The Historical Origin of Tian Heng Sea Festival

Sacrificing to the sea is a fisherman's culture with unique regional characteristics created by fishermen in their long-term farming, grazing and fishing life. Every year around Grain Rain, fishermen choose an auspicious day to put their fishing nets on board after they are ready to repair their boats and buy fishing gear, so they begin to worship the sea, so it is also called "surfing the Internet". Experts made textual research on ancient cultural sites in Tian Heng. As early as the Neolithic Age 6000 years ago, our ancestors made a living by fishing and hunting in Tianheng. At that time, due to the limited level of understanding, people could not explain the mysterious phenomenon of nature and were deeply awed by the sea. When they went fishing at sea, they all prayed for peace to Poseidon. During the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, with the gathering of local population, villages gradually formed, and the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the sea began to take shape. In the early years of the Republic of China, the worship of Poseidon in Tian Heng was organized by families or ship groups. Sacrificing to the sea, like the traditional Chinese New Year, is the most lively day in the fishing village. With the improvement of production capacity, the popularization of science and technology and the change of fishermen's ideas, on the basis of retaining the traditional festival form, the worship of the ocean has gradually changed from praying for the safety of Poseidon to yearning and longing for a better life, forming a unique folk festival-Ocean Worship Festival.