Spring Festival

The first to fifth day of the first month of the lunar calendar is called the "Spring Festival", commonly known as the "New Year". The day before the first day of the first lunar month is "New Year's Eve", commonly known as "New Year's Eve".

The Spring Festival is the biggest traditional festival of the year. Starting from the 15th day of the twelfth lunar month, every household undergoes general cleaning, both indoors and outdoors, in preparation for the New Year.

The 25th day of the twelfth lunar month is the "New Year's Day", so we start preparing food and supplies for the New Year. For several days, every household was busy making rice cakes (sweet rice cakes), fried nuts (fried nuts), fried pastries, fried meatballs, smoked fish, braised chicken and duck, etc. On the 28th or 29th of the new year, every family will post Spring Festival couplets and door gods. From this day to the third or fifth day of the Lunar New Year, every house lights up lights until dawn, commonly known as "Lighting Up the Year."

The 30th day of the year is the unified time for ancestor worship. Every household carries three animals, fast fruits, wine, vegetables, etc. in bamboo packages to the ancestral temple to worship their ancestors. On this day, the old and young were wearing new clothes, the village was noisy with gongs and drums, and there were a lot of firecrackers.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, it is the beginning of the new year. Before dawn, firecrackers are set off everywhere, everyone says good things and congratulates each other. Early in the morning, the Golden Lion Team beat gongs and drums, went around the village to transfer ownership, and went to each house to "wishes the New Year." The golden lion first goes to the hall to worship (commonly known as the God of God), and then to the kitchens of each house to worship. During the worship, the head of the household sets off firecrackers, the lion's head dances towards the firecrackers, and the head of the household gives red envelopes to express gratitude. From the beginning of the year to the tenth day of the lunar month, there are golden lion dance performances. During the performance, two people played the role of monkeys, one person played the role of Sha Seng, one person held the lion's head, and one person held the lion's tail, accompanying the lion. The monkey was lively, jumping around, doing somersaults, flying on the table, and flying through the corners of the table. The monkey and Sha Seng cooperated to perform various lion tricks. Then, the martial arts personnel of the Golden Lion Team performed martial arts such as boxing, stick, knife, hook and sickle, rake, etc., and the performance came to an end. The golden lion dance is a traditional program loved by the masses.

During the Spring Festival, people are very active during the day, and men, women, old and young are always busy. Some go shopping, visit the park, and take photos; some do lion dance, play gongs and drums, play the piano and sing; some play poker, mahjong, and so on. At night, there are loud gongs and drums everywhere, firecrackers in the sky, colorful fireworks in the sky, singing and laughter, joyful to the ears, every house is lively, and everyone is happy.

The second day of the Lunar New Year is a day for visiting relatives and friends. Every family is hospitable to guests, and everyone is chatting and laughing. Happy New Year cannot be overstated. Some women who move to their natal family are reluctant to leave their natal family, so there is a saying: "On the first day of the lunar month, they talk about the first day of the new year, on the second day of the lunar month, they talk about the end of the year, on the third day of the lunar month, they talk about the day of the poor, on the fourth day of the lunar month, they talk about the day of the misfortune, and on the fifth day of the lunar month, they talk about "Chang Yewei" "It's hard to go home on the sixth day of the lunar month, I won't go on the seventh day, and I won't go back on the eighth day. I watch the lion fight on the ninth day of the lunar month and the tenth day of the lunar month. There is the Dragon Lantern Festival on the 11th and 12th. I just don't come back until half a month later."

The fifth day of the Lunar New Year is commonly known as "Chu Nian Jia" or "Chang Ye Wei". Because this day was originally a festival day, people were walking on the street, and when they saw acquaintances, they would give each other New Year greetings and congratulations. The seventh day of the Lunar New Year is called "Human Day", and every family eats "seven vegetables": celery, onions, garlic, spring vegetables, coriander, beets, leeks, etc., whichever is hardworking, smart, cost-effective, springy, reunited, sweet, and long-lasting meaning.

Lantern Festival

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival, commonly known as "the first half of the first lunar month". The time when Songkou passes the first half of the first lunar month is generally set on the twelfth, thirteenth, or fourteenth day. Most of them pass the half-month on the fourteenth day, but no one sets it on the fifteenth day. This is completely different from other places where the fifteenth day passes the half-month. .

On the first half of the first lunar month, just like the Chinese New Year, three animals are used to worship gods and ancestors, people come and go, and eat sumptuous dishes and rice.

Songkou people have the custom of celebrating the Lantern Festival. From the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, lantern sheds were set up in Miweiping to hold lantern festivals. People watching the lanterns were crowded and very lively. Every household that has a son, will offer sacrifices to the ancestors in the ancestral hall and hang lanterns to celebrate the birth, which is commonly known as "hanging lanterns". Many people also set off Kongming lanterns on the night of the Lantern Festival (according to legend, they were invented by Zhuge Liang during the Three Kingdoms period). The Li family temple once placed a Kongming lantern made of 160 pieces of gauze paper. A special oil lamp was hung into the Kongming lantern, and it was ignited and inflated to lift it into the air. Under the Kongming Lantern, electric cannons, small firecrackers, rockets, and fireworks are hung. When they rise to a high altitude, the firecrackers and electric cannons rumble at intervals, the rockets shoot out in all directions, and the fireworks flash and shine. It is very beautiful and lively.

Large lanterns are hung on both sides of the ancestral houses of each surname for lighting, and fireworks, rockets and firecrackers are set off.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, there was still the traditional custom of celebrating the Lantern Festival and celebrating the first half of the first lunar month. However, in order to prevent fire caused by setting off Kongming lanterns, it is prohibited to set off Kongming lanterns. As for setting off fireworks and rockets, they must be set off in safe places. On the first half of the first lunar month of 1955, smoke racks, rockets and fireworks were set off at Luoyang Bridge in Niujiaotang in the north of Zhongshan Park. The audience stood around Niujiaotang in a lively atmosphere.

Qingming Festival

Throughout history, Songkou has celebrated the Qingming Festival. Tomb Sweeping Day is called "Qing Ming" in Hakka dialect. Gao Juqing of the Song Dynasty wrote a poem: "There are many tombs on the north and south hills, and Qingming festivals are held in various ways; white butterflies fly from paper ashes, and red cuckoos are dyed with tears and blood." On this day, there were many people taking their children and grandchildren to visit the grave.

On Qingming day, people make "Qingming rice dumplings". This custom has been passed down for a long time, and people still have the custom of making Qingming rice dumplings with ramie leaves, mugwort leaves, Pulsatilla leaves and other plant leaves mixed with rice flour.

Sun's Birthday

"Sun's Birthday" is a unique festival for people in urban and rural areas of Meixian County. In 1644 (the seventeenth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty), the 19th day of the third lunar month was the day when Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Youjian, "hanged his neck" in Meishan, Beijing. From then on, the Ming Dynasty fell. It is said that in order to make people miss the Ming Dynasty more deeply, but he did not dare to publicize it openly for fear of being suppressed by the authorities and endangering the local people, he called on the people to worship the sun, saying that this day was the "birthday of the sun". He also wrote a "Sun Sutra" in which he worshiped the emperor of the Ming Dynasty as the sun.

On the 19th day of the third lunar month every year, many households hang up red lanterns, set up a table facing the sun, put on fruit and longevity noodles for sacrifice, and recite the "Sun Sutra". The content of the "Sun Sutra" is roughly: "The sun is born on March 19th, and every household lights up red lanterns. When the sun rises, the sky is red, and lanterns are hung in front of every house. The sun shines brightly, pearls shine on the Buddha, and the four gods control the universe...". Also burn paper suncoats, sun hats, etc. On that day, we also eat fried noodles as a commemoration, so there are many people buying noodles from street noodle shops.

Dragon Boat Festival

The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is called the Dragon Boat Festival or Duanyang Festival. It is the day when people commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan who threw himself into the Miluo River during the Warring States Period. On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, every family prepares festival materials and wraps rice dumplings. Legend has it that during the Warring States Period, people threw rice dumplings into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month to commemorate Qu Yuan. On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, in addition to making rice dumplings, every family also prepares meat, food and supplies for the Dragon Boat Festival.

The fifth day of the Lunar New Year is the Dragon Boat Festival. Cattails must be hung on the main door, room door, and kitchen door of each house, and some realgar wine should be drank during lunch to ward off evil spirits. In the morning of this day, every family puts out three animals and fruits to worship their ancestors. At noon, the family reunites at home and has a rich reunion meal. The sixth day of the Lunar New Year is a day to visit relatives and friends. Every family entertains guests with meat and wine.

During the Dragon Boat Festival, in the old days, there was a custom of dragon boat racing along the north and south banks of Songkou Town. The dragon boat races from the north of Xibei (Wuxian Palace and Wangxian Palace) and the dragon boats from Xinan (Han Emperor Palace and Yuepan Palace) usually take place every afternoon from the first to the tenth day of May. "First" invites the masses to raise funds and preside over the affairs of the dragon boat race. In April, each of them repaired the dragon boat and launched it on the 30th.

On the morning of the first, third and fifth day of May, each palace will decorate with colorful dragon boats for the "Palace to the Palace" activity. Regardless of whether the dragon boat is rowing up or down, every time it goes to the various shrines (the ascending line includes Moon Banquet Palace, Wangxian Palace, Guandi Temple, Tan Gong Temple, Guangfu Palace, and Jifu Palace; the descending line includes Wangzhen Palace, Tianzhen Palace, etc.) Harem Palace, Wuxian Palace, Han Emperor Palace, Xianlong Palace, Jinpan Palace, Wangji Palace, Wangming Palace), the dragon boat commander must enter the palace to burn incense and worship (hence the name "Chao Palace"). The dragon boat sails up or down, with colorful flags waving, drums and music blasting, and firecrackers flying into the sky. The rowers are happy and active; people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait stand and watch, waving to cheer up.

There are dragon boat races in the afternoons from the first to the tenth day of the lunar month. The fifth day of the lunar month is the preliminary competition, and the tenth day of the lunar month is the dragon boat finals. The competition was even more exciting, with huge crowds of spectators on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and it was very lively. On each dragon boat, there are 32 rowers, 1 helmsman, 1 commander, 1 person each for beating the gong and scooping water, and 36 people. The current dragon boat is slightly smaller, with only 27 people.

During the competition, both sides row forward together, each other's back and forth. The commander observes the water situation and when he thinks it is favorable, he will blow his baton (made of short-stem dragon flags tied together) on the lip of the dragon's head to signal the order for a decisive battle. The head oarsmen of both sides rowed together, and the other oarsmen worked harder. At the finish line, the winner was decided, and the winner raised his oars, cheered, and fired cannons to show victory. During the competition, the audience on both sides of the Taiwan Strait cheered enthusiastically and cheered for the rowers. Especially when both sides ordered the final, they shouted loudly and the excitement was beyond words.

During the Anti-Japanese War, dragon boat racing was suspended for a time. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, there was still a dragon boat race from 1950 to 1952, but it was discontinued in 1953. In 2000, the dragon boat race was suspended for 47 years and resumed for one year. Then it stopped again for unknown reasons.

Autumn Day

On the day of the Beginning of Autumn, the farming work has been completed and it is a festival to celebrate the harvest. On this day, every family makes fermented rice dumplings. There are two ways to eat Songkou people. One is to use garlic and fried brown sugar water to make a "red flavor" and mix it. The other way to eat it is to stir-fry it with meat, vegetables and fermented rice dumplings. eat.

July Half

The fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month was called the Ghost Festival in ancient times, commonly known as "July Half", also known as the "Ollan Festival", and commonly known as the Festival of the Dead. On that day, ordinary households in Songkou Town must prepare three animals to worship their ancestors and honor the souls of the dead. There are a few surnames whose graves need to be visited. Most people only add food on that day and don’t obviously have the habit of offering sacrifices to the souls of the dead during the seventh half of July.

Blessing

For the people in Songkou Hakka area, "Blessing" is a grand festival second only to the Spring Festival. It is a custom for faithful men and women to pray for the blessings of gods.

The name and time of the blessing are unique to each village or surname, but the time is fixed, usually on the third day of the eighth lunar month, and is held as scheduled every year.

On the day of blessing, relatives and friends from each household will come to congratulate and "watch the fun". It can be said that the house is packed with guests. Every household holds a sumptuous lunch to entertain guests, and some even cook rice dumplings, rice dumplings, and stuffed tofu.

In the old days, on the day of blessing, some villages would have a tour of the wandering god "Carrying the Prince", and a puppet troupe would be invited to perform in the village in the evening. Every village in Songkou area has a Gongwang Temple for every surname. Wangji Palace and Wuxiang Palace near Songkou Town can be called the largest prince temples in the area. The prince is an idol that is worshiped and respected by people. The local people put the statues of their ancestors who had served as officials or the loyal ministers and upright officials respected in history in the temple for people to worship and pray for the prince to protect them. Safety. For example, the prince of Xiankou village is the ancestor of the Liang family, Liang Kejia (the 64th descendant of the Liang family, who became a scholar during the Shaoxing period of the Southern Song Dynasty and became the right prime minister). He was established as the prince of the village, and his descendants built a temple to commemorate him. Every year at the prescribed time, the prince is taken out of the temple and paraded from house to house in the village.

When the prince goes on tour, he must hold a ceremony for leaving and entering the palace. When he goes on a tour, the prince sits in a royal sedan and is carried by four people. The lineup is the same as the lineup of high officials in costume dramas when they go on tour. People were beating gongs and drums and holding colorful flags. Dozens and hundreds of people lined up, which was very lively.

After 1950, there were no activities held by King You in Songkou, but the general activities of blessing customs continue to this day.

Mid-Autumn Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, commonly known as "August Half".

The moon is particularly bright during the Mid-Autumn Festival, so there is a traditional custom of admiring the moon. That night, people from all families gathered together to eat moon cakes, talk and admire the moon, and celebrate that "the full moon makes people rounder". In the old days, there were customs such as carrying the "vegetable basket god", "Fu Xiangu", and "carrying pig excrement for long-term labor".

Double Ninth Festival

The ninth day of the ninth lunar month, also known as Double Ninth Festival, is a traditional folk festival of the Han people.

According to legend, Meng Jia of the Jin Dynasty visited Longshan on the Double Ninth Festival. The wind blew off his hat. Wang Wei, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote a seven-character quatrain in "Reminiscences of Shandong Brothers on September 9th": "I am a stranger in a foreign land, and I miss my relatives even more during the festive season. I know from afar that my brothers have climbed to the heights, and there is one less person planting dogwood trees everywhere." It can be seen that the Double Ninth Festival is missing. The custom of climbing has long been formed, and the Hakka people have inherited this Central Plains custom.

In the Hakka area, many climbing activities are carried out on this day, which means to avoid disasters. In the old days, kite flying activities were very common during the Double Ninth Festival, and children also participated. Chongyang Climbing follows the ancient custom and is still very popular today, with an endless stream of people climbing the mountain.

In the Meizhou area, people visit famous mountain scenic spots on the Double Ninth Festival, such as Wuzhi Peak of Yinna Mountain in Mei County, Wang Shoushan Mountain, Pingyuan Nantai Mountain, Wuzhishan Mountain, Jiaoling Changtan, etc. People in Songkou area who cannot travel far can climb Yuankui Pagoda or Wanbao Mountain. The Double Ninth Festival is a peak tourist season every year, with tourists visiting famous mountains and scenic spots all over the country like crucian carp, and the event is unprecedented. Nowadays, the Hakka area of ??Meizhou calls "Double Ninth Festival" "Respect for the Aged Festival" and "Old Man's Day".

Winter Solstice

There is a saying in Songkou that "you move yuan in the winter solstice and buy fields in the summer solstice", so it is very common for households to make "yuanba" (glutinous rice balls) to eat on the winter solstice. There are also many families who buy mutton and stew it with wine based on the nourishing experience of "sheep in winter solstice and dog in summer solstice".

The above-mentioned customs are generally the same as those in the Central Plains area, which is another evidence that most of the Hakka residents in Meizhou are Han people who migrated south from the Central Plains.