Hakka customs and folk customs

Hakka people have many excellent customs and habits and are one of the main founders of Chinese culture. In the five thousand years of Chinese civilization, Hakkas have made the most important contribution.

Hakka folk songs: the sound of nature spread for thousands of years

Hakka folk songs have spread thousands of miles, all of which are sung with affection, all of which sing Lang's heart and a girl's heart. Hakka folk songs are one of the famous folk songs in China, and they are a bright pearl in the art treasure house of the motherland. It inherits the style handed down from generation to generation from 300 pieces of The Book of Songs, with distinctive themes, distinctive local characteristics and strong local life. Its artistic style is unique, its language is easy to understand, vivid, fluent and natural, and its literature and art have connotations and are thought-provoking.

Hakka folk songs are sung in Hakka dialect, which is basically four sentences and seven characters, and the first, second and fourth sentences rhyme; When singing, I often touch the scene, improvise, come out casually, and have deep feelings; The singing is rich and changeable, and the rhythm is free and changeable. They are Hakka folk songs with similarities and differences, such as Meicheng folk songs, Songkou folk songs and Shimashan folk songs, with different tones. There are more than 100 tones in Meizhou alone, but they are all loud, lyrical and beautiful. In the art of singing, he inherited Fu Bixing's traditional techniques, and often used such techniques as direct narration, metaphor, pun, sentence breaking, exaggeration and overlapping words. There are folk songs, love songs, lyric songs, tail refutation, metaphysical songs, aria, tune guessing and so on in types and genres; The forms of singing are solo, duet and performance singing.

For thousands of years, Hakkas have used it to sing about their working life, express their feelings, stimulate their fighting spirit, exchange feelings, keep in touch with friends and entertain themselves.

Grand occasion of folk festival

Heart, such as: "folk songs are tight, well water is tight, until the green hills turn and the lotus blossoms." But in the old feudalism, singing folk songs was forbidden at all levels and was only sung in Shan Ye. Since the 1950s, it has developed into public singing, singing in Beijing and even overseas.

Meizhou is the center where Hakka people live together, and Hakka folk songs are well known. Known as the "hometown of folk songs", this place has nurtured many famous folk singers, such as, Diao Sao, and modern Yao Nan, Mingzhe Tang,. "In the East Normal School, there is a singing platform, and singers from all directions show their talents. Folk songs such as Meijiang have a long history. " In order to promote Hakka culture, Meizhou holds a folk festival every Mid-Autumn Festival, which is very lively.

Hakka wine custom culture

Family members are very hospitable. Whenever relatives and friends come, they like to treat them with their own brewed rice wine, also called "water wine". If it is distilled from the first altar, it is called "nine niang". This kind of "wine girl" is delicious, although the degree is not high, but it has great stamina and is easy to intoxicate. When they drink, they pay great attention to etiquette.

Hakkas like to use the Eight Immortals Table, commonly known as the Eight Immortals Table, which is a wooden table for eight people to sit together. When seated, they attach great importance to the arrangement of seats, and generally sit in the order of precedence of relatives and friends. The size of the banquet hall is arranged in this way. For example, there is only one table in the main hall. At this time, the left side facing the gate is the first, and the right side is the second. Then from left to right, the preface is interspersed, and the right side facing the main hall is the smallest. If two tables are arranged, the table on the left is big, the table on the right is small and the seats are staggered. If three tables are arranged, it is called "first class". In this case, the chief is respected. If five tables are arranged, the general arrangement is "plum blossom seats".

When you pour wine for the first time between banquets (also called wine screening), you should pour wine first in the order of generations, and then pour wine for yourself. After pouring wine, don't point the hip flask at the guests, but at yourself, otherwise it's impolite. When toasting, the toaster should stand up, press his chest with his left hand (showing respect and sincerity), raise his glass with his right hand and say a few auspicious words, and take a sip first to show respect. If someone is late, they will be fined 1-3 drinks, and half a cup for ladies. If you leave halfway, you have to drink 1-3 cups to leave.

When drinking, Hakkas have the custom of guessing boxing to increase the fun and excitement of various banquet occasions, whether vulgar, elegant, simple or complicated. There are also some rules when guessing boxing. For example, you can't play with your thumb, middle finger and index finger at three o'clock. After a while, the thumb should be sideways, not upturned. When playing the second game, if you use your thumb and forefinger, you should play sideways. You can't point your index finger at each other as polite as a light mauser gun.

Hakkas' drinking orders are very learned. The number of guesses ranges from zero to ten. If you guess the total number of fingers made by both sides, you are the winner. If both parties guess or fail at the same time, they also use the name of "four characters". If they guess "one", it is called "one product promotion"; When guessing "two", it is called "two families are reconciled"; When guessing "three", it is called "Samsung is shining high"; When guessing "four", it is called "getting rich in four seasons"; When guessing "five", it is called "five-child test"; When guessing "six", it is called "six six goes smoothly"; When guessing "seven", it is called "seven clever pictures"; When guessing "Eight", it is called "Eight Immortals' Birthday"; When guessing "nine", it is called "nine long"; When you guess "ten", it's called "perfect". So it's auspicious.

When drinking and guessing boxing, we usually take three glasses of wine as a group. The loser drinks, and after three glasses of wine, he passes. If the afterglow is not over, you can have another group or groups. If you need to ask someone to substitute boxing for wine, you should negotiate with each other and get their consent. In addition to guessing boxing and fighting wine, there is also the finger number of fighting wine. It is customary to designate a person as the person in charge of the dinner party. According to the total number of fingers given by everyone, whoever counts will have a drink. For example, if everyone sticks out six fingers, then the drinker is the sixth. In addition, there is also a "rotating spoon" to compete for wine. Put a spoon in the table and turn it by yourself. When the spoon stops turning, whoever the handle of the spoon points to will have wine to drink. In addition to "guessing singles and doubles", put one or two coins in the palm of your hand for others to guess singles and doubles, and the loser drinks.

Hakka's wine list is varied, and educated people like "word list" (including local specialty list, agricultural proverb list, etc. ), "Shi Ling" and "your legend" (most of them are ingenious and involve interest, which makes people laugh. ), including speculation. Hakka people like to use wine rules, a popular entertainment game for the masses, to increase their spirits and eliminate loneliness and drowsiness until they get drunk. (Excerpted from Sanming Overseas Chinese News)

Hakka marriage customs

Hakka marriage customs are deeply influenced by ancient fashion, and their main purpose is to carry on the family line. The marriage between men and women in Hakka pays attention to "being suitable for each other", and the formal marriage relationship in Hakka society is a kind of "marrying into a rich family", and the wind of uxorilocal is not prevalent.

Although there is inevitably a prejudice of preference for boys over girls in Hakka society, on the whole, the relationship between men and women is relatively equal. For example, Hakka women work as well as men at home. Therefore, women are equal to their brothers at home; When getting married, parents attach importance to their marriage, and in-laws must follow traditional etiquette and follow the rules in order to get a good wife. Hakkas' marriage styles are all in accordance with the ancient "Six Rites". With the changes of society, although there are changes, they are generally handled with reference to the old system. Six sacrificial ceremonies: "Farewell, setting a date, giving a bride price, offering a dowry, picking up the bride, seeing her off, paying homage, eating noodles and bowls of chicken". Similar to the ancient "Six Rites". In the wedding ceremony, there are still old customs such as disturbing the house and consummating the house.

On the third day after the bride's marriage, the bride's family hosted a banquet in honor of her daughter and son-in-law, which was called "inviting the three dynasties". On this day, my daughter can't stay at her parents' house, but must go back to her husband's house. In some rural areas, the bride's family invited some women and relatives to visit her daughter's house in a few days; Or the bride's family invites her daughter's house to make full moon wine (when she is married for a full moon). Men and women in-laws choose their own dates and hold banquets to invite each other, which is called "visiting" to strengthen the communication between the two in-laws.

Wedding reception for guests, commonly known as "wedding reception", is very grand, especially in the past. Among them, the woman's visit to the man's house is called "big guest"; The man will set off firecrackers in front of the door to welcome them, and can't hold a banquet until they arrive. The groom should hold the pot at the mother-in-law's first table and take turns pouring wine for her mother-in-law. The guests were seated according to seniority, age and family situation. The top left of the hall is the chief, the right is the second seat, the old man is at the top, the guests are at the bottom, and so on.

Other forms of marriage, such as holding a child bride, uxorilocal marriage, changing parents, changing parents, remarriage, etc. Some of them gradually become scarce and disappear.

Traditional customs of the times

Release date: June 7, 2004 Source: Meizhou Guide Network

Like most parts of the province, Hakkas regard Chinese New Year as the most grand and joyful festival of the year. People began to prepare for the Spring Festival very early. 9. Sweet potato slices and rice cake slices will be dried in 10 for frying and frying in the New Year. As soon as the "winter solstice" arrives, we will start steaming wine. Nearly 30 days ago, every household would steam sugar cakes, make rice fruits, kill pigs, make tofu, kill chickens and so on. Welcome the New Year with great joy.

1February 23rd. Brush the kitchen stove clean after the night of the 23rd, and take down the old kitchen stove and burn it. On the morning of 30th, post a new picture. When you get a free one, you should put wine, meat, candy, sugar cane, rice fruit and so on. Burn incense, light candles and set off paper cannons in front of the stove.

Entering the New Year's Eve and the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, people who go out should hurry home for the New Year. After entering the fixed number of years, we should educate our children not to scold each other and not to say unlucky things. Before and after entering the new year, we should choose an auspicious day to clean the dust and clean the house. We should clean the tables and benches in the kitchen, clean the bedding and mosquito nets, and celebrate the New Year cleanly.

New Year's Eve, that is, New Year's Eve, is the warmest and happiest day of Chinese New Year. On this morning, every family should worship bodhisattva and god. On New Year's Eve, portraits of ancestors should be hung in each hall, and red Spring Festival couplets should be posted at the gate. Red notes should be posted on barn doors, in front of livestock fences, on furniture beds and beside water tanks, which are called "sealing the year" or "becoming popular". Adults and children should take a bath, put on new clothes and celebrate the New Year cleanly. Each hall will also be decorated with tables, incense tables, chickens, fish, meat, fruits and so on. To worship their ancestors.

On New Year's Eve, we have a family reunion dinner with rich dishes. Put more bowls and chopsticks on the table to invite our ancestors back for the New Year. Before meals, sift the wine for your ancestors, sprinkle it on the ground, and then start eating. During the dinner, the old people and children eat chicken legs to show respect for the old people and young people.

Have a reunion dinner at the end of the year and clean the stove to prevent vegetarianism on the first day of the first month or all day. At night, we should keep the old year, say goodbye to the old and welcome the new. Every room should be brightly lit all night. This is called "lighting the old fire". In some places, cowshed and pigsty should also be illuminated. Parents should give their children lucky money, and some places give old people lucky money.

On the first day of the first month of the first month, according to the auspicious time stipulated in the "Tong Shu", firecrackers suddenly broke out one after another and resounded through the sky.

I am a vegetarian on the morning of the first day of the first lunar month. After dinner, people greet each other with auspicious words. The children are wearing new clothes. They are very happy and love to play. Some of them are vying to pay New Year greetings to the elderly: "My grandparents and uncles have money, and all the candied fruit is given to ya (me)."

On the second day of the first month, visit relatives to celebrate the New Year. In particular, the newly-married son-in-law (the Yue family will post an invitation with a book) will go to her parents' house to pay a New Year call. Generally, young couples go together, and a son-in-law goes alone; Some came back the same day, and some stayed for five or six days. When you go, you should bring little hens, rice fruits, candy, incense sticks and firecrackers, and then burn incense, light candles and set off firecrackers in front of the ancestors of the Yue family. At noon, the Yues treat, and the son-in-law should be drunk, not drunk or enthusiastic.

Eat "New Year's Rice" on the morning of New Year's Eve (some steamed on the 29th night of the previous year, and some steamed on the 2nd night of the first month). Chopsticks are inserted in the rice, several pairs are inserted by several people in the family, and a leafy branch is inserted with some fruits such as oranges and grapefruit on it. Before eating the New Year's Eve, you should put the rice on the "Sun" shrine to worship the gods and ancestors. There are many dishes to prepare for the New Year's Eve, including chicken and meat, which is similar to having a reunion dinner on New Year's Eve. You can't kill animals in the third grade, but chickens should be killed in the second grade or kept during the Chinese New Year.

On the fifth day of the first month of a year, the year is over. The portraits of ancestors in the hall should be put away, the paper curtains should be taken down and burned, and those who go out on business can start.

Lantern Festival On the fifteenth day of the first month of the Lantern Festival, also known as "Shangyuan Festival", every household should prepare dishes and drinks for the New Year. To celebrate the Lantern Festival, the Spring Festival amusement activities will reach a climax.

From the beginning of the Lunar New Year to the fifteenth day of the first month, entertainment activities are constantly going on in various places, mainly Youlong lanterns and lion dances, and some activities begin on the first and second days of the first month. Dragon lanterns and lions will be posted in advance before they arrive, and red envelopes and snacks will be given when they arrive. Dragon lanterns, lions, etc. It will not only perform in every household, but also pay New Year greetings to gods and ancestors in various temples and ancestral halls in the village. During the first market after the Spring Festival, all kinds of dragon lanterns, boat lanterns and lion lanterns will be performed at the party, which is called "opening the market". During the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival, there are also some recreational activities in various places:

Generally, on the first day of New Year's Day, teams of three or five people will send pictures of spring cows to all households, including those who play suona, drums and cymbals. They will play at the door of each household and send red stickers of "Happy New Year", and the host will give them red envelopes.

The rice straw dragon was cut into pieces and filled with incense, and the children danced in front of the stove and cowshed in the pigsty on their backs to congratulate the family safety and the prosperity of the six animals. The family should give red envelopes, the children will be happy, and the owner will ask for good luck.

Bat lights are also danced by children from door to door. "The fire dragon came into the house and asked you for candles." "Congratulations on getting rich, buying land and building a house." Bat lights don't accept red envelopes, only candles.

Ship lights are like boats, performing and singing on land. Rehearsal before the Spring Festival, gongs and drums team, playing ten times to cooperate. When we arrive at the village, we will have some snacks and then perform in the open space. The boatman and the boatman can sing tunes such as Pregnant in October, Ancient People in December, Guazi Ren, and A Flower. The boatman just rows a boat and can't sing. In the evening, I will "open the heavenly officials" in the ancestral hall, sing "God bless the people" and so on, and finally have a drink and dinner.

There are Nuo people on the lion lantern, including a lion head, a lion tail, a monkey, a sand monk and a gongs and drums team. After the lion, monkey and sand monk sing, they will perform martial arts, boxing, knife dancing, playing with sticks and jumping on the table. Lions will hire a master to coach martial arts before the Chinese New Year.

The spring equinox in February begins to sweep graves to worship ancestors, which is also called "Spring Festival". Before sweeping the grave, a grand ancestor worship ceremony should be held in the ancestral hall, pigs and sheep should be slaughtered, drummers should be invited to play, and the ritual students should read the eulogy and quote three praises. At the beginning of the spring equinox grave sweeping, the first thing is to sweep the graves of ancestors and distant ancestors. The whole family and the whole village have to be dispatched on a large scale, and the team often reaches hundreds or even thousands. After the ancestral graves of Kaiji and Yuanzu were swept, they were divided into rooms to sweep the graves of ancestors in each room, and finally each family swept the graves privately. In most Hakka areas, ancestor worship and grave sweeping in spring begin at the vernal equinox or earlier, and must end in Tomb-Sweeping Day at the latest. There is a saying everywhere that after the Qingming Festival, the tomb door is closed, and the ancestors' spirits are not needed.

Qingming March Qingming, ancestor worship. In addition to the vernal equinox, most Hakka areas sweep graves to worship their ancestors, and some places are also sweeping graves in Qingming. On this day in Tomb-Sweeping Day, there are places for offering sacrifices to altars, such as the roadside land Bogong.

Dragon Boat Festival is the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of May. Every household buys meat, kills ducks, makes zongzi and makes rice fruit for the holidays. Dragon Boat Festival is a big festival. In many places, people who work outside will go home for the New Year.

On Mid-Autumn Festival, July 15 is usually regarded as "Ghost Festival" in Hakka area. In some places, it is necessary to celebrate the festival one day in advance, which is called "14 people on July, and ghosts on July 15".

In some places, Hakkas also worship their ancestors in July and a half.

Mid-Autumn Festival August 15 Mid-Autumn Festival, commonly known as "August Festival", is also a big festival. Eat moon cakes, enjoy the moon and celebrate the reunion. Every household has to buy a dining table, buy pork, kill chickens and ducks, and cook rice and fruit for the holidays. On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, families get together for the holidays, eat moon cakes and enjoy the moon after dinner.

Double Ninth Festival The ninth day of September is the Double Ninth Festival, also known as the Double Ninth Festival, commonly known as the "September Festival", which is a big festival at the end of the year. There is a saying that "there is no big festival after the Double Ninth Festival", and many people who go out have to rush home for the New Year. On this day, people in many places will take their children to climb mountains. Some people fly kites on the mountains, which means they can avoid evil spirits and plagues. Many old people say that this custom was brought by ancestors from the northern Central Plains and passed down from generation to generation. On this day, some old people and women go to temples to burn incense and worship Buddha.

The winter solstice is in November of the lunar calendar, also known as the "winter solstice". On the solstice of winter, we should eat pork and beef, make rice fruit and soup pills, and the rich should eat pilose antler and ginseng to make up for the winter.