Tanabata custom in Chaoshan

There is a custom of "taking a walk" on Tanabata in Chaoshan.

Chaoshan people used to call their daughter "Zouzai", and the married daughter agreed to return to her parents' home on the same day, commonly known as "Zouzai Club". There is a record of "mothering" in The Book of Songs Nan Zhou Ge Mo. "mothering" means that a woman returns to her family after marriage. Later, this custom spread to Chaoshan area with the migration of immigrants from the Central Plains, which shows that it has a long history.

There are three "mothering ceremonies" in Chaoshan custom, commonly known as "Guichu", "Guier" and "Guisan". The "Walking Children's Party" is a folk festival. After the annual "Visiting" ceremony, married women return to their parents' home on the same day. The date of the "Walking Boys' Party" is mostly set in the traditional festivals of the lunar calendar, the most common of which is the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar.

In the early morning of this day, the married "walkers" invariably took their husbands and children, took gifts to honor their parents and went back to their parents' homes to visit relatives. In the past, most of the gifts were "sweet peanut pig's foot soup" and "sweet lotus seed soup". However, with the renewal of the concept of the times, most of the gifts given today are dry goods, which means that auspicious ones are the best, such as eggs symbolizing reunion and fans symbolizing longevity.

The married "walker" returned to his parents' home on the same day. They recalled anecdotes of childhood and talked about how to be a "good wife and mother". They also get together to sympathize with their parents and pour out their feelings for them, which can not only warm the lonely heart of the elderly, but also make them feel happy in their later years.

The gift given by the "walker" is intended to repay the kindness of parents. This is the connotation of "Walking Club". "Walking Children's Party" is a unique folk festival in Chaoshan area, which inherits and carries forward the good moral customs of Chaoshan people's affection and hometown friendship and filial piety to their elders.

What are the customs of Guangdong Tanabata?

1. Sacrifice to an old woman: In Guangdong, there is a custom to sacrifice an old woman on the "Begging for Cleverness Festival" on the seventh day of July every year. The name of Pingpo comes from Sanskrit, and it is said that it was introduced from the Western Regions by Sanzang in the Tang Dynasty. Because the seventh day of July is also the gathering day of Cowherd and Seven Sisters, it is also called "Seven Sisters Fruit". Apple was listed around the seventh day of July, which is a rare fruit in Lingnan, also known as "Eichhornia crassipes".

2. Boating in Shimen Aquilaria Shop: According to Volume 17 of Guangzhou Records, on the seventh day of the seventh day, there was a boating activity for women in Shimen Aquilaria Shop. The yacht is decorated with jasmine and jasmine, which is called a flower boat. They think this day is "Fairy Bath Day".

Reference to the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia-Chaoshan