How much do you know about the Lantern Festival customs? Let's learn how the Hakka people celebrate the Lantern Festival
Introduction: Time flies, the Spring Festival holiday is over, but we are about to usher in the first festival of 2017 - the Lantern Festival. Hakka people all over the country attach great importance to this festival, and various Hakka folk art activities have formed a rich and colorful Lantern Festival culture. Let’s learn about how Hakka people celebrate the Lantern Festival! During the first month of the lunar calendar, you will have a good year. The first month is the most important month of spring. Mr. Shui Mo will share with you some knowledge about January.Hakka Lantern Festival Customs: Playing with LanternsThe Lantern Festival has a history of more than 400 years in our city. It was originally a folk dance popular in Shakou Town, Yingde County, Qingyuan City. The Lantern Festival was introduced from the Central Plains, and this custom can be found in villages such as Qingxi and Hongfeng in Shakou Town. Among them, Qingxi Village is the main one. In Hakka dialect, "deng" and "ding" have the same pronunciation. During the Lantern Festival, the lantern teams (organized by each village) set out at dusk. Every time he arrives at a house, he will shout loudly: "The lights are here, the lights are here, take the lights, take the lights..." It means that there will be a new baby this year, so he is very welcomed by the villagers. The host family will set off firecrackers to welcome the lantern team.Hakka Lantern Festival Customs: Phoenix DanceFengwu, also known as Shuangfengwu, is popular in various towns and villages in Qingyuan City (abbreviated as "Qingcheng", also known as "Fengcheng"). Fengwu performances are held during folk festivals such as the Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and on occasions such as people moving into a new house and getting married. The Fengwu performance mainly uses props, with percussion accompaniment, and suona (instead of the shepherd's earthen flute) playing the introduction and interlude. The percussion music plays a role in setting off the atmosphere, making the whole scene quite lyrical, cheerful and warm.Hakka Lantern Festival Customs: Spring Ox DanceThe Spring Ox Dance was introduced to Guangdong as the Central Plains culture moved southward, and was widely spread in Qingyuan, Xinyi and other places. The "Spring Ox Dance" is usually performed from the Beginning of Spring to the Lantern Festival every year, expressing people's expectations and wishes for "spring". The characteristics of the Spring Ox Dance are its strong flavor of life, simple movements, and mostly simulations of daily movements and the habits of cows, which are vivid and natural. The scenes and images depicting farming activities are lifelike and basically reproduce life. The actors perform "circular steps", "small steps" and "cross steps" to the rhythm of gongs, drums and music, which are easy to master and use. During the period from the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival, the bull-dancing teams would beat drums and gongs during the day and dance the spring ox to visit various villages and towns to wish a happy new year. They would first perform on a large square in the village, and then visit every household to wish a happy new year. Generally speaking, Hakka people are warm and pay attention to reciprocity, so every village has a bull-dancing team, and they visit each other to wish each other a happy New Year. Therefore, during this period, all towns and villages are very lively.Hakka Lantern Festival Customs: Lion DanceThe lion dance was first popularized by the Liu family in Weizhen Village, Tangtang Town, Fogang County of our city. It was formed in the long-term farming customs. This traditional folk cultural activity aimed at entertaining gods and people has a history of more than 200 years. The lion dance activity starts on the sixth day of the first lunar month every year when lanterns are lit (according to Hakka custom, families who have just added a male child must place a lantern in the ancestral hall). On the fifteenth and sixteenth day of the first lunar month, the lion dance will be performed in the village to all families who have added male children or married new daughters-in-law in the previous year. After 2:30 p.m. on the 16th day of the first lunar month, families with new babies or newly married daughters-in-law in the village would bring firewood and arrange them in the shape of a dragon at the entrance of the ancestral hall, light incense and dance with lions, and enter a carnival.Hakka Lantern Festival Customs: Welcoming Ancient Events"Welcoming ancient events" is also an important project. "Gushi" is a parade in which children are dressed up as various ancient figures and fixed on iron frames. The most famous one is the "Walking Ancient Stories" in Luofang, Liancheng. It is characterized by its large scale and strong competitiveness. It takes more than 80 able-bodied men to carry the ancient things, and 18 of them take turns to carry and run. After carrying the animals on land in the morning on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, people carried them upstream in the river in the afternoon. There were huge crowds of people on both sides of the river, chasing each other amid the sounds of gongs, drums, firecrackers, muskets and shouts. The event was tense, exciting and thrilling, and was described by the media as the "Hakka Village Carnival." Some towns and villages in Changting, Yongding and other counties also hold this kind of "welcoming ancient events" activities, but they are just parades without racing or competition.Summary: The above article is a specific analysis of how Hakka people celebrate the Lantern Festival. You can learn about it. We also hope that in the new year, everything will go well for everyone! After reading this article, there are more exciting contents in the special topic of the first month of the lunar calendar. Let’s take a look! |
<<: How to use Feng Shui tips to improve your fortune during the 2017 Lantern Festival
Recommend
Is December 11th of the twelfth lunar month in 2021 an auspicious day? Is it suitable for door installation?
It’s the coldest time of winter, but the New Year ...
Is October 22nd of the lunar calendar 2019 a suitable day for travel? Is it a good day to travel?
Introduction: Many times, you have to choose an au...
Where is the God of Wealth on November 29th of the lunar calendar in 2020? What is the direction?
The arrival of the eleventh month of the lunar ca...
What are the do's and don'ts on April 13th of the lunar calendar in 2018?
The beauty of April on earth has faded, and the p...
Where is the direction of the God of Happiness on the second day of September 2019? Who is the God of Joy?
Where is the direction of the God of Happiness on...
Is the Spring Equinox on March 20, 2020, a suitable date for moving house? Do we need to worship the dead?
Moving house is a matter of Feng Shui, and one mus...
Is it a good time to raise the roof beam on May 26, 2020? When does the dog days of summer start in 2020?
Introduction: It is also necessary to choose an au...
Introduction to the zodiac signs of babies born on March 20th of the lunar calendar in 2022. Is it Aries?
Aries is one of the twelve zodiac signs. So, let’s...
What zodiac sign does a baby born on August 21, 2017 belong to?
Introduction: When a baby is born, there will be a...
What is the date of November 30th in the lunar calendar of 2019?
What is the date of November 30th in the lunar ca...
Can we hold sacrifices on the 28th day of the seventh lunar month in 2018? What is the significance of modern sacrifices?
In modern life, due to environmental deterioration...
Where is the God of Happiness on the 21st day of the sixth lunar month in 2019?
The wind and rain in June, drop by drop, hit the ...
Where is the direction of the God of Happiness on the seventh day of May 2017? Is the God of Happiness the God of Fortune?
There is an important festival in the fifth month...
Is it good to be born on December 21, 2019, in the Year of the Pig? What kind of fate does he have?
Everyone who is born in the Year of the Pig is kin...
What day is the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month in 2021? Is the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month the Little New Year?
On the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, the bu...