March 3rd Song Festival, Gewei Festival, Gepo Festival or Gexian Festival, etc. March 3rd of Zhuang nationality in Guangxi is a festival for ancestor worship with singing as the main activity, so it is also called Gewei Festival, Gepo Festival or Gexian Festival. March 3rd is the day when the Zhuang people worship their ancestors. On this day, all Zhuang families will bring prepared sacrifices, such as meat, cakes, incense sticks and paper banners, to worship their ancestors in front of their ancestral graves. Arrange sacrifices to show respect.

It is said that this is to commemorate the Zhuang singer Liu Sanjie. At that time, Sanjie Liu had a loud voice and a beautiful singing voice, and was promoted to a singing fairy, which was loved by people. The rich hate her singing, satirizing the rich's heartlessness and exposing their crimes of exploiting and squeezing the people. When Liu Sanjie went up the mountain to cut firewood, she pushed her off a cliff and fell to her death. The banker missed it and held a song fair when he fell off a cliff on the third day of March, gradually forming the March Song Fair Festival.

March 3 was originally the day when the Zhuang people worshipped their ancestors. On this day, all Zhuang families will bring prepared sacrifices, such as meat, cakes, incense sticks and paper banners, to worship their ancestors in front of their ancestral graves. Arrange sacrifices to show respect. According to the traditional custom of Zhuang nationality, the sacrifices given to ancestors should be eaten on the spot and cannot be taken home. In this way, after the dealer finished the sacrifice to the ancestors, he began the duet activity in Gexu. The dealer called Gexu Gexu, which means singing in the wild. This kind of activity will be held many times in spring and autumn, and this time is the most grand on March 3.

Later, the Gewei Festival evolved into an activity for young men and women to sing, touch eggs, throw hydrangeas and talk about love. On this day, Zhuang men and women sang folk songs and answered each other on the hillside, lawn and threshing floor. The content of duet is very extensive. People of all ages take part in duets, but the most active is the love song duet between young men and women. They take songs as friends, express their feelings with songs, express their feelings with songs, and sing along with editing, which is flexible and changeable. Some excellent duet singers have found suitable people in Gewei, thus making the annual Gewei Festival a festival for competing songs and choosing spouses.

What will Guangxi do on March 3rd?

Five-color glutinous rice

Before the festival, every household prepared colorful glutinous rice and eggs. People collect red bluegrass, yellow rice flowers or gardenia, maple leaves and wisteria, and soak glutinous rice with the juice of these plants to make red, yellow, black, purple and white glutinous rice. According to legend, this kind of food was handed down after winning the appreciation of fairies; Some people say that this is a sacrifice to the Song fairy Liu Sanjie. After eating this kind of meal, people will be prosperous and healthy.

Grab fireworks

On the third day of the third lunar month and after the autumn harvest, folk associations in some minority areas in Guangxi spontaneously organized fireworks grabbing activities.

Eight people from each team took part in the fireworks grab. Players rush into the opponent's battery by breaking through, blocking people, changing direction and sprinting. , and put the fireworks into the music. The rules are similar to western football, so it is called "Oriental football". The traditional "fireworks" is an iron ring, about 5 cm in diameter, wrapped in red cloth or red silk. The competition venue is generally located on the river bank or hillside, and the number of people and teams is not limited. Every shot must be robbed, and the third shot is over.

Hydrangea flirting

Hydrangea in Xu Ge is a handicraft made by girls before the festival. Exquisite craftsmanship, all silk crafts: 12 petals are connected into a sphere, each petal represents a month of the year, embroidered with flowers of that month. Some hydrangeas are made into squares and polygons. Hydrangeas are filled with beans, millet or cottonseed. The balls are connected by ribbons, and the tassels and decorative beads symbolize pure love.

Carry a pole

Playing pole dancing is a traditional self-entertainment activity. Every banker is an actor performing in the hall. Women's movements are light and graceful, while men's movements are powerful. The "theater" that entertains itself places the Zhuang people's desire for a bumper harvest.

The dance forms of the pole are duet, four people wearing flowers, and many people wearing flowers. Dancers are mostly even. The performers hold the pole, around the bench or rice trough, beat the bench rhythmically, and sometimes beat each other's poles.

Talk about love with songs

The "March 3rd" Song Festival is a good opportunity for young men and women to communicate. Every time, young men and women within dozens of miles of Fiona Fang will gather at the concert. The young man sang against the girl he liked under the guidance of the singer.

Usually, young men take the initiative to sing "sightseeing songs" first, observe and look for opponents, and sing songs that will be invited when they meet the right person. If the woman is interested, she will agree. The young men sang inquiry songs again, and became friends with each other, singing love songs and making love songs. The lyrics are all improvised and blurted out. If the girl thinks that the young talents and talents in front of her are satisfied, she will quietly give the hydrangea in her arms to the right person while others are not paying attention. "He" will return it with handkerchiefs, towels and other items, and then the song will be sweeter, so she will order Qin Jin's good.

Legend:

According to legend, in the ancient Zhuang township, a migrant worker gave birth to three beautiful daughters. The eldest daughter and the second daughter are both married to the son of a big family, but only the third daughter named Li Mei is unmarried. She is smart, good at singing and dancing, kind-hearted and often gives alms behind her family's back. /kloc-when she was 0/8 years old, despite the endless stream of rich officials who pursued her, she refused one by one, which made her parents break their brains.

It turns out that Li Mei already has a sweetheart. He is the son of a poor family in this village, and the villagers call him Brother A Qiang. Although A Qiang was born in a poor family, he is kind-hearted and often does good for the poor. No matter who is too busy with farm work, he always takes time out to help. His family's delicious food is indispensable to everyone in the village, so he is loved by everyone. A Qiang is smart, too. Although he doesn't read many scriptures, he can write them down. Especially when singing poems and folk songs, you can feel the emotion and improvise. Although Li Mei read more scriptures and holy books than he did, he still worshipped him as a teacher. When A Qiang saw that Li Mei was modest and studious, he always regarded her as his sister and often discussed poetry and prose together. In late February of this year, a folk song competition was held in Zhuangxiang. Both Li Mei and A Qiang signed up for the competition. Listening to their duet, everyone was fascinated and lingering. As a result, both of them won the first gold medal. Through this competition, Li Mei got a deeper understanding of A Qiang, especially admired his brilliant, ready-made and ready-made singing skills and helpful personality, which led to her admiration. After everyone left, Li Mei deliberately stayed, confided her love to A Qiang and vowed: "If A Qiang doesn't marry her, she will never marry." A Qiang was very happy to hear her words, but thinking about his own life, he shyly refused and said, "I was born in poverty, and I am afraid that your parents will not agree to this marriage." Li Mei hugged him tightly and told him, "No way, as long as you visit your relatives, they will agree." Li Mei's pursuit of A Qiang's brother's blind date is well known. They all expressed their willingness to donate a bride price for A Qiang, as long as their families are merciful.

Late one night, Li Mei jumped out of the window to find A Qiang's brother. Just as they poured out their hearts to each other, W broke in and forcibly took Li Mei back. Li Mei sobbed and begged her parents to fulfill her marriage with A Qiang. A Qiang's family is poor, but with his wisdom and hard-working hands, he will live a good life. But stubborn parents still don't agree with her plea. Seeing that infatuated Li Mei could not marry A Qiang, she was disheartened and had suicidal thoughts. After the parents went to sleep, they left a suicide note and hanged themselves. The maid outside woke up in the dim light and heard an abnormal sound in the boudoir. She was stunned when she opened the door. Li Mei has committed suicide. She desperately called for help, and suddenly, a person at home was crying. They read the suicide note and regretted interfering with their daughter's freedom of marriage. When the villagers heard the crying, they knew that Li Mei died angrily in order to resist her parents' interference in the freedom of marriage. They expressed deep sympathy for her and were extremely angry with the family members.

Besides, A Qiang can't propose at W's house. When I got home, I didn't think about tea and rice, and I fell on the bed. No matter what his parents call him, he just keeps quiet. When the news of Li Mei's double suicide came, it was undoubtedly a major spiritual blow to A Qiang. His mind is buzzing, thinking that he can't get married in this life, but he will get married in the underworld after death. Thought of here, he got up and walked out of the house, three steps and two steps, and went outside the member's home. He jumped on Li Mei with a "wow". Just then, he suddenly got up and ran into a beam. He was also a double suicide. This day is the third day of the third lunar month. The villagers saw their good sons and daughters in Zhuangxiang, all of whom were double martyrs. They were all sad, sobbing and crying. Some even sang folk songs praising their faithful love, which lasted for three days and three nights, and then they were buried grandly three days later.

In order to commemorate them, on March 3rd every year, people steamed glutinous rice, brought chickens, ducks and fish, went up the mountain to sweep the grave, and sang together, thus forming a song fair.