Lantern Festival is one of the three major traditional festivals in China, and it is customary to hold some activities to celebrate it in all parts of Chaoshan. As the customs of a place are determined by the natural and social environment of a place, Jieyang City has also developed some interesting customs in the Lantern Festival that are different from those of other places. Every year around the Lantern Festival, there are all kinds of folk activities in the rural areas all over the eastern part of Guangdong, such as "walking on colorful bridges, praying for prosperity", etc., which are very lively! Children can feel the strong flavor of the New Year, and adults will also recall the happy times of the Spring Festival in their childhood. People are full of expectations and joy for the Lantern Festival, and in celebrating the beautiful festival, they will also be full of happiness and hope for the New Year.
"Burning the Dragon"--This custom has a history of 300 years. Every year on the tenth day of the first month of the lunar calendar, just after dark, the square in Pandong Qiaoxi Village, Dongshan District, Jieyang City, is surrounded by villagers who come from all directions. According to a village cadres said: "Burning the dragon in our place has a history of more than 300 years, in the event of a good harvest or the village has a happy year will be held, are in the evening of the tenth day of the first month. In the past few years, the days have become more and more prosperous, and it is held every year."
Row of colorful bridges -- on the eve of the Lantern Festival, most of the Jieyang area in Chaoshan has the custom of "row of colorful bridges". "The first month of the eleventh line head bridge" is a traditional folk activities of the public Lantern Festival, which is recorded in the old records, the Qing dynasty Qianlong "Jieyang County Records", "(on the first day of the first month) women to the bridge to throw the block, known as the 'degree of doom. " Every year during the Lantern Festival, Jieyang area colorful bridge like a rainbow, pedestrians like a tide; lanterns like the sea, the night sky as day. Before the festival, the city of Rongcheng the size of the bridge are colored lights, colorful flags dressed up, men, women and children shoulder to shoulder, the degree of the bridge to pray for blessings, lively and extraordinary. Around the colorful bridges are hung hundreds of embroidered "peace in the border", "bamboo buds and pines", "wealth and good fortune", "national prosperity and people's peace", "prosperity and people's happiness", "prosperity and people's happiness", "prosperity and people's happiness", "prosperity and people's happiness", "prosperity and people's happiness" and "prosperity and people's happiness". ", "Mutual well-being" and other words of the flag colorful banners, expressing people's applause for a happy life and aspirations for a better future.
Located in Rongcheng beat copper street stone lion bridge is the most lively place every year, thousands of people will be this bridge around a watertight, everyone while walking bridge while touching the bridge stone lion, read a good sentence, such as the dialect of the auspicious words: touch the lion head, Fu Ya Xian ("virtuous" meaning); touch the lion belly, marry Yam ("beautiful wife" meaning), the lion belly, the lion belly, marry Yam ("beautiful wife" meaning). "beautiful wife" meaning); touch the lion's ear, birth A Di (out of the "male" meaning); touch the lion's nose, write Ya word ("academic progress" meaning), etc., praying to be able to live a good harvest, Auspicious and healthy year. Despite the crowds, men, women and children are still enjoying themselves, and the sound of laughter swirls everywhere.
The "Anzai Lanterns" are comparable to "Mud Man Zhang". Rongcheng "broken doorway Zheng" on the eleventh day of the first month "hanging Anzai lamp", is also a unique folklore. Because of the resonance of "lamp" and "ding" in Chaoshan dialect, "hanging lamp" means "hanging ding", and in the old days, the main purpose of hanging the lamp was to worship ancestors and pray for the future. In the old days, the main purpose of hanging On Chai lamps was to worship ancestors, pray for prosperity, descendants, interpreted to the modern day is to promote the significance of folklore traditions. Anzai lamp set in the "mud Anzai" from the Chaozhou Fuyang, a lump of mud, after the folk artist's kneading, painting, and then put into the flower carved wooden cabinet, it became a lifelike, the masses are familiar with the history of ancient clay plays. "Single sword to the meeting", "Zhaojun and Fan", "three righteousness in the peach garden", each group of clay sculpture seems to be telling a popular folk tales, but also exquisite. In addition to these familiar "allusions", there are also some reflecting the local customs of Chaoshan, "clay Anzai", "drinking tea", "grinding", "playing", "playing", "playing", "playing", "playing", "playing", "playing", "playing", "playing", "playing", "playing", "playing", "playing" and "playing".
Doing the "Mud Anzai" reflects the local customs of Chaoshan people, such as "drinking Kung Fu tea", "playing the mill", "playing the cage" and so on, all of which are fine and have the characteristics of Chaoshan people's refinement, fineness and ingenuity compared with the "Mud Man Zhang" in the north.
Doing Ding wine - in the city's Dongshan District, there is a village called "Xinhe", where in the previous year the birth of a boy's family, the night of the Lantern Festival will be in the ancestral shrine to set up banquets and treats to celebrate the "out of Ding! "This is commonly known as "making wine". The style of the banquet is called "walking horse seat", i.e., no matter how thick or thin the family and friends are, people who know or don't know each other can come in to eat, and leave after eating, and then the hosts will re-set up the dishes to entertain another batch of guests. In the old society, the master in order not to lose face, but also around to borrow money, resulting in debt, or the pain of selling the brother of the money used to cope with the younger brother's heavy hosting fees, which is the "birth of a brother to sell a brother," the origin of the proverb. After the liberation of the village, although there is still the Lantern Festival "do Ding wine" custom, but more changed in their own homes or hotels, and is limited to the banquet more close relatives and better friends, rich and frugal, no one cares.
Sending incense boat - in Jie Dong County, Lupan Town, a village called "Gui Dong", the sixteenth day of the first month also have "send incense boat" custom. This folklore began at the end of the Ming Dynasty, every year on the sixteenth day of the first month, Guidong people have to hold this solemn and sacred traditional ceremony. The area is located on the banks of the Rong River. The "Fragrant Boat" is a large carp with an open mouth, about 4 meters long, made by villagers with bamboo grates and paper paste. On the afternoon of the 16th day of the first month of the lunar calendar, every family throws incense and paper symbolizing filth into the mouth of the carp, which symbolizes people's prayers for good weather and good luck.
As night falls, the village roads, balconies and squares are crowded with villagers waiting to see the "incense boat". About eight o'clock, the center of the square rose more than 10 meters high flame, with the vibration of the drums beat rhythmically, people coincidentally to the center of the square surging, cheering is getting louder and louder. At this time, by eight people carrying the "incense boat" first around the bonfire clockwise around three times, and then counterclockwise around three times. Immediately following the rhythm of the "incense boat" around the turn, cheers one after another, one after another, such as waves, such as colorful clouds. "Incense boat" in the center of the square around, flying, and finally rushed to the village outside the wilderness burning. The red face of the masses also, reflecting the red more and more sweet good day.
In recent years, the Lantern Festival in some backward, ignorant, superstitious, outdated activities have been eliminated by the tide of history, replaced by activities conducive to physical and mental health, such as lantern riddles, ball games, dragon dance, lion dance and so on.