My father-in-law’s hometown is Lufeng, Chaoshan. Nantang Town, where he is located, has a well-known custom of celebrating the "Hungry Ghost Festival" on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month. The country people also call it worshiping the saint.

This custom has a long history. It is a small prayer every year and a big prayer every three years. In the year of the Big Worship, people living in other places basically come back to celebrate the festival. Due to the grand atmosphere of the festival, before the big day comes, the village will elect a respected old man in advance to direct everything and coordinate everything so that the work can be carried out in an orderly manner. One of the most important tasks is to find a skilled person to build a "sage" that is more than one foot tall and gorgeously dressed for people to worship. Many large bamboo tents were erected at intervals around the sage, and sacrifices were placed for people according to their clans. Because this is the most solemn festival of the year in the village, everyone is submissive and respectful to it. People should try their best to decorate the bamboo sheds they will be assigned at this time. Some design the doorway in the shape of a gate tower or archway, and write the words "Zhongyuan Shenghui" or "Ulan Shenghui" above the main door. Couplets related to the festival are also written on both sides of the door. At the same time, people also took the time to prepare sacrifices. They piled up bread and other things, which they called Baoshan; they also piled up pastries, which they called cake towers. Every time, someone donated a few Teochew operas and movies to the Fushan House in the village. Regardless of whether anyone watched them, they would work on them all night long for three nights in a row. Of course, on the day of worship, each household kills a fat pig, carries it on a special wooden frame, and places it neatly and orderly on a designated location to worship the gods. That night, before nightfall, the place was already brightly lit. At this time, the women in the village went to the saint to burn incense and pray for him to bless their families. They bowed their heads and knelt on the ground, murmuring chants, and were very pious. At this time, at the entrance of each sacrificial shed, several huge candles with carved dragons as tall as a person would be burning. Many people also bowed briefly before entering. Go enjoy the lanterns.

My old father-in-law left home when he was young and has lived in Foshan for more than sixty years, but he always goes back to participate in the worship every three years. Another meaning of this traditional Chinese Ghost Festival is to worship and commemorate deceased relatives. We also respect his dedication to nostalgia and accompany him back every time to celebrate the Hungry Ghost Festival. But after many visits to my hometown, the feeling of this festival has changed a lot: in the past, the sacrifices were simple, and what was placed on the table of the Eight Immortals were some rice cakes and some breads steamed by the village women, and the slaughtered pigs. They also look thin; but now the sacrifices are abundant. There are high-end biscuits and drinks on the stage, as well as a lot of imported cigarettes and wine. There are big fat pigs that weigh hundreds of pounds everywhere, and they are so fat. Oily flow. During this year's Ghost Festival, there were more than a dozen hydrogen balloons floating in the sky above the village. From a distance, you could tell that important events were being held here. Let's look back inside and outside the altar. People have put up colorful lights all over the place, and colorful lights are shining everywhere. As long as the colorful lights that can be seen in the city during festivals are here; in many scenes, LED moving subtitles are It is changing like a revolving lantern, and the dragons and flying phoenixes all come alive under the electronic control. Coupled with the melodious music, people really seem to be wandering in a fairyland. Under the shadow of the lamp, young men and women were seen hanging around, holding trendy mobile phones to take photos of the gorgeous moment. This Ghost Festival, known as the "Ghost Festival" in many places, has evolved into a veritable lantern festival here. It is far more lively than any festival in the year. Facing the bright lights and the cheerful people in front of me, a past event related to Houking Village suddenly drifted through my mind...

It was an autumn in the 1980s. My unit went to Nantang Town in Lufeng for training and conducted live ammunition shooting in the nearby Wufeng Mountain area. Our battalion headquarters was not far from this village. Camped at Hongyong Farm. That day, after the troops had just had dinner after coming down from the shooting range, they saw a group of teenagers with dark faces and thin faces. They came to watch the fun after hearing the sound of cannons. After asking, I found out that they were all from Houking Village. Since I had accompanied my father-in-law back to my hometown before, some of them recognized me, so I started chatting with them. I asked them if they had eaten yet, and they all shook their heads and said no. I don't know who said, "Even if they have eaten, they still eat sweet potatoes." I have long heard that life here is very difficult, and there is never enough food.

So I hurriedly ran to the cooking class to see if there was any leftover rice. When I opened the marching pot, I saw that there was only a bottom layer of rice cakes left in the pot. I had to tell them that there was only rice cakes left in the cooking class today and there was no way to invite them. While they were eating, they said it didn't matter if the rice cakes didn't matter, so they gathered around the cauldron and shared the rice cakes from the bottom. Seeing them eating with gusto, I felt a sour feeling in my heart, and I felt very sorry. Because there were still night subjects to start that night, I had to agree with them that I would treat them to a meal tomorrow night. So the next day I told the cooking team to cook an extra pot of rice, and many people came. I had a military-style dinner with them. Although there was nothing good, they seemed very satisfied. It was late, and we chatted until late at night, but they didn't want to leave. Later someone told me that just like that meal that day, they didn’t get to eat many meals in a year. Because this is a place with many people and few fields, many people grew up with sweet potatoes. Their hope for life is to have enough to eat every day, 365 days a year. This was not a high request, but it seemed like a distant dream at the time.

However, just when people are looking forward to having enough to eat, the spring breeze of reform and opening up has already revived the sleeping earth. In Guangdong at that time, Foshan had always been at the forefront of economic construction. At that time, "three to one supplement" and "joint venture" enterprises were blooming everywhere, and there were naturally many opportunities for employment and development. These growing juniors , they all went out to work one after another and looked for a life. At that time, many people from the village came to Foshan to find work, and my father-in-law's home was almost like a reception station for a while. And these people from remote areas, with their hard-working spirit and years of unremitting efforts, have fundamentally changed their living conditions. Among them, some started out as plasterers and through struggle developed into the boss of a powerful real estate company; some rose from a little-known driver to become a regional manager of a telecommunications company; some were unwilling to work for others. , opened a grocery store in a village in the city to make a living, and lived a very calm life; even the illiterate Shui Bao brothers, who relied on selling vegetables in the market, have now bought cars and houses, and their children have become urban residents. New generation. And in Houjing, a poor village that used to have enough food to eat, new houses are now springing up like bamboo shoots. These buildings with more than three floors not only have the novelty of urban buildings, but also retain the style of rural residences, and their livable comfort is transcendent.

Due to the increase in people’s purchasing power, many people who do not want to stay away from their hometowns have also opened convenience store businesses near their homes. In recent years, a "Tianguang Market"-style meat and vegetable market has naturally formed on the open land in the village where dozens of greenhouses can be erected during the Ghost Festival. Therefore, between 6 am and 9 am every morning, the noise of buying and selling continues to come from there. Walking into the market in the morning, in addition to all kinds of meat and vegetables, there are also a dazzling array of small department stores. It is really convenient for people who want to buy something.

When I talked to people about their impressions of the "Hungry Ghost Festival", I said that this year was the busiest and most spectacular in so many years. They told me that with the progress of society and the With the continuous improvement of people's lives, this "Hungry Ghost Festival" with Chaoshan characteristics will definitely become more and more lively and beautiful in the future.

I believe this. Because I have witnessed its yesterday and today, I have no doubt that tomorrow will be better.