Not all worship services are just superstitions - Experience Mazu’s birthday up close, remembering Puning Hengshan Village

I am from Chaoshan. I am writing this article because my recent trip made me feel a little ashamed. As a Chaoshan native, I have never had a good understanding of Chaoshan culture.

I left my hometown when I was 8 years old and know very little about my hometown. In my impression, there are too many customs in my hometown, and there are many days when I need to worship gods and Buddhas. My mother has "important things" to be busy with every month, such as the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, and various festivals. When I was a child, I thought it was a bit troublesome for my mother to do this, but anyway, after my mother was busy, I would have something good to eat, various snacks, fruits, or chicken, duck, and fish, so why not. When I grew up, eating was no longer a temptation. I told myself that since my mother felt at ease after worshiping me, then it was up to her. I didn't try to convince her to change, but I wasn't interested in understanding the culture behind it, let alone learning the various etiquette involved.

May 6, 2018, March 22 of the lunar calendar. At the invitation of a friend, I went to Puning, a friend’s hometown, for two days. It happened that the next day was the local Mazu's birthday. I stayed there for two days and felt firsthand the strong atmosphere of the festival and the importance the local villagers attached to the festival. That emphasis made me personally feel the other meaning of this folk festival besides worshiping.

When I woke up early on the holiday, it was raining heavily. Friends say that the most grand and lively part of Mazu’s birthday is Mazu’s tour. I'm curious about what to do when it rains? A friend said, "It has not rained on this day for many years. As soon as Mazu comes out, the rain should stop." I said flatteringly, "Water is wealth, and if it rains, your village will be rich this year." My friend said happily, "Yes, yes!". I suddenly felt that I am actually a Chaoshan person at heart.

Tours depart from local schools. When we arrived at the village's primary school, the parade was already about to set off, and we only saw the tail end - the queue of primary school students, who were lined up behind the parade. I was surprised to hear from my friend that school was closed for two days because of Mazu’s birthday! It’s true that education starts from childhood! ! You can learn how much local people and the government attach importance to this festival.

We decided to drive and chase the group - because Mazu was at the front of the group. My friend told me to go to the ancestral hall to intercept him. However, when we arrived at the ancestral hall, we only saw the middle part of the team - the veteran cadres. Friends said that these elderly people are all over 65 years old and have contributed to the village. So they ranked behind Mazu. This queue is particular.

Let’s continue to catch up in the car, and the team will enter the village!

But when we entered the village, we were blocked by the crowd before we even got close to the parade, and we were unable to move forward, and we still failed to catch up with the front of the parade. The rain came and went, which made me feel a little embarrassed, but the villagers were all in high spirits and chatting happily in the rain.

We had no choice but to abandon the car and follow the flow of people. We heard that the parade team would return to school, so we ran to school quickly. The rain this day was really unpredictable. It would be clear one second and rain the next. My umbrella was always opening and closing every second. I was very nervous!

As soon as we arrived at the school gate, it rained heavily. The roadside was filled with spectators, and the parade marched in the rain.

Although we didn’t catch up with Mazu, we were very excited to catch up in the rain.

In addition to the parade, I also saw many giant incense candles leaning against the wall outside the school. I'm curious as to what it's used for.

My friend said that these incense candles were given to the villagers. If necessary, you can buy it and put it in the fields in the village to bless your family.

That’s right.

The next day, we went to the village fields to see what was going on. Wow~~! This is undoubtedly the most spectacular incense candle array I have ever seen! ! !

Although cruising seems a bit novel to me, it is not the reason why I want to write this article. What makes me want to record this experience is another kind of friendship brought by this festival.

Before I came over with my friends, my friends mentioned going home to celebrate Women’s Day. I was very curious at that time, Daughter's Day? Is there such a festival? She said yes, during this festival, all married daughters try to go back to their parents' homes to gather together. So Mazu’s birthday is also called Daughter’s Day. She herself goes back from Shenzhen every year. In addition to experiencing the excitement of Mazu’s birthday and tasting the delicious food of my hometown, the most important thing is to reunite with relatives and friends. This festival is taken more seriously than the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hengshan Village. Over time, this festival actually became a day for all friends to reunite, not just the married daughters returning home.

A friend said that during this festival she could see many of her childhood friends and chat about their current situation. When she was a child, her house was where everyone gathered. The second day of Mazu’s birthday parade is the day of worship. After the worship service, many friends who returned home from other places would gather at her old house to chat. Therefore, although her old house is no longer inhabited, it is still well-preserved. Every year, many relatives, friends, and guests who come back from afar leave the laughter there.

After the tour, we went to visit the old house first. There was a dog left there to look after the house, and a coffee table for guests was placed in the middle room. When they have time, they go back and do some simple cleaning to maintain popularity.

The next day, we followed our friends to pay homage and then returned to our old house.

Sure enough, on this day, the old house was full of people and laughter.

Children of friends came to the old house one after another, and some relatives and friends of relatives also came to join in the fun. I am probably one of them.

My friend said that they don’t need to make an appointment in advance. As long as I go back to my hometown, I will automatically come over on the day after paying homage to have a chat and drink a few cups of tea. Then some friends may have to rush back to the city where they work hard that afternoon, and some may stay for a day or two.

I have always paid little attention to the various festivals in Chaoshan, because I think they are very cumbersome, too demanding, and too tiring to be a human being.

In this experience, I still don’t understand the culture of worship, but what I feel more is the family affection and friendship behind this worship. If a festival can make children who are away from home run home to reunite with their parents, and can bring relatives and friends together to talk, then isn’t such a festival a very good festival? No matter what motivates these children who work outside to go home, whether it is worship or belief, I think that every one who insists on running home specially on this festival must have other sentiments in his heart besides worship. of. That must be a beautiful feeling.

2018.5.10 Essay.