What are the customs and natural scenery in Bobai Ningtang, Guangxi?

Bobai Traditional Festival

Spring Festival The first day of the first lunar month is the Spring Festival. The day before the Spring Festival is called "New Year's Eve", also called "New Year's Eve". It is customary among the people to kill the fattest chickens and prepare traditional dishes such as fried pork belly, barbecued pork, hibiscus meat, etc., to prepare a sumptuous dinner, and to reunite the family to celebrate and drink together. Every household posts couplets, door gods, and lucky money. In the evening, the whole family, old and young, chats and has fun under the evergreen lamp, which is called "staying up all night", and some stay up all night. At dawn, every household goes to the hall to burn incense, set off firecrackers and light fireworks. Men, women, old and children wear new clothes and are full of joy. The younger generation pays "New Year greetings" to the elders in turn, wishing auspicious words such as "Congratulations and prosperity", "Longevity and longevity". The elders send profit-making "New Year's lottery" to their children and wish the younger ones in return: "Be smart" and "All the best". On this day, no killing, no entertaining, no production. Starting from the second day of the Lunar New Year, relatives and friends pay New Year greetings to each other and entertain guests with wine and meat, and this continues for several days. Do not sweep the floor on the first and second days of the lunar month. It is not until the "poor ghost day" on the third day of the lunar month that the "poor ghosts" (garbage) are swept out. While sweeping, you should dictate: "When the poor ghosts come out, the rich will come." In some places, the floors are not swept until the seventh day of the Lunar New Year.

Lantern Festival The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival. On Lantern Festival night, every household lights lanterns in front of their doors, and large and small lanterns are hung in various social altars. These lanterns are given by those who have had children in the first year. Those seeking a child should go to the shrine in the middle of the night to steal lamp strips, burn incense, and make a wish to the shrine god. When the time comes for a child, they will return the lamp to the shrine. On this day, each family kills chickens and burns "finished lanterns" paper to offer sacrifices to the gods and ancestors. That night, people go to the outdoor vegetable fields and pick a few bags of other people's vegetables to take home. This is called "stealing greens", which means a good "omen". In addition to stealing green hemp in Shahe, Dungu and other places, some people also roll on the ground growing green hemp, thinking it can cure low back pain. These bad habits are now gradually disappearing.

On the Qingming Festival, every household in urban and rural areas buys pork and wine, kills chickens and geese, cooks glutinous rice, prepares incense paper and other sacrifices, goes to the ancestors’ graves to burn incense and worship their ancestors, and eradicates the weeds around the graves. A shovelful of new soil was placed on the top of the grave and covered with white paper. In some villages where the local dialect is spoken, a branch is cut with a note and inserted on the top of the grave, which is called "hanging paper". Since liberation, on Tomb Sweeping Day, government officials, school teachers and students have gone to the tombs of revolutionary martyrs to lay wreaths or flowers to express their condolences. In recent years, the custom of sweeping graves has become popular again, and some cadres, workers, and compatriots from Hong Kong and Macao who work in other places also return to their hometowns to sweep graves.

The Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. On that day, every household puts mugwort and calamus on their doors and eats glutinous rice dumplings. Children and young people from Shahe, Dungu and other places go to the river to "cross the dragon boat". Eating glutinous rice dumplings is related to mourning Qu Yuan, and this custom continues to this day.

The Hungry Ghost Festival is commonly known as the "July 14th Festival". The customs in various places are similar. Generally, people who speak the new folk dialect only celebrate one day (the fourteenth day), while those who speak the local dialect celebrate the two-day festival (the fourteenth or fifteenth day). Every day, breakfast, lunch and dinner are offered to the ancestors, and clothes are cut out of blue, green, black and white paper, along with ingots and paper money to be burned. Before the festival, shepherd boys use a bamboo tail to make a flute, commonly known as "Nandukuo (sound)", and play desolate tunes to call their ancestors to go home for the festival. Therefore, the masses call the Ghost Festival the "Ghost Festival". This custom has been followed to this day, but it is simpler than in the past. The practice of blowing Nang Du Kuo has become extinct in many villages.

Mid-Autumn Festival On the evening of the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, people lay out moon cakes, fruits, taro, etc. in front of their homes or in their courtyards, burn incense to the moon, worship the Moon Palace Fairy, and enjoy the moon. In recent years, some county residents and their families have brought moon cakes, fruits, soda drinks and cassette players to parks or suburbs to enjoy the moon and spend the night together.

The Double Ninth Festival falls on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month as the "Double Ninth Festival". The sky is high and the air is crisp. Many rural areas have the custom of sweeping tombs. Visiting the tombs of ancestors is like the Qingming Festival, but Chengxiang, Langping, Yashan, Shuiming, Some villages in Italy and other places sweep tombs on the tenth day of the tenth lunar month.

Winter Solstice Festival On the Winter Solstice, many people like to eat glutinous rice flour, pork, salted fish and garlic, knead it into a ball shape and cook it, which is called "Luoshui Dumpling". Some people use it as a gift for relatives. Xintian, Matian and other places do not have this custom.

Kitchen Lord Festival Before liberation, every kitchen had a "Kitchen Lord God's Table" with couplets on both sides such as "Those who are virtuous can make fire, and their selflessness can reach heaven". On every New Year's Day, when worshiping the gods and ancestors, the "Zao Lord" is also worshiped. Every year on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month is the Kitchen God Festival. Legend has it that the Kitchen God goes to heaven to perform tasks, and people must worship and offer sacrifices to the Kitchen God to pray for the happiness, longevity and health of their family. After the festival, farmers do a lot of cleaning in preparation for bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new. This custom continues to this day.