It is a custom unique to Ningbo, not found anywhere else.
1, customary activities:
July 30th night of the lunar calendar, people in the ground, the corner of the house, stone cracks inserted full of lighted incense, and some also made of straw into a floating disk, lighted lamps, placed in the sea, let the sea water to float, called the insertion of the ground incense and put the water lamps.
2, the origin of the legend:
According to legend, the Qing Dynasty Guangxu years, Dongqianhu area of drought for days, the sun in the sky, streams dried up, the ground in the particles of the harvest, looking at the earth has long been cracked, the villagers of the high money want to cry, screaming and suffering.
One of them, the Xin family, because of the natural disaster and the family's four walls, green and yellow, but the misfortune came one after another, the family's second son suffered from smallpox, the Xin family's wife, Qian's mother but can not do anything about it, and so have to pray to heaven, but the family is penniless, and even for the spirit of the gods of the shrine has long been sold, so the Qian can only be placed in front of the door, and the ground on the sticking of incense and candles and sincerely pray for blessings.
It so happens that on that day, the Buddha's eyes were opened and he was touched by them, so he performed his magic to help all the people. Soon after, the local clouds, manna from the sky, everything is revived, the past dry river and flow of pure water, the earth to restore the vitality and vigor of the past.
Subsequent generations, in order to repay the kindness of the King of Earth, will be "inserted into the ground incense" this custom has been retained to this day. Legend has it that Jizo's eyes are usually closed, but only on this eve when the earth is covered with incense will his eyes be opened.
3, related poems:
Republic of China zhang yanzhang wrote "yin city twelve months in July, is dedicated to describing ningbo incense insertion scene, has been widely quoted: "July autumn wind cape cool, the children race to insert the ground Tibetan incense, even the night of the flames of the mouth of the river temple, 10,000 red lamps on the water township." It can be seen from the former insertion of ground incense, mainly children.
Expanded:
1, August 16th Mid-Autumn Festival:
Countrywide, the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar for the Mid-Autumn Festival, but Ningbo to the 16th for the Mid-Autumn Festival. After its origin, there are two ways of saying.
One said that the end of the Yuan Jiangzhe left prime minister, lieutenant Fang Guozhen to change their own birthdays;
One said that the Southern Song Dynasty Prime Minister, Yinxian Shi Hao, at that time, the post of Prime Minister, every Mid-Autumn Festival will go home to accompany their mothers to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival, there is a Mid-Autumn Festival due to something in the dynasty, so it can't be rushed back in time, and the people at home are also confident that it will come back to the festival, and wait until the next day, that is, the 16th day of the August, Shi Hao really rushed back, and since then people in order to commemorate this filial piety, the people of Ningbo to the 16th Mid-Autumn Festival. After that, people chose to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 16th to commemorate this filial piety.
2, Lion Dance:
Ninghai County, Ningbo City, is more popular around the general in the first month of the summer calendar or Buddhist-related festivals, dozens of farmers team, go to the villages to take turns in the Lion Dance, in order to show respect for the ancestors to welcome the gods, to ward off evil spirits and demons.
Lion dance has a solo dance, dance, group dance, to three lions **** dance as much as a male and female a child, dance while beating gongs and drums, in order to perform the "grab five lamps" for the most exciting, that is, in the middle of the field, four corners of each set a lamp, dancing lions in the middle of the playful, biting, grabbing lamps and other actions around the onlookers.
3, Dragon Boat Race:
The urban and rural Dragon Boat Race is mainly held in the ponds, rivers and lakes, Dragon Boat divided into the Green Dragon, Yellow Dragon, White Dragon, etc.; Dragon Boat Race is generally held on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar every year, and the sixteenth day of the eighth month. The former is rumored to be the patriotic poet of the Chu state, Sanlvdao Qu Yuan cast Miluo River day, paddling dragon boat, said people competing to rescue. The latter is the Mid-Autumn Festival in Ningbo.
In addition to holding temple fairs, dragon boat racing can add to the festive entertainment atmosphere. When the race began, the rowing staff head high up, a person standing in front of the dragon boat gong command, clothing and dragon boat with the same color, a firecracker, dragon boat hair, drums and gongs and the shore to watch the crowd shouting, the scene is very lively, the first to the end of the winner. The first to reach the finish line is the winner. The dragon boats at Dongqian Lake in Ningbo are the most famous.
4, winter solstice to eat sweet potato soup fruit:
In the traditional custom of Ningbo, sweet potato soup fruit is one of the winter solstice must eat food. The word "pang" and "turn" have the same sound, and in the understanding of Ningbo people, eating sweet potatoes on the winter solstice is to turn all the bad luck of the past year "over".
When Ningbo people make sweet potato soup fruit, they used to add wine. In Ningbo dialect, the wine is also called "pulp board", "pulp" and with the Ningbo dialect "up" homophonic, to take its "fortune high rise The name is also synonymous with the word "up" in Ningbo, which means "good fortune" and "high fortune".