Introduction to Jingjiang Spring Festival Customs

Jingjiang folk New Year customs include sending stoves on the 24th night, fermenting on the 25th, steaming steamed buns on the 26th, frying broad beans and peanuts on the 27th, cleaning on the 28th, wrapping wontons on the 29th, posting couplets on the 30th night, and women on the first day of the first lunar month do not Cook breakfast on the stove, be careful not to impure the gods, and ask them to take good care of the children so that they will not cry. This will be a good start. Eating rice noodles for breakfast is called "Reunion". Those who come to pay New Year greetings are given peanuts, broad beans, melon seeds, candies, etc., which are called "sweet mouths". Eating wontons, dumplings, or leftover meals from New Year’s Eve for lunch means “more than enough every year.” In the afternoon, three or five people gather together to throw dice, play cards, and play mahjong for fun until "Lamp Down" (the eighteenth day of the first lunar month) to wash their hands. Throughout the day, people "bringing money to the God of Wealth" and begging in disguise (disguised as begging) walked the streets, and folk cultural activities such as dragon lanterns and lion dances were held throughout urban and rural areas. It is getting late, and every family tells the children to go to bed early and does not light the lights, saying that it will not disturb the "rat wedding". Every household will sweep the floor that night. If the floor is not swept on the second day of the lunar month, it is called the birthday of the floor. Starting from the second day of the Lunar New Year, we go out to pay New Year greetings. The custom of paying New Year greetings to close relatives first and then distant relatives lasts until the seventh and eighth day of the lunar month. As the saying goes: "When New Year greetings arrive on the seventh or eighth day of the lunar month, there will be some wine left in the jar." On the fifth day of the lunar month, the God of Wealth is worshiped, and merchants' homes in cities and towns often offer sacrifices with heavy rituals.

During the Lantern Festival in Jingjiang, farmers use rice scraps to make models of chickens, fish, pigs, ducks, cotton bags, fruits, etc., paint them with colorful colors and steam them. They offer them to the Buddha in the morning, burn incense and light candles, to pray for "a good harvest and a prosperous livestock." ". Larger market towns such as Jingcheng and Jishi also hold lantern activities. Rural dragon lanterns and flower boats also gather in the market. On this day, each temple has a natural incense period, and believers go to the temples to burn incense. Young men and women, especially women, flock to the markets to watch lanterns and plays. Therefore, girls born in rural areas are called "those who go to the streets in the first half of the first month". Starting from the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, every family lights candles and holds lanterns in front of the Buddha statue in the evening, and gathers in front of the lamp happily. Some invite their neighbors to gather together, and invite "Nine Girls" in front of the Buddha to ask about the girl's foolishness and wisdom; or they invite "Tianhe" "Girl", "Cinderella girl", "Shit vat girl", etc., predict good times and good fortune for people and animals in that year. If you have eye diseases, you can also make a wish to hang a "sky lantern" during the Lantern Festival in the coming year.