The floating wine in Heluo folk culture is rich and hot, and it feels like these folk activities themselves. Every scene presents endless noise and excitement: happy events such as a hundred years of harmony and a full moon for children are of course intertwined with jubilation, and even sad events such as farewell and funeral are extravagant and lively.
This contains the great wisdom of Heluo people: life is lonely, why bother to be unhappy? It is better to be open-minded, drive out loneliness with noise, and warm the original sadness of life with hot wine.
Luoyang folk culture is the concentration and precipitation of Heluo folk culture. To understand this great wisdom of Heluo people, we have to savor the wine fragrance dispersed in Luoyang folk culture.
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Wine is widely used in Luoyang folk activities, and its manifestations are more lively and diverse. The Spring Festival of the Lunar Year of the Dog is coming, and many people are getting married these days. Floats are everywhere in the streets, and the whole city is full of joy. In order to celebrate, let's start with the wine activities in the wedding and see what the folk customs are like in the wine fragrance.
When Luoyang people marry their daughters-in-law, wine is indispensable in every link from marriage proposal to engagement: the matchmaker must bring wine when he goes to the girl's house to propose marriage; At the wedding banquet, the couple should propose a toast to their relatives and friends; When a couple enters the new house, they must raise their glasses and propose a toast ... The most interesting and beautiful part should be the bride and groom's toast. This is a traditional ceremony in Chinese wedding procedures, so that the newlyweds can show their loyalty to each other and swear loyalty. The atmosphere should be solemn, but it has another color in Heluo area.
Not long ago, I went to a good friend's wedding. When the master of ceremonies sang "Husband and wife drink a glass of wine", the bride and groom crossed their arms and the groom drank it cheerfully. The bride licked it, frowned and secretly poured the wine into the bouquet in her left hand. Her actions were not obvious, and she fooled almost everyone at the wedding, but I was sitting on the wine table not far from her, observing the wedding ceremony with the "intention" of the interview, so I saw it clearly.
Why does the bride pour wine? It's not because she can't drink and is worried about getting drunk and making a fool of herself. There is a folk custom in Luoyang. Newcomers should mix pepper, salt, vinegar and soy sauce into a "plastic cup wine" to stir up five flavors of sour, sweet, bitter, spicy and salty, which symbolizes all kinds of hardships on the road of life. Newcomers drinking hand in hand can express their determination to share joys and sorrows and grow old together. This wine naturally tastes bad, so some "timid" and liberated brides simply pour it out. There are also some newcomers who simply ask the bridesmaid or groomsman who is in charge of "handing a glass of wine" to be merciful in advance and change a cup of boiled water for the occasion.
This is a new way of doing things that the older generation doesn't like. During the interview, many "old Luoyang" told me that drinking "plastic glass wine" is sacred, and no matter what is in the glass, newcomers should not hesitate to drink it. If you are afraid of drinking a glass of wine, how can you make people believe that you are faithful to love?
In order to prove that drinking a glass of wine at a wedding is essential, an old emcee patiently gave me a lesson on the ancient custom of drinking at a wedding:
The use of wine at weddings can be traced back to the Zhou Dynasty. At that time, the application of qu tiller made the brewing industry prosperous, and wine was closely related to people's living customs and etiquette, and the way of using wine began to be standardized and systematic. When men and women get married, they must eat the meat after the sacrifice, drink wine and swear by wine to show their loyalty and wish to grow old together.
Of course, the "toast" at that time was not called "toast" but "marriage". The so-called "meow" is to cut a big gourd into two spoonfuls. There is a record of "binding" in the Book of Rites: "Say one scoop is divided into two scoops, and each husband and wife holds one scoop." In other words, newlyweds
Each person holds a ladle of wine, symbolizing that husband and wife are one. This is one of the most important ceremonies in ancient weddings. So the wedding is also called "tying ceremony".
During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the wine that newlyweds drank at the wedding began to be called "plastic cup wine" and "acacia wine". The wine container is no longer a ladle, but two wine glasses made of colored silk. The wine glasses are tied with concentric knots, and couples drink together or recite them. These details can be seen in costume TV dramas, and also in the poem "Mo Ling Yin, Make a Cup of Acacia" written by Song, a poet in the early Tang Dynasty. If you are still in doubt, you can look at "Dream of China in Tokyo" written by Song people, which records in detail: "Whoever marries his daughter-in-law, after canceling his account, ties two colorful lanterns and drinks a glass of wine with each other, which is called' drinking a glass of wine'. After drinking, throw a lamp and put a corolla under the bed. When the lights are turned on and off obliquely, the common cloud is good. "
Because of its profound meaning, the custom of drinking "plastic glasses of wine" is very common in all parts of China, with strong local characteristics. For example, in Shaoxing, couples drink a toast, which is presided over by a middle-aged woman who has children and is blessed by the man's relatives. Before drinking a "toast", the host should first pack a few small jiaozi for the bride and groom sitting on the bed, then pour two cups of "Huadiao wine" and give the newlyweds a drink respectively; Then mix the two glasses of wine and divide them into two cups-take the meaning of "I have you, you have me", let the bride and groom drink it, sprinkle a lot of wedding candy outside the door, and let outsiders compete.
In fact, "Huadiao Liquor" is no different from what we usually call "Daughter Wine" (also known as "Daughter Red"). It is named because the jar of the wine is engraved with flowers, birds and animals. In the south, families with daughters began to brew this wine when their daughters were young and buried it in a pond. When their daughter got married, they took it out to entertain guests and friends.
I envy the girls in Shaoxing, having such poetic wine when they get married. The old master of ceremonies said with a smile: Marriage is not as poetic as imagined. The reason why Luoyang's "toasts" are mixed is to remind newlyweds and prepare for reality.
Come to think of it, it's a fact. I immediately felt sorry for the bride who poured out the "toast": how could such a solemn and meaningful experience in life be missed?
It seems that the folk customs of every place have their own reasons for existence and cannot be changed or abandoned for granted. I wonder if the bride will feel refreshed when she drinks "wedding wine" and "Huimen wine"? You shouldn't dump it again, should you?
Hey! Don't you know what "wedding banquet" and "Huimen wine" are? That is an ancient custom in Luoyang.
"Wedding wine" is a banquet held at the engagement ceremony. The people present to drink this wine are usually the immediate relatives of the engaged parties. Drinking the "wedding banquet" means that the marriage is a foregone conclusion and the engagement has taken effect. After that, both men and women are not allowed to break off their marriage at will. Nowadays, many people in the city find it troublesome to get engaged and simply hold a wedding ceremony, omitting the "wedding banquet", but in the countryside, the custom of drinking "wedding banquet" still exists.
"Huimen wine" is the wine that newlyweds drink when they return to the woman's house to visit their elders the next day after marriage. You don't have to drink it if you say it's "Huimen wine". The woman's family put out a big table of food to entertain the newlyweds, but only the son-in-law may enjoy it, while the parents-in-law are full of melancholy, because after eating this meal, the daughter will live in the son-in-law's house and be a "home" person.
Luoyang people believe that "wedding wine" and "Huimen wine" can only be drunk once in a lifetime-except for those who remarry, "farewell wine", "tears wine" and "longevity wine" may be drunk many times.
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"Farewell wine", also known as "farewell wine", is a banquet for friends who are preparing for a long trip to express the feelings of the giver.
At first, "farewell wine" appeared in the form of offering sacrifices to gods. The ancients called the God who blessed pedestrians "ancestors". Before a long journey, they should hold a banquet and drink to worship their ancestors in order to travel safely. Later, the meaning of sacrifice gradually became a blessing to travelers, but the custom of holding a banquet at farewell remained.
"Farewell wine" can best test people's capacity for drinking. We are all good friends at the party, and one of us is going to travel soon. I don't know when we will meet again. If we are not drunk at this time, when shall we wait? People who travel at least must be drunk. "I advise you to drink one more glass of wine. There is no reason for the West not to go out." What a good reason! This wine is full of sincere wishes from friends. How can I do without drinking?
I once interviewed a veteran. When he talked about the "farewell wine" before leaving the army, his eyes turned red: hundreds of "brothers" got together and drank in a big bowl, but those who couldn't drink white wine "blew" at beer bottles. No one talks much, but everyone knows what everyone wants to say, and there are sparkling tears in everyone's smile. ...
In the eyes of veterans, "farewell wine" is synonymous with sadness. Every time you drink it, it means you have one less friend. In fact, without the bitterness of parting, how can there be the joy of reunion? Instead of swallowing "gathering wine" as "farewell wine" like Lin Daiyu, it is better to enjoy "farewell wine" as "gathering wine"
It's a pity that there is no chance of reunion after some parting, such as death. But from the Buddhist point of view, life is nothing, and the disappearance of the body is not worth mentioning. Therefore, there was a kind of "tears wine" at the funeral banquet in Heluo area of the old society-the wine to comfort the relatives of the deceased, which was quite free and easy for everyone to drink as usual.
There are also customs of drinking "Shoujiu", "Full Moon Liquor" and "Opening Liquor" in Luoyang area. Everyone is familiar with them, so I won't introduce them much. The Chinese New Year is coming soon, and exquisite people may have been preparing food and wine to worship their ancestors. Let's talk about the sacrifices in Luoyang folk customs!
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The custom of drinking and offering sacrifices has a long history. The ancient rulers of China thought that "the great event of a country lies in respecting glory", so they often dedicated wine as a beautiful thing to heaven, gods and ancestors.
Toast involves a wide range, generally divided into two categories:
First, when building houses, repairing bridges and paving roads, we should drink wine offerings. Anyone who breaks ground is suspected of offending mountain gods and land gods. Therefore, it is necessary to buy food and wine, and prepare food and wine in the place where construction is about to start, so as to worship the mountain god and the land god, so that the project can proceed smoothly. Luoyang folk "Shangliang wine" and "Jin wine" belong to this category.
Let's start with "Shangliang wine". In rural Luoyang, building a house is a major event, and beam is the most important process in the process of building a house. Therefore, Catholic families in Shangliang should hold "Liang wine" and pour Liang with wine to ward off evil spirits and keep peace.
As for "wine into the house", it is a banquet to be held when the family moves to a new house, commonly known as "burning the bottom of the pot", which has the same function as "Shangliang wine" and is also for exorcism and blessing.
Second, on holidays, when the harvest is happy, we should drink and worship. For example, on New Year's Eve, every family will set a table in front of the statue of their ancestors, set drinks, burn incense, light candles and count paper money, and invite their ancestors back for dinner. In the meantime, the younger generation in the family should kowtow in order to express their grief and respect for the deceased. Then, the parents pour their toast in front of the statue, and after the worship ceremony, the whole family can have dinner. Another example is the harvest season in the old days, when farmers slaughtered livestock, sprinkled wine and worshipped the God of Grains.
These worship activities are understandable, and we can regard them as gratitude: thanks to the descendants of ancestors and thanks to God's continuous enrichment.
However, some people can't understand the use of alcohol in worship: some old-school people think that they have offended the gods when they are sick and are possessed, so they hold banquets and invite wizards and gods to sing at home and beg for forgiveness from the gods. This is feudal dross and should be abandoned!
To put it bluntly: no wine is no gift! The "amorous feelings" of Luoyang folk culture are soaked in wine.