Local Customs of Huang Dai Township

Holiday customs

The Spring Festival is celebrated on the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar. The first day of the first month of the Lunar Calendar, the households start to open at the sound of firecrackers, commonly known as "open door firecrackers", in order to get the meaning of "high rise". Breakfast to eat dumplings, noodles, in order to take "reunion", "longevity" of good luck. In the morning, the younger generation pays New Year's greetings to their elders, and neighbors congratulate each other on the New Year. Men go to the teahouse to drink olive tea, called "Yuanbao tea"; women go to the temple to burn incense, burning the first incense. The second day of the first month of the lunar calendar, the families began to go to relatives, to pay tribute to the New Year, commonly known as the "line relatives", each other to socialize.

The God of Wealth Day on the fifth day of the first month of the Lunar New Year for the birth of the God of Wealth, the God of Wealth Day, dedicated to the God of Wealth of the Five Roads, Buddha and horses, commonly known as "pouring the road head" or "pick up the road head".

Born Day The ninth day of the first month of the lunar calendar, known as the day of the birth of the day (Born Day), households burn incense and candles to heaven.

Earth Day On the 10th day of the first month of the lunar calendar, known as Earth Day, households worship the God of Earth.

The Lantern Festival is held on the fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar calendar. On this day, families eat dumplings and hang lanterns in the kitchen. The Lantern Festival is also known as the Festival of Lights, because it is the night when the moon and the lights meet. The first month of the thirteenth on the lamp, said the trial lamp, eighteen drop lamp. In the old countryside, there are lanterns, dragon dance, dance flower basket lights, picking flowers, fireworks, red men and women to see the lanterns.

Lichun, also known as "Fengchun", as the saying goes, "spring is greater than the year dynasty". On the morning of this day, many people will set off firecrackers to congratulate the spring has come to earth.

February 2 for the Land God's Birthday, every family in the kitchen, paste a list of house centipedes, with a red paper, on which is written "house centipede, cockroach, centipede, ants, all insects into the ground", upside down in the water tank, stove base, etc., to symbolize the insects into the ground.

The Birthday of the Hundred Flowers On the twelfth day of the second month of the lunar calendar, commonly known as the "Birthday of the Hundred Flowers" (Hundred Flowers Fairy Birthday), every household cuts red paper and pastes it on the branches of the flowering trees, which is known as the Appreciation of Flowers.

Ching Ming Festival Cham for the Willow Festival, there are wearing willow, willow habit.

Summer Festival Every year around May 6 on the Gregorian calendar for the summer, marking the beginning of summer. On this day, there has always been the custom of eating sweet wine to taste the "three fresh". The "three fresh" are "three fresh on the ground": amaranth, broad beans, garlic seedlings; "three fresh in the water": sea snails, anchovies, white shrimp; "three fresh on the tree ": cherries, plums, toon heads.

Duanwu Festival The Dragon Boat Festival is held on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar every year, also known as the "Dragon Boat Festival".

Summer Solstice The summer solstice is held around June 22 in the lunar calendar every year, and most of the people in Huong Dai have the custom of eating wontons on the summer solstice.

Shezao On the fourth, fourteenth and twenty-fourth days of the sixth month of the lunar calendar every year, families make balls of rice flour and four colors of vegetables as shezao vegetarian dishes, and offer sacrifices to the God of Zao to show sincerity and fasting, which is called "breaking the butchery".

Midwinter Festival On the 15th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar every year for the Midwinter Festival, commonly known as the half of the 7th month, also known as the "Ghost Festival". On this day, people, rich and poor alike, offer sacrifices to their forefathers, which is called the "half of the seventh month"; if there is a new death, it is also called the "half of the new seventh month", and sacrifices are made on that day.

Jizang birthday Every year on the 30th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar, every family burns "Jusi incense" at night, and during the day, an old woman goes to the Jizang Temple to burn incense and walk the immortal bridge.

The Birthday of Zaojun On the third day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar every year, incense and candles are prepared and paper ingots are offered to Zaojun. It is also offered on the 15th or 24th day of the 8th month.

Mid-Autumn Festival The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar every year. Everyone eats mooncakes, sugar roasted taro. Old habits in the evening at the door or courtyard set up a table, the table is dedicated to the incense bucket 1, put incense in the end of the wood chips, incense next to the insertion of some sandalwood incense, on the stage for the red diamonds, young lotus root, persimmons, pomegranates, chestnuts, white fruits, vegan mooncakes, and other offerings "Lent Moon Palace". Women traveling in groups of three to five to enjoy the moon said "walk the moon".

Chongyang Festival The first nine days of September on the lunar calendar for the Chongyang Festival, which is the first cold news after the fall, there are the custom of ascending the heights and eat Chongyang cake.

Winter Solstice The winter solstice is celebrated on December 22 every year, around the middle of November on the lunar calendar, when families offer sacrifices to their ancestors, cook meat and kill chickens, and drink winter wine.

La Ba Day The eighth day of the twelfth month of the lunar calendar is La Ba, also known as La Sacrifice. This day with lotus seeds, white fruit, red dates, cinnamon meat, chestnuts, or with green vegetables, radish, broad beans, red beans, Cigu, water chestnuts and other additions to the fragrant Japonica rice, glutinous rice and so on cooked into Laha congee to eat, rumor has it that you can get rid of diseases.

Twenty-four nights after the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month, the families in the indoor dusting, generally no later than the twenty-third day, so there is a "dusting three, not dusting four," said. To the twenty-fourth day, it is called "twenty-four night", also send stove day. On this day, every family sacrifices new glutinous rice flour dumplings to the stove, i.e., "sending the stove god", and the dumplings are also called "thank you stove dumplings". On the night of the 24th, the family ate the dumplings and called it "An Orchestra".

New Year's Eve On the 29th day of the 12th month of the lunar calendar (small month) or the 30th day of the lunar month (large month), this day is the New Year's Eve or "Lunar New Year's Eve", which is traditionally the last day of the year. The day before New Year's Eve is the Small New Year's Eve. New Year's Eve is one of the more elaborate folk customs, with family reunions, Spring Festival couplets on the front door, and New Year's paintings on the inside of the house. Sacrifice to the gods and ancestors, the family ate a reunion dinner, after the meal, to receive the stove to welcome the gods, elders with red paper sealed money to the children, called "New Year's Eve money". That night, all to late at night before going to bed, commonly known as "keep the New Year's Eve".

Marriage customs

Climbing small relatives In the old days, in Wu County, east and west of the water countryside was prevalent in the rural areas, the male family that the boy did not climb to the pro, is a shame to be a parent; the female family that the daughter landed on the outside world, early in-laws early to rest assured. Therefore, children at the age of three or four years old, by the order of parents, matchmakers, to set their life events.

Matchmaking In the old days, matchmaking was generally a man's home on the woman's side, the woman's parents met to determine the woman's side, if the woman stayed with the man for dinner, it means that the marriage can be finalized. After the founding of New China, the matchmaking gradually changed from the woman on the man's door, when the man and woman can meet.

Marriage In the old days, it was called "doing marriage". On this day, a feast was held in the center of the hall, hanging and the axis and couplets, the wall plastered with big red "happy" word, guests were full of doors. Children of rich families get married, there are stage drummers, trumpets, women sitting in sedan chair, cape, male robes and coats, worship heaven and earth, feet on the green bag (meaning "generation") into the bridal chamber.

Returning to the door On the second day of marriage, the couple returned to their parents' home. The new son-in-law picked a basket full of gifts (a wooden container larger than a basin) to meet the father-in-law and mother-in-law, the woman's family hosted a banquet, and said that every two days to the man's home to do the full moon. After dinner back to everyone, asked after sunset "look at the chimney do not see" time. A month after the marriage, the wife can not go back to her mother's home to live, in the honeymoon can not be empty.

Do full moon Three days after the wedding, the male family hosted wine, reception of female relatives and friends. These people from the woman's family who went together to the man's family for the banquet became the new relatives and had to come and go in the future.

Funeral customs

Reporting the land After the death of a person, two or three relatives of the deceased in a heavy mourning, hand-held mast lamps, with paper horses, to the land temple kneeling incineration, that the deceased to the netherworld to report. Mouth also recited the hope that the king of Yama on the deceased from the lesser punishment.

Opening of the funeral After the death of a person, by relatives will be removed from the bed to carry the remains to the front of the hall, placed in the door on the board, the head facing outward, hanging the mourning mantle, hanging statues, the head of the side of a small table, point of oil lamps, incense and candles, the house bawling cries and drummers playing music, a funeral atmosphere. After the founding of New China, most of the mourning scrolls (i.e., quilts, also known as "hanging scrolls") and money (called "folding white money") were sent. The mourners to come to the condolences of friends and relatives guests, each given a white cloth called "Lishibu", to be invited to eat a vegetarian meal, dishes to vegetarian dishes, which must be tofu, said "eat tofu rice".

Small coffin for the dead body and face. Male by the pallbearer on behalf of the life jacket, the deceased generally wear "three waist (pants)" "five collar (clothes)". Women are taken care of by their daughters, and then Taoist priests or monks and nuns make merit, called "sending to the West".

The coffin will be placed in the coffin of the deceased, covered with quilts, the hand side of the application of small objects, the mouth containing jade or silver. Filled with lime around the package, with a large nail to the lid of the coffin. Into the coffin, the immediate family members to wear mourning, white head white Za, crying and hooting, around the coffin three times, and finally to the deceased to the mourning ceremony, the younger generation of the deceased kneeling, to show goodbye. Drummers play music, the atmosphere of sadness and solemnity.

Funeral, burial In the old days, the rural areas, more coffins parked in the field, covered with wood curtains or do "mound pit", also parked in the home, choose the day of burial. Funeral, commonly known as "out of the coffin", before the musicians, paper streamers to lead the way, the eldest son of the tablets, relatives to send funeral, four people double-barreled coffin, the side of the tin foil, paper money, howling across the bridge. The water town area after lifting the coffin straight off the boat, the eldest son holding the tablet kneeling at the front of the boat, the grandchildren in the back. Funeral home called "back to mourning", outside the home burning a pile of fire ("three lights fire"), everyone from the top of the cross, the daughter-in-law grabbed the front to go in order to get rich. Where the mourners back to their own homes, but also in front of the door burning fire across, said "dusting bad luck". After the funeral, the funeral home does not keep guests.

After the implementation of cremation in the 1960s, the urns were buried directly or taken home for the funeral pyre, and then buried on a certain date. The burial site is usually on a plot of land reserved for the family, made into a high stack, on top of which are planted wannabes and other plants.

Dietary customs

Staple food Three meals a day, with rice, porridge, in the long-term habits of the formation of light taste, seasoning, salty and sweet "Su Gang Cuisine". The practice of stir-fry, deep-fried, burned, stewed, warmed, simmered and so on.

Spring cake and spring rolls eaten on the day of spring, commonly known as "bite spring". To water dry noodles into the kettle, baked into a thin coat, with caper shredded meat or cabbage shredded meat or bean paste as a filling, wrapped into a roll, into the frying pan fried, the color of the golden yellow attractive, crispy and delicious taste.

Eating New Year's Wine From the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar to the fifteenth day of the end of the family and friends invited to eat and drink with each other, commonly known as "eating New Year's dinner".

The round rice balls, mostly eaten at the Lantern Festival, are rolled balls made of glutinous rice flour and cooked with cinnamon and sugar, which are sweet and unctuous. There is a folk custom of "lanterns on the round cake".

Supporting the waist cake on the second day of February called "dragon head-raising day", the rains will be coming, will soon start spring plowing preparations for planting, farmers and townspeople to the next year cake fried and eat, called "supporting the waist cake", the folk proverb, "support the firewood and rice with the The body is healthy, do not worry about the end of the year muscles and bones labor".

Mindfulness cake on the third day of March to the next year cake fried and eaten, said to be able to see, commonly known as "bright eyes cake".

Cold food on the Cold Food Festival From the story of the Duke of Jin burning Jie Zhi Pui, the day of the ban on fireworks and cold food.

Green Dumplings Green dumplings are steamed with green grass juice and rice flour covered with bean paste or other fillings.

Warming the Lotus Root Filling the holes of the lotus root with glutinous rice and covering the root with a lid, it is then boiled in water to warm it up.

Ching Ming Food Customs Qingming Festival to eat Malan head, wolfberry head, snail, then all year round eyes bright, folk "Qingming snail race white goose" said.

Wine brewed on the day of summer, the people have eaten wine brewed, fresh bamboo shoots, green broad beans, salted duck eggs, dumplings and onions and peppers pig head meat habit. Children hang a line on the neck of the "egg Luozi", containing a salted duck eggs, said to eat the eggs can grow white and fat, and can roll (meaning the same as "mixed") over the summer, do not get sick, as the saying goes, "summer eat pork, summer not Resistance to summer". Summer Resistance and Resistance to Summer". There are children grinding teeth at night or urination, this day, as long as you hide behind the door and eat pig's tail can be cured and so on.

Dumplings May 5 on the lunar calendar for the Dragon Boat Festival, this day the family wrapped dumplings, folk proverbs, "summer to eat only dumplings, a summer health loose loose", "Dragon Boat Festival to eat only dumplings, the old man to send".

The fruit is made of fermented flour and sugar blended and pressed thin, cut into diamond shapes, deep-fried and become.

Mooncakes and osmanthus-sugar taro carrots are eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival to symbolize a full moon and sweetness.

Chongyang cake Ancient people put "nine" as the number of Yang, the first nine days of September is the two nine phase is heavy, so it is called the heavy nine or the heavy sun, this day to eat the heavy sun cake: rice flour and candied fruit into a five-color cake or to cloud cake instead of, implying that all things are as high as possible. Some people in the cake inserted triangular colorful paper flag, symbolizing the meaning of rising and ascending.