The Northern Guangdong Style in Half Moon Talk
Hakka people in northern Guangdong mainly moved from southern Fujian, but with the passage of time, the meaning of half moon has changed. There are changes in the time of January and half a month, and the time of each surname is different, but most of them are concentrated around August of the lunar calendar. For example, if Chen is on the tenth day of August, what is August 16th? Some surnames will last for a month and a half after the Spring Festival. Second, the meaning of half a month includes not only offering sacrifices to ancestors, but also inviting relatives and friends to parties. Moreover, this trend continues to spread, and now the locals call the semi-monthly talk a gathering of relatives and friends. In the second half of the month, the host family will prepare a sumptuous dinner for the arrival of relatives and friends, and the guests will also bring some gifts (locally called "waiting for the road", mostly fruits) to thank the host family for their hospitality. The so-called reciprocity, at the end of the banquet, the host family will also prepare "waiting for the road" as a gift for the guests. Although the customs in northern Guangdong are different from those in southern Fujian, we can still see that they gradually evolved from them.