Hope it is helpful to you Xiangfan Folk Customs and Family In the old days, Xiangfan natives or immigrants from other places settled in one place. Due to the prosperity of the population, they developed into large families. Some villages were named after their surnames. For example, the Dong family in Dongtai on the outskirts of the city, the Chen family in Chenjiaying, and the Liu family in Liujiahe live together as clans. They have clan property, clan rules, and clan culture, and family affairs are managed by the clan leader. Clan members with wealthy families and seniority also have a certain say, and intra-clan organizations are often mixed with rural government organizations. Some clan chiefs are township chiefs, Bao chiefs, and Jia chiefs, integrating clan power and political power into one person. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, family organizations disintegrated, but the consciousness of clan leaders in rural areas still existed, and the tradition of naming according to genealogy was still prevalent.
Hospitality Xiangfan people have always been hospitable. When guests arrive, they greet them with open arms and say "rare guest", wait for hot tea, and sit with them to chat. The guests were seen off at the door, and they said goodbye with hand-to-hand instructions, "Go slowly" and "Come again." When having a guest for a meal, there must be wine. There is a saying that "it's not the food but the wine that's strange." If there is no food or rice prepared, the banquet must be preceded by wine and then the meal. Do not eat first and then the wine, otherwise it will be considered "offending" (a homophonic pronunciation for "rice"). The meal and wine must be forced to persuade, and it is better for the guests to get drunk. If the host is not good at drinking, ask someone who can drink to accompany the guest to encourage him to drink. The food is also forced to be added, lest the guests are not full. Often when the guest's bowl is not finished, the host brings another bowl and knocks it into the guest's bowl from behind while the guest is unaware. The host is not satisfied until he has finished eating and there is something left. This is called "knocking rice" (pronounced "kang rice" in the native pronunciation of Xiangfan). . Nowadays, the greeting and farewell gift has been abolished and replaced by a handshake. The custom of knocking rice on the table is no longer common, but the ritual of drinking wine is more popular than in the past. Seats and seats: In the old days, when entertaining guests and hosting banquets, people paid great attention to the number of seats and seats. If you invite elders, teachers, or older people in the neighborhood as guests, you will be invited to sit down. Generally, the one facing south is the upper seat. If the door of the house does not face south, then the door of the house is used as the direction mark. The one with the back of the sacred cabinet and facing the door is the upper seat. The companions sit on the left and right, and the lower seat is on the opposite side. The wood grain of the table seam should be horizontal to the left and right, and should not face the seat. If more than two tables are arranged at the same time, the main room will be the chief one and the main guests will be seated. The hall is the second seat, where ordinary guests sit. The identity, seniority and age of the accompanying guest must be equivalent to that of the guest. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, these customs still existed, but they were far less strict than in the old days. There is no such thing as such among public officials and colleagues. Socializing with Relatives and Friends Since ancient times, the folk customs in Xiangfan have been simple and simple, with little regard for profits and high importance for righteousness. Friendships have been linked to adversity and disaster, and misfortunes and blessings depend on each other. At the same time, there is a culture of respecting teachers and elders. There are many courtesy exchanges between relatives and friends. Seasonal festivals, weddings and funerals, births, birthdays and relocations all involve giving gifts and congratulating banquets, which is called "giving favors". There is a saying that "favors are as big as debts". Some neighbors get along well with each other, are close to each other every day, and have closer interactions than relatives. This is called "distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors, and close neighbors are not as good as the opposite door." After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the loyalty of the people in the world was somewhat diminished, and the custom of "giving favors as gifts" also gradually faded away. Since the late 1970s, the trend of "giving favors" has become popular again and has become a bad habit that everyone hates but cannot get rid of. Marriage Marriage is an important part of the continuation of the family. The ancients attached great importance to it and the etiquette is very complicated. There are six rites: receiving gifts, asking for names, accepting gifts, accepting gifts, and asking for a date to welcome the bride. Marriage in the old days in Xiangfan gradually evolved into several steps: engagement, date selection, and wedding. Engagement: First, the man’s parents invite Mr. Hong (a matchmaker) to the woman’s house to propose marriage. If the girl's parents agree, Hong Ye will deliver the girl's "Bazi Geng Tie" (i.e. a Cambodian sticker indicating the year, month, day and hour of the girl's birth) to the man. Commonly known as "Na Bazi", also called "Chuang Geng". The man's parents choose an auspicious day and ask a trusted fortune teller to calculate the horoscopes of the man and woman, which is called "combined horoscopes". If two people are in conflict with each other in their lives, then the marriage proposal will be abandoned; if they are compatible and mutually beneficial, then they can get engaged. The entire engagement process is decided by the parents, and young men and women are not allowed to interfere. As the saying goes, "The orders of parents are the words of matchmakers." Optional date. After getting engaged, men and women give the woman a gift once a year, called "Cai Geng". When the appropriate time comes, the man invites Mr. Hong to come to the woman to negotiate the wedding date, and the woman puts forward the specifications for the betrothal gift. Mr. Hong goes back and forth, and after both parties agree, the betrothal gift is given and the date of the wedding is determined, which is usually set on an auspicious day of the zodiac or a double day in the lunar calendar. People in Xiangfan like to choose the eighth, eighteenth, and twenty-eighth days of the lunar month, which is called "to achieve success, never leave the eighth day". Welcoming a bride is also called "expired" among the people. The day before the wedding, a banquet is held to entertain guests. The man calls it "Nuan Lang Wine" and the woman calls it "Shu Hair Wine". On the wedding day, the groom is neatly dressed, wearing red and colorful clothes, sitting in a sedan or riding a horse, and leads the sedan to welcome the bride. The sound of firecrackers, gongs and drums continued along the way. Go to the woman's house and worship her ancestors. The bride wears a phoenix crown, a hijab on her head, and a red coat and skirt. After bidding farewell to her ancestors, she gets into a sedan chair and is sent off by her brothers or nephews. This is called "the wedding ceremony." Then, the groom's sedan (horse) leads the way, followed by the bride's sedan and dowry, and gongs, drums, and firecrackers welcome the groom's family. After getting off the sedan, the bride is helped by her bride to get off the sedan and go to the hall. She and the groom worship the heaven and earth, worship the high hall, and enter the bridal chamber to drink the wedding wine. On that day, guests, cousins, and uncles can all participate in the "house party," which is called "nothing big or small for three days." During this period, there was a big banquet for guests, which was called "drinking wedding wine". All relatives and friends who give gifts are included in the banquet. Those who see off a bride from her mother's side must sit in the chief seat and go to the banquet, and go home immediately after the banquet. On the third day, the bride's brothers or nephews come to welcome the newlyweds to their parents' home, which is called "returning home". After dinner and wine, he returned to his husband's house, saying that "the room will not be empty for three days." Throughout the wedding process, there are many trivial symbolic studies. For example, if peanuts, chestnuts, and red dates are scattered on the bed in the bridal chamber, it is a good omen for "early birth of children" (dates and chestnuts) and flower embryos (alternating birth of sons and daughters). Putting the bride and groom's shoes together symbolizes that the two will grow old together, etc.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the country promulgated the "Marriage Law" and the feudal arranged marriage system was abolished. The old wedding ceremony was also changed. Men and women were free to fall in love and register for marriage. Weddings are often held on national statutory or folk traditional festivals. From the 1950s to the 1970s, simplicity was a thing of pride. The woman does not need a betrothal gift, and the man does not care about the dowry. He walks or rides a bicycle to welcome the bride, and the etiquette is generous and simple. When state officials get married, a ceremony is usually held in the office, and guests are treated to wedding candies, cigarettes, and tea. Although people entertain relatives and friends at banquets, they are relatively simple. In the 1980s, people's living standards generally improved. Some families purchased high-end furniture and household appliances for their weddings, welcomed their brides in cars, and hosted banquets for guests for days. This often wiped out the savings of both families over the years. Some young people and parents also advocate frugality. Don't be ostentatious, disrespectful, or treat guests. Let the newlyweds participate in the collective wedding organized by the relevant departments. After the warm and simple ceremony, the newlyweds plant concentric trees. This not only symbolizes the everlasting love, but also contributes to the greening environment. His contribution has been widely praised by the society and gradually formed a new trend. In the old days, when a man lost his spouse and remarried, the etiquette was the same as that of the first marriage, which was called "continuation of the relationship." Women generally no longer marry, and remarrying is called "remarriage", which is commonly known as "leaving the same family again". There is no ceremony for the remarriage, and the groom can be welcomed to his home by someone else. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, widows who remarried received social recognition and legal protection. Birthday celebration is a celebration of birthday, commonly known as "passing life" or "making life". Children eat longevity noodles and wear new clothes on their birthdays, and their elders give them toys, stationery or food. The 50th, 60th and 70th birthdays of the elderly are more grand and are mostly hosted by younger generations. Relatives and friends congratulate them, send birthday couplets, birthday plaques or other gifts, and the host entertains them with wine. Funeral: Burial was popular in the old days, and special attention was paid to the coffin (also called longevity wood). It was mostly made of high-quality wood such as fir, cypress, and catalpa, and was framed on the inside, carved on the outside, and painted repeatedly. After a person dies, he is washed, put on a shroud, and placed in a coffin, which is called "encoffining." The coffin is placed in the mourning hall and "paused" at night, accompanied by the deceased's relatives, for three days. Then the filial son and grandson will take him to the cemetery for burial. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the above-mentioned feudal superstitious activities in funeral ceremonies were gradually abolished. Cremation was promoted in the mid-1970s. When a funeral occurs, state officials and most citizens only set up mourning halls, place wreaths and elegiac couplets, and hold memorial services. Family members and friends wear black gauze on their left arms to express their condolences, and the etiquette is solemn and solemn. In recent years, some old customs in folk funeral rituals have been revived in a few places. Spring Festival The first day of the first lunar month is the Spring Festival. People in Xiangfan attach great importance to the Spring Festival. It is not only grand and lively, but also lasts for a long time. In fact, preparations for the festival begin as soon as the twelfth lunar month (commonly known as the twelfth lunar month) enters. Streets and villages organized rehearsals for entertainment programs, made lamps, and practiced folk songs and dances such as dragon lanterns, land boats, and carts. Every household buys seasonal food and utensils, and pickles chicken, duck, fish and other cured meats, which is commonly known as "New Year's goods".
December 23rd is called the "Little New Year" (the guest residents from the south regard the 24th as the "Little New Year"). It is an old custom to worship the stove on this night. Every family cleans the indoor and outdoor areas, cleans and paints the stove, places an incense table in front of the portrait of the Kitchen King and his wife, and offers stove sugar (glutinous rice candy), stove cakes (sugar cakes) and seasonal fruits as sacrifices. Some people also light lamps and scatter stove candies, stove cakes and other items in the stove. After the sacrifice, the portrait of the Stove King is burned and sent to heaven. Then a new portrait is purchased and posted on New Year's Eve, which means to welcome the Stove King home. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, this old custom was abolished, but the tradition of cleaning indoor and outdoor environments was inherited. Zao sugar stove cakes also evolved into seasonal foods, and superstitious sacrifices were no longer performed. The 30th day of the twelfth lunar month is New Year's Eve. On this day, people post door gods and Spring Festival couplets to welcome family gods, set off firecrackers, light braziers, reunite families, and have a "reunion dinner." Housewives scatter water chestnuts in the four corners of the house, and put a few green onions and garlic seedlings on the bedside and in the pockets of children's clothes (the pronunciation of water chestnuts in Xiangfan dialect is the same as "Buji", and the pronunciation of "onions and garlic" is the same as "flush"). Good luck avoids bad luck and disperses disaster stars. At night, they make "yuanbao" (equivalent to northern dumplings, but people in Xiangfan use trapezoidal noodles to wrap them, so they are shaped like silver ingots, hence the name) and stay up all night, which is called "staying up late". After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the door god evolved into New Year pictures, the Spring Festival couplets also had new contents, the custom of welcoming family gods was abolished, and Bao Yuanbao's tradition of staying up late on the New Year's Eve was inherited. With the popularity of television in recent years, it has become a habit to watch Spring Festival gala programs on New Year's Eve. Whenever midnight. At the turn of the year, the streets and alleys are filled with the sound of firecrackers to welcome the New Year. The first to third day of the first lunar month are the official days of the Spring Festival. Worship ancestors in the early morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year. The younger generation pays New Year greetings to their elders, and the elders send "lunar New Year money" to the younger ones (or send it on New Year's Eve). During the Qingming Festival, New Year's money is often made into hundreds of pieces strung with red thread, which means "hundred years old". Later, banknotes were universally used, and the amount of money varied according to the family's economic status. Eating dumplings as the first meal at the beginning of the year is called "getting ingots", which symbolizes good fortune in the new year. Then, relatives and neighbors pay New Year greetings to each other, and treat each other with cigarettes, tea, cakes, wine and rice depending on the distance between them. Merchants and business owners generally do not visit their distant colleagues and customers in person to pay New Year greetings, but only send shop assistants and students to distribute New Year greeting cards to express their congratulations. On the second day of the Lunar New Year, my son-in-law brought gifts to his parents-in-law to pay New Year greetings. The Yue family will entertain you with wine and food. As the saying goes, "On the first day of the Lunar New Year, you bow to your parents, and on the second day of the Lunar New Year, you bow to your mother-in-law." This ceremony is absolutely indispensable. Secondly, I pay my respects to my aunts and uncles. On the third and fourth days of the Lunar New Year, relatives and friends generally greet each other, and close relatives and friends begin to receive spring guests. The fifth day of the lunar month is called "Powu". The whole family eats "Yuanbao" and has a banquet, which is as grand as the first day of the Lunar New Year. There is a saying that "breaking the five elements is like a new year". In the old days, there were many taboos during the Spring Festival. For example, no fresh rice was allowed to be cooked before Po Wu (except for "Yuanbao"). Even if there was a banquet, the staple food could only be steamed steamed buns and steamed buns cooked before and eaten hot. If there is fish during the meal, it is generally not eaten.
If the fish head points to the lower seat when placing the fish plate, it means that the owner has prepared more fish (more than enough) and the fish can be eaten. If the fish head points to the direction of the upper table, it means that the fish must not be eaten. Keep the whole fish, which means there is more than enough. Water cannot be poured on the ground, and garbage cannot be thrown out of the door. Sweep the floor from the front door to the house, which means that the treasure will not leak out. People who are particular are not allowed to say unlucky words even from the beginning of the twelfth lunar month. If they cannot avoid it, they will use synonyms or conventional words instead. For example, if it is unlucky to say "the meal is finished", it should be said "the meal is finished"; "Dead" is unlucky, and should be translated as "people are old", etc. The couplets for keeping filial piety to the doorgod of a family should be written on yellow paper, and they should not go out to pay New Year greetings to relatives and friends.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, with the elimination of feudal superstition, folk sacrificial activities gradually disappeared. Many taboos are no longer respected. Many employees of factories, mines, enterprises and institutions stayed at work and production during the Spring Festival. Leaders at all levels went to the streets to clean up and clear the snow on the first day of the new year. The elderly and employees who stick to their posts send New Year greetings and congratulations, and some units hold group visits. A new trend is gradually forming. Lantern Festival The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival, also known as the Lantern Festival and the Lantern Festival. It is the largest festival after the Spring Festival. It is an old custom in Xiangfan that on the day before the Lantern Festival, good people dress up as county magistrates, wear clown clothes, hold a 3-foot-long tobacco bag or an extra-large folding fan, and ride on a wooden pole that is as thick as a bowl and more than ten feet long, and is carried by two "civilians" In front of them, there are "men" holding high "Quiet" and "Avoid" signs to clear the way, followed by "Mrs. Shake-in-law" who "rides a donkey" and "men" who carry "chamber pots" (chamber pots) on their shoulders, all the way. Beating broken gongs, shouting in front and crowding in crowds, "stimulating lights" along the street. Whenever the merchants, civilians, and gentry passed by the door, the "officer" would shout: "Shopkeeper, are the lamps ready?" The owner would join in the fun, pretending to be frightened, bowing and replying: "As I said, it's ready." The officiant turned around and reported to the "County" "Taiye" and "County Taiye" then made some gesticulations and impromptuly passed down some "orders" and "rewards and punishments." The "lady" who "rides the donkey" sings and dances to add to the fun. The "handy boy" stepped forward and brought up the "chamber pot" to toast the "county prince", making jokes that were half true and half false, humorous and full of festive joy. Folks call it "the old man riding a stick". The 15th is the official day of the Lantern Festival. Every family puts up lanterns in front of their doors, which are colorful and dazzling. Lions, dragon lanterns, land boats, stilts, clam shell spirits, Gaotai stories and other singing and dancing performances are performed in the streets and alleys, which is very lively. There are even more skillful people who choose the local specialty red-skinned white radish, carve various patterns on the outer skin, hollow out the inner flesh, and install candles and strings. The name is "radish lantern", which is exquisite and cute, for children to play along the street. On the 15th, we will have soup yuan for dinner, which can be boiled, fried, or stir-fried. It is delicious.
Continue playing with lanterns on the 16th. Chuantian Festival This is a unique festival in Xiangfan in ancient times. Zuo Jiyu of the Song Dynasty said in "Ji Ribian" that "the 21st day of the first lunar month in Xiangyang is called the 'Chuantian Festival', the day when Yunjiaonan is undressed. The county is moved to the shore of the Han River, and the beautiful city floats down from the mountains in green boats. Women Look for a small white stone in the beach that has a hole to pass through, run a colored thread through it, and hang it on the head, thinking it is auspicious to have a child." March 3: Four miles west of Xiangyang City is Guishan, commonly known as Gongshan. Because there is a Zhenwu Temple built on the mountain, it is also known as "Xiaowudang", "Xiaoding Mountain" and "Zhenwu Mountain". The residents of Xiangfan mistakenly call it "Zhougong Mountain". There is an old custom in Xiangfan that if you visit on the third day of March, you can avoid disasters.
Also, more than twenty miles to the west of the city, there is the place where Zhuge Liang farmed and studied - Longzhong. Every March, peonies bloom in full bloom, and people in Xiangfan rush to see them. Therefore, there is a custom of "looking at the peonies in full bloom in March". After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Zhenwu Temple was destroyed, and the superstitious custom of going to Zhenwu Mountain to eliminate disasters was abolished, but the custom of spring outings in Longzhong still existed. The difference from the old days is that it is not just about viewing peonies, but it has also evolved into an educational activity for young people to love their hometown and love their motherland.