"March 3rd" of the Zhuang ethnic group ■ Festival period Three days before and after the National Day ■ Origin of the festival March 3rd is a traditional festival for the Zhuang people, and antiphonal singing is a major activity on March 3rd, so it is also called "Song Fair" or "March 3rd".

"Song Festival".

The song fair is a traditional folk cultural activity of the Zhuang people and a place for young men and women to socialize.

The Zhuang Song Fair has many touching legends during its long-term development.

One of the more popular ones is the story of "Song Song to Choose a Son-in-law".

Legend has it that in the past, there was an old Zhuang singer whose daughter was very beautiful and could sing folk songs very well. The old man wanted to choose a young man with outstanding singing talent as his son-in-law.

Young singers from all over the country came one after another to propose marriage to Song Song, and regular gatherings of Song Song competitions have been formed since then.

The Achang Street Festival is a traditional festival in Husa and Lhasa areas.

In the past, it was mostly held in the middle of September of the lunar calendar and usually lasted for about 5 days. Now it has been held in the three days before and after the National Day.

■ The celebration is "March 3rd". Young men and women from dozens of miles around happily dress up in festive costumes and come to participate, ranging from a few hundred people to thousands or tens of thousands.

Suddenly, there was a sea of ??people, the singing was loud and clear, and it became a sea of ??songs.

Setting up a colorful tent, setting up a singing platform, throwing colorful balls, and choosing a good partner are all unique and charming.

At the song fair, young men and women from each village, in groups of three or five, look for young people from other villages to sing folk songs collectively.

Usually the young men take the initiative to sing the "tour song" first to observe and identify their opponents; when they meet a more suitable partner, they sing the "meeting song" and the "invitation song"; when the woman agrees, they sing the "inquiry song"; to understand each other,

They sing "love songs" and "friendship songs"; when they say goodbye, they sing "farewell songs". The lyrics are sung along with the lyrics. The metaphors are apt, cordial and touching. After the duet songs, the young men and women get in touch, establish a certain relationship, and meet at the next song fair.

Goodbye.

At the song fair, in addition to antiphonal singing, a variety of game activities are also held.

There are exciting hydrangea throwing, interesting red egg touching, lively fireworks, and spectacular performances that the masses love to see.

De’ang people’s “Water-Splashing Festival” ■ The festival period is around mid-April in the Gregorian calendar ■ Source of the festival The De’ang people also celebrate the Water-Splashing Festival, which takes place on the seventh day after the Tomb-Sweeping Festival. In addition to water-splashing blessings and elephant-foot dancing and encouragement, other programs are consistent with the Dai Water-Splashing Festival.

, the most distinctive custom of the De'ang Water Splashing Festival is to wash the hands and feet of the elders.

At that time, the younger generations of each family should prepare a basin of hot water and place it in the center of the hall. They will invite the parents and other elders to sit in the hall, kowtow to them and ask them to forgive the younger ones for their unfilial behavior in the past year.

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The elders should also review their shortcomings in setting an example for the younger generation over the past year.

Then, the younger people wash their hands and feet for their elders, and at the same time wish each other a harmonious and hard-working atmosphere in the coming year.

If a parent dies, the brother, sister, sister-in-law, and brother-in-law will be the ones to wash their hands and feet.

This custom comes from an ancient legend: a rebellious son was working in the mountains on the seventh day after the Qingming Festival. He saw the scene of the chicks feeding back, and he felt inspired and determined to treat his mother well. At this time, his mother was asking the mountain to

I was walking up to deliver food to my son and accidentally slipped.

Her son came to help her, but she thought he was coming to beat her, so she hit her head against a tree and died.

The son was so remorseful that he cut down the tree and carved it into a statue of his mother. Every year on the seventh day after the Qingming Festival, the statue was dipped in warm water sprinkled with flower petals and washed.

It later evolved into a custom.

■ Celebration Method The De'ang Water Splashing Festival is similar but different from the Dai Water Splashing Festival. It is mostly held around mid-April in the Gregorian calendar.

As the festival approaches, people are busy making new clothes, rice cakes, and water-splashing tools such as water dragons and buckets.

Elderly believers gathered at the Buddhist temple to build a hut and set up a water dragon for washing dust on the statue of Sakyamuni during the Water Splashing Festival.

The water dragon is carved from a thick piece of wood, about four or five meters long, and is newly painted with notches on it.

When splashing water, the girl carries a bucket and a basin, pours the auspicious water into the trough, flows to the Buddha statue in the hut, and washes the Buddha's dust.

Then, the respected elders held flowers, dipped them in water and sprinkled them gently on the surrounding crowd, blessing everyone and congratulating them on the beginning of the new year.

At this time, people began to get excited and congratulated each other on the New Year. Young people raised the buckets high above their heads and sprinkled water drops on the hands of the elderly, wishing people a happy, healthy and long life.

The old people stretched out their hands, held water sticks in their hands, and recited congratulations to the young people.

After this ceremony, people would line up in long queues, led by elephant foot drums, and rush to the springs and rivers, singing, dancing, chasing each other, and splashing water.

The Water Splashing Festival is not only a New Year ceremony for the Deang people, but also a good time for young men and women to fall in love and find their sweethearts.

It is popular among the De'ang people to give bamboo baskets to girls. They give the baskets to the girls they like in the dead of night. The most beautiful one should be given to the girl they like the most to express their love.

Test the other person's reaction.

Therefore, each girl can often receive several bamboo baskets at this time, but who does the girl fall in love with?

It all depends on who the girl is carrying on the day of Songkran Festival who gave her the bamboo basket.

On this day, each girl carries an exquisite and beautiful bamboo basket on her back, but whose basket belongs to it?

The young men were very busy now. They opened their eyes wide and stared at the bamboo baskets on the girls, carefully identifying whether the bamboo basket their sweetheart was carrying was the bamboo basket they gave to her.