The New Year song is a nursery rhyme from Huizhou, Guangdong. The Hakka people have a strong concept of life during the year. People's lives are always adapted to the cycle changes of weather and phenology, thus forming rich folk customs of the year and festivals. The repetition and interval of phenology such as the waxing and waning of weather, wind, frost, rain and snow, the growth and decline of vegetation, and the coming and going of migratory birds in nature all mark the evolution of time, thus determining the cycle of the growing seasons of crops and further affecting people's production. ways and living habits.
Basic information
Title of the work New Year's Song
Unknown year of creation
Unknown author's name
Literary genre Nursery Rhyme
Original text of the work
New Year's song
On the first day of the lunar month, we talk about the beginning of the new year, ①
On the second day of the lunar month, we talk about the beginning of the new year,
On the third day of the lunar month, we talk about the day of the poor, ②
On the fourth day of the lunar month, we talk about the day of the poor, ③
On the fifth and sixth day of the lunar month, gods descend to heaven,
Do not leave at seven, do not return at eight, ④
Nine and ninety to watch the lion fight, ⑤
Eleven and twelve dragon lanterns come out, ⑥
Thirty and thirty Four and a half months later, ⑦
After a month and a half, I am coming back. ?
Comments on the work
① Words: The Hakka language is pronounced "Wow", saying. New Year's Eve: refers to the first to fifth day of the new year. Hakka customs include traveling (or "opening the door"), paying New Year greetings, and worshiping ancestors on the first day of the Lunar New Year; the second day of the Lunar New Year is the day when married Hakka women "transfer to their sister's home".
②Poor Ghost Day: Also known as "Send the Poor Day" and "Triple Day". Hakka people have a custom of "giving away the poor" on the third day of the Lunar New Year. On this day, Hakka people in southern Jiangxi and western Fujian do not go to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables, nor do they do any other collecting farm work to prevent the crops from getting "wormy". Most other Hakka areas do not visit each other as guests on this day and do not invite wine to each household. Early that morning, every household would clean up inside and outside, and then send the collected garbage to the main road in a dung basket. This is called "sending away the poor" and "sending away the obscure". You must take a shower at night to wash away all the "poor energy" and "bad luck" on your body.
③嬲: Pronounced as liao4 in Hakka, it means leisure, rest and play. On the 40th day of the Lunar New Year, Hakka people "wait for the Kitchen God"; after four o'clock in the afternoon, every household must offer sacrifices, fruits, wine and vegetables, burn incense, light candles, burn gold, and set off firecrackers to express their welcome, and at the same time, they must burn all kinds of weapons. The "sacred horses", "armored horses" and "celestial soldiers" were used to welcome the Kitchen God and other gods to earth. Hakka people also say that gods descend to the human world only on the fifth and sixth day of the lunar month.
④Don’t leave for seven days and don’t return for eight days: You don’t go out as a guest on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, and you are not allowed to go home on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year. The reason may be related to the Hakka people’s numerical taboo of “seven wins and eight losses” .
⑤ Lion fighting: lion dance. In fact, there are very few Hakka people who dance lions, but many people dance unicorns. Zhangmutou Town, Dongguan City is the only pure guest town in Dongguan City and is the famous "Hometown of Qilin Dance" in China.
⑥Dragon lanterns: Hakka dragon lanterns are particularly rich in both shape and performance. Famous dragon dances include the Gutian dragon in Liancheng in western Fujian, the four dragons in Liancheng, the fire dragon in Fengshun Puzhai in Meizhou, the Chayang wreath dragon in Dabu in Meizhou, the nine lions worshiping the elephant in Shangyou in southern Jiangxi, the incense fire dragon in Rucheng in Hunan, etc.
⑦ Half a month later: Celebrate the Lantern Festival. Lantern Festival, commonly known as "the first half of the first month" by Hakka people. ?[1]?
Appreciation of Works
The "New Year" (Spring Festival) is the most important festival for Hakka people. The entire New Year process begins with the "Little New Year" (a gift to the Kitchen God) on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, and then "enters the new year" on the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month. The New Year's Eve is celebrated on the 29th or 30th day of the lunar calendar. The reunion dinner is not celebrated until the fifth day of the Lunar New Year (in some places, it is not until the tenth day of the Lunar New Year) that the flavor of the New Year is still in the ascendant, and we have to wait until the Lantern Festival to stop.
The Hakka people celebrate the New Year with a particularly strong atmosphere, and the related traditional folk activities are richer than any other ethnic group. For example, from the first day to the ninth day of the lunar month, there are dozens of major Hakka folk activities in various places.
The first day of the first lunar month: traveling, worshiping the New Year, eating fast, worshiping ancestors during the New Year, worshiping gods, carrying flower wine, and dragon boat party; the second day of the first lunar month: visiting my sister’s house, burning cannons, and carrying the prince; the first day of the first lunar month Three: The third day to send away the poor, burn the door god paper, congratulate the mouse on marrying a daughter, and sing operas; the fourth day of the first lunar month: wait for the Kitchen God; the fifth day of the first lunar month: worship the God of Wealth, open the market, celebrate the birthday of the Grain God, celebrate the new year, and praise the drums (in Cantonese) Hakkas in Hepo Town, Dongjiexi County); Sixth day of the first lunar month: Worship Zigu; Seventh day of the first lunar month: Seven kinds of dishes and Qibao porridge (represented by Hakkas in Huichang County, southern Jiangxi); Eighth day of the first lunar month: Divination of valleys and worship of stars , welcoming lanterns; the ninth day of the first lunar month: worshiping Tiangong, An Tai Sui, welcoming holy sites (represented by Hakkas in Meinong Town, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan), Lantern Festival (represented by Hakkas in Zhongxin Town, Lianping County, Heyuan City). As for the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, in addition to praying for blessings, breaking the veil, worshiping new brides, throwing cannons, and eating salty glutinous rice balls, various lanterns and dragon dances are even more exciting and dazzling. There are dozens of types of lanterns with Hakka characteristics, including tea blue lanterns, tea picking lanterns, cloud lanterns, carp lanterns, boat lanterns, bamboo horse lanterns, steamer lanterns, dragon lanterns, etc. Celebrating the New Year happily is not only a happy time for Hakka children, but also a happy day for Hakka women. Because of this, "New Year's Song" is widely circulated.
The Hakkas of Ningdu County in southern Jiangxi also have a nursery rhyme with the New Year as the theme, called "New Year, New Head". Cut down a rotten tree head and break it into pieces. Sell it and boil it until it reaches three pot heads. "Ye Lao, a bowl of head, Mu Ma, a bowl of head." ("tuo" means to carry on the shoulders; "break" means to split; "ye lao" means father, father; "mu ma" means mother. , mother)