Little Lantern in Linpu: Showing Traditional Folk Culture
The Dragon Lantern Show in Hengyi Village in Linpu Town originated in the Spring Festival of 1945 and continues to this day. In this village, almost everyone of the villagers participated in the Dragon and Horse Lantern Show. Nowadays, in various large-scale cultural activities held in Xiaoshan, this amateur dragon and horse lantern performance team has made frequent appearances, such as this year's Lantern Festival and the just-concluded Dangshan Temple Fair, all of which have their wonderful performances. The relevant person in charge of the District Bureau of Culture, Radio, Film and Television Press and Publication said that it is very rare for a village to have such a profound cultural heritage.
Burning locusts
In the Xiaoshan County Records of past dynasties, the Lantern Festival is almost a custom record of decorating with lanterns. In fact, in the northern sandy land, the Lantern Festival has never had the custom of putting on lights; Its unique festivals are like burning locusts, picking up purple aunts and eating rape and fried rice cakes. Let's talk about burning locusts.
In the 196s, sericulture in sandy land had declined, and the custom of inviting Zigu to occupy the harvest of "silkworm flowers" had basically disappeared, but the annual Lantern Festival burning locusts was still very lively.
The so-called burning locusts means burning reeds by the pond or thatch on the ridge on the night of the 14th day of the first month, or tying a torch with your own twined hemp stalks and straw, running and burning in the field and shouting loudly, "Wow! Wow! Hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe hehe. It is said that the purpose of setting fire to grass in such a happy way is to burn eggs to herald a good year, so it is called burning locusts.
Most of the people who burn locusts are little boys and boys, and there are fewer older men, such as men in their thirties and forties. No one organized, no one mobilized, at most, excited children encouraged and encouraged each other during the day, but when it was getting dark, there were scattered torches and fires on the vast sand plain, and the roar of "Hua Ho Ho" gradually sounded, followed by more and more fires and cries. In a blink of an eye, everywhere is a flowing torch. The firewood for burning locusts is mainly the residual reeds and thatchs on the edge of the pond. Anyone who goes out late and can't burn the residual reed and grass will spend some of his own firewood. Some children bind two or three bamboo tips to make torches burn, and even pour kerosene and diesel oil, so that they can hold the torches high and shout and run on the wheat field.
In the activities of burning locusts in sandy land for many years, I have never heard of anyone catching fire because of it. Perhaps it is because there are many grass huts in the sandy land that even children and burning locusts pay more attention to the fire. Occasionally, I heard someone swearing. It was just that the naughty child burned his straw pile or took away several bundles of twined hemp stalks. But it seems that it is right to burn locusts, and no one will sympathize with his scolding.
burning locusts has become a festival custom, which is inseparable from the frequent locust plagues in the history of sandy land. The recorded catastrophic locust plague in Xiaoshan in 1929 also occurred in the sand. Locust, like a grasshopper with a big head, has developed hind legs and is good at jumping and flying. It feeds on Gramineae plants, and the hard mouthparts can eat the whole cotton and corn with only one polished rod left. They also have the habit of gregarious, and they are extremely fertile. In the dry season, they spread very quickly, often flying in the dark, and wherever they go, large crops are destroyed. There was no pesticide to control insects before, and the only way was to catch them manually. Locusts lay eggs in short and curved oviposition tubes, and the eggs are produced in pieces at the roots of crops. The main way to get rid of ovaries is to burn them. Lantern Festival and Spring Festival activities have come to an end, and spring ploughing production is about to begin. Placing the burning of locusts as one of the contents of the Lantern Festival naturally implies the intention of not forgetting the plague of locusts and taking agriculture as the foundation.
The old county annals all say: "The people in the eastern soil are more simple but lost, while the people in the western soil are more polite but lost." As a sandy land in the eastern part of Xiaoshan, it burns locusts or is disdained by local chroniclers because of its meanness. In fact, it fully reveals the "simplicity" closely related to people's livelihood; In contrast, the lanterns in the western soil are really a bit lost.
Dragon Boat Temple Fair featuring Xiaoyi folk language
In the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a woman named Cao E in Caojiabao, Shangyu, and her mother was from Jinjiabang Village, Xiaoshan. His father, Cao Xu, died when he presided over a sacrifice to Wu Zixu in Shunjiang during the Dragon Boat Festival in the second year of Han 'an in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Cao E wailed along the river for 17 days and nights, but could not. On May 22nd, she resolutely jumped into the river to find her father. According to legend, five days later, she came out with her father's body on her back, and her filial piety moved the village. In history, a temple was built to worship Cao E as a filial daughter. Xiaojinjiabang in Xiaoshan is her grandmother's home. Out of respect for this granddaughter's filial piety, Cao E throws a dragon boat in memory of her every year on May 22nd of the lunar calendar, forming a dragon boat temple fair with unique characteristics of Xiaoyi folk language. The Dragon Boat Temple Fair lasts for three days and culminates on May 22nd.
Lantern
Lantern is a very popular dance in Zhejiang Province. From the plain to the mountains and islands, almost all counties and cities have their footprints. There is a lantern association with a history of 5 years in Jianshanxia Village, Daicun Town. The forms of lantern are "bamboo horse", "running five horses", "bamboo horse on stilts", "chariot lantern", "lantern show", "hand lantern", "little lantern" and "lantern". Singing folk songs in the performance. Some lanterns have dance performances such as somersault, rolling, horse washing and horse training by the groom.
new year's eve dinner.
On New Year's Eve, families get together, and the meal we eat together is called New Year's Eve. If you don't eat this meal at home, you won't be at home for the New Year. Therefore, everyone should go back to eat this meal. Therefore, the traffic tension is reasonable.
this meal is very grand, and there are certain procedures, and no mistakes can be made.
First of all, please invite the Kitchen God Bodhisattva. On the kitchen stove, pour three cups of wine, hold three bowls of rice, put three pairs of chopsticks, offer three vegetarian dishes (there are also four vegetarian dishes), light a pair of candles, burn a column of incense, and melt a pot of gold ingots (folded in yellow paper). Housewives worship three times, after the ceremony, take off.
then, in the middle of the sitting room, we worship our ancestors (called "cooking Geng rice" in Xiaoshan dialect). In the old days, it was the square table, but now it is mostly a round table. Putting the table is exquisite, and the lines of the table (the lines spliced by boards) should face the north and south, which is called straight pendulum. Never put it in the east-west direction or horizontally (the east-west direction is for bodhisattva's use). A pair of candles should be placed in the south (please ask the Bodhisattva to be in the north), and twelve cups of wine should be poured (thirteen cups should be poured in a leap month in the lunar calendar, the same below), and placed on the east, north and west sides; Fill four bowls of rice and put them in the four corners; Twelve pairs of chopsticks are placed beside a small handleless wine cup; Serve at least ten bowls of vegetables, with eight meat and two vegetables or six meat and four vegetables, but in pairs, dried fruits and fruits can be used. The wine needs to be poured three times, and the ancestors are invited to enjoy it. Adults and children bow down in turn. After the ceremony, I will spend money on paper.
there are rules for changing paper money. Generally, there are four pots: one is for foreigners, the other is for ancestors, the third is for the elders of the same generation who are in charge, and the fourth is for the younger generation. If you melt foreign guests first, put them at the door, which means take the money and go. After that, money was changed in turn, first yellow paper ingots, then silver ingots, and exquisite Buddhist scriptures and niches. For a time, the paper ash flew all over the sky and stuck between dishes, adding more color.
finally, sit around and have a New Year's Eve dinner. At that time, the dishes were already cold. But adults and children are already hungry, and they can't consider this much. Call five, six, and talk about the cup. You give me a big meal, and I'll give you a dish. It's very lively. During the dinner, talk loudly. The country is farming, parents are short of money, economic income, enterprise development, etc., talk about everything and speak freely. This deep local feelings, this deep family attachment, is incomparable anywhere and at any time. Previously, the wine was only yellow wine and Shaoxing Yuan red wine in bulk. Now there are many varieties, all kinds, and red wine has become popular in recent years. It is necessary to have three meat dishes and one vegetarian dish: one of the meat dishes, the silver ingot fish (braised whole fish, preferably carp, crucian carp), which means more than enough every year. Second, preserved bamboo shoots burn meat, accompanied by meat and vegetables. Third, shrimp-fried chicken (or cooked chicken) is delicious. Vegetarian dishes are called Babao dishes, which are fried with eight kinds of bean sprouts, winter bamboo shoots and pickled cabbage. According to Xiaoshan dialect, it is called fish and meat, and it is not a winding. Of course, these are some traditional home-cooked dishes. What about now? I can't say clearly!
after dinner, give out red envelopes (lucky money), eat melon seeds, rub dumplings, set off firecrackers when you are old, fold new clothes and pants, put them by the bed, and sleep. What about now? Generally, we watch the Spring Festival Gala, and some play cards and mahjong. (We are happy to win, but we are also happy to lose. This is completely different from the gambling mentality), karaoke and so on, and some younger people drive motorcycles and cars to go around.
trendy people, traveling abroad, or inviting three friends and four friends out to a restaurant and dining in a private room in a hotel for the night, save some procedures, but they are also at ease. It just lacks the charm of eating New Year's Eve dinner.
Half-year Festival
The half-year festival of the tower has a strange folk customs. Every year, on June 14th of the lunar calendar, villagers kill chickens and ducks to celebrate the Half-Year Festival. Coincidentally, there is also this custom in northern Guangxi, but the time is the first day of the sixth lunar month. I think it's a half-year summary to reward the three armed forces. Congratulations on the harvest, and pray for better results in the second half of the year. This folk custom is little known, and it will take some time to popularize it.
Xiaoshan people also had the folk custom of "July and a half". The folk proverb says: On the night of July 13th, the ghost gate of Fengdu opened. According to legend, every year on July 13th of the lunar calendar (this year is Sunday, August 6th of the Gregorian calendar, today), Fengdu Ghost Town has a five-day holiday, and the King of Yan allows the ghosts to go out in the open air, which is about the "Golden Week" in the underworld in fashionable terms. If the ghosts have families and children in the dead, they will go home and enjoy the sacrifice; Homeless people wander around and even make trouble for disasters. Therefore, elders often warn their children and grandchildren: at this time, be careful and don't make mistakes; Don't go out at night to avoid suffering. Of course, this is very superstitious. However, the heart of the elders is understandable.
The origin of this July and a half is said to be the end of the Han Dynasty. There is a "Five Doors of Rice Road", and the gods worshipped are "heavenly officials, local officials and water officials". Called heavenly god blesses the people, the local officials forgive sins, and the water officials relieve Eritrea. And with three yuan with three officials, the fifteenth day of the first month is the birthday of Tianguan, which is called Zhengyuan Festival; July 15th is the birthday of the magistrate, which is called the Mid-Yuan Festival. October 15th is the birthday of Shui Guan, which is called the Next Yuan Festival. Therefore, July and a half is also called the Mid-Autumn Festival. Folk sacrifice is not only to congratulate the local officials on their birthdays, but also to pray for the ancestors to forgive their sins and bless them, to get out of their misery and return to humanity as soon as possible.
This Mid-Autumn Festival is commonly called "July and a half" in Xiaoshan. Parents, brothers, sisters and the whole family get together on a certain day (a few days before or after July 15th, of course, as early as possible), with chicken, duck and fish, seasonal dishes, meat and vegetables, incense and candles. Follow the example and worship the kitchen god, ancestors and burn silver ingots in turn. After that, everyone sat around and feasted.