Urgent! The main festivities of the Tujia people

On the night of the 23rd day of Lunar New Year, the God of the Stove is worshipped, and on the next day, a feast is held, called the "Small New Year Reunion". They make food of various colors and give them to each other.

Catch the New Year

The most solemn festival of the Tujia people is the Catch the New Year, that is, according to the lunar calendar, one day earlier than the Han Chinese New Year, the month of the big Lunar New Year in the evening of the twenty-ninth, the month of the small Lunar New Year in the evening of the twenty-eighth.

It is said that during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, the Tujia ancestors were preparing to celebrate the New Year, and the imperial court suddenly issued a decree, transferring soldiers from Hunan and Guangdong to Jiangsu and Zhejiang to fight against the Japanese. In order to make this group of Tujia officers and soldiers, who were going to fight against the Japanese, leave after the New Year, they celebrated the New Year one day earlier.

Now, when the Tujia people celebrate the New Year, their relatives who are far away from home have to go home. The whole family, men and women, young and old, should eat at the same table "New Year's dinner". The New Year's Eve rice steamed in a steamer, and will be lump meat, vermicelli, cabbage, radish, etc. Cooked together to eat, "boiled together vegetables". It is said that when the Tujia officers and soldiers spent New Year's Eve together, the number of people was so large that only a retort was set up to steam the rice. Meat also did not have time to cut fine, had to cut into a pile. As for the other cabbages, turnips, even more time to cut fine, sub-fried, had to be put in the pot to cook into a combined dish, later known as "He Cai". When eating New Year's dinner, the door should be closed to keep outsiders out. Midnight after the hour to start eating, eat until dawn, predicting the coming year more and more prosperous.

March 3

The third day of March of the lunar calendar, also known as the "snake eye", popular in various ethnic groups, the folk believe that the snake's habits are: "March 3, the snake out of the mountain; September 9, the snake into the earth." September 9 every year after the Chongyang Festival, the snake into hibernation, the next year, the jellyfish began to recover, the lunar calendar March 3 out of the hole, people will have March 3 began to prevent the custom of snake.

This custom stems from the legend. In ancient times, there are two poisonous snake spirit, often come out to harm people. When the Jade Emperor learned of this, he sent a fairy to the earth on March 3 to chop the snake spirit, which hid in the eye of the mill, and the fairy picked up a glutinous rice poop and stuffed it into the eye of the mill, blocking the snake spirit.

The women are especially important to this custom, the folk proverb "March do not eat the poop, snake bites the women's home." Tujia folk inherited this custom of two: 1, when the family pull tender artemisia leaves mixed with glutinous rice to do poop to eat, so the proverb cloud: "March 3, do up poop to tie the snake's eye." 2, in the first year of the waxing moon, playing patties, families play tea plate large special type of patties, soaked in a jar, wait until the third of March when baked to eat. The intention is to start the spring into the summer mountainous areas are often infested with poisonous snakes, biting people and animals. So the special patties will be snake holes blocked to prevent snakes from coming out to hurt people, so that the village people in and out of the year to work, safe and sound.

Other Years

On the second day of February, it is the birthday of the Land God.

On the fifth day of the fifth month, there is the Wu Festival.

In July, it is said to be the halfway point of the moon, and it is also called the "Ghost Festival" because it sends away the dead.

July 21, the Black God will carry the Black Master on patrol.

August 15, the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Tujia people go to the winter melon garden to steal melons and give "winter melon children" to the childless couples.

On the 9th day of the 9th month, the Tujia "Tien Zi Hui" is dedicated to the King Tien Zi.

October 16, commonly known as the cold Granny firewood.

November 19, for the birth of the Sun God.

Winter Solstice Festival, the Bai people called ancestor festival.

On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, glutinous rice wine is brewed.

On the 23rd night of the Lunar New Year, the natives sacrificed to the God of Zao and sent their grandfather to heaven.

On the 24th day of the Lunar New Year, it is called the New Year.

On the twenty-eighth day of the Lunar New Year, they wash and purify their bodies for the family gods.

On New Year's Eve, the Tujia celebrate the New Year's Eve. Give the fruit and wood to feed the New Year's dinner. The New Year's Eve is a time to pay homage to the cows. The New Year's Eve is a time for the Tujia to celebrate the New Year by feeding rice to the fruit trees and paying homage to the cows.

October 15, catch "hairy dog". The Lantern Festival is held on the 15th of October.

On the 15th of October, the "hairy dog" is driven.