What are the characteristics of the Lantern Festival in Ninghua, Hakka?

Since the "Yongjia Rebellion" in the Western Jin Dynasty, in the history of 1000 years, whenever there is a war in the Central Plains, a large number of Central Plains people have to move their families to the south, and Ninghua, which is located on the border of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi, is an excellent place to take refuge.

Therefore, it became the gathering center of Han people in the Central Plains and the settlement of Hakkas, and the Tang and Song Dynasties were the cradle of Hakkas. There is a unique cultural phenomenon here, and lantern activities are one of them.

Ninghua Lantern Festival is usually arranged in the first month of each year, and the Lantern Festival is the climax of the annual Lantern Festival. Preparations for such activities are usually convened by householders and housekeepers to raise funds, arrange manpower and material resources and determine the form of activities.

In the activities of Hakka Lantern Festival, clans have high authority. For example, the Lantern Festival outing in the Hakka settlement in Ninghua County started in family ancestral temple, and was carried out in each branch office in turn according to the blood relationship and moral standards of the family, and finally returned to family ancestral temple.

The contents and forms of lanterns in Hakka ancestral land are different in a small scale, and each township and even village has its own unique style and theme color.

The "civil and military lights" in Gaodi village, Zhiping township, Ninghua, commonly known as "knife-closing lights"; Ninghua Huaitu's "high shed lamp"; "archway lamp" on the stone wall of Hakka ancestral land; Ninghua Cao Fang Shihua Village's "Corner Lantern", Ninghua Xiang Yan's "Lantern Festival" and so on.

Hakka ancestral places have strict restrictions on the activities of lanterns, which are almost local and national patents.

Hakka lanterns