern Festival is in Longxiang, and the local customs are like hometown; It is auspicious before the evening gods, and the sugar lion fruit is safe. " The poem shows that Hong Kong hipsters are spreading the custom of worshipping sugar lions during the Lantern Festival.
Sugar lion is a sweet food made of white sugar (made by pouring syrup into carving mold). It has bright colors, beautiful patterns and diverse shapes, and integrates arts and crafts, food culture and local customs. In pairs, the big ones are full of momentum, the small ones are small and exquisite, and they are extremely cute. On the night of Lantern Festival, every household will worship the sugar lion and borrow it from friends for good luck. Next year, the Lantern Festival will all be returned, hence the name "Sugar Lion".
1 1, throw happy children.
On the fifteenth day of the first month, some towns and villages set up colored sheds in ancestral halls and open spaces in the streets and lanes, where a giant clay sculpture of Maitreya Buddha was placed, with "clay dolls" of different shapes on the head, shoulders, navel and thighs. A person standing about 4 meters is thrown copper coins, and the winner can take the "child" to hit him on the top of the head, ears and so on. It is said that winning the prize is a good sign. You can have a baby and get rich early.
12, fragrance delivery boat
Sending incense boats is sending athel loren. The ceremony in Chaoshan is the same as that in other parts of the country. This is the custom of "paper boats burning candles". "Fragrant boats" are made of bamboo paper paste, some are directly tied into boat shapes, and some are made into puffer fish with big mouths and sharp teeth. On that day, the villagers also seriously invited relatives and friends from other places to send incense boats, which was very lively.
13, insert banyan tree.
In some villages in Chaoshan, whenever lanterns are put on the Lantern Festival, a handful of bamboo branches and leaves of banyan (pronounced "Cheng") are hung on the top of the door.
According to legend, at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, peasant rebels rose everywhere, and Chen Youliang in the south of the Yangtze River, assisted by the military strategist He Fu, was invincible and came to Chaoyang. On the morning of the fourteenth day of the first month, a woman came to the camp of the rebel army and begged the rebel army to save her life. This woman used to be a servant of the rich. When the rich heard of the arrival of the rebels, they were afraid that their families would be copied. They secretly sent someone to contact the Yuan Army and prepared to give their handmaid to the leader of the Yuan Army as a concubine. The handmaid got wind of it and came to Yi Barracks at night to ask for help. When Chen Youliang learned of this, he drew his sword angrily and ordered the rich man to be captured alive and attacked the Yuan Army. The woman bowed her head and shed tears of gratitude.
Commanded Zhong Jun was about to leave the account, the woman suddenly knelt down and said:
"The rebels pity the weak and resist violence to save the handmaiden's life, and the handmaiden will repay it as a grasshopper. It's just that the handmaiden neighbors are good people, and I'm afraid of dragging the rebels into the water by mistake. I hope to think twice before sending troops! "
Chen Youliang listen, frown, according to the sword for silence. At this time, the strategist He Ye Yun stood up and said, "This is not difficult. When you get home, you can tell the good people in the village to hang a handful of branches and leaves of Ficus microcarpa on the door to make a mark, so that it is right for the rebels to see Ficus microcarpa and not disturb the door! "
"good!" Chen Youliang told the woman to go home quickly, secretly following the strategist's plan.
On the afternoon of the 14th day of the first month, the Chen Youliang Rebels attacked the Yuan Army and captured the rich. Facing the banyan bamboo hanging on the door, the reporter didn't make any mistakes. From then on, every Lantern Festival, when the villagers in this area light up, they will hang a handful of banyan bamboo leaves on the top of the door.
14, cross the bridge
On the Lantern Festival, some places in Chaoshan have the custom of crossing the bridge. For example, in Jieyang, all the bridges in Rongcheng are decorated with colored lights and flags. Men, women and children are scrambling to cross the bridge to pray, and the Stone Monkey Bridge on Tong Jie Street is the most lively bridge. People were lucky enough to touch the stone lion at the bridge. In Hongyang, Puning, the Taiping Bridge with a history of more than 400 years is the "head bridge", and there are two stone lions at the bridge head, which is said to be a child's "plastic lion nose, writing elegant characters"; The young man "touched the lion's stomach and married an elegant wife"; A woman "touches a lion's ear and gives birth to a son." Also, don't look back when crossing the bridge, or it will be unlucky.
15, Roots Temple
In the past, village regulations and folk conventions in some places required brides who got married that year to go to the ancestral temple to see the lights, which was called "Brides leaving the ancestral temple". After the brides go to the ancestral hall to burn incense and pray, they have to walk around the hall for a week, watch the lanterns screen by screen, and then watch the "foreplay" in front of the ancestral hall. This is not only a blessing, but also for the villagers to watch and know. This custom is rare.
16, take a big plate
At midnight snack, unmarried girls in some places will go with the same sex, sneak into other people's gardens and then sit shyly on mustard. This is called "sitting on a big plate tomorrow, choosing good and following", and this folk custom has disappeared now.
Lantern Festival: Also known as Shangyuan Festival, Xiaoyuanyuan Festival, Yuanxi Festival or Lantern Festival, it is the first important festival after the Spring Festival, one of the traditional festivals in China, and also an area of Chinese character culture circle and overseas Chinese. The first month is the first month of the lunar calendar. The ancients called the night "dawn", so the fifteenth day of the first full moon in a year is called the Lantern Festival. In the ancient customs of China, Shangyuan Festival (Tianguan Festival, Lantern Festival), Zhongyuan Festival (Diguan Festival, Fish Board Festival) and Xiayuan Festival (Water Joint) are collectively called Sanyuan Festival. Lantern Festival began in the Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago.