The customs and popular forms of entertainment of Taiwanese compatriots during the Spring Festival

Category: Society and people's livelihood

Problem description:

The customs of Taiwanese compatriots celebrating the Spring Festival, and the unique entertainment forms in Taiwan, which are generally popular with the public. .

Analysis:

Taiwan Folklore: How Taiwanese celebrate the New Year

2005-09-14 09:43:00 People's Daily Online

The Spring Festival is a traditional festival of the Chinese nation. No matter where you are, people of Chinese descent regard the Spring Festival as the most important festival of the year. The folk customs of celebrating the Spring Festival in Taiwan are almost the same as those in mainland China. They all start from the "sending of stoves" on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month of the previous year and end with the "turning off of the lanterns" on the eighteenth day of the first lunar month.

In fact, as soon as we enter the twelfth lunar month, the atmosphere of celebrating the New Year in Taiwan becomes intense.

The 16th day of the twelfth lunar month is "Wei Ya". Because life was difficult in the early years, according to Taiwanese customs, every family must try to improve their food once every 16th day of the month, which is called "dental surgery". The 16th day of December is the last dental surgery of the year, so it is called "dental surgery". tail teeth". On this day, every household will offer large fish and meat as offerings to the father-in-law of the land, to thank him for his blessings throughout the year.

The next step is to "send the stove", also known as "send the stove", which is to worship the stove god (the stove prince). Legend has it that the Kitchen God is a god sent by Heaven to live in each household. At the end of each year, he returns to heaven to "report his duties" to the Jade Emperor, reporting the good and evil deeds of each household in the past year, so that the Jade Emperor can decide whether to reward or punish him, and determine the good or bad luck of the coming year. Based on this, this is of great importance to the people, so in order to let the Kitchen God "speak good things to heaven and ensure peace in the lower world", people use rich sacrifices to worship the Kitchen God.

On Taiwan’s New Year’s Eve, “staying up late” and “giving lucky money” are the same as the customs in mainland China.

But what best reflects Taiwan’s New Year customs is the New Year song that is almost the same as that in southern Fujian. This New Year song reflects the lively scene of Taiwanese folk celebrating the Spring Festival and is a vivid folklore picture.

Southern Fujian: The first day of the lunar month is glorious, the second day of the lunar month is suspended, the third day of the lunar month is without a mother; the fourth day of the lunar month the god falls to the sky, the fifth day of the lunar month the god descends, the sixth day of the lunar month is empty; the seventh day of the lunar month is seven yuan, the eighth day of the moon is reunited; the ninth day of the lunar month When God is born, on the tenth day of the month blue will appear, on the eleventh day he will invite his son-in-law; on the twelveth day he will go back to worship, on the thirteenth day he will make rice with mustard greens; on the fourteenth day he will make a lamp shed, and on the fifteenth day he will go to Yuan Dynasty.

Taiwan: The first day of the lunar month is early, the second day of the lunar month is a coincidence, the third day of the lunar month the rat marries the bride and the four gods fall to the sky, the fifth day of the lunar month is separated, the sixth day of the lunar month is full of fat; the seventh day of the lunar month is seven yuan, the eighth day of the lunar month is reunited; the ninth day of the lunar month is the birth of the public On the tenth day of the lunar month, there is food; on the eleventh day, I invite my son-in-law; on the 12th day, I invite a certain son to come and worship; on the 13th day, I eat rice with mustard greens; on the 14th day, I build a lamp shed; on the 15th day, I go to Yuan Dynasty.

On New Year’s Eve, the whole family, old and young, gathers around a round table with hot pot for a dinner, which is called “circling the stove”. Every dish on the table around the fire has a certain meaning. Such as rice balls and meat balls. Fish balls mean "three yuan", symbolizing family reunion; radish is called "caitou" in Taiwan, which means "good luck", which means auspicious; "chicken" in the whole chicken is homophoned as "home" in Taiwanese dialect, which means "home". It means "eating chickens to start a family"; fried food means "family fortune is prosperous". People participating in the fire, regardless of age or sex, must eat a little of every dish on the table. A little wine for good luck. Wash and cook the vegetables from the roots to the end. Eat them slowly from beginning to end to wish your parents longevity.

The custom of "watching the brazier" is still preserved in rural areas of Taiwan. A pot of straw is lit in front of the door, and the whole family, young and old, jumps over the brazier in order to express the auspicious meaning of "prosperity like fire" while mumbling some auspicious words. After the fire is extinguished, the ashes are put into the kitchen stove to pray for blessings from the gods.

In some villages in Taiwan, there is still an interesting custom: starting from the night of New Year's Eve, some temples. People who were unable to repay their debts years ago went to temples to watch plays to avoid debts, because if creditors came to the temple to press for debts, public outrage would arouse and groups would attack. This play is performed from New Year's Eve to the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year. After watching the play, the debtors can go home and reunite in peace. This custom is called "debt avoidance play", which is a product of society, but it is very rare. There is a human touch, but the creditor also has a way to deal with it, that is, on New Year's Day, he puts on old clothes and carries a lantern to collect debts, pretending that he has been chasing him since the night of New Year's Eve and has not returned home yet, and he still holds the lantern in his hand. It cannot be regarded as "New Year's debt collection". This kind of lamp is called "debt collection lamp" unless there are deep grievances.

Taiwanese compatriots call the New Year's Day "New Year's Eve". ", which means that the new year will have an upright start. The first important event in the early morning of that day is to worship ancestors at home, using homemade red and white rice cakes to worship the ancestors, which is called "Kaizheng". "Kaizheng" The ceremony is very solemn. The hall is brightly lit, and the door is decorated with red decorations. New year oranges, rice cakes, animal gifts, tea, wine, four fruits, and incense candles are placed on the table. Firecrackers are set off in every household, and the whole family, young and old, worships ancestors and gods together. Then greet the elders and salute one by one.

The most interesting thing about the Spring Festival is to go out to pay New Year greetings, which is also called "going out for spring", "beginning of spring" and "congratulations". Whenever there are guests, the host will use a red wooden box to hold candies and serve "sweet tea" to entertain the guests; a banquet will be held to treat the guests and socialize with each other, which is called "spring wine"; when the guests leave, they will give red envelopes to each other's children.

Since every household goes out to pay New Year greetings, it is inevitable that they will encounter people who are not at home, so two interesting customs have emerged: people always carry a stack of red paper with them when they go out to pay New Year greetings, with their names written on them. Leaving a red postcard when you are not at home is called "leaving a postcard"; for a person with a high official position and a wide network of contacts, it is impossible for his family to go to New Year greetings in person, so he sends a servant to bring his red postcard to do the New Year greetings on his behalf. This is called "leaving a postcard". "Flying post".

Taiwan’s “rats marry brides on the third day of the lunar month” and “Mother 3 Wuzi Niang” in southern Fujian mean that the third day of the lunar month is a rest day, and even mice choose this day to marry their brides. According to custom, every household must go to bed early that night to avoid disturbing the rat's wedding. Some food should be placed in various corners of the room as "gifts" to the rat in order to have a good relationship with the rat and reduce the number of problems in the coming year. Rat infestation. The idea of ??"rat marrying a bride" originated from mainland China. There is a colorful lithographic New Year painting of "rat marrying a bride", which was once widely circulated among the people. In the picture, the "bride" covered with a red handkerchief, to the deacons carrying the sedan chair and blowing the trumpet, are all mice. They are all lively, joyful and very lovable, adding a lot of happy atmosphere to the festival, which has made the whole year tense. , even mice are on holiday to get married, not to mention people?

The fourth day of the Lunar New Year is the "God Day". Both Fujian and Taiwan call this day "Shen Luotian". On that day, every household will offer sacrifices, fruits, sweets, etc. in the hall, set off firecrackers, burn gold paper, and sacred horses to respectfully welcome the gods to earth and continue to perform their duties of being in charge of good and evil in the world.

The "separation" on the fifth day of the lunar month means that the Chinese New Year has come to an end, which is also the same as in mainland China. Starting from the next day, shops opened, farmers went to the fields, and all walks of life began to resume normal life and work. According to popular legend, this day is also the birthday of the "Five Gods of Wealth". In southern Fujian, it is called "The God of Heaven Descends" and in Taiwanese, it is called "The God of the Road". In order to make great profits, shops often burn incense on the streets to worship the gods and seek the blessings of the five gods of wealth.

"On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, seven yuan" and "the eighth day of the lunar month, reunion" are the same in both Fujian and Taiwan. Chinese folk call the seventh day of the Lunar New Year the "Seven Yuan Day", also known as the "Man's Day". According to legend, heaven and earth created man, and man was born on this day. Therefore, among Taiwanese people, every household eats thread noodles (Shou noodles) on this day, as well as seven kinds of fresh vegetables, including celery, spinach, mustard greens, shepherd's purse, onions, garlic, and wormwood. Among them, mustard is a vegetable with long stems and leaves and a slightly bitter taste. Because of its long leaves and long threads, it symbolizes longevity. Eating these seven kinds of vegetables is actually a legacy of the ancient Chinese "Five Pungent Plate" custom. Du Fu once wrote a poem: "Spring Plate of Thin Lettuce", which is exactly what he said. "Reunion on the eighth day of the lunar month" refers to the daughter-in-law who returns to her parents' home to celebrate the Spring Festival. On the eighth day of the lunar month, she has to return to her husband's house to "reunite" and start working. Otherwise, she will be considered to be intentionally embarrassing her husband's family. If she doesn't do it well, her husband's family may even "camp out to investigate" for this. .

"Tiangong is born on the ninth day of the lunar month", "Tiangong" is the Jade Emperor, and "Tiangong is born" is the birthday of the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor is the steward of heavenly spirits, so sacrifices are particularly grand. The day before, the whole family fasted and bathed, and an altar was set up in the main hall. After midnight, the whole family gets dressed up, burns incense in order from oldest to youngest, and performs a grand ceremony of kneeling three times and kowtowing nine times. This was followed by burning earthen paper and setting off firecrackers until four in the morning. In the past, when offering sacrifices to God, the decoration of the altar was very particular. In addition to the original offering table, a small offering table (commonly known as the "top table") was also required. On the top table, there were five fruits and six fasts, noodles tied with red strings, and three cups of tea. Cup dedicated to the Jade Emperor. On the altar table below, there are three animals, five gifts, red turtle barley, etc., to worship the gods of God. The gold foil burned to Tiangong is specially made and is called "Tiangong gold".

In traditional Chinese folk customs, a son-in-law is favored by the in-laws' family and is commonly known as "Jiao Ke". This is true in all parts of China, including Fujian and Taiwan. Therefore, there is a custom of "inviting a son-in-law on National Day" , called "Son-in-law Day", that is, the day when the in-law family specially entertains their son-in-law.