Customs of Hongze Spring Festival

Before the establishment of New China, the fishermen of Hongze Lake lived a "tribal" life in a semi-closed environment. There was no intermarriage between land and water, no marriage between fishermen and farmers, and most marriages took place within the fishermen's gangs, and the marriage ceremonies were very simple. Fishermen did not realize the land settlement before, each family only a small production, life and use of "even family fishing boat", year-round drifting, in addition to the clothes and jewelry when married without any cabinet furniture. The marriage program is also simpler than on land.

Hongze Lake fishermen married usually have to go through the following procedures:

Three boundaries of the contract: is the so-called matchmaker post, is the betrothal procedures in the voucher. Is the matchmaker by the proposed marriage of the two ends of the matchmaker, on the basis of the parents of both sides to recognize and consult their children, please matchmakers and water children (altar head) and so on, according to the birthdays of men and women of the marriage, with the five elements of the dry branch of the projected yin and yang eight characters, the matchmaker to ask someone to write a good big red wedding post, by the four matchmakers to pass the exchange of the geng post. Matchmakers four, preferably a man and a woman of the perfect couple. Because of this birth of geng matchmaking post written on the marriage of men and women parents and matchmaker's name, fishermen commonly known as the "three worlds of the contract".

Four water gift: is the fishermen on the bride price of the title, mainly jewelry, clothing, food three categories. Jewelry is mostly silver, copper, jade and so on, clothing must be red cotton jacket, red shoes, red pants, by the male family to choose an auspicious day to ask the four matchmakers with color boat to the female family, called "new clothes". Food, there are "double knife meat" (rib meat in the middle of a knife) two, the front leg of seven pounds, eight pounds of the back leg, with a pig's heart, called "even heart meat. A pair of fresh carp and two live roosters to symbolize the prosperity of the dragon and phoenix. Four bottles of sorghum wine, four catties of vermicelli, four catties of noodles, to show deep love. All kinds of cakes and fruits twelve packages, each package of four taels, which should have red dates, lotus seeds (or chestnuts), wishing to tie the knot, get your son, step by step.

Palanquinquin boat: palanquin boat is equivalent to the land marriage sedan chair, generally choose a small canopied boat or fishing operations with a small rowboat, decorative usually tied in front of the boat on the colorful door, in the boat, the helm hung on the red cloth and colorful balls.

According to traditional customs, regardless of the distance between the two pro-family boat and the size of the wind and waves, the sedan chair boat before dawn to the women's side of the boat, the women's home firecrackers on the groom on the bride's home boat, and the groom deliberately dawdling, and again and again, but not the boat, the purpose is to urge the make-up until the groom to see the bride made up, the bridegroom and the bride in the bridegroom and bridesmaid's support under the bride's home boat with the bride's saffron on board the sedan chair boat. Because the fishermen's rules to welcome the bride in the concept of the hour is very strong, must be in the dawning of the bride will be welcomed back, the sun out of the lake when the bride to cross the boat into the happy cabin (room), the fishermen of the old "c not pass the light, the dawning of the rising sun, full of joy" of the ancient style. Dawei is the rising sun is just about to erupt from the lake, meaning that life after marriage, such as the rising sun, red-hot.

Marriage make-up is the first major event in the marriage of a daughter, the bride make-up is called "on the new clothes". "On the new dress" when you want to ask the full blessing (children and grandchildren) of the matchmaker red to help the bride make-up, and said "on the dress order", the content of the word order is interesting and diverse. There is a unique custom for the bride of a fisherman's family to dress in cotton regardless of the season, and to wear a mirror on her red belt. Fishermen believe that the bride to wear more, the future days of the rich. Red belt on the mirror can drive away evil spirits to protect the peace. Bridal makeup, the newlyweds bid farewell to the bride's parents, accompanied by the bridesmaids and groomsmen on the sedan chair, and by the groomsmen and bridesmaids for them to play red umbrellas in the sound of firecrackers and music to start the sedan chair. Along the way in the sound of firecrackers will be the bride received in-laws happy boat side, has been wrapped in red cloth red springboard (also known as magpie bridge) on the palanquin boat, the bride in the drums and boat order by the bride to carry the bride over the happy boat, in a number of guests in a happy sound, the bride was embraced into the happy cabin. The bride-rider to do the bed-making ceremony and sing the bed-making order, and then peanuts, cakes and fruits, dates and chestnuts and other fruits to spread the cabin (spread the tent), also for the spread of the cabin order, the lyrics are: "a happy cabin into the joy of joy, the fairy in the room is so beautiful, the night pearl, skillfully painted beams, red clothes, red red red was red full of cabin. Calling for Qiu Xiang and Hai Tang, I will bring a fruit plate to the cabin. I will be rich in glory and wealth, I will be full of gold and jade, I will be happy in three, I will be happy in everything, I will be happy in five, I will have a smooth sailing, I will have a bride in seven, I will have a mighty wind in eight, I will be a long-lasting husband and wife, and I will have a full set of children and grandchildren, and I will play with the mandarin ducks on the lake of Hongze."

The newlyweds ate the same opening cake, drink the same opening tea, the bride and groom began to greet each other, hand in hand, sitting on the bed, *** drink the same wine (cup wine), a worship parents (in-laws), worship boat (dragon) head, worship the God of the wind and water God. Then the groom with the bride back to the boat to visit her family.

Returning to the ship: equivalent to the return of the land, the day the newlyweds accompanied by the mother's home grandmother Quanfu home to visit their parents and friends who have not yet dispersed, and have a morning and afternoon meal in the mother's home. This day the newlyweds to and from the time is tight, the two wedding luncheon are not accompanied by guests wine, back to the boat to return to the time must be midday to the in-laws, symbolizing their future life "as the sun", prosperous.

Double Fish: the equivalent of land after the wedding will kiss. That is, in the evening of the day of the marriage of men and women, the bride's parents and major relatives invited home, set up a banquet hospitality, both in-laws sit at separate tables, men with men, women with women. The "double hit fish" is the guests and hosts in the fish, both in-laws at the same time, respectively, a pair of large carp rowing (fins) on the largest thorns pick out, called "in-laws double hit fish".

Happy Wine Order: Wine order is a special feature of fishermen's weddings, as are other words in the wedding program. In the same way, the joyful wine order is also a scene in the wedding. Every action at the banquet is accompanied by a phrase of varying lengths to help the spirits flow. There are many kinds of wine orders, such as hand towel order, running order, Penny (chopsticks) order, spoon (soup spoon) order, wine pot order, cup order, tea order, wine order, fish order, thank you for the kitchen order, honoring the guest order, etc. The close relatives and friends attending the banquet also have their own orders, such as the order to eat fish, the order to thank the cook, and the order to honor the guest. The close relatives and friends who go to the banquet are both husband and wife to come to congratulate, and some of them also bring three or four delicious and characteristic dishes to add color to the main family.

Fishermen's wedding in the makeup, over the boat, back to the boat, doubles the fish, guests feast and all the procedures are organized in a day, the so-called "three Sesame a fight".

After the founding of New China, after a series of social changes, change of customs, marriage etiquette is also changing. As fishermen settled on land, their habits gradually merged with those on land.

The reason why the marriage customs of fishermen in Hongze Lake have been handed down to the present day lies in its simplicity and frugality without losing the festive atmosphere. It is worth advocating in today's construction of a frugal society.

Hongze Lake fishermen's wedding customs, although simple, thrifty, lively. But with the development of society, especially with the continuous improvement of people's living standards, the lake fishermen gradually built on land settlement, this change in the living environment, breaking the fishing and land is not intermarriage, fishing and agriculture are not married to the old custom, the land marriage customs are also integrated into the fishermen's wedding ceremony, the traditional fishermen's wedding customs gradually washed out.

Hongze Lake fishermen's marriage customs on the study of the Huaihe River Basin and Hongze Lake area folk culture and modern history has a special cultural value.