In Chinese folklore there is such a ballad: "red eggs, full of strings, this year to eat your happy buns, next year to eat your red eggs." The happy bun is a kind of wedding ceremony auspicious customary food, popular rumor: happy bun to bring back, loved ones ate get lucky. Therefore, this song belongs to the blessing of auspicious words, and then literally understand, this sentence at the beginning and the end of the two red eggs represent the meaning is not the same, the first "red eggs" is as a sacred object appears, have prayed for the child to give the blessing of the work; and the latter "red eggs" is The first red egg is used as a holy object to pray for the blessing of a child, while the second red egg is used as a sign of good luck for the birth of a child and as an object to announce the birth. Distributing red eggs dyed with pigment to friends and relatives is a popular way of expressing joy throughout the country, and is often used on various occasions such as marriages, births, and full-moon celebrations to mark the occasion and for good luck.

Tradition

Chinese folk have a tradition of sharing red eggs, mainly to celebrate the birth of a child or to pray for an heir. The following are a few small places to stay in the red egg custom:

1. Weishan County, Shandong Province in the bride sent to the bridal chamber, by helping the sedan chair women to open her face, with the red egg dyed in her face rolled a few trips, rolling while reading the auspicious words: "red egg, full face string, this year to eat your happy bun, next year to eat your happy eggs."

2. There are also rural areas in the first one or two days before the wedding, the female party to carry out a beauty process: face strangulation, they will be exposed to the forehead and the back of the neck of some of the velvet with two twisted into a twist-like red line "strangled" down, specifically two sisters-in-law to take turns to operate, a tight and a loose, a loose and a tight, to the velvet! "strung" off, "strung" after the face, with two red eggs rolled in the face, while rolling a singing: "red eggs, full face string, this year to drink wine, next year to the 'hi! See you next year!" . Then, in the bride's face to put some powder, both to cover the "strung" out of the blood spots, but also beautify the face. Red eggs also play a role in this program, although the specific lyrics are different, but the expression of the same content;

3. old Jiao County, the birth of a boy on the third day to the bride's family to report good news, the girl on the sixth day to report good news, the in-laws to go to the family with a 1 catty steamed buns, 20, the bride's family must be all left behind, otherwise the child is not good to raise, the bride's family should be returned to the 19 red eggs, 4 bowls of millet, the first person on the way to meet to send the red eggs, which is called "everyone's happy".

4. Penglai County, the birth of a boy with a rooster to announce the good news, the birth of a girl to announce the good news with a hen, which can be seen in the chicken and eggs in the traditional folk customs play an important role;

5. Zou County, the boy to announce the good news with a book, the girl to announce the good news with a flower, and in addition to the neighbors and friends to send "good news eggs". "Annunciation eggs", that is, dyeing red eggs, the mother's family and friends and neighbors to congratulate the new happy, called "send congee rice" or "send Tommy"; in Kaifeng area, the baby was born after the Annunciation often with red eggs. If it is a boy, to six or eight, must be an even number, dyed red, but also at the end of the egg with a black dot in ink, said the "great joy", the boy to send an even number of reasons is that the child grows up to find a daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law pairs, will be able to spend a good month. If it is a girl, the eggs are only dyed red, without black dots. The number of eggs is 5 or 7, and must be an odd number, which means "small happiness". Sent an odd number of eggs, indicating that the family added a girl, the future of good marriage.