It is an indispensable gift for my uncle to send lanterns to my nephew before the fifteenth day of the first month. The slang "nephew playing lanterns-the same old (uncle)" comes from this custom. Let people feel the charm of northwest loess customs.
From the first Spring Festival after a daughter's marriage, parents (the woman's parents or married brothers and younger brothers) should choose the day from the second day to the eighth day of the first month (mostly from the third day to the sixth day) to "send lights" to the married daughter. "Sending lanterns" mainly means sending two big lanterns and ten candles. "Sending a lamp" means a bright future and happiness. From the eleventh to the fifteenth day of the first month, women hang lanterns on their doors to show good luck.
After the daughter has a child, the bride's family will give this gift to her children, give each child a lantern and ten small candles, and the children will play with lanterns on the evening of the eleventh to fifteenth day of the first month. The lanterns given to children are smaller than those given to women, which is convenient for children to carry. This custom occurs every year until the child 12 years old, and the mother's family "lights up" the child for the last time, that is, "lights up", which is also the most grand one. Sending lanterns every year is usually done by the children's uncle, so there is a two-part allegorical saying "My nephew plays lanterns-just mind it".
When the lights are turned off, the parents of the children should hold a banquet for their children and invite their relatives and friends to attend. With the improvement of people's living standards, every family gives its eldest son a bright light. Coupled with the weakening of the traditional concept of son preference and the influence of the family planning policy, there are fewer and fewer children at home. This kind of celebration has begun regardless of the size of men and women. As long as the children are old enough to finish the lighting, they should be given a banquet to finish the lighting. With the passage of time, the scope of this celebration has gradually expanded, and it has begun to be accepted by people in urban and rural areas, and its content has become more and more abundant.
It is estimated that there will be fewer and fewer children in the future, which will lead to the loss of uncles and aunts. Then this custom ... will soon disappear ... Ha!