What are the customs of the Zhuang New Year?

The customs of the New Year of the Zhuang people are:

One of them is to get up early and set off firecrackers

The Zhuang area used to have no clocks, and they used to use the rooster's crows to set the time. When the cock crows the first time, people have to get up immediately to meet the new year, can not sleep. The Zhuang people believe that the first day of the New Year, if someone sleeps at home, the year's crops will grow slowly, the child sleeps on the bad reading.

The whole family got up and put on new clothes and shoes, first to the ancestral spirit of the place to burn incense and light candles, placed offerings, and all the doors in the home on both sides, the stove and the mother's room, "Flower Woman" (God of blessing of children) on the spirit of the place of incense.

After all the preparations were made, firecrackers were set off, and the person who lit the firecrackers must seize the moment, preferably to light the first firecrackers in the village, but it was taboo to light them at the same time with other families. If the other family has been lit, to wait until the other family's gun is finished before immediately igniting their own gun. After the firecracker is fired, the child should "congratulate" his grandparents and parents and other elders, but there is no need to kowtow, the elders should give the child some money and firecrackers, and then the family will go their separate ways.

After the firecrackers are set off, the children congratulate their grandparents, parents and other elders, but they do not have to kowtow, and the elders give the children some money and firecrackers, and then the family members go about their business.

The activities of the first day of the Lunar New Year

The activities of the Zhuang compatriots on the first day of the Lunar New Year are as follows:

1, welcome "congratulations". Elderly people sit in the hall, open the door and wait for children from other families to come to "congratulate", and give them some money and firecrackers.

2. Invite the "God of Society". Young and strong men take a handful of lighted incense and stick it in front of the local land temple and the stone dogs at the beginning and end of the village.

3. Drawing "new water". Young girls or daughters-in-law from each family carry buckets of water, paper money and a few lighted joss sticks to the riverside springs where they draw water, find a place to stick incense and pray to the water god. After burning paper money and singing a "water begging song", they go to draw "new water". "After picking the new water, they poured it into the empty tank that had been cleaned on the previous day, and continued to do so until it was full.

4. Making the soup garden. After the first quan "new water" pick back, part of the family will be busy doing glutinous rice soup garden. The Zhuang in Wenshan, Yunnan Province, use the "new water" to cook ginger, scallions, bamboo leaves, plus brown sugar, the whole family and guests have to drink.

5, please cow. In Donglan, Bama, Fengshan and other places, children take the cattle rope to the river, looking for a hole through the stone (a symbol of the bull's nose), as much as possible, and then tied with a cattle rope, pulled back to their own pens in the "foster" up. In the traditional concept of the Zhuang people, cattle are very important livestock. Every year on the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, the Zhuang people also have cattle soul festival!

6, "steal" onions and garlic. When drawing "new water", the other girls in the family will split up to "steal" onions and garlic from the vegetable gardens of other families, or wait for the girl who draws "new water" to come back to "steal" after she picks up water. "The first time I saw this was when I was in the kitchen, and the second time I saw it was when I was in the kitchen.

The object of the "stealing" could only be green onions and garlic, and the owner would not only not mind, but would also be happy, thinking that it would be a good omen if other people snatched what they had planted.

Three, the taboos on the first day of the Lunar New Year

And we are the same as the Central Plains, the Zhuang people on the first day of the Lunar New Year there are many taboos.

1, prohibit sweeping. The Zhuang people believe that this day to sweep the garbage out of the house is an omen of the outflow of wealth, so, although the home of the firecracker debris and fruit peel kernels are all over the ground, but also let it go, the family is not even allowed to touch the broom.

2, forbidden to see blood. Most of the Zhuang people believe that the first day of the year to see blood is unlucky, so it is prohibited to kill, but also prohibited to take sharp knives, so as not to hurt the hands of sharp bleeding.

3, ban on meat. Some places believe that meat is not clean, eat on the first day of the New Year inauspicious.

4, no hitting, cursing. Many places believe that hitting is to give strength to others, and later they will not be able to do the work. If you curse or speak foul language, your mouth will get sores, so even if you encounter something very annoying on this day, you can only hold back your anger.

5. It is forbidden to grind rice and spring cereals. Longan area that people work hard for a year this day to rest, the mill should also rest. Some places believe that the mill is shaky, if the first day of the year grinding rice spring valley, will make the dam or house collapse. Therefore, the grain to be eaten on this day needs to be prepared the day before.

6, not allowed to rattle the fire. Strong people believe that if the first day of the New Year, the fire to stir the fire coals, it is a sign of the beginning of the spring sowing of seeds will be wild animals to stir and collapse.

7, taboo debt collection. Some places believe that during the Spring Festival, borrowing or being called on to collect debts, foretells that this year's production and business is inauspicious, so if you want to borrow or call on debts, you need to be before New Year's Eve and after the first month of the fifteenth night.

The above taboos, after the first day of the year, most of which is lifted on its own, people no longer abide by.