What are the folk customs of Hunan Spring Festival?

Hunan has been a land of plenty since ancient times, with rich products, hardworking people and intensive cultivation. It has been growing rice for more than ten thousand years.

In the long years, Changsha ancestors cultivated early, middle and late rice, sticky, waxy, indica, japonica, long awn, short awn and other rice varieties. According to the statistics of 1949, there are 149 rice varieties cultivated in Liuyang County alone. In Changsha, early rice is planted in Gao 'an, and sweet potatoes, corn, beans and rice are planted after harvesting. Plant late-maturing varieties, such as Rudong and Chongyang, in wet fields under the low shore. Early rice is mostly planted around Tomb-Sweeping Day. The so-called "horseshoe with tung leaves is big, so it is not a problem to raise seedlings." Mud is planted in the valley, and dummies are usually tied in the fields, or fake harriers are hung to prevent rats and birds. The first time you pull out seedlings, you need to light candles, ring the system, pat and call the door of the seedling farm. Transplanting, commonly known as planting fields and crops, and some congratulations on "planting rice trees". When planting grain, experts often "split the page" (open the page)-insert a pole on the other side of the field, first plant a few stumps in the field, align them with the line, then plant them while retreating, and plant a row of four stumps from left to right, which is called "planting grain conveniently". On the other side, the seedlings are in a straight line, just like a page of a book, which is so beautiful that it is named cracked page. The second person plants the page from the right, which is called "page cutting", and so on. If the former is surpassed by the latter, it is called "closing ducks" and "drilling bags". If you turn a corner halfway, you will be laughed at for "crossing Dongting Lake". In order to seize the season, relatives and friends came to help. Growing grain called "reporting for work" is regarded as an important competitive activity, and experts are highly respected, so it is called the master of growing grain. When harvesting early rice, we should weigh meat and wine and treat them warmly. The so-called "rice growers play the role of rice customers." But don't eat meat for breakfast, in case the sickle hurts your hand. To dry grain, bamboo should be used as drying reed, or thin cow dung paste should be used to dry the field to make it smooth and sediment-free. After the grain is dried, it is blown with a windmill, and there is no "lifting field". In addition to rice, Changsha has a long history of planting crops such as barley, wheat, buckwheat, sorghum, millet, flax (black sesame), white sesame, rape, tea, sericulture, ramie, cotton and day lily. Bean crops are often planted with broad beans, peas, soybeans, black beans, red beans, mung beans, Mi Dou, mud beans, Emei beans and boiled beans. Among them, soybeans are divided into May Yellow, June Yellow, July Yellow and August Yellow. Mud beans, also known as lazy beans, are the first-class raw materials for making Liuyang douchi. Sweet potato and tobacco were introduced in the Ming Dynasty, but they developed rapidly and were widely planted, so they were called "sweet potato in one season and grain in half a year".

Dry autumn festival

Legend has it that in ancient times (another legend of Shennong's myth of getting grain seeds), Shennong, the ancestor of Miao nationality, sent a man and a woman to the East to get grain seeds and teach Miao people to plant them so that people could eat grain. Therefore, the Miao people in Malichang, Huayuan County, Hunan Province, and Aizhai, Jishou City, celebrate the Autumn Festival every year before beginning of autumn, and ask a man and a woman sent by Shennong to pick up the autumn husband and wife, in memory of Shennong's kindness. Because before the arrival of beginning of autumn in the lunar calendar, rice fields and dry land crops were maturing, and thanks to the protection of Shennong, the harvest was a foregone conclusion. Therefore, as a mobilization meeting, Miao people from all directions went to the autumn rally in succession to hold duets, encouragement, swings and other entertainment activities in memory of Shennong's ancestors and Qiu Gong and Qiu Po. Later, the love legend of heroes and beautiful women was inserted into the autumn festival, making it a mass entertainment festival with the significance of praying for the bumper harvest of Shennong and praising free love. In recent years, as many as 70,000 to 80,000 people attended the autumn festival in Malichang, Huayuan County. It can be seen that Miao people worship Shennong to take grain seeds. The Miao Festival on Huashan Mountain is a grand traditional festival of Miao people in China, which is usually held on the first, third and sixth day of the first lunar month every year. In all counties where Miao people live, flower poles will be erected these days and a grand stepping on Huashan Mountain will be held. This is not only a good opportunity for young Miao men and women to fall in love, but also an important place for Miao people to carry out cultural and recreational activities. Miao people, old and young, dressed in gold and silver, rushed to the foot of the flower pole from all directions, playing reeds, playing tricks, bullfighting, wrestling, playing thrush and climbing the flower pole.

Back-pounding joint

Popular in some areas of Funing County, it is held every year from the third day to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, which is a festival for young Miao men and women. During the festival, young men and women gather on the scenic hillside. When the back-beating began, men flocked out and rushed to the girl they chose, with one hand around the girl's neck, the other hand covering her eyes, and other boys hitting her on the back. Not to be outdone, the girl struggled with a smile. When you break free, catch that young man and deal with him as he deals with you. Throughout the venue, men chased women and jumped around. Tired of playing, men and women find a place to make local calls (that is, two bamboo tubes with a long line in the middle, each of which can hear the voice of talking and singing), pour out sweet words to each other and form a partner. After falling in love, tell your parents that you will get married on an auspicious day.

Aromatic jumping node

Miao people not only worship Shennong before the autumn harvest, but also hold festivals to worship Shennong after the autumn harvest. Miaoren Valley is called Tiao Township. Xiangwu Festival is usually held in October of the lunar calendar after autumn. There are many counties and cities in Hunan, such as Luxi, Jishou, Guzhang, Yuanling and Chenxi, where the Dance Festival is popular. Whenever festivals come, they are presided over by Miao priests. Generally, festivals last one day and one night. In addition to offering sacrifices to the God of Grains and Shennong, there is also a fragrant dance. The local Miao people call it Du Xiong, and Du Miao means ups and downs and bears. On this day, Miao priests will hold Miao dances for young people to sacrifice to the God of Grains and Shennong. Around the autumn harvest in October, there are festivals and dances dedicated to worship Shennong, which are not available to other ethnic groups.

Marriage custom of Miao nationality

Miao nationality is monogamous, and young men and women have traditional social activities before marriage. For example, "meeting girls" is the way for Miao youth to fall in love freely. The traditional festival of Miao nationality is the annual Huashan Festival (held on the fifth day of the first lunar month, also known as "stepping on Huashan Mountain"), which is the most prosperous festival of Miao nationality. During the festival, young men and women dressed in festive costumes get together to sing and perform drums, lions and lusheng, which is very lively. In addition, the Miao people also celebrate the Spring Festival and other festivals of the Han people. Glutinous rice is also an essential food for young men and women to fall in love and get married. Miao people in Chengbu, Hunan Province gave each other glutinous rice cakes painted with mandarin ducks as souvenirs. When the wedding is held, the bride and groom should make a toast, and the person in charge of the wedding also invites the bride and groom to eat glutinous rice cakes painted with dragons, phoenixes and dolls.

The custom of sending numbers in Liuyang three dynasties

Liuyang Beixiang has the custom of sending numbers for three generations. Neighborhood relatives and friends will write the name, school and name of the baby boy in big script on red paper, and attach a congratulatory message such as "A certain couple in Gong Wei is happy with Wenlang educated youth" or "A certain boss in Gong Wei is happy with educated youth in Sun Wen", and stick it on the walls at both ends of the main beam of the main hall in firecrackers. Due to the different conditions of houses, people and so on, some people send several numbers at the same time. Before the Qing Dynasty, baby girls were not given names. After the Republic of China, baby girls were given numbers, but only one name was given, usually "boudoir".

There are also full moon wine, hundred-day wine and one-year wine. There is a custom of carp kissing babies to feed soup in Changsha county, which is called "ending a meatless diet" or "carp yue longmen". Relatives and friends go to dinner and send gold and silver bracelets, collars, "longevity locks" and other things. At the age of one, some put stationery, needle and thread, lipstick, calligraphy and painting on a plate for babies to scratch around to test their interest, which is called "grasping the week". Every birthday in the future will be called "Long Tail", and parents always want to steal eggs. As the saying goes, "Adults have a meal on their birthdays and an egg on their birthdays". 10 years old, 20 years old, etc. They are called "total students" and "all students". Relatives and friends send more cloth shoes and socks as gifts, and parents usually invite several tables. Birthdays are often called scattered birthdays. In addition to Uncle menstruation's menstrual visit, neighborhood women should send greetings such as eggs and noodles as soon as possible, and the host should wait for "dry tea", so it is also called "tea". As the old saying goes, 44 years old, 80 years old and 60 years old. It can be seen that the ancients said that the minimum age for longevity is 60 years old. There will be people who are 50 years old in the future. People in Changsha say that "all men are women", that is, men are nominal and women are real. The 60-year-old is considered to be a heavy flowering, especially grand, called Shouxing Palace and Shouxingpo. Some set a birthday table, Chen Shoutao lit candles, and some relatives and friends sent birthday cards and screens. The birthday boy sits on the birthday platform and takes orders from his children and grandchildren. The longer the firecrackers are set off at this time, the better. When giving a banquet, you should eat longevity noodles. Noodles are slender and symbolize longevity, so Changsha people call them birthday rice noodles. Some people celebrate their birthdays before the age of 50, but there is a saying that "men don't do three, women don't do four", that is, men don't celebrate their birthdays until they are 29, and women don't celebrate their birthdays until they are 40. Some people go out to avoid guests on their birthdays, which is called escaping from life. Some people follow the old adage that "Mother is in the hall, but she doesn't celebrate her birthday". Even if she is sixty or seventy years old, as long as Gao Tang is alive, she will not celebrate her birthday. Her birthday is regarded as a difficult day for her mother, and she only adds vegetables to her mother to thank her for giving birth and raising her.

Grassland marker

Tujia Miao village has the custom of taking grass as a memorial. Straw labels are made of several pieces of grass and are widely used in production, life and trade activities. After sowing in dry land or transplanting rice seedlings in rice fields, they will be marked with the shape of "you" to wish a bumper harvest and care for crops. When weeding, it will be tied to a hoe, when releasing ducks, it will be tied to a tree, and when carrying firewood, it will be tied to a basket for the owner to see. When selling cattle, the straw label is tied to the speaker, and when selling pigs, it is tied to the pig cage, indicating that this cow and this pig are for sale. Cursive script is also the carrier of emotional communication. Young men and women fall in love and form a circular initialling on dating websites to show reunion and courtship. If the woman agrees, tie a silk thread on the straw label, if not, tie two separate straw labels to indicate that they are no longer in contact. If the draft is grass yellow, it means meeting after autumn. Several grasses tied together indicate a meeting, and the number of grasses indicates a meeting in a few days. Crying marriage

In Kangxi 13 of Qing Dynasty, the Qing court implemented the system of changing local officials into local officials. Local officials were no longer appointed or hereditary by the Tusi king, but sent by the feudal court. Since then, the Central Plains culture has entered Xiangxi, and the thousand-year-old customs in Xiangxi have begun to be impacted. Openness, freedom, frankness, frankness, and the free love mode of singing friends and love are beginning to be replaced by "matchmaker's words, parents' orders" and "matching". The marriage and happiness of men and women all their lives depend on the words of parents and matchmakers. Some women have never seen their husbands before they get married. With fear of future life, I can't help crying. At the same time, through crying, I thank my parents for their kindness and neighbors' concern, and describe the brotherhood of brothers and sisters. Parents, elders, brothers and sisters also answered with cries, encouraging women to respect their parents, love their siblings, live in harmony with their neighbors, and often go home to have a look. The climax of crying marriage is to curse the matchmaker and scold him to the teeth. Matchmakers never get angry. Because the matchmaker knows from experience the value of knowing the matchmaker on a woman's wedding night. Tujia people often measure their intelligence by the level of unmarried women's crying marriage.

Drive out zombies

Drive away zombies: Only Xiangxi in the world has this folk custom. Watching ghost movies on TV in Hong Kong and watching ghost movies in mainland video halls, you can see the horror scene of driving away zombies. In ancient times, Xiangxi people were officials, businessmen, students and vagrants in other places. After their death, they refused to be cremated. Their relatives and friends hired Xiangxi wizards to dress the dead in black clothes, pants, socks, shoes and hats. They muttered to themselves and prayed to God to make the stiff body stand up and walk back to their hometown. There are two conditions to drive away zombies: first, it must be at night, where there are few people, and there should not be too much sun during the day; Second, there must be more than three zombies, too few to catch. As for why zombies walk, this is a mystery that no one can solve so far.

Diaojiaolou basket

Miao folk houses in Diaojiaolou, where people of the same family and surname live together in one village, take their surnames as village names, such as Li Jiawan and Xiangjiapo. The residence consists of three parts: the main house, the partial house and the wooden structure building. The main house is generally built with six fans and five rooms, including "three pillars and four chess", "five pillars and eight chess" or "seven pillars and eleven chess". "Seven pillars and eleven chess" big house, ten fans and nine rooms. For people living in mountainous areas, most of the houses with pure wood structure facing south are built by mountains and rivers. The diaojiao building is supported by four pillars, and the beams cross each other. The board above is a suspended attic, and there are suspended corridors on three sides around the building, and there are wooden railings on the side of the corridor. Carve auspicious patterns such as Hui, Xi and Ya on the wooden fence. The fluff can be used to view and dry clothes. Tiles are used as Tai Chi graphics on the attic roof, and the corners are upturned, which is exquisite and elegant. The roof and eaves are paved with mortar, embedded with glass and painted.

The mountains around Wulingyuan are steep and steep, and the roads are rugged, which is inconvenient to carry. Local Tujia, Bai, Miao and other ethnic groups often weave bamboo pieces into long cylindrical baskets as load-bearing tools for production and life. According to different uses, the specifications and manufacture of baskets are also different. Large, rough and durable for production, small and exquisite for life. The firewood basket is made of thick bamboo strips, which is large in shape and surrounded by bamboo pieces. Laundry baskets are carefully selected, carefully woven with bamboo and water, large and small; The dowry basket looks like a laundry basket, but the production process is more elegant. The mouth of the basket is edged with spotted bamboo and green bamboo to show the intercourse of yin and yang, and the middle part is painted with red paint to show celebration. The delicate silk, unique patterns and ingenious patterns show the bride's ingenuity. The child's back is a chair-shaped basket, and the basket frame is made of bamboo and cloth is used as a strap.

Catch up with the new year

There are different legends about the origin of "Catch the Year". Some people say that in the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court sent soldiers to the coastal areas to fight against Japan. On the eve of the Spring Festival, celebrate the Spring Festival ahead of time, and after the group meeting, the soldiers are ready to go out. Some people say that the Hakka king sent troops to attack the Tujia people, and the year is approaching, and the Tujia people celebrated the Spring Festival ahead of schedule and went up the mountain to escape. When the Hakka soldiers stayed in the village for the Spring Festival, the local king ordered the soldiers to kill them when they cried, and they won a great victory. You can't kill a chicken just because it has made meritorious deeds in the New Year. Property was taken away and there was no food. After the Spring Festival, they went up the mountain to hunt wild boar. Some people say that poor Tujia people are heavily in debt, and the rich will come to collect debts at the end of the year, so they will celebrate the New Year in advance and go up the mountain to hide their debts. These statements are closely related to ancient wars and Tujia people's experiences.

Tujia people generally celebrate the Spring Festival one or two days earlier than Han people, and some celebrate it six or seven days earlier, which is called "catching up with the Spring Festival". The time of "catching up with the Chinese New Year" varies according to the surname and clan. Take Youyang County as an example; Peng's surname is in Laozhai Township, and the twelfth lunar month has passed the "catch-up year"; Peng's surname is in Houxi Township, and the twelfth lunar month has passed "catching up with the New Year"; Li in Daxiang and Tanxiang passed the "Catch the Year" on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month. The way of "catching up with the New Year" is not exactly the same. During the Chinese New Year, Li in HKUST and Shatan Township is forbidden to kill chickens and pigs, and it is forbidden to light oil lamps at night. Only candles can be lit all night. When some Peng surnames are already "catching up with the Spring Festival", men have to cook in the morning. When the meal is ready and the ancestors are worshipped, wake the women and children up. After dinner, the whole family went out to play. Tujia people usually cook in one pot. After dinner, they cut the meat, add seasoning, layer after layer of meat, radish and so on. , a pot of cooking. When the "New Year's Eve" is ready, we must sacrifice to our ancestors first. When offering sacrifices, burn incense and candles, burn money and turn paper into paper, kneel three times and knock nine times, miss the merits of ancestors and pray for blessing.