Gansu customs

1, Lahai

"Lahai Festival" on the eighth day of the twelfth month of the lunar calendar. Wuwei custom is to cook five-color bean porridge on the day of the fifth night, the whole family to eat Laha porridge. On the night of the eighth day, there is also the custom of basing the fire to put wheatgrass fire.

2, New Year's Eve

Commonly known as the "New Year's Eve", Lazhou thirty (some years is twenty-nine), is the last day of the year in the lunar calendar. It is the afternoon, families clean the courtyard, organize the indoor and outdoor environment, and then paste the spring couplets, door god, half-curtains, hanging yellow money, burning incense to ancestors, firecrackers, said in addition to the old. In the evening, the family ate green chowder braised vegetables, called "loading warehouse", indicating that the family reunion, life and prosperity. After the whole family is full, but also some leftover plant, meaning "life is rich, year after year". The night, the whole family completely sleepless, called "stay up" or "keep the year". Junior kowtow to the elders to say goodbye, the elders will give the juniors to send "lucky money", also known as "New Year's Eve money".

3, on the Yuan Festival

The 15th day of the first month of the Yuan Festival, also known as the Lantern Festival (also known as the Lantern Festival). According to the Qianlong fourteen cattle Zhang Shaomei edited the "five Liang Kaoji six German set of full record? Wuwei County," said: "Lantern Festival, the four cities erected Square, hanging lights, mixed dress drums, stilt walkers. Stilts. Perform a hundred plays." In the old days, the Jinta Temple and other places in the Yellow River Lantern Festival, the scene is also very spectacular. After the founding of the country, the Lantern Festival of the Lantern Festival in the past years is better than in the past.

Before the festival, enterprises and institutions workers, have tied the color door, hanging lanterns. There are flower lamps, animal lamps, the Eight Immortals crossing the sea lamps, Journey to the West story lamps, colorful, weather. There are enthusiasts in the lamp device miniature motor, similar to the horse lanterns. The most eye-catching is the golden dragon lamp, which is more than lo meters long. Is the night, the city and suburban residents, flocked to, 10,000 heads, such as a tide of people. Wuwei custom, the view of the lamp must be drilled from the dragon lamp, pray for family peace, ten thousand words as expected. It is also said that the dragon is auspicious, drilled dragon lamp, will be prosperous.

Rural lanterns will be interesting, colorful lamps simple and elegant, rich in local flavor. There are torch lamps made of corn cobs, as well as colored lamps made of yam eggs and radish heads. On the wall, under the stables, there are lights everywhere, bright lights. According to historical records: Wuwei Lantern Festival spectacle, since the Tang has, and famous in Chang'an. Therefore, there are Tang Xuanzong and Taoist Ye Fashan night tour of Liangzhou Lantern Festival legend.　Wuwei Lantern Festival, regardless of the new custom, the old custom, are held for three days, that is, the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth of the first month.

?4, February 2

Ge has "February 2 dragon head" said. According to the old records: this is the day of the urban and rural residents to sacrifice sweet sacrificial soil praying for a good year, the family fried beans and hemp seeds to eat, meant to kill fleas and insects. Nowadays, the ritual soil prayer activities no longer exist, the countryside is still the custom of fried wheat beans.

5, Zhongyuan Festival

The 15th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar is the "Zhongyuan Festival". Wuwei custom, on the 15th of July to sweep the graves, sacrifices to the ancestors. Some people burn paper money in front of the door or streets and alleys. In the old society on this day, some people in the city to the City God Temple bedchamber of the wooden frame of the City God carried to the summer three days, which is called "city locusts traveling". People in the Palace over the temple fair, stage performances. At that time, the palace is located in the east corner of the present, the place is called Hejia Garden.

6, winter solstice

Twenty-four solar terms. The winter solstice is the beginning of the "nine", from this day onwards, the day grows longer, the night grows shorter each family to eat winter solstice rice. Some people eat noodles in broth; some people with meat, noodles, tofu, vermicelli; some people eat "apricot skin altar tartar", also known as "brio ear"; there are also eating mutton head rice or bashful noodles folk have a base fire, put the custom of wheatgrass fire.

7, Lunar New Year's Eve

Lunar New Year's Eve sends the God of the stove. There is a folk song that says, "On the twenty-third day of the Lunar New Year, the God of Zao has gone up to heaven". It is about eight o'clock in the evening, households in advance to prepare the stove book (with a yellow sheet of paper writing the family's name, birth year, month and day), stove sugar (wheat teeth sugar and bean sugar and so on), stove dry food (pancakes), stove horse (yellow sheet of paper printed on the saddle of the horse), and to prepare a dish of broken straw, mixed with a few grains of beans, son of the God of the stove before the tablets to be burned, meaning to send the stove master in the heavens.

Folk legend has it that the Master Zao is the head of the family, Lunar New Year's 23rd to report to heaven, Lunar New Year's 30th night back to the house, the sacrificial stove is to pray for the Master Zao "on the sky to say good things, back to the Palace of descending good luck." After the Lunar New Year 23, is close to the Spring Festival, families buy new year's goods, make food dishes, dismantle and wash clothes, clean the house, ready to celebrate the New Year.