Composition, Zhanjiang’s festival customs vary from mile to mile, and customs vary from mile to mile.
Located in Zhanjiang, on the border of southern China, the folk customs formed during the long historical development process are obviously influenced by the folk customs of the Central Plains, and also have strong local characteristics.
Like other places in the country, the Spring Festival is the most solemn and rich traditional festival among the people, but the Spring Festival in Zhanjiang also has local characteristics.
The Spring Festival in rural areas usually takes about a month from preparation to completion. Preparations begin in mid-December of the lunar calendar, including renovating the house, purchasing furniture, adding new clothes, purchasing various new year goods, etc.
New Year goods include cane sugar, glutinous rice, New Year paintings, couplets, candies, biscuits, firecrackers, etc. Most of the money earned in a year is used for the Spring Festival.
The most lively scenes on the 29th or 30th day of the year are pig slaughtering, catching fish, and going to the New Year's Eve Fair, where men, women, old and young all go out.
In the evening, every household pastes "New Year's red", including New Year paintings and traditional "door gods". Most of the couplets are related to wealth and wealth. The families of military martyrs paste "Carry forward the revolutionary tradition and strive for greater glory" issued by the civil affairs department on the door.
"" couplets, the kitchen, pig, and chicken pens are posted with "enough food", "six livestock are prosperous" and other horizontal inscriptions.
After the reunion dinner, the new year's money is distributed.
At 12 o'clock, every household sets off firecrackers to see off the old and welcome the new.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, three taboos are generally popular in rural areas: taboos on killing animals, taboos on pouring water, and taboos on sweeping the floor. Some rural areas are still accustomed to fasting.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, I started visiting relatives and friends. You come and I go.
During this period, most villages and towns hold lion dances, wandering gods, colorful parades, dramas, martial arts performances, ball games, etc. There are all kinds of folk activities, which last for more than half a month.
The Lantern Festival, which falls on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, is the most distinctive traditional folk festival in the local area.
The Lantern Festival has a long history. In ancient times, celebrating the Lantern Festival in Leizhou was as grand as a court ceremony.
The traditional Lantern Festival focuses on wandering gods, but now the content is much richer.
Generally, preparations start from the beginning of the month with the beating of gongs and drums in every village. The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the most lively. In some areas, it extends to the 16th and 17th day of the lunar month, all with the county seat as the center. The whole activity is very lively.
Regarding the Lantern Festival activities, the "Suixi County Chronicle" compiled during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty has this record: "In the Lantern Festival, lanterns were put on, lions and elephants were danced, drama games were played, fire trees were made, fireworks were set off, swings were played, lantern riddles were played, and the scholars and common people
Happy travels to Dadan".
The Lantern Festival thunder song "Donghai Marriage" popular in Suixi in the 1920s said: "Visitors are all over the slope with their eyes wide open" and "hundreds of eyes are staring at the camphor pocket"; another thunder song has the line "The gold hairpin always falls from the head, it's really...
Lively this Lantern Festival" sentence.
It can be seen that in addition to wandering the gods, the Lantern Festival also includes games, people watching and entertainment.
Wu Heguang, a scholar from Wuchuan in the Qing Dynasty, famously said, "The scenery of the Lantern Festival is pure and peaceful, and the wandering girls are passing by in groups like clouds."
Nowadays, all counties in Zhanjiang have activities to celebrate the Lantern Festival, mainly in county towns and ancient towns. Wuchuan County is the largest, and the activities in Leizhou County, Lianjiang County and Anpu Town are also quite distinctive.
In the countryside, there are small-scale fireworks, firecrackers, lanterns, and theatrical performances.
Activities such as light shows are also held in the city.
During the Qingming Festival, the scenery is clear and bright, and it is a traditional festival for people to "travel to the past".
This city's Qingming tomb-sweeping "worship the mountain" is the same in both urban and rural areas. Most of them are concentrated on Qingming Day, and some are also several days before and after Qingming.
In folk mountain worship activities, the main sacrifices are roasted pigs, fat geese, rice balls, duck eggs, crabs, cakes, etc.
Agencies, organizations, and schools also gather to visit the tombs of martyrs during the Tomb Sweeping Day, lay wreaths in memory of the martyrs, and pay homage to the martyrs.
The Dragon Boat Festival, which is the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, is generally regarded by local people as a festival to "drive away evil spirits and suppress evil".
Starting from the first day of the Lunar New Year, most rural people put moxa sticks on the lintels of their homes to "ward off evil spirits." On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, some people also hang incense charms (triangular or animal-shaped symbols made of spices wrapped in floral cloth) on the chests of their children.
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In cities, mugwort and herbal medicines are sold in the streets and alleys from the first day of the new year, and citizens rush to buy door plugs and boil water for bathing. Bathing is usually scheduled at 12 o'clock.
It is said that taking a bath with moxa solution can wash away evil spirits and skin diseases.
On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, rice dumplings are commonly eaten in various places, and some areas also hold kite performances or dragon boat races. This activity is related to commemorating Qu Yuan.
Among the Dragon Boat Festival activities, the most distinctive one is Anpu, an ancient town in Lianjiang.
The town holds a grand dragon boat race every year during the Dragon Boat Festival. This event has a long history and continues to flourish.
Especially in recent years, the scale of the event has become grander and the content richer. Visitors include not only people from the town and county, but also many visitors from other places, making it very lively.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is also a grand traditional festival.
In the city, its main contents include: first, starting from the first half of the festival, large-scale mooncake exhibitions and sales activities are held, and residents buy and give each other one after another, with provincial and Hong Kong mooncakes being the most valuable; second, moon appreciation activities on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, mainly held in various places across the city
In large parks or playgrounds, most residents flock to various activity venues. Some are three to five young people, or the whole family groups barbecue, eat moon cakes and admire the moon. Children are fashionable to play with small hand-held lanterns, almost all night long.
In the countryside, villagers eat moon cakes, sweet potatoes, taro, soybean candy, etc. There are also young women who play "floating needles" under the moonlight. They take a bowl of water and place it on the Eight Immortals table, take a new needle and put it gently on the water, and observe
The rising and falling of the needle predicts marriage.
The Double Ninth Festival is popular in some areas of the city on September 9th. It is called the Literary Festival, and it is more grand in Wuchuan and Leizhou.
In the old days, literati from both places gathered together and were very interested in this festival.
"Leizhou Prefecture Annals" records: "Climb high on the Double Ninth Festival and collect herbs to make wine koji on the same day."
Leizhou West Lake, Sanyuan Pagoda, Meiyu Climbing Slope, etc. are the main activity venues.