What are the celebrations and traditional activities on the 16th day of the first lunar month?
The sixteenth night of the first lunar month is one of the traditional Chinese lunar festivals, a day full of endless fun and joy. "On the sixteenth night, people fry twisted dough sticks, carry bamboo baskets, dance with torches, flirt with people and curse, send cattle stakes, and everyone, young and old, have fun." I don't know how many years this folk song has been passed down here. If you want to know more about the first month of the lunar calendar in 2018, please pay attention to our fortune teller website!What's the significance of the 16th day of the first lunar month?Carrying bamboo baskets and dancing with torches On the evening of the 16th day of the first lunar month, we had dinner early and started "carrying bamboo baskets". The so-called "carrying a basket" is to put some quicklime in a gauze bag, tie it to one end of the weighing rod, and then a person holds the other end of the weighing rod and throws the gauze bag to the ground, leaving white spots on the ground. Of course, there are certain rules for "carrying the basket". You always have to "carry" it from the riverside wharf first, then to the front and back doors, patios and inside the house. When the "carrying basket" is finished, the front and back of the house will be covered with dense white spots. The more white spots there are, the better the grain harvest will be this year.It is impossible to verify the origin of the torch dance on the 16th day of the first lunar month, but in our rural area, it is still performed every year. When we were young, a few of us would go to the collective kiln factory and bring a bundle of reeds on the afternoon of the 16th day of the first lunar month. Ah Hua would steal a few dimes from home to buy small firecrackers from the store, and then we would work hard to make torches. Of course, never forget to put a few small explosions in the middle of the torches. After all the preparations were done, I was looking forward to the sun setting quickly. After we carried the basket, we immediately started dancing with torches. At that time, the land had just been contracted to households, and the contracted fields of mine, Ahua, Kang Yong and several other households happened to be together. So we lit torches and ran crisscrossing in the contracted fields. It is said that the higher the flames rise, the better the harvest will be that year. The torches made our faces red, and the small explosions in the torches made us both scared and excited. The adults stood on the edge of the field and looked at us with smiles on their faces. After dancing with torches, cross the torches. It is said that jumping over torches can drive away bad luck and usher in good fortune. Adults and children alike jumped over the flaming grass bundles. Sometimes, we could jump back and forth non-stop, which drew the adults' admiration. Fried twisted dough sticks, flirting and cursing. After crossing the torches, the adults would go home to fry twisted dough sticks. Fried twisted dough sticks were made by putting corn in an iron pan and frying it over fire. Some families who didn't have corn used rice instead. It was said that frying twisted dough sticks could fry rat eyes; the harder the corn was fried, the more rats would die. While our parents were frying fried dough sticks at home, we were having fun and continued with our own games. The elders said that it is most auspicious if someone scolds you on the 16th night, commonly known as being scolded "bad luck", which can get rid of the bad luck of the year. So, when the adults came home, a few of us went to the farm to the home of Aunt Wang, who loved to curse people the most, and teased them and cursed them. The usual practice is a three-step process: knocking on the window, kicking the door, and setting off firecrackers. We arrived at Aunt Wang's house and first knocked on the window. When we saw that she didn't start scolding, we kicked the door. If she still didn't start scolding, we lit the small firecrackers we had prepared during the day and threw them into the house through the crack in the door. After trying every possible means, there is often little effect. Although Aunt Wang usually scolds people without blinking an eye and everyone in the village calls her "wild hornet", she just doesn't say a word on the 16th night of the first lunar month. If she gets angry, she will get up from the bed and scare you. However, as soon as we heard the footsteps, she would run away without a trace. There was only one time when Ahua broke the glass on Aunt Wang's window because he used too much force. The next day, Aunt Wang complained and we all got beaten up. Thinking about it now, it seems like a distant story. The Chinese traditional custom of sending cow stakes on the 16th day of the first lunar month is a long-standing custom. At that time, people didn't know about family planning. Many families, after having girls as their first or second child, always wanted to have a boy, so they asked people to give them cow stumps in the hope of having a boy. Many times, anyone who gives a cow stake always gets what he wants. Therefore, sending piles was more popular at that time. Eight men are required to participate in the Ox Post, preferably with different surnames, and there must be a young man among them. The eight people made the appointment during the day and went to the invited family's house for dinner in the evening. After eating and drinking, when most people were asleep, the eight people went to steal the cattle posts. The stolen items included bricks, bowls, shoes, etc. The family whose son is robbed must have many boys, and must be powerful and popular in the village. After the stolen items were wrapped in red paper, they were given to the youngest of the group to take. This was called "holding the pole." Then we went to the host's house together. When they arrived, the oldest ones started to shout "good luck" and the people behind them responded, of course all of them were congratulating the host on having a baby soon. The young man holding the stake would hold the stolen items, climb onto the owner's bed, sleep for a while, and finally urinate on the bed. Then hand the stake respectfully to the owner for safekeeping. The few of them ate and drank again, and did not go home until very late. Everyone must keep their mouths shut and never mention sending or stealing stakes before someone has a baby, otherwise it will not work. When the owner of the house gives birth to a boy, they must go to the family whose items were stolen to announce the good news. The children of both sides recognize each other as godfathers and godmothers and become relatives. This is why they want to steal things from powerful and popular people. The child’s name is also very interesting, he is called what he steals. For example, if the person steals a bowl, he would be called "Wan'er"; if the person steals a pair of shoes, he would be called "Xie'er". Only when the person grows up will he be called by his full name. When the child is one year old, the family that stole the stake must return the stolen amount to the family whose property was stolen, returning ten or a hundred times what was stolen. If you steal a brick from someone, you should return a hundred bricks to him; if you steal a pair of shoes, you should return ten pairs of shoes to him. You might also like:
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