Main Etiquette and Customs
Marriage Etiquette and Customs Matchmaking In the past, young Hakka men and women could ask a matchmaker to arrange a marriage after the age of sixteen. Usually, the parents of the boy's family ask a matchmaker to go to the girl's family to talk. Sometimes the girl's family asks a matchmaker to visit the boy's family first. Seeing girls: The male and female families negotiate through a central mediator. If both parties are interested, they agree on a time to "see girls." After both parties agree to write the Geng Tie, they must tell each other their birth dates and horoscopes. After returning home, each of them asked a fortune teller to "calculate their horoscopes". If the eight characters match each other and will not conflict with each other, write out Geng Tie (common name for marriage list) and place them on the incense table. If there are no ominous signs within three days, the marriage will be decided. (If the eight characters do not match, the husband will The female Geng Tie is returned to the female family). Compiling a red slip is also called "a red wedding slip" or a wedding invitation. The man's parents, clan relatives and matchmaker go to the woman's family together and issue the financial gifts that the man wants to give to the woman's family. Some of the red slips also include gifts for the son-in-law, such as hats, silver flowers, clothes, shoes, socks, etc. During the process of opening a red order, both parties will bargain and finally negotiate and finalize. After the red orders are drawn, the men and women also exchange tokens such as rings, handkerchiefs, etc. Finally, the man came back after lunch at the woman’s house. Engagement is also called "making a big gift", which is to formally confirm the marriage again. The young man and his parents will go to the girl's house and bring pig heads, fish, meat, etc. The girl's parents, brothers-in-law, uncles, grandparents, etc. will all be present. After lunch, the girls will come out to meet each other and call the boy's parents parents, and the parents of the two families will call each other their in-laws and in-laws' mother. Housekeeping is when the woman goes to see the man's family. Some of the time is before the "big ceremony", and some is after the "big ceremony". In addition to the girl and her parents, the woman's aunts, sisters, etc. will also go. There are more than a dozen people, big and small, without any gifts, even if they bring some, the husband's family will not dare to accept them. After the wedding is decided, the man will ask a fortune teller to choose a date for the wedding, including the day and time when the bride will go out and the time when she will return to the groom's house. In addition, the day for the woman to cut her red dress and the man to make the bed must also be determined at the same time. Sending vegetables and carrying dowry One or two days before the bride comes to the house, the groom's family will ask relatives to deliver the betrothal gifts specified in the red slip, as well as fish, meat, poultry, noodles and other items to the bride's house by more than ten people. , furniture, etc. back to the man’s home. Welcoming a bride is also called welcoming a bride or passing through the door. The day before the wedding, more than ten people from the groom's family will go to the bride's house to pick her up. There will be a drummer band, some will set off firecrackers, some will carry sedan chairs, and some will burn incense (they will go to the bride's ancestral hall, temple, or commune to burn incense), and one person will carry the burden. There is a lead chicken (one male and one female) on one end, wine and pineapple on the other. A woman has to bring the bride's clothes, and two people carry wooden baskets, and they have to carry fish, meat, wine, and cakes. , cigarettes, firecrackers, candles, etc., the matchmaker will also go. Some grooms will go, some will not. If the groom goes with him, the groom will also have to make a sedan chair. The one who sets off the firecrackers is the man's plenipotentiary, and he will bring one or twenty red envelopes with him. indivual. After arriving at the bride's house, the bride-to-be will first have snacks, and then the bride's family will take them to the ancestral hall to burn incense and pay homage to their ancestors. The girl's family will host a banquet at noon or evening. The bride usually leaves at midnight or Mao hour, and the sky becomes brighter and brighter as she goes, which symbolizes walking towards the light. If she goes out at night, she will not encounter unlucky things such as carrying a coffin. In the front of the wedding procession are the lantern players, followed by the music players, the sedan chair is in the middle, and behind are the people receiving the bride. When the bride arrives at the groom's house, if it has not yet arrived at the stipulated entry time, she must wait on the square at the gate or in a house next to the door. Entrance is usually at seven or eight or eight or nine in the morning, and some even have to wait until noon. At the entrance moment, the bride has to kick the sedan door, and the groom's bridesmaid will lead the bride out of the sedan, and then "cross the fire" at the gate. The bride steps over the fire made of fir branches before entering the gate. After the bride enters the hall amidst the sound of drums, she begins to worship. The incense table is arranged in the hall, with parents and elders standing on the east side, relatives on the west side, relatives on the north side, and juniors on the south side. Before the ceremony, the bridegroom's wife should hang a red cloth on the groom's body with a five-foot-long red cloth. He chants: "Holding a red flag five feet long in hand, I use it to pretend to be the groom, so that the groom can give birth to a son. If he gives birth to a son early, he will be the number one scholar." When worshiping in the hall, the groom stands on the left and the bride stands on the right. The rites call: "Bow to heaven and earth." , the second time is to worship the ancestors, the third time is to pay homage to the high hall, and the fourth time is the couple is worshiping each other. Finally, relatives meet and give red envelopes to the bride. After the ceremony, the bridesmaid leads the bride into the bridal chamber with a red bow, and the bride and groom scatter wedding candies from the door to the hall amidst the sound of firecrackers. Then the bride and groom have a cup of wine. The bridesmaid held a chicken on a tray and said while serving wine: "Reunion is a perfect match, a beautiful couplet", "Avalokitesvara sends a son, and a child will be born early"; "Husband and wife are reconciled and grow old together". (This etiquette is no longer common in the Meizhou area and has been replaced by modern wedding models.) A banquet is held at noon and a wedding banquet is held. A loud cannon is used to invite guests. It is fired every half hour and three times when the banquet begins. Then the etiquette will give a list of names, and there will be two seats at each table. According to their seniority and closeness, they will be arranged to sit at the table first, and then the others will sit at their leisure. Male and female guests sit separately, and the bride and groom go to the table to toast. There are two types of house riots: one is in the hall, the other is in the new house, and some are in the hall first and then in the new house. During the riot, firecrackers were set off every few minutes until midnight. The return door is also called the "revolving door". Usually on the third or fifth day after the wedding, the woman sends the bride’s sisters and other female family members to invite the bride and groom to be guests together. The matchmaker and the groom’s sisters also go with them. There are 7-14 people. After lunch, the wedding will be held on the same day. return.
One month after the wedding, the bride's family will come to send the full moon, and at the same time they will send chickens, vegetables, seeds, grain seeds, beans, etc. to indicate a good harvest and a prosperous fortune. Mother-in-laws are often strict with their daughters-in-law. They have to start working three days after they get married. Traditional festive customs 1. Birth etiquette prompts the birth of a married daughter. When a daughter is about to give birth, usually one to twenty days before the baby is born, the mother's family will bring chickens, eggs, Noodles, dried noodles, etc. are brought to the daughter's house to "stimulate birth", which means to wish for a safe birth. If the mother is no longer here, the sister-in-law will be responsible for the birth and a banquet will be held at noon. 2. Coming-of-age rites Hakka coming-of-age rites are divided into two types: men's and women's. The coming-of-age rite for men is called the "Guan Li", and the coming-of-age rite for women is called the "Hairlock Lit." (The Hakka coming-of-age etiquette is commonly known as "going out of the garden") When celebrating a birthday, the married daughter will be given a big rooster, as well as a shroud, a birthday hat, a birthday cake, a birthday shoe, and a birthday socks, a complete set from head to toe. The father will make a birthday gift, At the same time, a complete set should be given to the mother. In addition, birthday rolls, wedding cannons, birthday candles, roosters, birthday peaches, birthday noodles, birthday cakes, birthday wine, birthday meat, etc. should also be given. Others come to celebrate birthdays, and generally relatives and friends send birthday banners, birthday couplets, or additional gifts. In many places, elderly people who are over seventy years old, have many children and grandchildren, and have a good family background celebrate their birthdays by holding a birthday ceremony. For Hakka birthdays and birthdays, insiders send gifts by themselves and come to congratulate them. Congratulations first and then invitations. Unless relatives and close friends send invitations, no congratulations or invitations are given. 4. Building a house and moving to a new home Hakka people regard building a house and moving to a new home as one of the major celebrations, and they should celebrate it grandly. When building a house, the positioning of the house and the orientation of the door must be determined by Mr. Kanyu. When the vertical pillars are raised and the beams are raised, lights and red couplets must be pasted. After a new house is built, it is necessary to "exorcise evil spirits" and "eliminate evil spirits" the night before moving in before moving in. When moving into a new home, you should bring a lantern (or oil lamp), a fire cage, a scale, etc. into the house, as well as a nest of chickens and a steamer of steamed rice to bring into the new house to show that the newcomer is prosperous and full of joy. When moving to a new home, you need to hold a "house-in-house banquet" and entertain relatives and friends, as well as house builders and helpers. Dishes should include leeks, tofu, pig intestines, pig blood, rice cakes, etc., which symbolize longevity and prosperity. Traditional annual customs New Year "The New Year is the first one". Like most places across the country, the Hakka people regard the New Year as the most solemn and joyful festival of the year. People start preparing for the New Year very early. In September and October, sweet potato slices and rice cake slices are dried for frying and stir-frying during the New Year. As soon as the "Winter Solstice" arrives, wine begins to be steamed. On the thirtieth day of the new year, every household will steam rice cakes, make rice crackers, butcher pigs, make tofu, slaughter chickens, etc. to welcome the new year happily. Sacrifice the Stove on December 23. The stove must be cleaned on the evening of the 23rd, the old Stove Lord must be taken down and burned, and the new image must be put up on the morning of the 30th. Arrange wine and meat, candies, sugar cane, rice crackers, etc., burn incense, light candles, and set off paper cannons in front of the stove. Entering the Nian Boundary On the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, the "Nian Boundary" is entered. Entering the "Nian Boundary" means that the sound of gongs and drums can already be sounded. Step up preparations to celebrate the New Year. People who go out have to rush home to celebrate the New Year. After reaching the age limit, children should be taught not to curse each other or say unlucky words. Before and after entering the new year, you should choose an auspicious day to sweep and clean the house. It is necessary to clean the kitchen tables and benches, wash and dry the bedding and mosquito nets, and celebrate the new year cleanly. Celebrating New Year's Eve New Year's Eve, also known as New Year's Eve, is the most lively and joyful day during the New Year. On this morning, every household will worship Bodhisattva and worship gods. On New Year's Eve, portraits of ancestors should be hung in every hall, and bright red Spring Festival couplets should be pasted on the door. Red paper strips should be pasted on barn doors, in front of poultry stalls, on furniture, beds, and beside water tanks, which is called "Signing the New Year." ", also called "Shanghong". Both adults and children should take a bath, put on new clothes, and celebrate the New Year cleanly. Each hall must also display an offering table, an incense table, chickens, fish, meat, fruits, etc. to worship the ancestors. On New Year's Eve, we have a reunion dinner with sumptuous dishes. A few extra sets of bowls and chopsticks should be placed on the table to invite the ancestors to come back and celebrate the New Year together. Before the meal, the ancestors should sift the wine first, sprinkle the wine on the ground, and then start eating. During the banquet, the elderly and children ate chicken drumsticks to show respect for the elderly and the young. After the reunion dinner, the stove should be washed clean in preparation for a vegetarian meal on the morning of the first day of the first lunar month or throughout the day. In the evening, we must stay up late to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year. Every room must be brightly lit all night, which is called "lighting the new year's fire." In some places, cattle pens and pig houses are also lit with lights. Parents need to give lucky money to their children, and in some places, they also give lucky money to the elderly. Opening the gate: On the first day of the first lunar month, the gate is opened according to the auspicious time specified in the "Tongshu". Suddenly, the sound of firecrackers comes one after another, resounding through the sky. Happy New Year: Eat vegetarian food on the morning of the first day of the first lunar month. After the meal, people greet each other and say auspicious words to each other. The children are wearing new clothes and playing happily, and some are vying to pay New Year greetings to their elders: "My father-in-law and uncle's family are getting rich, so bring the candy cakes and fruits to Ya (me)." On the second day of the first lunar month, relatives visit to pay New Year greetings. Especially the newly married son-in-law (the in-laws’ family will use book stickers to invite him) will go to the parents-in-law’s home to pay New Year greetings. Usually the young couple goes together, and sometimes the son-in-law goes alone; some come back on the same day, and some stay for five or six days. When you go, you should bring little hens, rice crackers, candies, incense candles, firecrackers, etc. When you arrive, you should burn incense, light candles, and set off firecrackers in front of the ancestors of the Yue family. At noon, the Yue family entertained guests, and the son-in-law had to get drunk. He would not be enthusiastic if he was not drunk. Eat "New Year's rice" on the morning of the third day of the Lunar New Year (some steam it on the evening of the 29th day of the first lunar month, and some steam it on the evening of the second day of the first lunar month). Put chopsticks on the rice. If there are people in the family, insert a few pairs. Put a branch with leaves on it, and some even put oranges, grapefruits and other fruits on it.
Before eating the New Year's meal, the meal should be placed on the "that day" altar to worship the gods and ancestors. There are a lot of dishes to prepare for New Year's Eve dinner, including chicken and meat, which is similar to having a reunion dinner on New Year's Eve. No killing is allowed on the third day of the lunar month. Chickens should be killed on the second day of the lunar month or kept during the Chinese New Year. On the fifth day of the first lunar month, the year comes out. The portraits of ancestors in the hall must be put away, the paper door curtains must be removed and burned, and those who go out to work can start their journey. On the seventh day of the first lunar month, "seven dishes" are eaten. The "seven dishes" here refer to seven vegan dishes that are stir-fried together. Also known as Leicha [3], Hakka people eat Leicha on this day, paired with seven kinds of vegetarian dishes to enjoy the Lantern Festival. On the 15th day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival is also called the "Shangyuan Festival". Every household prepares dishes and drinks to celebrate the New Year. . The Lantern Festival is about to take place, and the New Year's entertainment activities reach their climax. From the beginning of the Chinese New Year to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, recreational activities continue in various places, mostly dragon lantern parades and lion dances. Some activities start on the first or second day of the first lunar month. Before the dragon lantern and lion teams arrive, they will post a message in advance and give them red envelopes and snacks after they arrive. In addition to performing in every household, dragon lanterns and lion troupes also go to temples and ancestral halls in the village to pay New Year greetings to gods and ancestors. During the first market period after the Spring Festival, dragon lanterns, boat lanterns, lion lanterns, etc. all come to the market to perform, which is called "opening the market." During the period from the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival, there are the following recreational activities in various places: Spring Cow Sending is usually held on the first day of the Lunar New Year. A team of three or five people will form a team to deliver Spring Cow pictures to each household. There are those who play the suona, the snare drum, and the cymbals. , play at the door of each house, send a red sticker "Congratulations on the New Year", and the owner will give a red envelope. Straw dragons are cut into sections, filled with incense, and carried by children to dance in front of the stoves of each household and in the pig pens and cattle pens to wish the family a safe life and the prosperity of the livestock. Each household will give red envelopes, so that the children will be happy and the owner will seek good luck. Bat lanterns are also performed by children from house to house, saying "Fire dragon enters the house and wants you to hold a candle", "Congratulations on getting rich, buy land and build a house". Bat lanterns do not accept red envelopes, only candles. Boat lanterns are lanterns shaped like boats and are used for singing performances on land. Rehearsing before the Spring Festival, the gong and drum team played ten times to coordinate. After arriving at the village, after having snacks, there will be a performance in the open space. The boatman and the boat lady will sing "October Pregnancy", "Twelve Moon Ancients", "Melon Seeds", "One Flower" and other tunes. The boat man only rows and does not sing. song. In the evening, we have to "open the Heavenly Official" in the ancestral hall, sing "The Heavenly Official Blessing", etc., and finally have a drink and a meal. Lion Lantern There are Nuo people appearing, a lion head, a lion tail, a monkey, a monk Sha, and a gong and drum team. After the lion, monkey, and sand monk finish singing, they will perform martial arts performances, including boxing, knife dancing, stick playing, and table dancing. The Lions team will hire a master to teach them martial arts before the Chinese New Year. At the Spring Equinox in February, people begin to visit tombs and worship ancestors, also called "Spring Festival". Before sweeping the tomb, a grand ancestor worship ceremony must be held in the ancestral hall. Pigs and sheep are slaughtered. Drummers are invited to play. The ceremonial student reads the sacrificial text and leads the three offerings. When the spring equinox tomb sweeping begins, the tombs of Kaiji ancestors and distant ancestors are first swept and paid homage to. The whole clan and the whole village are mobilized. The scale is large, and the team often reaches hundreds or even thousands of people. After the tombs of the founding ancestors and distant ancestors have been swept, the ancestors' tombs in each house will be swept and worshipped in separate rooms, and finally each family will sweep and worship the private tombs of the family. In most Hakka areas, spring ancestor worship and tomb sweeping begins at the Spring Equinox or earlier, and must be completed no later than the Qingming Festival. There is a saying in various places that the tomb doors will be closed after the Qingming Festival, and the ancestors' spirits will no longer be used. Qingming Festival: During the Qingming Festival in the third month, we worship our ancestors. In most Hakka areas, in addition to the Spring Equinox tomb sweeping to worship ancestors, there are also some places where tomb sweeping is held during the Qingming Festival. On the day of Tomb-Sweeping Day, there are also some places where people worship the Lord Tutu and other shrines beside the road. Dragon Boat Festival The fifth day of May is the Dragon Boat Festival. Every household buys meat, kills ducks, makes rice dumplings, and makes rice crackers to celebrate the festival. The Dragon Boat Festival is a big festival. In many places, people who work outside will go home to celebrate the festival. Hungry Ghost Festival In Hakka areas, July 15th is often regarded as the "Ghost Festival". In some places, the festival is celebrated one day earlier. It is said that "people celebrate the festival on July 14th, and ghosts celebrate the festival on July 15th." In some places, Hakkas also worship their ancestors in the middle of July. Mid-Autumn Festival The Mid-Autumn Festival, commonly known as the "August Festival", falls on August 15th. It is also a big festival. Eat mooncakes, admire the moon, and celebrate reunion. Every household has to buy food and wine, buy pork, slaughter chickens and ducks, and make rice crackers for the festival. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, families gather together to celebrate the festival and eat moon cakes to admire the full moon after dinner. The Double Ninth Festival falls on the ninth day of September, also called the Double Ninth Festival, commonly known as the "Nineteenth Festival". It is a major festival at the end of the year. There is a saying that "there is no major festival after the Double Ninth Festival". Many people who go out have to rush home. Festival. On this day, people in many places take their children to climb mountains, and some fly kites on high mountains, which is said to ward off evil spirits and plagues. Many old people say that this custom was brought by their ancestors from the northern Central Plains and has been passed down from generation to generation. On this day, some old people and women go up the mountain to the nunnery to burn incense and worship Buddha. Winter Solstice The winter solstice falls in the eleventh month of the lunar calendar and is also called "winter year". During the winter solstice, people eat pork and beef, make rice crackers, and boil soup balls. Rich people eat velvet antlers and ginseng to nourish the winter. Folk entertainment Hakka folk entertainment is very rich in content. The main festival activities include Yangko, dragon boat racing, boat lanterns, dragon lantern dance, lion dance, high-legged dancers, lanterns, horse lanterns, flower drums, musical instrument performances, acting, and fireworks. Some include singing folk songs, singing ditties, playing the piano, playing the zither, playing the erhu, playing the flute, playing chess, backgammon, playing cards, throwing No. 1 picks, playing mahjong, growing flowers, fishing, etc.