Why does the custom of giving birth to boys spread?

Why does the custom of giving birth to boys spread?

Why does the custom of putting lights on boys spread? In our traditional culture, there are actually many festivals and customs that have been circulating for a long time. You know, different regions have different ways to celebrate. Why does the custom of putting lights on boys spread?

Why did the custom of boys putting lanterns spread to 1? Literally means watching lanterns. In Chinese and Hakka, it is a festival in xingning city and its surrounding areas in Meizhou, Guangdong. Each family enjoys different lanterns. According to their ancestors, families with the same surname usually celebrate festivals on the same day, but families with different surnames also celebrate festivals on the same day. In Xingning, Longwei represents a big family. Lantern viewing starts from the ninth day of the first month to the seventeenth day of the first month, and most families concentrate on the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth days of the first month.

The custom of ringing bells in Xingning evolved from the Lantern Festival, which is the cultural heritage of the traditional farming era in China. Xingning Lantern originated in Yuan Dynasty and prevailed in Ming and Qing Dynasties. After more than 600 years, it was passed down from generation to generation. Xingning lanterns have a beautiful meaning, and they are entrusted with the good wishes of Xingning Hakka people, such as good weather in one year, peace in all seasons, bumper crops, prosperous population and developed family business.

Because the Hakka ancestors in Xingning had a small population when they first arrived in Xingning, the Hakkas were relatively weak and had the desire to have more boys. Ring ding is a celebration of Gardin. Activities of welcoming lanterns (D) and raising lanterns (D) in ancestral houses with the same surname in the same village.

If one of the families gave birth to a boy last year, the family would be very busy. Families with boys will invite their relatives and friends to congratulate them. Friends and relatives will send fireworks and bamboo. The bigger the fireworks and bamboo, the better. This represents the wealth of the family. After dark, the whole family will move back to their hometown (Dragon House) to celebrate and set off fireworks, which will make people happy.

On the day of ringing the bell, some locals call it Boys' Day, because the reason why lantern appreciation was born is more like being designed for boys. In the past, women were not allowed to sit at family celebration banquets, and only men could sit. But in recent years, due to the change of family planning and traditional ideas, some people have only one child, and some richer families have girls. Hakka traditional ideas have changed greatly in this respect, and most people will be willing to celebrate whether they have boys or girls.

People in Xingning don't welcome lion dancing on this day, because lions represent girls, and everyone wants to have more boys. Therefore, there are usually few people dancing lions on this day. Even if the dragon family comes down to dance the lion, there are few red envelopes.

On the day of ringing the bell, some places will invite "Yuanxiao". Collecting lanterns is very lively. When collecting lanterns, boys must lead the way. People carry paper lanterns, walk out of the dragon enclosure through the back door, and then make a big circle around Fiona Fang within 10 km. After returning to the Dragon Circle from the main entrance, there will always be two dragon lanterns along the way, while putting the whip and continuing to put it.

Do you know why Hakka people are popular with the custom of having boys with lanterns?

Hakka culture is profound and dazzling. There is a little-known Hakka folk custom-"putting lanterns on".

The custom of Hakka lighting is widely spread in all ethnic groups and regions. It takes "Tianding" as the center and carries out activities of worshipping and comforting ancestors in the form of "lanterns". Also known as "appreciating lanterns" and "holding lanterns".

The origin of "lighting"

In Hakka dialect, "Deng" is a homonym of the dialect "Ding", and it is also a symbol of light, hope, igniting a prairie fire and endless life.

Hakka people came all the way from the land where they lived in the Central Plains, and finally settled at the intersection of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi. Their unique life experiences have enabled Hakkas to form national unity, meet the survival needs of defending the enemy, and have produced the tradition of respecting ancestors and celebrating the "Heavenly Ding" with lanterns.

"Turn on the light" is Gardin.

In Hakka clan society, every boy has to hold a "lighting ceremony" all his life. People who put lanterns are of all ages. The boy who just gave birth to a child is called "Saint" and the older one is called "Saint". For various reasons, such a ceremony was not held.

Therefore, the "Lantern Festival" is actually a celebration held by all ethnic groups for the newborn boys of that year.

It's time to "light up"

Every year, anyone named "Tianding" (that is, having a boy) must hang a new lantern (harmonious "Ding Xin") in the upper hall of the ancestral hall.

The earliest "lighting" date is the ninth day of the first month, and the latest is the nineteenth day of the first month, but most of them are around the fifteenth day of the first month. "Lighting a lamp" means reporting to ancestors that a new person has been added to a family.

The form of "lighting"

When "putting out lanterns", we should hold "three sacrifices", drink alcohol to honor ancestors and the gods of heaven and earth, and also hold "putting out lanterns and wine" to invite relatives and friends to reunite and congratulate.

This custom is more complicated, which evolved in Hakka areas. After they put on lanterns, they have to "warm the lanterns" in the middle (it is an activity in the process of "putting on lanterns" and cannot be called "warm lantern festival").

Finally, it is "respecting ancestors and thanking heaven and earth", which is very grand and warm, with the atmosphere of "one family adds more talents and the whole village celebrates".

The change of the custom of "lighting"

On the Lantern Festival next year, Hakkas who gave birth to their sons will put lights on their ancestral halls, that is, hang a beautiful lantern, and then invite the dignified old people in the village to hug the boy and formally write his name on the genealogy. The boy will officially become a member of this family, and then put down a banquet to entertain the men in the village to drink.

With the progress of social civilization, many daughters are playing with lights now, and their daughters have entered the family tree.

The custom of Hakka lighting has a long history, some hundreds of years, some thousands of years. Now this custom has become more colorful, which deeply embodies the excellent cultural heritage consciousness of Hakka people.

Why does the custom of lighting lights for boys spread? What does it mean to light a lamp for boys?

What is the meaning of the earth and the sun?

Numbers range from one to ten, nine is the pole of yang, ten is the tail of yin, yang is the sky, and yin is the ground, so the ninth day of the first month is the "sky" and the tenth day of the first month is the "ground". Earth Day is the birthday of the land and the birthday of the stone. The ancients believed that the basic elements that make up everything are wood, fire, earth, gold and water, among which spring wood, summer fire, autumn gold and winter water are the characteristics of the four seasons.

The earth was born in four seasons, and in orientation, it corresponds to the Huanglong in the sky, so the earth is the repository of all things. Therefore, the last month of each season belongs to the earth, that is, the four months of "Chen Xu Ugliness". Therefore, the original wood, fire and water are Tai Chi, and the same as "wood, fire and water" are soil, that is, the four images are soil.

So metals can be produced in the soil, metals can flow out of the water, and trees can grow. Trees can make fires, and at the same time, wood is soil after decay, and soil after gold rust is exhausted. When the fire burns out, water enters the soil. So the five elements all circulate in the soil. Of course, people are also composed of five elements, so they have to be buried to be safe and circulate.

So "Earth" is the birthplace of all things, and "Earth Day" is also "Earth Day" and "Stone Day". Therefore, it is a custom to "recognize the stone" every day. The so-called "recognizing the stone father" is to let the children recognize the stone as their father, because the stone is extremely hard and can protect the healthy growth of the children, which means that the children are as strong and long-lasting as the stone.

What is "lighting"?

The 10th day of the first month is also the Lantern Festival, which is an ancient custom. As early as the Han Dynasty. Generally, the Lantern Festival lasts for five days, and it is divided into three steps: lighting, warming and lighting. From 10: 00 on the first day of the first month, it is also called "turning on the light". This kind of lighting is specially for children to pray for peace.

"Cenxi County Records" records that "every year on the tenth day of the first month, every family that is born before the tenth day of the first month of that year and has a full moon hangs lanterns to celebrate". "Shang" means "hanging" and "Deng" means "Ding", so a boy at home is called "Tianding", which is homophonic with "Tiandeng".

It means that a boy was born at home the year before last, and the child was full moon before the tenth day of the first month. On the tenth day of the first month, we should "light up", that is, "add lights". If there is no full moon, it will be the tenth day of the first month of next year.

When lighting a lamp, it is usually the father of the child who carries firecrackers from his door and puts them on the roots of the community in the village, and then hangs lanterns with the boy's name on them in the light shed. "She" refers to the place where the landlord lives in the village.

The elders in charge of writing genealogy in the village will write the name of the boy on the lantern into the genealogy after seeing the lantern. On the day of "lighting", we were the first to worship our ancestors, that is, to tell our ancestors that "more people have been added" to our family. And to hold a banquet to entertain the villagers, commonly known as "please light wine."

After putting lanterns, you should "warm the lanterns", that is, after the eleventh day of the first month, the elders should watch them in front of the lanterns in the morning and evening, and cheer and worship the lanterns to ensure that the lanterns will not go out day and night, indicating that the incense will continue. On the 16th day of the first month, lanterns are taken down and hung in ancestral halls or living rooms, which is called "falling lanterns".

This custom is to hope that children can be protected by their ancestors and landowners and grow up healthily. The reason why Earth Day lights up is because the land is the mother of all things and the place where all things are born. Therefore, "there are more children at home, and the lights are on every day" is an expectation for children.