Does anyone know the geography, climate, customs and habits of Zhongshan, Guangdong?

The Zhongshan people's custom of celebrating the New Year is essentially the same as that of the Han Chinese in most parts of the Central Plains, which essentially means celebrating the Spring Festival. Zuo Zhuan - Xigong five years, said: New Year's Day for the "wax festival". The Western Jin Du Preliminary Note: "The name of the gods is sacrificed at the end of the year of La". It means that after the completion of the year's agricultural work, the worship activities were held in order to repay the gods for their gifts. In ancient times, the New Year was a day of celebration to congratulate the harvest; it was also a day of worship (here, the Bodhisattva was worshiped instead of the ancestors). As stated in Guliang Zhuan (谷梁传-桓公三年), "When all the grains are ripe, there is a New Year." And the character for year in the oracle bone inscriptions and gold inscriptions is an image of a fruitful harvest and ripe ears of grain. But the time of the first year in ancient China is not the same, until the Han Dynasty (140 to 87 years BC), fell Ma-tei, Deng Ping, such as the creation of the "Tai Chou Calendar", it is clearly stipulated that the first day of the first month of the summer calendar for the first year. According to the Historical Records, the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar is the "Four Beginnings", i.e., "the beginning of the year, the beginning of the time, the beginning of the day, and the beginning of the month". And the first day of the first month as the summer new year. Dr. Sun Yat-sen led the overthrow of the Qing dynasty after the Xinhai Revolution, announced that China's use of the AD chronology, the first day of the first month of the Gregorian calendar for the New Year's Day, the first day of the first month of the summer calendar (commonly known as the Lunar Calendar or the old calendar) for the Spring Festival. However, due to the succession of generations, the Chinese people are accustomed to call the first day of the first month of the Gregorian calendar for New Year's Day, and the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar is called the "New Year", and thus the Spring Festival is also known as the New Year.

Since ancient times, New Year's Day has rituals such as sacrifices, pilgrimages, banquets, divination, welcoming the gods, New Year's greetings, and play and enjoyment. The Han Chinese New Year, the activities are more particularly grand. Zhongshan's ancient people also follow. From ancient to modern, Zhongshan people "New Year" customs, mainly in the following areas:

1, sweeping:

Sweeping, also known as sweeping dust. This custom has a long history, roughly similar to the Han Chinese region of the Central Plains, "house sweeping" custom, is the eve of the New Year is an essential custom. "Wash the dirt on the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth month of the lunar calendar" is a catchphrase of Zhongshan people before the New Year. The essence of house cleaning is to send off the old and welcome the new in the form of cleaning. But in the past, Zhongshan people were very particular about sweeping the house.

Sweeping the house began, first sweep the doorway, and then pick up a long broom or chicken broom, bamboo sticks and other tools in the lintel up and down a few rows, sweep a few sweeps, and then from the outside to the inside all the way to the inside of the sweep, that is, from the hall sweeping to the kitchen, sweeping from the roof to the ground floor. There is a saying here: "Sweep the good in, sweep the bad out". The work of sweeping the house is usually done by the men in the family, and at the same time, the women in the family are responsible for the scrubbing work in the house, including: scrubbing the doors and windows, lifting the chairs and sundries, large and small dishes, teacups, tea pots, rice cookers, woks, stoves and so on, without exception; in addition, all the bedding in the house, adults, children's clothing and so on, should be washed and cleaned until it is clean. This custom of cleaning, as with other customs, not after all still mixed with feudal superstitious things, therefore, traditionally before the year before the start of cleaning, you must "choose a day" to carry out. Although, in the past, from the second half of the eleventh month of the lunar calendar, some people sweep the house, but are to find a yellow calendar, the book to "choose the day", regardless of whether it is rich, poor families, before the day of sweeping the house can not be "red mouth", "day of breakage ", or "big things are not appropriate" and other days, especially to avoid the "Mars" day, of course, it is best to be "auspicious day of the zodiac". In addition, in the past, Zhongshan people generally have the custom of worshipping the Bodhisattva (generally on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar calendar, Zhongshan people have burned incense to worship the Buddha), and thus early in the morning cleaning began, first of all, is the "wash the Bodhisattva", wash the Bodhisattva with the water, although it is not the "holy water", but not with the general clean water. The water used to wash the Bodhisattva, although not "holy water", cannot be used as clean water. The water used to wash the Bodhisattva should be filled with a few pomelo leaves, which is said to ward off evil spirits and indicate that the master of the house is "God-hearted", and this kind of work is usually done by the female members of the family. This kind of work is usually done by the family of women to do.

2, do new year's goods for new clothes:

As the saying goes, "the New Year is tight over the debt", Zhongshan people in the New Year's first half of the month, began to busy doing New Year's Eve, the old society in Zhongshan's rural areas fewer stores, the source of goods is not very sufficient, and thus by the end of the New Year when the evening, the masses of rural areas have to the urban areas in the city of Shiqi and towns and districts to go to the Farmers' Market in the seat of the government. Government seat of the farmers market to buy New Year's goods, such as: buy red thread, paper treasure which, cutting new clothes which, the executive fasting, buy candy, cakes and food which, selling preserved meat which, as well as firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy, vinegar, and tea, dried fruits and sugar melon, sugar lotus seed, red melon seeds and a variety of fruits, etc., there should be a large bucket. Especially the home of the rice bowl to be pontoon foot "landing food", the so-called "often full", is derived from here. The first thing people say when they meet before the Chinese New Year is "Do all the New Year's goods? This was one of the most common catchphrases of Zhongshan people before the Spring Festival in the past. Until today, every New Year's Eve before the "dike" (farmers market) or shopping malls, can be seen in a sea of people, can be imagined for the New Year, Zhongshan city and countryside people are how nervous, how important ah. At the same time, this custom of purchasing New Year's goods also brings prosperity to the stores in both urban and rural areas. In Zhongshan, especially women are more concerned about the purchase of New Year's goods.

3, cooking rice cake fried fried pile:

Zhongshan New Year's Eve across the country, there is a saying: "the evening of the year fried pile, people have me." And "cooking rice cake" this custom is Zhongshan people New Year's more distinctive customs. When foreigners first came to Zhongshan, they laughed at Zhongshan people for being "stupid" (meaning fools) when they first saw those "hairy and hairy" (glutinous rice cakes with colorful hairs and enzymes on the surface of the cakes) rice cakes. But despite the jokes, Zhongshan people New Year's Eve cooking cake custom, but the generations continue to this day, and become a major event of the New Year's Day in Zhongshan people. Similarly, cooking cake should also "choose the day", are to be selected in the New Year before the auspicious day of the early morning, the housewives of each family will get up and clean hands loaded incense to worship God, and then began to work with glutinous rice into powder, mixed with yellow (red) sugar syrup, rolled into a whole group of paste, plus salted pork, salted egg yolks and other condiments placed in the bottom of the bamboo steamer with banana leaves, bamboo leaves, etc., with a slow fire! It is cooked for more than ten hours. After the rice cake is steamed, it is necessary to say a few good words of good luck, respectfully placed in the hall, and then also put on the red dates, olive and a letter of "Lishui", hanging two red oranges and other things, until after the New Year (i.e., after the first day of the year) before opening the cake. The meaning of the cake is: "the rice cake, rice cake, step by step", "fast and high growth" and other symbols.

There is a habit here, that is, during the cooking rice cake, the children at home can not speak wrong or speak unlucky words, only good words, or it will cook into a half-cooked "raw rice cake". The reason for this is mainly due to the influence of feudal customs left over from history, Zhongshan people believe that: cooking rice cake cooking good and bad, is a symbol of the future of the year's fortunes good or bad, so the child's speech is also very important, as the saying goes: "children's voices are not joking," I'm afraid that is also an argument for it.

In addition to cooking rice cakes, Zhongshan people also have "burying the year frying heap, people have I have" of the proverb. The "rice cake" to "high" of the harmonic meaning "rice cake rice cake year high". On the other hand, the "pan-fried mound" (a kind of food made of glutinous rice flour rolled into a round ball and deep-fried in peanut oil) is round and full of shape, which means that it is a reunion of two persons. In addition, because the fried pile is golden yellow after deep-fried, like a golden treasure, so the Zhongshan people proverb: "fried pile reel, gold and silver full house". It can be seen that before the New Year's Eve, the custom of deep-frying piles of fried, Zhongshan people in the past is more important. Coupled with the cost of fried piles of little, but also to take its good intentions, and therefore the Zhongshan people on New Year's Eve more than cooking cakes fried fried piles of custom. In addition, there are also fried "oil angle child", fried "eggs scattered" and other customs. After the Republic of China, the Central Plains dumplings, fried wontons and other dietary practices, also popular in Zhongshan.

4, hanging spring stickers:

Hanging spring is commonly known as hanging peach symbols, this is one of the traditional customs of the Han Chinese people, as Zhongshan people are mostly the Central Plains clans migrated to the south and settlements, this traditional custom is also followed. According to the Western Han Dynasty - Liu An "Weinanzi" records: "Peach talisman to two pieces of about seven, eight inches long, more than an inch wide peach wood made, on the book in addition to the blessing of the auspicious words, the first of the year nailed to both sides of the door, in order to drive away the ghosts to avoid evil spirits" (here there is a folklore story, not to mention it here). This hanging peach charm custom inherited to the Five Dynasties (907-960 AD), when the beginning of people will be written on the peach charm board and called the Spring Festival couplets, text on the record is the "Song History - Family - West Shu": after the Lord of Shu, Meng Chang made the Bachelor of Xin Yinxun Peach Characterization Board, "Chang to its non-workers, since the composite pen title: 'New Year's Day Na Yuqing, Jiajie I'm afraid this is the earliest Chinese Spring Festival couplet. I'm afraid this is China's earliest Spring Festival couplets, and waving spring is in the New Year's Eve before the scene waved or printed into a couplet of the couplets, especially in the countryside, more than one village culture, calligraphy, good people to help write waving spring, and merchants are accustomed to is from the bazaar or the hands of the literati, calligraphy, etc. to buy, Ya genus, on the eve of the Spring Festival, more than in the night of the year 30, pasted or hung in the door on both sides, known as the Spring Festival couplets. Spring Festival couplets are mostly auspicious words, pray for a better life of the word composition, from the couplets, people can see the owner's work occupation. This custom has been passed down to this day.

In addition to hanging spring, there is also the custom of sticking the god of the door. The South Dynasty - Liang Zong懔 "Jing Chu chronicle" has this record: "the first day of the first month, painted two gods, posted around the door, the left Shentian, the right Yubi, commonly referred to as the door god". It is said that this custom has a history of more than two thousand years, sticking the door god began to popularize, is to drive away evil spirits, which is hanging with the past peach charm is coexisting, and thus the age of sticking the door god is sticking Zhong Kui to fight the ghosts of the paintings and "Shentan", "Yubi" of the word, until now, we can still see some districts and towns. We can still see some districts and towns, especially in the mountainous areas where the Hakka people live, you can still see the door god with the characters of "Shentian" and "Yubi". Legend has it that since the Song Dynasty, people for the worship of the Three Kingdoms Guan Yu, and Guan Yu called Guan Di, so it will be painted adult paintings for the door god, pasted on the door, there are some skillful people to draw or cut and paste some of their own festive and joyful posting of the New Year's Eve, which will be pasted the door god to call it pasted the New Year's Eve, and this custom is also hanging with the spring and survives to this day. Generally paste the door god more in the year 30 nights after dinner, also in the early morning of the first day of the year posted, the master in the paste before the door god to burn incense, burn firecrackers, and to say a few words of good luck in front of the main card of the gods of all generations of ancestors, and then out of the door to respectfully paste on. Ancient people like to use the "image of the idea", such as the three words of happiness, wealth and longevity, more bats, square holes of money, peaches and other graphic objects, to express auspicious ideas, and some people will be the word of blessing pasted upside down for the door god, the custom of this upside-down posting of the word of blessing is to take the harmony of its "blessing to the "

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This is the first time that the Chinese character "福" has been posted on a doorstep.

5, the year-end reunion burning firecrackers:

December 30th night of the lunar calendar, called New Year's Eve, also known as the year 30 night. In the afternoon of New Year's Eve, no matter in the field or has become a family moved out of the residence of men (married women generally with the husband's family) and unmarried women who work outside, generally with the family with the New Year's greetings and so on to return to the ancestral home to eat the reunion dinner. After the reunion dinner is ready, generally is the first honor ancestors, that is to say, first worship ancestors, after the family reunion dinner. Zhongshan people eat reunion dinner dishes mainly to pigs, chickens, ducks and other poultry, as well as fish balls, meatballs, hairy vegetables and other dishes, mostly nine dishes, Zhongshan people customarily called "nine big gui", which means "long long long", "family reunion", "New Year's fortune" and other auspicious meanings. After the meal, families gather together to eat fruits and vegetables, chat about family affairs or play various games. The children go to the open space in front of and behind the house to set off fireworks or light lanterns to chase each other and play until late at night (some also overnight). To the son of time (i.e., twelve o'clock at night), each family will be big fireworks, to show that the old and welcome the new.

Here, in addition to the meaning of a family reunion, but also to send the old and welcome the new, I wish the elders long life and health, the new year, a bumper crop, livestock and other significance. As the saying goes, "Keeping the winter solstice is a long life for the master, and keeping the new year is a long life for the mother". In the Mouping County Records, there is a paragraph: "the end of the year for the day in addition to the ...... sons and daughters called goblet, for the long spring life, the ring serves the incense case, through the night sleepless, so-called year-end vigil".

Another custom in Zhongshan, is in the New Year's Eve after the reunion dinner, by the elders to the younger generation, especially to the grandchildren, grandchildren, these small characters to send lai see. In ancient times, the use of square hole coins, the elders will use red thread woven into a string, hanging in the home of the younger generation of the neck or waist, or on the children's pillows, it is said that this can ward off evil spirits, because it is also known as the New Year's money. After the liberation of this custom due to the use of different coins, as well as after the abolition of feudal superstitions, these new year's money changed to red paper or LiYiZhuan wrapped, put in the child's bag or to the grandchildren hand, so that the children to buy stationery and toys or to buy snacks, fireworks, firecrackers and so on. But in general, it is still a kind of prayer blessing meaning, that is, I hope that the youngest generation in the new year, "fast and high growth", "healthy growth" such an auspicious significance.

6, the first day of the New Year's Day to send LiYi:

"Xiangshan County Records": "New Year's Day to pay homage to the New Year, burning firecrackers, banning the sprinkling of sweeping". According to the old Chinese custom, the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar, called the first day of the year. The morning of this day, the sky is not yet all bright (exactly, in the year 30 evening son time), urban and rural areas on the successive ignition of firecrackers, lion drums also rang non-stop, so that the door of each household are covered with red firecracker paper, plus the door of each house hanging up the Spring Festival couplets door god (New Year's paintings) are full of all the red light and shadow. It can be said that the opening of the door is red, the same is to take the meaning of its auspiciousness.

After the morning tea, the city and countryside, all walks of life of the crowd on the old and young people out of their homes, wearing red and green, combing beautiful hair, hand-carried gifts through the streets, to the elders or relatives and friends to go to the New Year's. This custom originated from when there is no way to know. There is no way to find out when this custom originated. According to "Wanping County Records", "New Year's Day in the first month, when five drums, all the officials into the court to celebrate the ceremony, the people also dress up and burn incense, rites to heaven and earth, worship ancestors, worship elders, and in-laws and friends to throw stabs at each other, said New Year's Day". I'm afraid that Zhongshan New Year's Day custom also originated from this. According to legend, Zhongshan in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the first day of the New Year's Eve has this custom: early on the first day of the first worship of heaven and earth and generations of ancestors, the second worship of the family's elders, and then the family, from big to small, to the elders to perform a great salute to congratulate the children to seal the lai see (generally married to the unmarried young people and children to send lai see), between people of the same generation, only need to congratulate each other on the line arching hand. After the family pay homage to the New Year, the men will go out to the elders in the clan or relatives and friends to pay homage to the New Year. During the New Year's visit, if you see the children of friends and relatives, including young boys and girls who have not yet been married, there is a custom of handing out gifts to each other. In the street to meet acquaintances to say a few words: "congratulations on wealth", "New Year's Day", "the spirit of the dragon horse", "Timing Fat Choy "The first thing you need to do is to get your hands on a new pair of shoes and boots.

In terms of food and drink, the first day of the year, the general public are eating fasting vegetables vegetarian-based. The reason for this is that the reunion dinner in the evening of the year 30 too many delicacies, easy to "hold" indigestion or eat too fat and greasy and so on, and thus the first day of the year more than the habit of fasting, according to some elders and religious believers that: the first day of the year to eat fasting is derived from the Buddha's fasting customs. In addition on the first day of the year is not allowed to sweep the floor; not allowed to use knives and scissors, be more careful to break the dishes and cups, such as unintentionally touch the fall, it is necessary to say a few words: "landing blossoms, wealth and honor", "DajiLiYi" and other auspicious words, and then quickly clean up the debris, if any! If the guests are present, they have to say a few words of good luck, such as "right well," "blossom and prosperity," in order to have peace of mind.

In Zhongshan Shatian District area, especially the birthplace of Zhongshan folk songs Tanzhou area, there is also a little-known custom "the first day of the Dragon Boat Week Street singing." As the local saying goes: "the first day of the lion drums, dragon boat clanking knock, through the street base surrounded by a hundred children and a thousand grandchildren ......". In the past in the early morning of the first day of the year, in the Tanzhou area, you will see some of the local people holding a bamboo or wooden stick propped up with a mahogany or mixed wood carved with precision, about one and a half feet long and ten centimeters thick dragon head or the whole of the wooden dragon, hanging from the neck of the dragon boat drums, drums connected to the drums of the gongs and cymbals; the other hand holding a picture of a written "congratulations to the rich", "Dragon boat to send children", "a hundred children and a thousand grandchildren" and other words banner couplets of folk artists, while dancing in the hands of the wooden dragon, while walking and singing dragon boat, where the newlyweds to the gateway or the rich man's home before, they went up to knock, especially loud singing folk songs, dragon boat drums also played a particularly lively. The drums of the dragon boat were also beaten to a particularly lively tune. Generally speaking, on the first day of the year, the main content of singing dragon boat, in the past, is to sing the theme of a hundred sons and thousands of grandchildren, early birth of a son, for the newlyweds to pray for blessings, which means "sending a son". This custom is close to the "Panlong Song" of the She ethnic group. Historically, the Han Chinese custom has been based on the "Unicorn Sending off Children", while the "Panlong Song" of the She ethnic group is also based on the meaning of sending off children. Tanzhou singing dragon boat, generally to the Taoist sentiment or sighs of emotion-based melody more, but the first day of the year to sing the dragon boat is to the joy of the melody-based, so in the past, Tanzhou people on the first day of the year the majority of people are welcome to sing the dragon boat, the contents of the singer, mostly to cater to the tastes of the masses, mainly singing "early birth", "many children Many blessings", "a hundred sons and thousands of grandchildren full of red" and so on, the owner of the house after listening to the dragon boat, then sealing the lai see to the singer. This custom is still popular in Tanzhou Qunsheng area, only the content has changed.

7, the second day of the festival God of Fortune:

The second day of the year is commonly known as the beginning of the year. In Sichuan, Zhejiang, Fujian and other places also known as "send the year", "open the year driving" and so on. Ancient times in the New Year's day, early in the morning by the family's men and son or grandson with a broom from the entrance to the door of the courtyard began to sweep to the door, and then from the door to the house sweeping, sweeping, burning firecrackers, incense worship heaven and earth and the gods on the stage of the ancestors of the past generations, praying for the gods blessing, the wind and the rain, the grains of the harvest, a hundred thousand children and grandchildren, and so on. The main thing is to worship the God of Wealth (legend in charge of the God of Wealth), praying for the next year's prosperity, in the past, mostly for stores and restaurants in the beginning of the second year before the opening of the market worship, customarily known as the "open teeth", more than nine kinds of dishes, commonly known as the "nine gui," to show that "Open the door to great luck", "prosperous" meaning.

This day and the first day of the year is the opposite, the first day of the year can not sweep the floor and use knives and scissors, and the second day of the year early in the morning, each household is a big effort, subdivided chickens and ducks, cleaning. After the worship is over and everyone in the family has congratulated each other, married men take their wives and children with them and go out to pay New Year's calls to their grandparents (parents-in-law), and do not return home until after supper. Unmarried people take advantage of this festival to go to their lover's house or their best friend's house to pay New Year's greetings. The lion, dragon dance team is sounding gongs and drums through the streets and alleys to Caiqing show, hair New Year's fortune.

8, the first three Chikou splash water sprinkled rice prayer God:

The old Han Chinese custom, the third day of the Lunar New Year is commonly known as the "boar day" (a kind of ancient livestock, fat body tail short, long nose, ears like a fan, commonly known as pigs). South Dynasty - Liang Zong懔 "荆楚岁时记 "记载有："......三日不杀猪......"。 Ancient people believe that the first month of the first year, and the first seven days of the first year is more important, taboos are particularly numerous. In ancient times, people usually lack of meat, for the Han Chinese people in terms of pig is the main meat. Therefore, pig farming in rural areas is very important, in the Central Plains around the third day of the year for the "boar day", and "boar" is a pig's nickname, so the third day of the year, people get up early in the morning, first of all, we must watch the climate of the cloudy and sunny to decide to raise pigs in the industry's prosperity and prosperity, disaster and disaster. Zhongshan people call this day "Chikou", which means that people will squeal like a pig on the third day of the Lunar New Year. In the past, Zhongshan people superstitious divination, a Taoist priest predicted that the third day of the first month is easy to quarrel with neighbors inauspicious, easy to commit "official wrongdoing", coupled with farmers to raise pigs, and more to respect the sky and worship the earth and pray for God's blessing, and therefore in the early morning of the third day, the housewife is open the door to splash water sprinkled with rice, reciting prayers in the mouth to wish and return to the inner room in the lobby to worship God. Seek the gods and Buddha, in order not to commit a war of words, more to avoid official wrongdoing, and do not go out to pay homage to the New Year, over time, and gradually become a bad custom. After the liberation, this so-called bad customs have gradually changed, but there are still rural elders follow and accuse the younger generation of the third red mouth do not go to the New Year. In addition, Zhongshan individual family has called the third day of the Lunar New Year for the "Chegong Christmas", so more in the third day of the Lunar New Year to Chegong Temple to worship, and go to the temple to rotate the windmill, fortune-telling.

9, the first seven days of fried flour worship:

Han Dongfang Shuo "accounted for the book" has been recorded: "years after eight days, a day of chicken, the second day of the dog, the third day of the pig, the fourth day of the goat, the fifth day of the cow, the sixth day of the horse, the seventh day of the people, the eighth day of the Valley. If the day is sunny, the thing in question will be fertile; if it is cloudy, it will be disastrous." Sui - Xue Daoheng "population think of returning" there is a paragraph: "only seven days into the spring, away from home has been two years, people return to the geese, think of hair in the flower before". From the history books and the mouth of the elders of the previous generation, the ancient "people day", the same is an early ancient divination activities, inherited to the Han and Wei, and gradually developed into rituals and social activities, Zhongshan in ancient times, people day when the families are the first to pay homage to the gods, praying for people and animals to prosper. And then with seven kinds of vegetables or seven kinds of fruit, made of soup, called "seven treasures soup", "seven treasures fasting", most people do not cook this day, eat fasting vegetables, and more is boiled congee fried noodles or fried noodles, after the meal have to go out to participate in a variety of social activities, until the evening only to return!

Since the first day of the year, the city's economy has been in decline.

Since 1988, Zhongshan, a group of cultural people led the initiative to inherit the legacy of Mr. Sun Yat-sen, to promote the spirit of "fraternity" and "all for one, all for one", "charity and respect for the elderly ", "help the poor and needy" and other content of the large-scale social welfare activities, and held in the seventh of each year, which will be the first seven days of the year in the past to change the sacrificial activities for charity and public welfare of the large-scale social activities to the day of the people of this traditional folk activities into the concept of fraternity, charity and promote the concept of excellent national culture and vitality, and become a new folklore in Zhongshan. And become Zhongshan's new folk cultural activities, now every year the seventh Zhongshan people are held large-scale social welfare activities, known as charity ten thousand people, and "mention ten thousand people, Zhongshan people's foot (itch)", has become the new mantra of Zhongshan people.

10, Lantern Lanterns on the 15th of the Lantern Festival:

According to the successive "Xiangshan County Records," said: "The people of the Euphrates more faith in the road. And history, the Lantern Festival is commonly known as the first year, the first night, the first night, etc., is rumored to have originated from Taoism. Song Wu Zimu "Meng Liang Records": "the first month of the fifteenth yuanshi festival, is the upper yuan of the heavenly officials to give blessings of the hour". Historically, there is the custom of opening lanterns for viewing at the Lantern Festival, so it is also known as the "Lantern Festival". Xiangshan County Records" has: "Lantern Festival Lanterns play story games through the streets, dancers beat the drums to three for the festival, singers beat the drums to seven for the festival, and the Spring Lantern Festival teamed up with each other to pay for the song, said singing lamp song is also said to sing the song of the cranes," the record. Lanterns on the eve of the yuan for riddles rewarded in the Qu said "light letter". Ancient Zhongshan people in the fifteenth this day, women more to temples to worship God, especially in Shiqi (now the city) women, most of them flocked to the west of the city Sanyuan Temple to celebrate the birthday of the first emperor. According to history: since ancient times, China has a Lantern Festival, the custom of viewing the lights, in Zhongshan to the 15th night of the first month of the families are in front of the lanterns, candles lit, children hand-held lanterns through the streets and alleys to play, the ancestral temple is gathered a group of literati, hanging out lantern riddles, swinging the "Shooting Tiger" Longmen Zhen. Therefore, the 15th Lantern Festival is also known as the "Festival of Lights", "on the Yuan Festival", "Yuansi Festival", etc., is one of the most important festivals in ancient times, and the custom of watching lanterns has been passed down to the present day.

Lantern Festival on this day, people in the diet of the whole family to eat rice cakes, dumplings and other food, which is **** the same custom throughout the country, the moral of the family reunion round good, happy and fulfilling life, and lovers are dragging hands to go to the drag "sunshine", and thus some people call the Lantern Festival for "" Chinese Valentine's Day "". Chinese Valentine's Day". On the night of the fifteenth day of the first month, lights and colorful lanterns are put up in front of each house to attract neighbors; literati write riddles and poems on the colorful lanterns to let visitors guess the riddles or couplets, known as the "Shooting Tiger". Various martial arts museums have been dancing dragons, lion dances to show off their martial arts; large families also perform in front of the shrine in the open space of the color (equivalent to the Central Plains, "dry boat" folk art), theater and so on. During the Qing Dynasty, in some areas of Zhongshan, such as Xiaolan and other places, some folk associations in the night of the Lantern Festival, but also to organize folk stories, tales and other themes of the lantern parade, known as the Lantern Festival, male and female young people hold up the lanterns to sing in company, commonly known as the singing of the lantern song. Therefore, the first month of the 15th Lantern Festival is also known as the Lantern Festival, this folk social activities, until the evening of the first month of the 16th to the end, known as the scattered lights.

11, the first month to open and close the lights:

"Xiangshan County Records" recorded: "the first month of the Festival of Lights, is to add the ding hanging lamps in the ancestral temple, to wine preserved sacrifice to their ancestors. Said: open lamp, also said hanging lamp. About once the clearing is burned said knot light". In fact, the Lantern Festival is the first month of the 15th, that is, the Lantern Festival. But Zhongshan in the past customary, where the boy was born (that is, Tim Ting) family, most of the first two days of the first month of the lunar calendar within a month, choose the auspicious day to open the lights. On the day of the opening of the lanterns, the first to the paper store customized lanterns, usually custom-made four: one hung in front of the ancestral spirit; one hung in the ancestral hall; one hung in front of the residential door official god; the other is hung in the altar of the God of the Jikji. On the day of the opening of the lanterns, the family with a new child must prepare a feast to honor the gods, or set up several banquets at the same time to entertain the guests. Inside the ancestral shrine or in the hall in front of the ancestral shrine of each clan, there is also the custom of opening the lanterns and handing out colorful gifts to the ancestors of the clan. Since there is the opening of lanterns, there is the knotting of lanterns. The festival is usually held on February 2, the day of the Land Festival, and there are also festivals held before the Ching Ming Festival on March 3 of the old calendar. Similarly, on the day of the lamp, we should prepare a few tables of sumptuous cuisine to pay tribute to the gods and ancestors and feast clan folks.