Custom combination

The first day of the first month is the Spring Festival, formerly known as New Year's Day. On that day, people get up early and put on new clothes, hats and shoes to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new. It is said that in the new year, you can walk lightly by putting on new shoes that have never been on the ground. After the host gets up, he opens the door by reciting auspicious words and sets off firecrackers at the door, which is called "opening the door gun". Generally, there are three guns when you open the door, so you should "take four and let three go" and leave one as a "backup gun". The "backup gun" in Ningbo dialect is published here. The higher the firecrackers are set, the louder the sound, which indicates good luck in the new year. If it is a "blow, blow, blow" squib, it is unlucky. You should say at once, "Oh, blow it, you will make a fortune this year." And add one immediately.

A big clan, a big family, worships the portraits of their ancestors in the ancestral hall or the middle hall (in front of the hall). Generally, the portraits of ancestors within five generations are synonymous with "for the frame", "for the shadow" and "for the golden purple". In some ancestral temples, men 16 years old can worship, except women. A pair of pins and needles cakes (also called auspicious cakes) or two bowls are divided by the person in charge in turn. Young people of all families worship their elders in turn, which is called "worshipping the old". New Year's Eve has been divided into "lucky money", wrapped in red paper and pressed under the pillows of young people, so it is called "lucky money".

On that day, eating jiaozi in the morning means reunion. Some families are vegetarian all day. The biggest feature of this custom is to let household utensils "rest" for one day, that is, let housewives rest, not sweeping the floor, not asking for fire (not lighting others or cigarettes), not killing animals, not moving knives and scissors, not emptying toilets, not washing clothes, not abusing children or saying unlucky things. Don't say "early" when we meet in the morning, because you said it would attract more fleas this year. If you stumble, you should immediately say, "Oh, I dropped my gold ingot." This night, if you don't sleep before fainting, if you don't light a lamp, it means that lighting a lamp this year will attract more mosquitoes and flies. Before going to bed, put a "closing gun". Don't go out at night, commonly known as "Christmas Eve".

From the second day of the seventh lunar month to the eighth day of the eighth lunar month, every family goes out to visit relatives and friends. Generally, they go to relatives first, then go to distant relatives, take care of their husbands, nephews and uncles, and treat each other with banquets, which is called "Chinese New Year's dinner" and "Chinese New Year's wine". The fifth day of May is the God of Wealth Day, which is the most important day for business people. It is called "opening the market" after "recruiting the God of Wealth". Some Buddhists walk on the Seventh Bridge on the seventh night of the seventh lunar month without looking back, and worship eight monks in the eighth lunar month, commonly known as "walking on the Seventh Bridge" and "worshiping eight monks".

In the meantime, folk entertainment activities include Dragon Lantern, Happy Lantern and big-head monk dance Dance. A little different from other places is "pretending to sweep the floor", that is, beggars (called "rich people" at this time) carry baskets, hold brooms decorated with red balls in their hands, pretend to sweep the floor, and sing slang songs: "Hold up the golden broom and Riggs (like a voice) will sweep it. Sweeping eastward, there are Qinglong, Qinglong rice jar and Huanglong barn in the boss's room; Sweeping to the south, the boss made a fortune in the house, Da Yuanbao made a raft, and Xiao Yuanbao made a boat. "

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chinese New Year and other customs have remained unchanged, and many superstitious colors have disappeared. Organs and groups held mass worship, carried out activities of supporting the army and supporting the family members, supporting the government and loving the people, and expressed condolences to veteran cadres, workers, teachers, scientific and technological personnel, elderly people and workers in nursing homes who insisted on production during the Spring Festival. On the way, acquaintances meet, hold hands or shake hands and wish each other good luck.

marry

In the old days of engagement, marriage was important, and there were some sayings, such as "the right match", "the life of parents, the words of a matchmaker". Both men and women have no autonomy, which is like buying and selling marriage.

To get married, you should first find a matchmaker to make peace. All courtiers are men who go to women's houses to ask for help, and no woman asks for men. When you entertain the matchmaker, you must prepare wine and food as gifts for the guests. As the saying goes, "If you can't get married, send 120 bottles of wine." After the two sides agree, the man will accompany him to the woman's house for a "blind date". After the woman agrees, parents or brothers, as well as matchmakers or relatives, will accompany the girl to the man's house to "see others." After the blind date, the man chooses a lucky day and the trustee brings a gift to ask the woman for eight characters (date of birth). After the "Niangeng Post" is withdrawn, please ask the blind fortune teller to "match the eight characters". The eight characters can't collide with each other, such as "Long Hudou", "Two Dragons Divide the Pool" and "Chicken and Rabbit Divide the Cage", which are not suitable for marriage. The man also needs to send eight characters to the woman. When the eight characters coincide, both parents agree to get married, that is, the date is selected by the man's family, and the date of engagement is written on the dragon and phoenix red post, and the matchmaker is invited to send it to the woman's family together with the dowry, which is called "engagement". The woman gave Zhuang Yuan a flower hat, candy and cakes, as well as some embroidery bags and two kinds of evergreen plants, commonly known as "giving back love". After the engagement, men and women are regarded as husband and wife, and others are not allowed to visit relatives and friends.

From engagement to marriage, it takes at least six months to three years. The wedding ceremony is called "Day", which is determined by the fortune teller according to the horoscope. If the wedding date is unfavorable to the daughter-in-law, you can retire and choose another day. One or two days before marriage, the man sends someone to the woman's house to get a dowry, which is called "dowry". Dowry is similar everywhere, and there are generally necessities such as acacia quilt, pillow cabinet, box, drawer table, square stool, foot bucket, child bucket and dressing table. In recent years, dowry has been combined with the old and the new. In the evening, the man gave a banquet for the "greenhouse". On the wedding day, the man sent a sedan chair to greet the bride. Before the bride gets on the sedan chair, both mother and daughter cry, indicating that they are inseparable, which is called "crying marriage". In Jiangshan, the bride's sedan chair is on the road, and my brother hangs his hands on the sedan chair bar and carries it for a while. Commonly known as "hanging the sedan chair bar", it also means that he doesn't want to leave. There are "crying words" in civilized areas, such as "I hope you can see that person, a rising tide lifts all boats, and step by step on the stairs;" Holding lotus flowers makes Tiffany's wife and in-laws happy; Steve went to bed with children and grandchildren all over the room; When Steve walked to the table, copper coins were stuffed everywhere ... Four seasons get rich, and ingots roll in! "When the sedan chair arrives at the groom's house, the bride, supported by Shiva Lishi, steps on the red carpet or sack laid on the ground in turn, which is called" Dai ". Then they get married at the wedding, host a banquet in the evening, and make trouble in the new house after the banquet. Three days after the wedding, the bride and groom go back to their parents' home to visit their in-laws, which is called "going back to their parents' home" and return the same day.

1950 after the promulgation of the marriage law, it advocates marriage autonomy, freedom of love and civilized marriage. The red tape of the old customs has gradually diminished.

Marriage customs In the old society, the marriage customs of counties in Quzhou were roughly the same.

Generally speaking, a child bride's family is not well-off, overpopulated and difficult to support. They are afraid that when their daughters grow up, they can't afford a dowry, some are raised and some are bought. When they grow up and get married, they will also have a wedding. If the man dies before marriage, the child bride will marry as a daughter, and some will never marry.

Adoption, commonly known as "recruiting relatives". The average woman's "daughter-in-law" is because there are no brothers at home. Most of the men adopted by her husband are poor and have many brothers, so they can't get married. The son-in-law adopted by the husband is often discriminated against and can't enter the spectrum. There is a saying that "a daughter-in-law is a good person if she doesn't escape for three years." When recruiting relatives in Changshan area, write the word "recruiting relatives" and put it on the lawn or stone outside the gate to show that it is supervised by the villagers. If you offend the villagers after recruiting relatives, you will often be driven out of the village. Therefore, in the past, son-in-law was regarded as a kind of awe, but now this custom has changed, and son-in-law is protected by law.

Changing relatives, because the two families are poor or have a harmonious relationship, are close to each other and marry each other's daughters as daughters-in-law, which is commonly known as "exchanging treasures for treasures".

Remarriage, commonly known as "second marriage". Widows usually have to be filial for three years before they can remarry, but they are regarded as disgraceful and have no freedom to choose their husbands, so they have to be at the mercy of their clansmen. Widows are mostly poor people who are widowed or unable to marry. The man chooses an auspicious night to get married, and the widow takes a "black rattan sedan chair" or a "blue rattan sedan chair". This custom has been abolished since the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC).

Daxi, also known as "Chongxi". After the engagement, the man was seriously ill, and the two sides agreed to get married in advance, and the younger sister replaced the older brother. If a man dies, a woman becomes a widow. In the old society, there was a custom of sharing the same surname without marriage, which has now been abolished.

funeral

Most people are buried after death. In the old society, funeral ceremonies were complicated and full of superstition. When the old man is dying, his children must stand by him until he dies, commonly known as "death". In printed matter, burning straw sandals, umbrellas, bags, incense paper and tin foil is called "sending the travelling expenses". Put the body on the door panel, move it to the right in front of nave or the hall, put seven tiles on your head, cover it with papyrus, put a copper coin wrapped in red paper in your mouth, and light a blue oil lamp at your feet. At the same time, I sent someone to bring an umbrella to my relatives and friends. When visiting relatives and friends, put the umbrella top up and stand on the threshold. When relatives and friends receive terrible news, they will prepare mourning gifts. The son-in-law sends birthday peaches, zongzi, pig heads, whole chickens and whole geese; Ordinary relatives and friends send scented paper, birthday quilts, elegiac couplets, satin quilts, etc. At the time of death, it is commonly known as "falling objects". Wash and change clothes for the deceased before the coffin, then the eldest son holds the head, the daughter or son-in-law holds it in the coffin, puts charcoal and lime bags on it, covers the "shroud" sent by relatives and friends one by one, and the daughter and daughter-in-law submit their names, and finally closes the coffin cover, which is called "sealing material".

Funeral is the most grand and wealthy family. Before the funeral, they asked the Taoist priest to do a three-day and three-night Dojo to cross over the dead. This is called "doing merit". On the day of the funeral, people with status are invited to read the eulogy, burn the gods, and let the children wear hemp Dai Xiao and sandals to meet relatives and friends in the mourning hall. At the funeral, the son-in-law held a grave umbrella and carried a paper bag. Relatives and friends wear white hats, white pockets and hold incense. Gong, drum, suona and paper money hit the cemetery all the way. After the coffin is buried, outline it with bricks. In the evening, prepare "white wine" for the funeral of relatives and friends, and give each person a towel or five or six feet of white cloth, which is called "Xiao Xie". After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), most of the feudal superstitions in funeral were abolished, and funeral was simple. They usually send flowers, wear black gauze and small white flowers, and hold a memorial service to express their condolences. After 1979, cremation gradually spread in cities and towns, and burial is still the main way in rural areas.