What are the customs of the Fishing Lantern Festival in Chuwang Village?

Fishing Lantern Festival is a unique traditional folk festival for fishermen along the coast of Yantai Economic and Technological Development Zone, which is mainly spread in more than a dozen fishing villages such as Chujia, Luyang and Bajiao along the 45km coastline. As a sacrificial activity, every year on the 13th and 14th day of the first lunar month, fishermen in Yantai Economic and Technological Development Zone will worship the Dragon King, offer boats and send fishing lanterns, and pray for the sea gods to bless the safety of people and boats in the new year, so that Man Cang, a fishing boat, can make more money every day.

Lights have three meanings. First, take the meaning of rich fish and shrimp; The second is to clarify the significance of the safe return of the escort ship; The third is to let the gods know about people and ships and protect them.

When and how did the "Fishing Lantern Festival" originate? According to the Records of Dengzhou Prefecture (Volume II), the earlier Luyang Village (formerly Luyangzhai) was founded in the 29th year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1396), 6 1 1 year ago. According to Gu Guangxin, 8 1 year-old Gujia Village is located in Houshan, which has a history of 55 1 year. According to his grandfather, every village has a fishing lantern festival, which is an exclusive fishermen's festival differentiated from the Lantern Festival. It is inferred that the "Fishing Lantern Festival" should have originated in the Ming Dynasty, with a history of more than 500 years. Why do some villages in the development zone celebrate the 13th day of the first month and some villages celebrate the "Fishing Lantern Festival" on the 14th day of the first month? According to Ding Yijiang, a 69-year-old fisherman from Luyang Village, Dongwan in Chujia Village at the back of the mountain is a natural fishing port, where fishing boats from the surrounding fishing villages often park for shelter from the wind. In order to pray for the safety of people and boats, the fish and shrimp returned home with full loads, and the fishermen around them raised funds to build the earliest Longwang Temple in this area. With the development of marine fishing and shipping, more and more people are engaged in marine fishing and shipping. During the Lantern Festival, for the late 1930s, around 1938, the Lantern Festival time in Gujia Village and Chujia Village in Houshan was changed to the 13th day of the first month, and the Lantern Festival time in other villages continued to be extended to the 14th day of the old month. The sea gods worshipped by fishermen along the coast of the development zone are "Sea Dragon King" and "Tianhou".

Sacrificial order and basic content of "Fishing Lantern Festival". First of all, the ship owner sent the homemade fishing lamp and ship model to the temple of the sea for worship, praying that Poseidon would use the fishing lamp to guide the fishing boat to return safely, praying that Poseidon would recognize the ship and protect people and ships. Sacrifice the Dragon King and pray for fish and shrimp to fill the cabin and make a fortune safely. Secondly, the ship owner placed offerings at the bow, hung firecrackers on the mast, placed fishing lights at the bow, cabin and stern and lit them. Ready, the captain lit incense, burned paper, and led the people to worship the ship together. Then, the ship owner read auspicious words, spilled wine into the sea, put jiaozi on it, served vegetables and began to offer sacrifices to the ship, and prayed that "fishermen" (also known as sea hag and sea night god) would catch more fish for themselves, so that the net would be full and the cabin would be full. Finally, put a fish lamp on the beach. When the wind is not smooth, put the fishing lamp in the shelter of the sea; When it is calm, put the fishing lamp on the boat model made of sorghum straw (wood used by the rich) and float into the sea with the wind. Give the fishing lamp and fishing boat to Poseidon by turning on the light, and pray that Poseidon will use the light to guide the fishing boat to return safely and rescue those who are shipwrecked.

During the "Fishing Lantern Festival", fishermen's entertainment activities are mainly divided into two forms. First, singing opera in front of the temple, mostly based on old songs such as Beijing Opera. Second, the ports and docks are dominated by self-entertainment activities such as gongs, drums, yangko and dragon dance.

The founder of the Lantern Festival distinguished the Lantern Festival from the traditional Lantern Festival and turned it into a fisherman's own festival. It can be said that the Lantern Festival changed the dependence of fishermen's culture on farming culture. He is a typical representative of fishermen's culture, not only a form of fishermen's sacrifice and blessing, but also an important part of fishermen's folk culture. His distinctive fisherman characteristics and rich cultural connotation can not be covered by other traditional folk culture. Since the reform and opening up, fishermen have vigorously promoted the fisherman's culture, and the Lantern Festival has continued to flourish. It has become an effective carrier for fishermen to publicize and promote fishermen's culture, and has been endowed with new connotations and enriched the forms of activities. Protecting Lantern Festival can not only promote traditional culture, but also enrich people's cultural activities, strengthen cultural exchanges, develop local tourism resources and increase the economic income of local residents.