What are some of the betel nut related customs around China?

There are a lot of betel nut-related customs.

The betel nut can be regarded as a "little master" of marriage in the Hainan Li ethnic group. Marriageable young men and women dating love songs, will be "singing betel nut", singing out of love. When proposing marriage, the man must carry betel nut to show his sincerity and respect. When getting engaged, everyone sits together to eat betel nut, eating out of a happy and fulfilling new life. When the wedding is held, the woman has to share the betel nut brought by the man's guests with everyone, which is a sign of good luck and prosperity. When it's time to return home, the bride will also bring betel nut and some other gifts back to her mother's house and stay there for a few days to inform her parents about her life in the man's house and how well the husband treats his wife.

In addition to playing an important role in marriage customs, betel nut is also a "regular" in the list of goods for people in some areas of the south during the most important traditional festival, the Spring Festival. In Hunan, after the "opening of the door of wealth" on the first day of the Lunar New Year, when guests come to pay New Year's visit, the host will always hand over two betel nuts wrapped in red paper, saying "presenting Yuanbao, congratulations on wealth", in order to express people's good wishes for the New Year. When paying New Year's greetings, the younger generation will give the elders the wrapped betel nut horns together with their New Year's blessings. When the elders receive the betel nut corner, it means that they have received the blessings of the New Year.

In addition, betel nut is also a hardcore social item in daily life. In the southern part of China, there has always been the custom of "offering betel nut to guests". When guests come to the host's home, the host will definitely offer betel nut. Therefore, almost every family will put some betel nut on the tea table to entertain the guests. And as a guest, when you visit your friends and relatives, you will also carry a bag of betel nut yourself. The saying, "If it is not betel nut, it is not a gift" has been widely recognized. Thus, betel nut has not only become a leisure food for people after meals, but also a carrier of social culture that expresses people's generosity, hospitality, and making friends.

Today, betel nut has been used in China for thousands of years, and betel nut culture and folklore have been passed down for thousands of years and are closely related to people's daily life. In the future, what kind of development and inheritance of betel nut culture and custom will be, we still need to see the practice and attitude of our generation.