It is reported that Dongguan people before the cleaning generally start from cleaning the smallpox, and then the walls, cleaning tools are generally bundled with bamboo branches and leaves into a large broom, mainly to sweep the roof, eaves and walls of the accumulation of dust, spider webs and other filth. But also cleaning furniture, clothing, cleaning the courtyard health, generally busy until the small year, that is, the waxing moon 23.

"On the 23rd day of the Lunar New Year, we start to sacrifice the stove." Zhang Tiewen said, the sacrificial stove is actually also clean, according to folk traditions, civil officials generally in the waxing moon 23 sacrificial stove, military officials and people in the waxing moon 24, boat dwellers in the waxing moon 25.

Sacrificing stove must have men to complete, sacrificing stove is sacrificing Zaojun (Zao Wangjun) image, like sticking in the stove above the mouth, the man should be in the Zaojun image of the mouth coated with maltose, with hemp bone to do the ladder of the sky, using sugar cane to worship, so that the Zaojun, "the heavenly word of good things, down to the ground to ensure peace. Zhang Tiewen said, the reason why the sacrificial stove is also hygiene, because after the sacrificial stove to replace a new Zaojun image, Zaojun image can be bought on the street, is a woodcut printed on paper. It is said that some people are afraid of Zaojun go hook away their wives, in the change of Zaojun statue on the side of a Zaojun mother's portrait.

And some of the more difficult to wash bits and pieces are usually washed on the day of the 28th day of the Lunar New Year. Zhang Tiewen said, Dongguan has a saying, called "the year 28, wash Dirt", in Dongguan language, rotten tower refers to some small fragments of things, these things are generally not often cleaned, more dirty.

Women wash their heads, men shave their heads

After cleaning the house, it is time to engage in personal hygiene. According to reports, after the 16th day of the lunar month, women can wash their heads.

"It is troublesome for women to wash their hair, and it is also quite elaborate." Zhang Tiewen said, in his memory, women wash their hair usually have to be put after the house is cleaned, otherwise, cleaning the house will make the hair dirty again.

Allegedly, because there was no shampoo or something like that, women generally wash their hair with chafing powder, chafing is the slag left over from making tea oil, which is poisonous, and can be poisoned to faint the pond lice, like tofu dregs, and the washing effect is very good. After washing the hair, not married to the young girl is combed into two crochets, married women to the hair buns braided, hair buns have a bow, flying, coiled dragons, snails and other shapes, braided up more cumbersome.

Relative to women, men are much simpler. Zhang Tiewen told reporters that men generally must shave their heads before the 28th day of the Lunar New Year, because you can't shave your head in the first month, otherwise, it's going to be a dead uncle.

For the expression of dead uncle, Zhang Tiewen said there is an allusion. It is reported that the Qing government required the Han people to shave their heads, in order to rebel against the Manchu rule, the Han people made up the first month of shaving the head of the dead uncle, and uncle in the Chinese tradition, is a symbol of justice, the general family division of the family is by the uncle to preside over justice.

Zhang Tiewen said adults generally bathe in the year 28, while children bathe in the sale of lazy before. Sell lazy is to let the children take a duck egg (Guangzhou generally use eggs), inserted incense to the village outside to run three laps, the children's mouth but also sing sell lazy song: "sell lazy son, sell lazy children, sell to Guangxi Wang Aunt. Today all come to sell lazy, wake up (tomorrow) morning early in the New Year." It is said that as long as a child can sell this duck egg it means selling all the laziness, but many children secretly eat the duck egg by themselves and come back to tell the adults that they have sold it.

"Selling laziness on the 30th day of the year, this day early in the morning parents will wake up the child, let the child get up to bathe and change clothes, and then go to sell laziness, and the change of clothes, washed on this day, the next year will be given to younger siblings to wear." Zhang Tiewen said.

Toilets are not only swept but also worshipped

Mr. Zhang Tiewen recalled that generally on the twenty-eighth day of the year, the soot at the bottom of the pot is also scraped. Shrines and the like, on the other hand, are usually cleaned by men after the unma. "Toilet gods are a special case, and toilets are usually cleaned on the night of New Year's Eve." Zhang Tiewen told reporters that the folk honor the toilet god called Zigu, usually after cleaning the toilet on the night of New Year's Eve, you have to put candles in the toilet and worship the toilet god with incense.

For those who have poultry and livestock home, cleaning cattle pens and chicken nests, before the waxing moon. Zhang Tiewen said that on the first day of the Lunar New Year, you can't clean, you can't even splash water, and you have to hide the broom, so outsiders can't see it.

Duanwu Festival

Dongguan Dragon Boat Festival customs - back to his mother's home to eat dumplings and watch dragon boats

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2007-06-14 09:56:02 Source: Dongguan Agricultural Information Network

The Dragon Boat Festival is held on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Lunar Calendar, and is also known as the Duan Yang Festival, the Festival of the Day of the Dragon Boat, the Festival of the May Festival, the Festival of the Ai Festival, the Duanwu Festival, the Festival of the Dragon Boat, the Festival of the Dragon Boat, the Festival of the Wuzhi Festival, and the Festival of the Summer. Although the name is different, but the people around the custom of the festival is the same. Dragon Boat Festival in addition to eating zongzi custom, but also drink xionghuang wine and wear incense bags, hanging mugwort, which is due to the May weather is hot and humid, prone to disease, the ancients scheduled for May 5 this day to carry out a variety of disease-expelling activities, and go out to participate in the activities of the food to be taken with easy to carry, zongzi so that it became a festival food.

Dongguan over the Dragon Boat Festival, the most lively is the people of the water town area, the dragon boat race, eat dragon boat rice, married daughter will also go home for the festival, lively day, especially in recent years over the Dragon Boat Festival atmosphere is getting stronger and stronger, every Dragon Boat Festival day, simply more lively than New Year's Day.

The custom in Dongguan is to spend the Dragon Boat Festival at your grandmother's house. On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, married women in Dongguan will bring their husbands and children home to celebrate the festival, and the mother's family also killed the chickens and ducks, wrapped up the dumplings and waited for the daughters to come home. At noon, they all have a reunion meal together, and then choose a spot to watch the dragon boat race.

People in the water village many people's homes are built alongside the water, just on the river, after dinner, after eating the dumplings, in the house balcony to find a good location, you can sit and watch the dragon boat. A lot of people also like to invite friends to their homes to spend the Dragon Boat Festival, watching the dragon boat, the hosts are hospitable, the more guests invited to show their own people the better.