Introduction: The Miao New Year is a festival. Looking at the name, you will guess which ethnic group’s festival the Miao New Year is. Most people will say that it is the Miao people’s festival. But is that true? The Miao New Year is indeed a traditional festival of the Miao people, and it is a relatively important festival. So how do you celebrate the Miao New Year? If you want to know the festival customs of Miao New Year, come and take a look at my introduction.
Which ethnic group’s festival is the Miao New Year?
The Miao New Year is a traditional festival of the Miao people. Before the New Year, every household must prepare a sumptuous New Year's meal. In addition to slaughtering pigs and sheep, they must also prepare enough glutinous rice wine. There are many folk activities in the Miao years, including worshiping ancestors, playing the reed and playing the reed, and walking in villages to tie the knot. In some areas, bullfighting, bird fighting, singing competitions, shooting and other activities are also held. Girls will also wear bird clothes and Silver jewelry and silver corollas danced gracefully.
How to spend the Miao Year
The "Miao Year" is also a day for the Miao people to celebrate the harvest. It is the end of the year's work and the beginning of joy. Every year in the Miao Year, people's favorite reed pipes and bronze drums can be brought out to enjoy dancing. From this day on, the Miao people began to visit villages and villages, welcoming each other. The Lusheng Festival in one village after another lasted until the "Drum Turning Festival" in February in spring.
The main activities of the "Miao Year" include killing New Year pigs, making glutinous rice cakes, worshiping ancestors, eating "New Year's Eve dinner", "chuanzhai wine", dancing Lusheng, etc. Bullfighting and bird fighting are also held in some areas , song competition and other activities.
When is the Miao New Year Festival
The Miao New Year is the most solemn traditional festival of the Miao people, but the Miao New Year is celebrated at different times in different regions, ranging from the ninth month to the first month of the lunar calendar. . It usually lasts three, five or fifteen days.
Speaking of Miao Nian, it is also related to Chi You. The Miao people believe that Chi You is their ancestor. About 6,000 years ago, Chi You, the leader of the Jiuli tribe, was defeated in a battle with the Yan and Huang emperors. Being dismembered. The tribesmen collected the bones, glued the body with glutinous rice cakes, and buried it with the highest etiquette in the tenth month of the lunar calendar. Since then, a sacrificial ceremony will be held every tenth month of the lunar calendar, and a major sacrifice will be held every thirteen years (i.e., the Guzang Festival). After the five great migrations from the Central Plains, the Miao ancestors gradually migrated to Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan and other southwest regions, but they still retain this grand folk activity.
In the past, Miao people lived in their own villages and villages. Now most of the Miao gathering areas are gathered together. Many Miao compatriots rush back from other places and gather in costumes during the day. , singing and dancing, and in the evening they return home to make glutinous rice cakes and have a reunion dinner, which is very lively.
The Miao New Year is very grand. If you go traveling at this time and it coincides with the Miao New Year Festival, it can be said to be a worthwhile trip.
New Year customs of the Miao people
The Miao people call the Spring Festival the "Hakka Year". Every household kills pigs and sheep, roasts wine and makes cakes to celebrate the harvest, hoping for good weather and abundant grains in the coming year. They also need to sing "Spring Song", with lyrics roughly meaning missing spring, looking forward to spring, cherishing spring, and celebrating spring. "Making tofu, cleaning the house, and raking" are the most basic New Year customs of the Miao people and must be done.
Make tofu on the twenty-fifth day (the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month), clean the house on the twenty-sixth day, soak glutinous rice on the twenty-seventh day, rake and rake it on the twenty-eighth day, have all kinds of things on the twenty-nine night, and slowly withdraw on the thirtieth night .
This jingle reflects some preparation processes for the Miao people’s New Year customs. At the same time, it also conveys two important messages: First, “make tofu, clean the house, and rake.” "Rake", these three things are the most basic New Year customs of the Miao people and must be done. Second, the Miao people have been very poor in history. After a year of preparation, they can only spend and enjoy themselves on the 30th night. Of course, this was the scene of life in the past. Now life has changed. It’s Chinese New Year almost every day. Don’t wait until the 25th or 25th to make tofu. There is no unified date for the Miao compatriots to celebrate the New Year. It usually takes place on the "Mao" (rabbit) day of the tenth month of the lunar calendar. Sometimes several villages unite, and sometimes they take turns in an arranged order, which often lasts for more than a month. Before the festival, every family prepares wine, meat, fish and other food, and everyone must prepare new clothes.
During the Miao New Year, there are many activities. The main activities include bullfighting, horse racing, Lusheng dancing, partying, etc. On the first day, the bull is fed, decorated, and led to the bullring. Each village has a traditional bullfighting ring, and the surrounding hillsides are natural grandstands.
During bullfights, there are often five to six thousand people watching with interest.