Three major stages of life in Taiwan:

Birth and growing up

Birth

Full moon

Postpartum One month is called "full moon". On this day, the baby's hair is shaved. Recently, many people shave the baby's hair twenty-four days after delivery because there is a story about the twenty-four filial piety in ancient times. It is hoped that the child will be like the twenty-four filial sons when they grow up. The same filial piety to parents. On the day of the full moon, oil rice and wine should be offered to gods and Buddhas. According to the custom, brothers from the mother's family will also bring "head and tail". "Tou Tai" refers to all the clothes the baby wears from head to hands and feet, including clothes, hats, Shoes, silver medals (breast ornaments), gold chest ornaments and anklets (foot wheels), bracelets, etc. "Head and tail" should be given when the baby is born, as well as on "full moon", "fourth day" and "one year old". Gifts are most abundant especially on "full moon" and "one year old". If it is a boy, it is customary to make it bigger.

April Day

Four months after giving birth, prepare sweet wine and "hongtao" (red peach-shaped steamed buns filled with peanuts and sugar), "red turtle", "Cake" is offered to gods, Buddhas and ancestors. Just like on the "Full Moon Day", the mother's family will send congratulatory gifts such as "head and tail" and hearts. Relatives and friends can also give gifts as they like. The mother-in-law will give "hearts" or a banquet as a thank you gift. This is "Fourth Day". ”. On this day, we also need to practice "Shu Saliva". "Shu Saliva" means that children will continue to grow and never delay. Prepare twelve shortcakes (twenty-four or forty-eight) and string them together with red or black silk threads. Relatives and friends will say four auspicious words, and take a shortcake and wipe it horizontally on the baby's mouth. He said, "Collect your saliva, collect your separation, and recruit a younger brother next year." (Salivation means clearing up the delay, and a younger brother will appear next year.) When a younger brother really appears next year, then say, "Collect your saliva, collect your gangan, and you will be born next year." (meaning upward). Or just say "Xian Dahan" (which means easy to grow up). The main meaning of "collect saliva" is to hope that the four-month-old child will never be slow to salivate and grow up very quickly.

Do "Du"

One year after giving birth, you need to prepare stuffed animals and red turtles to worship gods, Buddhas and ancestors. The birth mother's natal family also does the same as "doing April Day" , it is necessary to give "head and tail" and red turtle as gifts. People in this province call this ceremony "making a birthday" (i.e. "doing"), but it is often omitted for baby girls. The husband's family who accepts "head and tail" should consider the amount. Give red envelopes to repay the gift. On the day of "one year old", the twelve items listed on the left are placed in a bamboo sieve and allowed to be plundered, which is called "week robbing". The above is calculated as one's life destiny and career. The first items obtained will be It represents the occupation that the child will pursue when he grows up.

Worship the bed mother

Bed mother (bird mother): A pregnant woman is like a flower in bud, while the flower mother is responsible for watering, fertilizing, stabilizing the body, and also To eliminate pests, pregnant women have to worship Hua Gong and Hua Po. When a child is born, he or she must worship their assistant, the Bird Mother (or Bed Mother). There are thirty-six Bird Mothers in Linshui Madam Temple in this city. The Bird Mothers take care of the children from birth to sixteen years old, taking care of them so that they are not frightened. Don't play with water and get burned, or get burned by playing with fire, or get measles. The mother bird takes care of the baby. In addition to the normal physical and physiological development, the mother bird also takes into account the normal development of psychology, sensibility and intelligence. Therefore, it can make a stubborn person nod and a stupid person become smart. Therefore, families with children, in addition to going to the temple to worship, usually also place offerings and burn incense on the baby's bed to worship the bird mother, praying that the bird mother will take good care of the baby.

Be sixteen years old

After marriage, women in common belief pray to the Empress to give birth to a baby early; after pregnancy, they pray to Lady Linshui for a safe delivery; after the baby is born, they pray to the Monkey King and the Seven Mothers R protects adults. Because the Seventh Mother is the patron saint of children, when she turns sixteen, she will have a coming-of-age ceremony on the seventh day of July in that year, which is called "Sixteenth". It turns out that it is said that before children reach the age of sixteen, they are taken care of and raised by the fairy bird in the sky, the Bird Mother. The Bird Mother is entrusted by the Seven Stars Empress, so the Seven Stars Empress becomes the child's protector. Before reaching adulthood, of course, I have to say thank you to the Seven Star Empress.

Marriage Etiquette

Traditional Wedding

Natai

Natai is the first step in a traditional wedding. The man who presided over the marriage saw that the daughter of a certain family was very beautiful. In ancient times, there was a matchmaker who could introduce marriages. He could find the matchmaker and express his willingness to take the daughter of a certain family as his wife.

The matchmaker readily agreed and went to the girl's house to propose marriage. The girl's parents knew that she was someone's son and she was usually a very loyal person. If she agreed, she would accept the gift. This first step in the marriage was considered a success.

Asking for a name

Birthday and horoscope: It is very valued among the people. In ancient times, it was said: "The first is family style, the second is wealth, the third is talent, the fourth is beauty and ugliness. "Fifth Health" As long as you know the year, month, day, and hour of a person's birth, you can determine his or her destiny. When a person is born, a person often asks the fortune teller to forge a horoscope that best suits his destiny. Therefore, in ancient times, women's The year, month, day and hour of birth are often very different from the actual birthday. Especially women with "broken bones" or "Jie evil spirits" must not pick up bones in the future. This is commonly known as "picking up Feng Shui", so the saying goes: " "A woman's life is not true, and a man's life is not false" (a woman's date of birth is always false) is proof of forging her birth date.

Naji: Xiaoding

Naji means Xiaopin, Xiaoding is a good time. The man must have dozens of betrothal gifts such as geese, pork, and flatbreads, and the matchmaker will lead the work. The bride goes to the bride's house to perform the Naji Ceremony. In addition to accepting the betrothal gift and letter of engagement, the bride also prepares some gifts in advance. After offering sacrifices to the gods and ancestors, she pays a red envelope to the matchmaker and the groom, and returns the betrothal gift. The belongings and the engagement letter were placed among the piles and returned to the husband's house. The man also places the gifts in return in the hall as a tribute to his ancestors and gods. This kind of letter of appointment and letter of acceptance must also be sent not only during the subsequent recruitment (big appointment, dading), but also at the personal welcome, and are listed as one of the indispensable wedding ceremonies.

Accepting the invitation: Dating

Accepting the invitation is the Dating. After the man sits down in the hall, the matchmaker will present the letter of engagement to the woman officiating the marriage, and give the gift cakes and betrothal gifts. The numbers are handed over one by one and the woman clicks to receive them. At this time, the woman officiating the wedding first selects some gift cakes (big cakes) and some betrothal gifts (dried fruits, etc.), and offers incense to the gods and ancestors. The woman entertains the guests and delivers braised noodles to the men. It can be eaten as a snack. After eating, the woman gives a red envelope to each man according to the number of men, including the matchmaker, and then the man's uncle, who leads the group, bids farewell to the woman. At noon, both men and women hold banquets to entertain relatives and celebrate the success of their marriage together. In ancient times, transportation was limited, so the grandmothers, aunts and uncles of both parties, who lived far away, had to arrive one or two days in advance. After the ceremony, it would take at least three or two days before they could say goodbye and go home. In return, the woman gave her son-in-law clothes, hats, shoes and socks, as well as other gifts from her in-laws and mother-in-law, which were also placed in the original place and brought back.

Application period: Send-off date

The application period is what is called an engagement today. The marriage ceremony is basically completed until the marriage ceremony is completed. The names of husband and wife have been determined, especially in ancient times. If a woman has an owner of a famous flower, she already belongs to her husband's family in her heart even though she has not married yet as long as she has performed the courtesy of Zhou Gong. Although the two parties may have argued to break off the engagement, The bride-to-be believes this is related to her chastity and is firmly opposed to breaking off the engagement. Therefore, the girl's parents often lament that their daughter behaves like a "girly extrovert" at this time. The husband's family has passed the imperial examination, and they are eager to get married in order to have a grandson. Therefore, ask the date picker to choose a good and auspicious day to welcome the bride in person, and ask the matchmaker to send it to the woman for approval. If the woman agrees, the two parties begin to prepare for the marriage.

Yingying: Yingqin

Yingqin is the official introduction to marrying a daughter-in-law: there is a lot of blowing and beating on the way to the bride's house. After the bride gets on the sedan, the welcoming procession starts, the drums and cannons brought by the groom are set off, and the bride throws down the paper fan from the sedan, which is called "free sex". It was only when his father threw a bowl of water behind the sedan that it was over. After the bride left, the wedding cart was empty. At this moment, the woman seemed as empty as if she had been stolen. Therefore, the saying goes: "Marrying a girl is like stealing from a thief", which is true at all. There are allusions to splashing water and throwing paper fans. As the saying goes: "A married daughter is like splashed water. From today on, she is no longer a member of my family!" And throwing a fan means that from now on, she will no longer be a member of my family! Go back to live in your parents’ home! As the saying goes: "Fan the fan, we will not meet each other", which means that from now on, we will be someone's daughter-in-law and wife until we grow old together. Before getting married, mothers will tell their daughters not to cross the threshold when they first enter the house (commonly known as household registration). Then the bride and groom will worship the ancestors of heaven and earth together, then worship in the high hall, and finally the husband and wife will worship each other. After bowing, the bride is sent to the bridal chamber. After entering the bridal chamber, the groom should take off the bride's "hijab" and then eat "bridal balls" together, which represents the reunion of the five lives. Eat half of the glutinous rice balls and exchange them before eating, which means that they are close to each other and drink the wedding wine together. The wedding is now complete.

Types of marriage

(1) Big marriage (ordinary marriage, a woman marries into the husband’s family)

(2) Small marriage (also known as half-marriage and half-marriage) , after marrying, the husband has stipulated obligations to the daughter’s family such as support, burial offerings, and heirs)

(3) Recruiting a husband (the widow recruits a husband into the house)

(4) Recruiting a son-in-law (Brother-in-law means that the man joins the woman's family. Generally, the children born will follow the woman's surname, and they can also have a fixed date.)

(5) Child bride (gives a small amount of bride price to others, and brings back his young daughter) Raise, marry your son and become a daughter-in-law in the future)

(6) Ghost marriage (that is, marrying a deceased person, or called: marrying the god.)