Jiangsu ethnic customs

First of all, engagement

In the old society, before a man got married, his parents asked the matchmaker to propose to the woman. If the woman's parents agree, write the date and time of the girl's birth on the red post (Geng post). There is a red envelope on the coat, and there are two dates, peanuts, longan and lotus seeds in the envelope, which means the auspicious meaning of pairing, early (jujube) (peanut) and expensive (longan) seeds (lotus seeds). Red and green silk thread is also used to tie Taiping money and Fuyu money and let them go, so as to get peace and happiness and firmly tie the marriage. The envelope says "a match made in heaven". After Geng Tie was invited back, the man asked the matchmaker to propose to her orally. After you get the promise, you can issue a proposal, which is called "asking for permission". When the woman agreed, she gave a consent post and formally got engaged, which used to be called "engagement". After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), the custom of engagement was gradually replaced by free love.

Second, marriage.

In the old society, before getting married, the man asked the cashier for invitations, gifts and ornaments, commonly known as "tea ceremony". After receiving the invitation, the woman replied to the invitation and the gift. Then the man chooses the wedding date and asks the matchmaker to inform the woman, commonly known as "seeing off the grandson". On the wedding day, the wedding is held first, and the matchmaker leads people to deliver the bride's dress (commonly known as "seven dresses") and fish, meat, wine, fruit and other things to the woman's home. The bride's dowry is sent to the man's house by the matchmaker. After the dowry arrives at the man's house, the groom takes a sedan chair and goes to the woman's house to meet the bride. There are two wedding cars, one for the groom and the other for the bride. When the new son-in-law arrived at his wife's house, her parents gave a banquet and called it "please son-in-law". After the banquet, the new son-in-law bid farewell to her parents-in-law and got into the sedan chair. Daughters are often carried on the sedan chair by their fathers or brothers, commonly known as "carrying on the sedan chair". The sedan chair arrived at the man's house and stopped in front of the hall. An old couple opened the sedan chair door with their children and grandchildren, and the bride and groom both got off the sedan chair, offering sacrifices to heaven first and then to heaven. After the ceremony, the best man mixed into the bridal chamber. When entering the house, one person spreads two cloth bags on the ground in turn to let the new people walk, which is called "handed down from generation to generation". Some use red felt instead of cloth bags. Then the bride and groom go out to meet their parents, salute the guests, and then go back to the bridal chamber to have a lovesickness banquet and raise a glass. At this time, the red candle burned very high in the bridal chamber. Every dish on the acacia banquet should be left, which means that the guests can't finish eating at the same time. After the banquet, the guests went into the new house and made trouble in it. Finally, the couple went to bed. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, wedding etiquette was greatly simplified. Some units hold group weddings, while others hold tourist weddings.

Third, the remaining ceremony after marriage

On the second morning of an auspicious day, after the bride washes her hands, she goes to visit her in-laws, who will reward her with ornaments or money, which is called "meeting money". Then visit the elders and guests in turn. When meeting peers and younger generations, bowing and giving gifts to each other is called "reunion ceremony". At noon, the in-laws sit facing south, and the newlyweds sit facing north, accompanied by their families, eating at the same table, which is called "reunion dinner". In the afternoon, the groom took the bride to the woman's house to visit her parents-in-law and her elders, and brought dried fruits such as sugar, tea, lotus plums and longan, commonly known as "double doors". The parents and elders of the woman will reward the new son-in-law with the money they meet. Then my parents-in-law gave a banquet to invite my new son-in-law. When I got home, my parents-in-law also sent cakes and fruits, saying that I would "send them home for filial piety". On the third day after the auspicious day, the woman's father, uncle, brother, etc. They all went to the man's house, and the groom's father went out to meet them in person. After entering the house, the bride comes out to visit him and then gives a banquet. This is called "marriage". At this point, the wedding etiquette is over. When the bride is married for 1 month or meets her birthday, she usually presents something as a congratulations, which is called "full moon" or "birthday". On the Dragon Boat Festival in the first year after the newlyweds get married, the woman's family will make summer clothes and send zongzi, handkerchiefs, fans and other things to her son-in-law, which is called "sending summer clothes". In the year of their wedding, every spring, summer, autumn and winter and important festivals, such as Qingming Festival, Duanyang Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, winter solstice and Spring Festival, the new son-in-law will give gifts to her parents-in-law in time, which is the so-called "four seasons and eight festivals".

Shouqing

People in Wuxi celebrate their birthdays not on their birthdays, but during the Spring Festival. If parents are over 60 years old, their children should celebrate their parents' birthdays, and then celebrate them every 10 years/time. The 60th birthday celebration is called the first celebration of flowers. The seventieth birthday and eightieth birthday are called seventieth birthday and eightieth birthday respectively, and they are also called Rong Qing with seven products and eight products. If parents or grandparents are the same age, they are called twins. When relatives and friends come for birthdays, they usually don't send money as gifts, but send birthday wishes, birthday couplets or birthday wine, cakes, dried fruits and fruits. Elegant people will receive birthday gift boxes with steamed bread, cakes, noodles, candles and peaches, which are called birthday plates. Generally, the number of longevity plates should be paired for good luck. In recent years, sending cakes is a fashion.

When celebrating birthdays, we should pay attention to hanging the birthday hall. The display of Shoutang is usually a portrait of Shou Xingtu or pine and cypress hanging in the middle, and couplets are hung on both sides of the nave. Some of the couplets are written by themselves, and some are ordered from painting shops (or painting and calligraphy shops). Most of them choose ready-made congratulations. There is an altar with birthday candles on it in front of Shoutang. Hang silk spoons on both sides. The words "Longevity" or "Longevity is better than Nanshan Mountain" cut with gold paper are pasted on the middle silk basket. Have a birthday party on your birthday. A snack is a peach made of rice flour or flour. Eating noodles instead of rice is called "longevity noodles". If parents die before their birthdays or under the age of 60, rich people often celebrate their parents' birthdays and then hold them every 10 years.

funeral

When the old man is dying, his children should wait beside him. When the old man is dying, give him (her) a bath or brush, dress, wear shoes and socks, and wear a hat. In ancient times, when people died, the coffin was not sealed, so it was called a small coffin. Three days later, the family mourned. After the funeral, the coffin was sealed and nailed with a mulberry door nail. The painter filled the gap in the joint of the coffin with plaster mixed with raw lacquer. Then put a spirit in front of the coffin.

After the death of the old man, children send obituaries or condolences to relatives and friends, and relatives and friends go to mourn. Funerals are usually in the three or five dynasties, and there are a few in the seven or nine dynasties. On the day of the funeral, a memorial service was held first, and relatives and neighbors bowed down to the coffin. When filial men and daughters meet their elders to pay homage, they kneel beside the coffin and go back to worship. After the memorial ceremony, the coffin set out and was held by the eldest grandson. When you come back from the funeral, you are older than your relatives or clans. Both husband and wife, children and grandchildren, put on auspicious clothes and go to the advanced door, which is called red and green. At this time, sesame seeds, beans and cypress branches are lit outside the door, which means "noble". People who come back from the funeral must cross the sea of fire, which is called crossing the sea of fire. Eating sugar dumplings after entering the door means sweetness. Finally, have a funeral banquet.

After the founding of New China, coffin burial was gradually changed to cremation burial, and the funeral etiquette of red tape was also simplified. After the death of cadres and workers, memorial services are often held.

grow

After the baby is born, you must report to your mother's family first. The next day, the old method is to give the baby Sanhuang decoction (rhubarb, coptis root and astragalus root decocted together) to remove blood stasis, clear intestinal heat and clear fetal poison. The third day after a child is born is called the Three Dynasties. On this day, grandma's family will send clothes, shoes and hats, ornaments, fish, meat, steamed bread, noodles and other foods to congratulate her. This is the so-called "three dynasties". On the day of the Three Dynasties, a banquet was held to entertain neighbors, relatives and friends, which was called "Three Dynasties Noodles". Three dynasties to full moon, puerpera confinement. During the period, relatives and friends sent chickens, fish, meat, eggs, walnuts, sesame seeds, snow cake and so on. For maternity; Give children clothes, shoes, hats, etc. It's called "send Geng" The time to send Geng can't exceed the full moon. At the full moon, there will be a full moon, a banquet will be held, and children will be shaved for the first time. Relatives and friends will reward their children with money. When children reach 100 days or one year old, some even hold banquets to invite relatives and friends. Old custom: children's names should be arranged according to the eight characters, depending on which of the five elements (gold, wood, water, fire and earth) is missing. Generally named after the missing radical. If there is a shortage of gold, it is named after gold or a word with gold as the radical. The lack of wood is named after the word "forest" and "root" with wood as the radical. In the past, there was a custom of naming children after they were born. If you want to send your father to your mother, you must find someone who is in line with the zodiac and has many children.

Agricultural customs

First, burning land wealth.

On the first day of the summer calendar, farmers in Wuxi did not sweep the floor, thinking that sweeping the floor would sweep away the wealth. The second day of junior high school began to sweep the floor and put garbage in the corner, which is called "gathering money". In the evening of half a month, the accumulated garbage is picked up at the head of the field and burned as fertilizer, which is called "burning field wealth" and "burning field"

Second, pregnant silkworm varieties

Silkworm farmers will wrap their eggs in cotton-padded clothes or hold them in their arms to hatch when they are in Tomb-Sweeping Day. Some silkworm farmers climb mountains with their eggs on the third day of March in the summer calendar, hoping that they will have a good harvest.

Third, remove the fierce generals.

It is said that a warrior named Liu Can drove away the locusts, and the farmers were very reverent, so a warrior temple was built in Huishan to serve them. In July of the summer calendar, at the heading stage of rice, farmers scrambled to patrol the fields with the gods of the fierce generals, calling them "lifting the fierce generals." Insert a small red flag in the place where the idol passes to show that it is blessed by the evil god and the locusts dare not hurt it.

Business customs

Wuxi's business has always been prosperous, and its customs are similar.

First, the store opened.

In the past, when shops opened, they first chose auspicious days, worshipped the god of wealth and prayed for wealth. Large-scale and powerful shops set off firecrackers, put up signs, entertain guests, win over relationships, sell goods at a discount and attract business. Small shops or lovers' shops, put up red paper with store numbers and set off firecrackers, that is, they are open for business.

Second, grain trade.

Wuxi is one of the four major rice markets in China. The traditional form of grain trading is tea party. Wuxi has rice tea party, soybean miscellaneous grains tea party, wheat tea party and flour tea party. Every morning, buyers and sellers go to the designated teahouse to drink tea, look at the samples, discuss the price and reach a deal. In order to spy or exchange quotations, or to deceive customers, peers often use argot and "incision" for speculation. The code words of white rice, pointed rice, glutinous rice, broad beans, rolled vegetables, rice, Kiichigo, wheat, crab, yuanmai and other grain industries are called Da. Incisions can be divided into Tangqie (or Tangfan) and Yanqie (or Fan Yan).

Miaohui

In the past, temple fairs in Wuxi were held at the same time as competitions and festivals to meet the gods. The ten most famous temples are Bamiaoshan Temple Fair in February in the summer calendar (Tsz Shan Monastery is called Cishan Guanghuixing Temple, commonly known as Zhang Temple), Prince Songzi Temple in Qingming Bridge in early March, Dongyue Temple in Huishan on March 28th, Chenghuang Temple outside the north gate on April 15th, feast temple in Lihua Village outside the north gate on May18th, and May 28th and 6th. In these temple fairs, all the "masters" of other temples participated except Master Zhang of Huishan on July 25th. When going out, the "old man" is carried out, with the flag and umbrella as the guide and the deacon as the servant, followed by teams of stilts, arm gongs, broadswords, forks, tea bears, unicycle and various operas. Temple fairs in Wuxi flourished in the 1920s and 1930s. During the Japanese occupation of Wuxi, there was only one meeting of Master Fu Dian on March 28th in the thirty-third year of the Republic of China (1944). After War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression's victory, only on March 28th, 35, the "Dongyue Emperor" of Huishan Dongyue Temple held a meeting, and then the temple fair stopped. Temple fairs in rural areas of Wuxi began on the ninth day of the first month of the summer calendar, followed by the incense flood season in March, and the temple fairs in various places continued until they reached Tuo Temple on the eighth day of April. Therefore, there is a saying that "Taibo Temple is down and out, and the soul reaches Tuo Temple". After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Wuxi County has never held a meeting with God.