Lanshan District-Customs and customs
It is an old custom in the territory that when a man marries a woman, there must be "the orders of the parents and the words of the matchmaker". The main procedures are as follows:
Proposal of marriage--the matchmaker's proposal of marriage is also called "matchmaking". After the marriage is proposed, the parents get to know each other. If they are interested, they will ask someone to check the birth dates of the boy and girl, and calculate based on the twelve zodiac signs and the five elements of "metal, wood, water, fire, and earth". If they are not incompatible, they will choose an auspicious day to "make the marriage". , make a lifelong commitment. Men and women do not meet, it is all arranged by their parents. Young men and women have no choice but to "resign themselves to their fate", so there are sayings that "if you marry a chicken, follow the chicken, if you marry a dog, follow the dog" and "If you marry an official, you will be an official's wife, and if you marry a pig, you will
rubber the intestines".
Engagement--Sending a letter is also called "engagement". After the two parties confirm the marriage, the man prepares the "engagement gift (clothing, jewelry, cash, etc.)" as a gift to the woman. The age of the man and woman, the names of their parents and the matchmaker must be written on the book, which will be exchanged by both parties as the basis for the marriage. Also known as "Chuan Cambodia" and "Guo Hongzi". The wedding date is determined based on the horoscopes of both men and women, and the woman is notified. This is commonly known as the "send date". The bride's crown and hair, the orientation of sitting in the tent, getting on and off the sedan chair, and the attributes of the men and women seeing off the guests are all written on it. Both parties notify their relatives and friends respectively, and the relatives and friends give each other gifts of money and things. The man calls it "gift giving" and the woman calls it "giving a filling box".
Marriage - also called "taking a wife". A few days before the wedding, an auspicious day is chosen, and the man sends someone to the woman's house to deliver some wedding clothes, fish, meat, chicken and other items called "sending dowry" to indicate that the wedding date is approaching and the wedding must be done on time. The man was very lively, decorating the new house, posting couplets and "Double Happiness", and asking the chef to prepare wine and food. It is customary for the bride to get married as early as possible, usually with two male guests, also known as "seeing off guests"; and one female guest, also known as "salan watcher" or "car weigher", who is usually the bride's sister-in-law or sister. . The bride wears a wedding dress, a flower crown, and a "head-covering red" covering her head and face. After getting off the sedan, she is supported by two women who are supporting their wives. Sit in the entrance hall, worship heaven and earth, and enter the bridal chamber. Sprinkling chestnuts and dates means "early establishment of children". Those who were scattering chestnuts and jujubes said as they were scattering: "Throw the chestnuts first and then the dates. The older ones will lead the younger ones and run away." It is intended to have more children. After the groom steps on the bed, he has to eat eggs with a big mouthful. Narration: "Bite the eggs with a big mouthful, and live a good life." At night, the groom and the bride eat "pasta" and drink "wedding wine" together. Men and women from the neighborhood, old and young, enter the bridal chamber to "make trouble". The lights in the bridal chamber are kept on all night long, which is called "the ever-bright (life) light". Before the bride and groom get together, the groom's younger brother goes to the bridal chamber to deliver a "urinal". While delivering it, he says, "I am bringing a urinal for my brother and sister-in-law, who will give birth to a nephew for me." After the bride and groom fall asleep, there are still people sneaking outside the room. Listening to what is going on inside is called "listening to the house"
A widow remarries - a widowed woman is called a "widow". In the old days, widows who did not marry were called "keepers of the festival". There is a custom of "if a married man follows his husband, if a widowed husband follows his son," that is, the widow is not allowed to pass the second threshold. If you remarry, your parents-in-law will consider you unfilial, and your neighbors will denounce you as "unchaste." Public opinion believes that after death, it will be split into two, and the two men will each get half. The remarried woman's family objected and her parents-in-law blocked her, so she had to escape alone late at night. After leaving, the late husband's family was burned with straw "fire" after his death, which means to burn away the "Mourning Star".
The residents in the territory have been mainly farmers since ancient times, advocating hard work and careful family management. It has always been the creed that "in the world of life, the banker comes first", and there is a saying that "playing with dragons and tigers is worse than playing with soil". Farmers who "face the loess and back to the sky" all year round are regarded as "keeping to their own standards", and men farm and women manage the house from generation to generation.
In the old days, farmers worked long hours and with high intensity. After the Spring Festival, they "cut out the dung first, prepared the shovels and shovels" and started working. Planting in spring, hoeing in summer, harvesting in autumn, and storing in winter, the four seasons repeat themselves all year round. At the beginning of spring, we are busy dumping and delivering manure, and preparing enough soil and fertilizer to lay the foundation for a good harvest. It is known as "Planting the land without applying manure is equivalent to fooling around" and "Crops (are) just flowers, all dependent on fertilizer." Then prepare the land and plant the seeds at the right time, that is, "before and after Grain Rain, plant melons and beans." Then there are the following. Field management based on weeding and pest control ensures that the seedlings are full and flourishing. "In a year of good harvest, no field without seedlings will be harvested." Due to wind, rain and hail in summer, the custom of harvesting wheat quickly is generally "80% ripe and 10% harvest", and "throw the field first if you are busy or not". After the wheat is harvested, people rush to sow the crops, fighting for the day and time. As the saying goes: "In May, the fields are as early as the night and the high as the punch." If the environment is good, it is forbidden to sow seeds deep. There is a saying that "the May beans are half exposed". After hoeing the ground in the summer, it is the beginning of autumn. The weeds begin to grow slowly, and "the grass sticks that stand in autumn are knocked down", so the custom of "hanging hoe hooks in autumn" appears. Autumn harvesting and autumn planting are the busiest seasons of the year. As the saying goes: "Three springs are not as busy as one autumn." At this time, work at sunrise and rest at sunset. Breakfast and lunch are eaten on the ground, harvesting, plowing and planting without daring to neglect. It is advisable to plant wheat early rather than late. There are sayings such as "Look at the early wheat from both sides of the white dew" and "Plant wheat early to get up and apply manure late". "People who work hard are not lazy." If crops don't grow well, they are said to be "lazy."
In the past, when agricultural productivity was low, farmers often said, "Everything you can eat is given to you."
If the crops grow well, they are called "divine growers", and if they harvest more grain, they are called "divine harvests." There are superstitious customs of "praying for rain" when there is a drought and "respecting the sky" when it rains after a long drought!