Hakka Folklore

The Hakka people are very hospitable, whenever friends and relatives come, they like to treat them with home brewed rice wine, which is also known as "water wine", such as wine extracted from the first open altar, which is called "wine brew". This kind of "wine" is good to drink, although the degree is not high, but it has a strong aftertaste and is easy to get drunk. When they drink, they pay close attention to etiquette.　Hakka people like to use a four-square table, commonly known as the "Eight Immortals Table", a wooden table for eight people to sit together. When seated, they attach great importance to the arrangement of seats, generally according to the inferiority and superiority of relatives and friends into the seat. Between the size of the banquet, is arranged in this way, such as the main hall only a table, then face the door to the left for the first, the right side for the second. Then from left to right, interspersed with the order, facing the main hall on the right side of the smallest. If the arrangement of two tables, this time to the left side of the table for the big, the right side for the small, the size of the seat is also interspersed. If the arrangement of three tables, called the "first-class seat", this case, to the chief as the honor. If the arrangement of five tables, generally should be arranged into the "plum blossom seat".　Banquet between the first back to pour wine (also known as sieve wine), is the order of seniority and seniority of the order of pouring wine, and then finally pour their own wine. After the wine is poured, the mouth of the wine pot can not be on the guests, to their own, otherwise it is rude. When making a toast, the person making the toast should stand up, hold down the chest with his left hand (to show respect and sincerity), raise the cup with his right hand and say a few words of good luck, and drink first to show respect. If someone is late, depending on the situation, he or she will be punished with 1-3 cups of wine, and half a cup for women. If a person leaves the table in the middle of the meal, he or she is required to drink 1-3 cups before leaving the table.　Hakka people drink, in order to add wine and lively atmosphere, in a variety of banquets, or popular, or elegant, or simple, or complicated, there is a custom of guessing the fun. Guessing there are some rules, such as out of three, not the thumb, middle finger, index finger together. Out of one, the thumb should be sideways, not upward. Out of two, such as the use of the thumb, forefinger that, out of the side, can not be like a light barge as forefinger pointing to each other, to show courtesy.　Hakka drinking orders, with a wealth of knowledge. Guessing the number from zero to pick up, such as guessing the total number of fingers out of both sides, that is, the winning party. If both sides at the same time guessed or not guessed, there are also take "four words" called, such as guessing "a" when called "a product high rise"; guessing "two "when called" two and good "; guess" three "when called" three stars high light "; guess" four When guessing "four", it's called "four seasons of wealth"; when guessing "five", it's called "five children"; when guessing "six When guessing "eight", it is called "Eight Immortals Celebrate Their Longevity"; when guessing "nine", it is called "Nine Long Days"; when guessing "ten", it is called "Nine Long Days"; and when guessing "ten", it is called "Nine Long Days". When guessing "nine", it is called "nine long long long"; when guessing "ten", it is called "ten perfect ten beautiful". So the shouting is auspicious.　The Hakka people have a lot of wine orders, and cultured people also like "word orders" (including local specialties, agricultural proverbs, etc.), "poetry orders", in addition to "general orders" (mostly original), involving interesting and amusing. They also include riddles, and so on.) In addition, there are also the "Tongling" (which is mostly unique, involving fun and making people laugh), including riddles. Hakka people like to drink through the rules of the wine, the masses of this popular entertainment games, add to the wine, to eliminate loneliness and tiredness, until the full joy of all drunkenness.

The Hakka "Chongjiu" custom

Hakka language "nine" and "long" homophonic, so the Hakka people to "nine", as "auspicious" symbol, "Chongjiu" custom. Hakka people to build a new house, usually pick the day related to nine, such as the first nine, eighteen and so on. The number of floors and rooms of the building is also a multiple of nine, that you can live together for a long time *** place." Nine" in the Hakka marriage in the marriage is particularly important, men and women kissing, post exchange, generally choose the day with nine related to the bride-price to the end of the number of "nine", such as 1999 yuan, to meet the bride's team to make up 9 people, all gifts to 9 parties for good luck. Hakka birthday, life to do 81 or 360, the use of the dish are dark cut "three, six, nine", such as three fresh soup, dog stew (Dog Kai nine), leeks and tofu, Chung Yeung (JiuJiu) life cake and so on.　Because nine and leek resonance, children break the school enlightenment are to eat leeks. Hakka songs also use leek oracle nine, such as: "Swallow mud over the nine rivers, the sister sends Lang out of the countryside, the ninth of September, leeks, the two fellowship for a long, long time." Hakka people on the importance of nine, but also manifested in the first nine months as a good day. After the Spring Festival, go out to work, business people generally have to the first nine days before leaving home, looking forward to in the new year, good luck, prosperity and development. Festivals and Customs

Major Festivals

Hakka CustomsThe customs of the Hakka people broadly include national traditional yearly festivals and customs, local worship and rituals.　☆ Spring Festival: There are New Year's worship, amusement activities, etc., and it is the grandest festival.　☆ Spring Festival: The first day of spring.　☆ Lantern Festival: The 15th day of the first month is the traditional Chinese folk Lantern Festival. At the Lantern Festival, people eat Lanterns, play with Lanterns, enjoy Lanterns, and guess Lantern riddles.　☆February 2: The festival of the opening of the main festival.　☆ Ching Ming: Hakka grave-sweeping custom mostly starts from the spring equinox and reaches its climax at Ching Ming.　☆Duanwu (Dragon Boat Festival): Commonly known as the May Festival or Duanyang Festival in Hakka. The main elements of the festival are eating zongzi (rice dumplings), xionghuang wine, and dragon boat races.　☆ July Festival: Also known as the Ghost Festival.　☆Mid-Autumn Festival: Commonly known as the August Festival. Customs such as eating mooncakes and enjoying the moon are generally the same everywhere.　Chongyang Festival: The Hakka people call it the "September Festival".　☆ Winter Solstice: Hakka people say that "winter is more important than the New Year".　☆ fasting day: for a small number of Hakka people; in April 20 non-Hui fasting day

Main rituals

Marriage rituals Matchmaking In the past, Hakka male and female young people, after the age of sixteen years old can be entrusted to the matchmaker, the introduction of the marriage. In the past, Hakka young men and women could ask a matchmaker to introduce them to each other after the age of sixteen. Generally, the parents of the man's family would ask the matchmaker to go to the woman's family to talk to them, or the woman's family would ask the matchmaker to visit the man's family.　Look at the sisterhood of men and women through the centralized media, such as both sides are interested in, will agree on a time to "look at the sisterhood".　Write gung post After both sides agreed, we should tell each other the birthdate of men and women. Go back, each asked the fortune-teller to "eight characters". If the eight characters are compatible, will not collide with each other, write out the gung sticker (commonly known as wedding list), each placed on top of the incense case, such as three days without ominous signs, the marriage will be finalized (such as eight characters do not match, the male party to the female gung sticker sent back to the female family).　The red list is also known as the "open red wedding invitation", or the speaking of wealth gift. By the male parents, relatives and matchmakers to the woman's home, the man will be given to the woman's home to open the gift of wealth out. Some of the red list should also be written back to the son-in-law gifts, such as hats, silver flowers, clothes, shoes, socks and so on. Open red list process, the two sides will bargain, and finally negotiated finalized. After the opening of the red list, men and women have to exchange tokens such as rings, handkerchiefs and so on. Finally, the man comes to the woman's home to eat lunch and go back. The betrothal is also known as "performing the ceremony", which means that the marriage is once again formally finalized. Young men and their parents go to the girl's home and send pig's head, fish, meat, etc., and the girl's parents, brothers and sisters-in-law, uncles, grandparents, etc., all make an appearance. After lunch, the girls should come out to meet and call the parents of the man's family as parents, and the parents of the two families should call each other in-laws and in-laws' mothers.　Look at the family that is, the woman to the male side to see the family, some time in the "line ceremony" before, and some in the "ceremony" after the woman to go in addition to the girl and her parents, aunts and sisters, sisters and so on to go, large and small dozen of people, do not bring a gift is to bring a little bit of the man's house. The male family did not dare to accept.　Send the day after the wedding is set, the man should ask the fortune-teller to choose the day of the door, including the bride out of the day, the hour, to the male home after returning to the door of the hour, in addition to the female party cut red clothes, the male side of the day of the bed should also be selected at the same time.　Delivering food and lifting dowry One or two days before the bride's passing, the male family should ask the relatives of the bridegroom to send the bride price specified in the red list and fish, meat, poultry, noodles, etc. to the female family by more than ten people, and then bring the trousseau, furniture, etc. back to the male family when they return.　Welcoming the bride is also called receiving the bride or passing through the door. The day before the wedding date, the male family to go to the female family more than ten people to receive the bride, there are drummers band, firecrackers, sedan chair, there are burning incense (to the female ancestral hall, temples, the community to burn incense), a picket, one head to pick the road chicken (a male and a female), the other end of the wine and pine pine Ming, a woman to take the bride to wear the clothes, there are two people to carry the wooden suitcase to carry fish, meat, wine, cakes, cigarettes, firecrackers, candles, etc., matchmakers also have to go to the matchmaker to bring back the trousseau, furniture and so on. And other things, the matchmaker should also go, the groom, some go, some do not go, such as the groom to go with the groom, the groom should also do sedan chair, firecrackers is the male plenipotentiary, accompanied by a red envelope, twenty.　Receiving the bride to the woman's home, first eat snacks, and then by the woman's family two people led to the ancestral shrine to burn incense to honor their ancestors. At noon or in the evening, the woman's family will host a banquet for guests.　Bride move is generally in the middle of the night at dawn or dawn, the more you go, the brighter the sky, symbolizing towards the light, and then go out at night, and will not come across lifting the coffin and other unlucky things. Meet the bride team in front of the lantern, followed by drummers, sedan chair in the middle, behind the people receiving the bride.　The bride arrives at the man's home, such as not yet the required entry hour, we must wait at the gate on the ping or outside the door next to the house. Entry is generally seven or eight o'clock in the morning or eight or nine o'clock, and some even have to wait until noon. To the hour of entry, the bride to kick the sedan chair door, by the male bridesmaids will lead the bride out of the sedan chair, and then in front of the gate, "over the fire", the bride from the cedar branches burned on the fire across the door before entering.　After the bride enters the hall to the sound of drums and music, she begins to pay her respects. The hall is set up with incense burners, and parents and elders stand on the east side, relatives on the west side, relatives on the north side, and juniors on the south side. Before paying homage to the bridegroom, the outer family will hang a red, five-foot-long red cloth draped over the bridegroom.　Mouth reads: "Take the streamer red five feet long, a heart to play the groom, play the groom to give birth to a noble son, early birth to a noble son in a scholar." Worship, the groom stood left, the bride stood right, by the ceremony called: a worship of heaven and earth, two worship ancestors, three worship high hall, four couples to worship.　At noon, the wedding banquet is held, and the guests are invited with loud ground artillery, which is set off every half hour, and three times when the banquet begins. Then, the ceremony student will sign up for a list of two seats at a table, according to seniority and affinity, the first to arrange for the first seat, and then other people will be seated at random. The male and female guests are seated separately, and the bride and groom make a toast at the table.　Haunted room Haunted room in the hall, a kind of haunting in the new room, but also first in the hall after the new room haunted. During the haunted house, firecrackers are set off every few minutes, and the haunting stops at midnight.　Back to the door, also known as "turn the door". Generally the third or fifth day after the wedding, by the female party to send the bride's sisters and other female relatives to invite the bride and groom to go together as guests, the matchmaker and the groom's sisters also went, **** 7-14 people, ate a luncheon, back on the day.　Send the full moon One month after the wedding, the bride's family to send the full moon, while sending chickens, vegetables, seeds, cereal seeds, beans, etc., signaling a good harvest, prosperity.　Often the mother-in-law will be strict on the daughter-in-law ~ 3 days after the marriage to start working traditional festive customs 1. birth rituals urged to marry the daughter of the pregnancy is about to give birth to a baby is generally born one, twenty days before the birth of the mother's family to bring chickens, eggs, noodles, dried flour, etc. came to the daughter's home "urged to give birth to", there is a wish for the birth of a safe meaning. If the mother is no longer there, the sister-in-law will go to urge the birth, and a banquet will be held at noon.　2. Coming-of-Age Ceremonies The coming-of-age ceremonies of the Hakka are divided into two types: the coming-of-age ceremony for men is called the "Crown Ceremony", and the coming-of-age ceremony for women is called the "Maturity Ceremony". (Hakka adult rites are commonly known as "out of the garden") Life celebration When celebrating life, married daughters should send a large rooster, but also to send birthday clothes, birthday hats, birthday cakes, birthday shoes, birthday socks, a whole set of head-to-toe, the father's birthday, but also to send a whole set of the mother, and in addition to send the birthday axis, happy guns, birthday candles, roosters, as well as birthday peaches, birthday noodles, birthday cakes, birthday wine, birthday meat and so on. Other people to wish life, general friends and relatives to send hanging scrolls, longevity couplets, or plus send gifts.　Many places, seventy years old or older, more grandchildren, better-off elderly birthday, to hold a birthday ceremony.　Hakka birthday and birthday wishes, is to know their own gifts, door-to-door congratulations, first congratulations after the invitation; in addition to relatives, close friends with invitations, not congratulations, not please.　4. building a house and moving to a new home Hakka people to build a house and moving to a new home is also considered one of the major celebrations, to be celebrated.　When building a house, the positioning of the house, the door to the direction of Mr. Geomancy to determine the erection of columns and beams, to be decorated with lanterns and red couplets. After the completion of the new house, the night before the house, "drive away the evil spirits", "in addition to the brake", before moving into the residence.　Guangdong Jiexi Hakka area before moving to a new home to ask the Sagittarius "pick up the day" (i.e., auspicious day and time, the auspicious day is more for the end of the year, auspicious time for the night), set up in the new home gate eight immortal table, set the banquet, hosted by the Sagittarius, please, such as the God of the Door, the land, and other gods, and three generations of ancestors to come and enjoy the, known as the "worship of the God of the door! "(If you don't "worship the god of the door", you will be called "living on borrowed time"). Then, the land deed written by a fortune-teller is incinerated, and the gods and ancestors are informed that this place is already owned by the owner. After the gods and ancestors have finished eating, paper money is burned and firecrackers are set off. Afterwards, the head of the family carries a hot charcoal stove, and each member of the family carries new kitchen utensils and other small items (or a hen and a brood of chicks if the family is small, to symbolize the prosperity of the family), and passes through every part of the new house.　The next morning, the daughter-in-law of the same clan came early to help "ring tea" (local Hakka people to receive guests of food), making dumplings, to receive friends and relatives to come to congratulate, and at noon to prepare a banquet to entertain friends and relatives. There are many rituals and ceremonies, which are roughly described.　Traditional New Year's Customs The Hakka people, like most of the rest of the country, regard the New Year's Eve as the most solemn and joyful festival of the year. People start preparing for the New Year very early. In September and October, they start drying sweet potato chips and rice cakes for deep-frying and stir-frying in the New Year. Once the "winter solstice" arrives, they start to steam wine. On the 30th day of the New Year, families steam rice cakes, make rice crackers, kill pigs, make bean curd and slaughter chickens to celebrate the arrival of the New Year.　New Year's Eve, the 30th day of the Lunar New Year, is the day when the atmosphere of the New Year is the most enthusiastic and joyful. On the morning of this day, every family pays homage to the Bodhisattva and the gods. On the 30th day of the Lunar New Year, each family hall should hang up the portrait of the ancestors, put up bright red spring couplets at the main entrance, and put up red paper strips on the barn door, in front of the livestock pen, on the furniture and beds, as well as on the side of the water tanks, which is called "sealing the year of the year", or "on the red". Adults and children should take a bath, put on new clothes, clean for the New Year. The halls of the family should also be furnished with tables, incense, chicken, fish, meat, fruit, etc., in honor of the ancestors.　On the evening of New Year's Eve, we have a reunion dinner with plenty of dishes. Several pairs of chopsticks and bowls are placed on the table to show that the ancestors are invited back to celebrate the New Year together. Before the meal, wine is sifted for the ancestors and spilled on the floor, and then the meal begins. During the meal, the elderly and children eat chicken legs to show respect for the elderly and the young.　The New Year Observance After the reunion meal, the stove should be washed and cleaned in preparation for the vegetarian meal in the morning or throughout the day on the first day of the New Year. At night, to keep the New Year's Eve, resign the old year and welcome the new year, every room should be brightly lit all night long, which is called "pointing the New Year's Eve fire", and in some places, cattle pens and pigsties should be illuminated as well. Parents have to give children New Year's money, and in some places, they also have to give the old man New Year's money.　Open the gate On the first day of the first month, the gate is opened according to the auspicious hour stipulated in the "Tongshu", and the sound of firecrackers is heard all the time, resounding in the sky.　Paying New Year's Respects On the first day of the first month, people eat vegetarian food in the morning. After the meal, people pay New Year's greetings to each other with auspicious words. Children wear new clothes and play happily. Some of them compete to pay New Year's greetings to the elders: "Uncle Gong's family is rich, take candy and cakes and fruits to the end of the line."　On the second day of the first month of the Lunar New Year, we pay our respects to our relatives. In particular, newlywed son-in-laws (the family in-laws will invite with a book sticker) should go to their parents-in-law's home to pay homage to the New Year. Generally, the two go together, or only the son-in-law goes alone; some come back on the same day, and some stay for five or six days. To go with a small hen, rice fruit, candy and incense, firecrackers, etc., to burn incense, candles, firecrackers, etc., in front of the ancestors in the house of Yue burn incense, light candles, firecrackers. At noon, the in-laws invited, son-in-law to get drunk, not drunk and not enthusiastic.　Eat year-old rice The morning of the third day of the year to eat "year-old rice" (some years ago on the evening of the twenty-ninth day of steaming, some of the first two nights of the first month of steaming), the rice inserted chopsticks, a few people at home on the insertion of several pairs of, and then inserted into a leafy tree branches, some also put on the orange, pomelo and other fruits. Before eating the rice, the rice is first placed on the "day of the gods" to offer it to the gods and ancestors. Eat rice to prepare a lot of food, chicken and meat, and the New Year's Eve to eat a reunion dinner is almost the same. On the third day of the Lunar New Year, chickens must be killed on the second day of the Lunar New Year or left behind for the Lunar New Year.　The gods of the Hakka villages in the Chaoshan area (including the Chaoshan villages) will invite the gods of the villages and temples on a fixed day at the beginning of each year, and form a procession of tens of people, or as many as one or two hundred people, to visit the gods and beat gongs and drums to pass through the streets and alleys. The gods are asked to bless every household in the village (almost all of the gods here are the Sanshan King, the patron saint of Chaoshan).　On the fifth day of the first month of the Lunar New Year, it is time to leave the New Year boundary. On the fifth day of the first month, the ancestors' portraits in the halls are put away, the paper door curtains are taken down and burnt, and those who go out to work are allowed to leave.　The seventh day of the first month, to eat "seven kinds of dishes", here the "seven kinds of dishes" refers to the pure vegetarian dishes seven samples added together and fried.　That is, the tea [4], the Hakka people are in the day to eat tea, with seven kinds of vegetarian dishes to enjoy Lantern Festival Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month, also known as the "on the Yuan Festival", families to prepare dishes, drinking for the New Year. The Lantern Festival is the culmination of the New Year's festivities.　From the beginning of the New Year to the first month of the fifteenth, all over the amusement activities, in order to tour dragon lanterns, lion dance for more, some from the first day of the first month, the second from the beginning of the activities. Before the dragon lanterns and lion dancers arrive, they send out posters in advance, and when they arrive, they are given red packets and snacks. In addition to performing at each house, the dragon lanterns and lion teams also visit temples and ancestral halls in the village to pay homage to the gods and ancestors. On the first market day after the Spring Festival, all dragon lanterns, boat lanterns and lion lanterns go to the market to perform, which is called the "opening of the market". During the Spring Festival and the Lantern Festival, there are also some fun activities as follows: Sending Spring Cow Generally on the first day of the New Year, a small team of three or five people will send the Spring Cow to each household, with suona players, drummers and cymbal players, blowing and playing at the entrance of each house, and sending red stickers with the words "Happy New Year", and the owner will give the red packet.　Boat Lanterns The lanterns resemble boats and are performed on land. They are rehearsed before the Chinese New Year, and the gongs and drums are played ten times. After arriving at the village, they eat snacks and perform in the open space, with boatmen and boatwomen singing "October Fertility", "December Ancient" and "Melon Seeds", The boatman and the boatwoman sing tunes such as "October Childbirth", "December Ancient", "Melon Seed Nuts", "One Flower" and so on, while the boatman just rows the boat without singing. In the evening to be in the ancestral hall "Kai Tianguan", singing "Tianguan Zhifu" and so on, and finally drink and eat.　Lion lights Nuo people appear, a lion head, a lion tail, a monkey, a sand monk, and drums and drums team. After the lion, monkey, sand monk singing, to perform martial arts, boxing, dancing knives, playing sticks, jumping tables. The lion team has to hire a master to coach the martial arts before the New Year.　Vernal Equinox On the vernal equinox of February, tomb-sweeping and ancestor worship begins, also known as the "spring festival". Tomb-sweeping is preceded by a grand ancestral rite in the ancestral hall, killing pigs, slaughtering goats, asking drummers to play, reading the rituals by ritualists, and performing the ritual of three offerings with a guide. At the beginning of the Spring Equinox Tomb Sweeping, the first thing to do is to sweep the graves of the founding ancestor and the distant ancestor, and the whole clan and the whole village will be mobilized on a very large scale, with the team often amounting to several hundred or even thousands of people. After the graves of the founding ancestors and distant ancestors are swept, then the ancestors' graves are swept in different houses, and finally the private graves of each family are swept. In most Hakka areas, spring ancestor sweeping starts at the spring equinox or earlier, and is completed by Qingming at the latest. There is a saying that the door to the tomb will be closed after Ching Ming, and the spirits of the ancestors will not be used.　Ching Ming March Ching Ming, ancestor worship. In addition to the spring equinox tomb-sweeping and ancestor worship in most Hakka areas, there are also some places where tomb-sweeping is done at Qingming. On Qingming Day, there are also some places that offer sacrifices to the gods and goddesses of the land and the gods and goddesses of the land.　Dragon Boat Festival On the fifth day of the fifth month, the Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated, and families buy meat, kill ducks, make rice dumplings and rice fruits for the festival. The Dragon Boat Festival is a big festival, and many people who work outside the home come home to celebrate the festival.　Mid-Yuan Festival The Hakka region mostly celebrates the 15th of July as the "Ghost Festival". In some places, the festival is celebrated one day earlier, which is called "July 14th is for people, July 15th is for ghosts". In some places, the Hakka also pay homage to their ancestors on the half of July.　Mid-Autumn Festival The Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15, commonly known as the "August Festival", is also a big festival. Mooncakes are eaten, the moon is viewed, and reunions are celebrated. Families buy food and wine, buy pork, slaughter chickens and ducks, and make rice and fruit for the festival. In the evening of the Mid-Autumn Festival, families get together to celebrate the festival, and after the meal, they eat mooncakes and enjoy the moon.　Chrysanthemum Festival The 9th day of the 9th month is the Chrysanthemum Festival, also known as the Chrysanthemum Festival, commonly known as the "September Festival", which is a big festival at the end of the year, and there is a saying that "after the Chrysanthemum Festival, there are no big festivals", and a lot of people out of the house have to rush back home to celebrate the festival. On this day, people in many places have to take their children to climb mountains, some flying kites on the mountains, which is said to be able to avoid evil spirits and epidemics. Many old people say that this custom was brought by their ancestors from the central plains in the north and has been passed down from generation to generation. On this day, some old men and women go to the mountains to burn incense and worship Buddha.　Winter Solstice The winter solstice is celebrated in the eleventh month of the lunar calendar and is also known as the "winter year". The winter solstice is also called the "winter year", and people eat pork and beef, make rice crackers, cook soup balls, and eat deer antler and ginseng to make up for the winter.　Folk Entertainment Hakka folk entertainment is very rich in content, the main festivals are rice-planting songs, dragon boat races, stepping on boat lanterns, dragon lanterns, lion dances, high-footed division, welcoming lanterns, stepping on the lanterns, playing drums, musical instruments will be performed, theater, fireworks, usually sing songs, singing a song, play the qin, play zheng, play the erhu, play the flute, play chess, play chess, playing cards, throw the sign of the top dog, play mahjong, raising flowers, fishing, and so on.