April 8, National Day.

April 8th is to commemorate Xie An, a famous minister in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Now it has become a symbol of the unification of Chen Dong's surname. Every year, a grand temple fair will be held on the seventh, eighth and ninth day of the fourth lunar month. With the passage of time, "April 8th" has now become a traditional Hakka cultural festival in Chen Dong. I hope the weather will be fine and the country will be safe in the coming year.

One of the Hakka nursery rhymes in Huizhou, Guangdong Province is "Qingming in March, April 8".

In the Hakka area of Taiwan Province Province, there is a kind of bucket lamp on April 8th, also known as seven-star lamp, which is made up of "a bucket filled with rice, lighted candles, two wood blade inserted obliquely from both sides in the bucket, and a round mirror, scissors, ruler, scale, abacus, money and earth placed in the middle". What does the light stand for? Sparks of battle; Rice represents a bumper harvest; The parasol represents the king's arrival on earth, and the gods descend to bless the public; Fighting confession is to pray for every dollar? Glory; Abacus stands for fairness, justice and fairness; Sword generation means exorcism; The foot-shaped dragon is wood, which means crossing people; Proportional white tiger? , meaning fairness and justice; Scissors-shaped rosefinch is a fire, which means to fight evil and stand at attention; Mirror basalt belongs to water, which means to reflect evil spirits and reunite. Simply put, it is to use a bucket lamp to exorcise evil spirits and eliminate disasters. It is said that the origin of this activity dates back to the early years of the Republic of China. At that time, there were two gentry playing lanterns on the Lantern Festival in the upper and lower blocks of the city. Because they were inextricably linked, they met Mazusheng for a rematch and tied again, so they decided to win or lose at the "April 8" Bath Buddha Festival. The local faith centers Yongzheng Palace and Yimin Temple also held grand events, which became enduring events.

Zhuang festival

On the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, it is the Niu Soul Festival of the Zhuang nationality, also known as the Off-yoke Festival, which is popular in Zhuang mountain villages in Longsheng area of northern Guangxi. Zhuang people love and respect cows. They think that the eighth day of April is the birthday of the king of cattle, so this day is designated as the festival of the soul of cattle. On this day, people put in plows and cows remove yokes. The host family will feed the cows with newly brewed sweet wine and five-color glutinous rice dyed with plant juice. On this day, we should clean the cowshed and clean the cow's body. When cows take a bath, they also play drums to entertain them. On this day, it is even more impossible to hit a cow. If they hit the cows, they think it will scare away the souls of the cows, which is greatly detrimental to farming. On this day, every household will hold a cow worship ceremony at noon. At this time, the whole family will sit around the table full of banquets, and parents will lead the cows around the table, sing songs that respect the cows and feed them colorful meals. Finally, the whole family stood up and stroked the cow's back to express their blessings to the cow.

She nationality festival

Also known as "Niuxie Festival"

She people call themselves "Shan Ha". "Ha" is a She language, which means "guest" and refers to guests living in the mountains. In ancient times, the She nationality originally referred to slash-and-burn cultivation and took "She" as the national name, which began in the late Southern Song Dynasty and has been more than 700 years. Ruiyun is one of the settlements of She nationality in Xiamen. She compatriots cultivated the land here and fought bravely, creating a unique national culture with songs as the endorsement and songs as the expression form in the long history. Up to now, they still maintain their own unique national costumes, marriage customs, folk songs and other folk customs. The Song King Festival on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month is also called "Cow Rest Festival". It is said that in the Spring and Autumn Period, there were two kings of songs in the State of Chu, one named Zhong Ziqi and the other named Zhong Yi. The tune of Bole, a musician of Chu State, is "Drink big" and "Drink small", which means that the mountain is high and the aim is running water. Only Zhong Ziqi can match them. After Zhong Ziqi died, Bole put down the piano and never played it again. Zhong Yi, whose original name was Chu Yunlian, was recommended to the State of Jin by Zheng. King Jin asked him to play the piano and sing. Zhong Yi inherited Bole and Zhong Ziqi's playing and singing skills, "playing the piano with them, playing Nanyin and blowing the local wind". King Jin was very happy and valued him very much, and made him an assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites. Later, in order to commemorate the two song kings of the She nationality, the She nationality set up an altar on the eighth day of April every year, held a song meeting and sang "big drinks" and "small drinks", and took this day as the traditional festival of the She nationality, "April 8" Song King Festival. At the same time, this day is also a festival for She people to plow cattle. In order to reward Niu Yi's hard work, "flogging is forbidden to appease the soul of cattle", and the best forage and the best home-brewed wine are specially prepared for cattle to eat and drink. The shepherd boy sang the "Song of the Cow" loudly over and over again: the horns were flat, the buffalo cooked for people, and the eighth day of April rested, also known as the "Cow Festival".

Ruiyun's "April 8" Niuxie Festival has been listed in the intangible cultural heritage list of Fujian Province. 20 10, 10 On May 6th, the "April 8th" Niujie Song Festival was listed in the third batch of national intangible cultural heritage.

Ruiyun, located at the junction of Xia Ding and Xiamen, is the only ethnic village of She nationality in Xiamen. There are 18 natural villages in the whole village, with 4 13 households 1752 people, of which the She population accounts for more than 60%. With the strong support of the higher party committee, government and relevant supporting departments, Ruiyun Village is committed to developing village-level economy, improving people's production and living environment and promoting the coordinated and healthy development of various social undertakings in the village around the main line of "increasing agricultural efficiency and increasing farmers' income". Up to now, * * * has invested more than 2.6 million yuan to build a 6 km cement road leading to Xiamenji Town; Built the central village tap water project; Ruiyun national boarding primary school, village Committee office building and nursing home were newly built; Opened a program-controlled telephone, installed a cable TV, and the communication signal covered the whole village; Vigorously implement the project of benefiting the people, establish three new villages with relatively concentrated population, such as Huludun, with more than 600 households and more than 600 people, and reduce the original 72 natural villages to 18 today. The village mainly grows rice, tea and lilies, which are the specialties of Ruiyun. In recent years, the village has been doing a good job in the optimization, introduction and promotion of lily varieties, creating Ruiyun Lily brand, which has driven the people to increase their income.

Dong festival

The Dong people in Jiuzhai call April 8th Ox King's Day. Niu Wang Festival is called Tuoshengni in Dong language, which means "Niu's birthday" and also called "Niu Wang Hui", and Dong language means "having a dinner for Niu's birthday". On this day, all women cook white rice and stir-fry oil tea for cows at home, and cook eggs for cows when conditions are good, to show people's deep sympathy and warm return to it before spring ploughing. After lunch break, people roll up their sleeves and go home, put their hands in wooden pots to see if the rice and oil tea in the pots are hot, then pick up the wooden pots and bake the wine in the cowshed with eggs, so that the cows can fully enjoy it.

At this time, the owner often wants to hold the cow's head and caress it, saying, "Niu Er, you are my baby, you are my baby. If it hurts you all the year round, you should eat and drink well. " I hope you will work hard with me, and everything will be fruitful and prosperous. I will treat you well again next year. "At this time, the cow seems to understand human nature. It sticks out its tongue to lick people and squints at people. When the cow is full, the baby on the side pulls it out to eat tender grass, wash its body and comb its hair. Wash and dress very carefully. People despise a cow with unclean body and dull hair and say others are lazy. After the cows go out, the owner cleans the cowshed, and then spreads dry and fluffy straw or thatch on it, so that the cows can spend their holidays comfortably. During the festival, cows are not allowed to fight, let alone kill them to eat meat or work. In a word, on the day of Cow King's Day, even if Lei Gong went to the fields, it would be difficult to lay a finger on it. On this day, the owner will spend the birthday with the cow. After the cow is pulled back to the cowshed, it will wander around the cowshed and mend it, for fear of being thoughtless and sorry for its beloved cow. Some people take cows out to eat fresh grass in the mountains and enjoy the natural joy of mountains and rivers.

On this day, people will also observe the weather and predict the success of the year. I hope it will be sunny. I'll clean up the cow first, let it have a happy holiday, save your strength and meet the pear rake. Secondly, it still indicates that next year is expected to have a bumper harvest. It turned out that I knew a little about the success of that year on the day of long summer. The agricultural proverb said, "The long summer will fall, the long summer will not fall, and the pear rake will hang high." Really, it is said that this day is of great significance to farmers and the world. If the day is sunny, people will be excited, and even think that it is Grandpa Niu Wang who has shown his good fortune to the world, so the whole village is intoxicated with the festive atmosphere.

Buyi Festival

April 8th is the eighth day of April in the lunar calendar. This is a festival for Buyi people to commemorate cattle farming. It is called "Ox King Festival" in Luodian and other places, "Shepherd Festival" in Biandan Mountain in Zhenning, and "Seedling Opening Festival" in Anlong and Xingyi. On this day, everyone will eat "cows" and glutinous rice, and feed the barrels with glutinous rice or glutinous rice bars. In Zhenning area outside Guizhou, children will be given a steamed rooster, and adults will take them to the river to take a bath, catch small fish, eat chicken and bask in the sun. This festival is celebrated in several areas of Guizhou and several ethnic minorities, and Guiyang is the biggest. On this day, Miao and Buyi people from all over the country, dressed in festive costumes, gathered from all directions in the fountain in downtown Guiyang, Feiyun Cliff in Ping Huang or other places, playing reed flutes and piccolo and singing love songs in search of partners. Middle-aged people get together to talk, talk about the past and present, and hold various activities. From day to night, from night to dawn, they stay up all night and have fun.

Miao festival

The "April 8th" celebration of Miao nationality in Guiyang is the largest, most grand and far-reaching activity. April 8 is a traditional festival of Miao people. It is the ancestor worship festival, hero festival and get-together festival of Miao nationality. People automatically gather in the predetermined place to dance and inspire, bringing flowers to national songs and dances; Climb the ladder and drill the fire ring ... it's very lively, with tens of thousands of people. The scene was grand and spectacular, and people sang and danced all night. On April 8 every year, the Miao people in Guiyang and its surrounding counties all wear national costumes and gather in the fountain area in the center of Guiyang. They play lusheng and flute, sing folk songs and dance Miao people to celebrate their traditional festivals. There are many legends about the origin of "April 8", mainly for the ancient Miao heroes buried in today's fountain on April 8, which have been passed down from generation to generation and become a custom. Every family of Miao compatriots celebrated this festival by eating black rice and singing and dancing with lusheng, and paid tribute to Miao heroes and ancestors with melodious lusheng, flute and crisp Miao "flying songs".

It is understood that in accordance with the instructions of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Zhongshan District held the first "April 8th" celebration in 2004, and held it once a year thereafter. In 2005, the 5th Miao "April 8th" was hosted by Yuezhao Yi and Miao Township Committee in Zhongshan District and Yuezhao Yi, Hui and Miao Township People's Government in Zhongshan District. It aims to inherit and protect the traditional festivals of ethnic minorities, develop the economy in ethnic minority areas, promote national unity and progress, publicize Zhongshan, promote tourist routes, promote the development of rural causes and ethnic customs in Zhongshan District, and start the construction of Liupanshui Miao Cultural Park project. Today, "April 8th" in Guiyang has become a carnival festival for Miao, Buyi, Dong, Zhuang, Shui, Gelao, Han and other ethnic groups in Guiyang and its surrounding areas, and a grand ceremony to display national traditional culture. Young men and women of ethnic minorities also take this opportunity to find suitable people through their affectionate dancing and singing.

In 2008, the "April 8th" activity and the Liupanshui Miao Culture Month showed the traditional performances of Miao people, such as cockfighting, bullfighting, Lusheng Festival and duet.

Mulao Festival

Also known as Niuwangdan Mulao nationality, it is a mountainous nationality with a small population in China. They call themselves "Ling" and "Jing". Zhuang people call it "Bujin" and Han people call it "Mulao". The word "mulao" means "mother" in Mandarin. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was collectively called the Mulao nationality. The vast majority live in Luocheng Mulao Autonomous County, Guangxi.

Cattle are industrious and capable, plowing the fields for others, being unknown and working hard. All they need is grass and water, but they can provide a lot. Therefore, many ethnic groups worship and love cows and regard them as good friends of mankind, and the Mulao nationality is no exception. The eighth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar is designated as the birthday of cattle, which is called "Niusheng Festival". On this day, no matter how busy the farm work is, we should give the cows a holiday and rest. Every household washes the cows, cleans the cowshed and inserts maple branches at the gate to drive away mosquitoes and flies. And slaughter chickens and ducks, prepare wine and meat for the "Cowherd God" and make black glutinous rice to worship the ancestors. On this day, we should feed the cows well, and the cooked black glutinous rice should be given to the cows first, and then to people. A well-off family also retted soybeans and corn and mixed them with egg distiller's grains to feed cattle. It can be said that they take good care of the cows.

There is also a beautiful and touching legend about the cow's birthday. According to legend, in ancient times, the Mulao people used a pick and a hoe to plow the fields, which was time-consuming and laborious. A girl named Luo Ying is born smart, hardworking and kind. One day, when she went hunting in the mountains, she saw a bison running around and the villagers sweating in the fields. She thought, if only she could catch this cow and plow the fields for the villagers! So she went after bison. When the bison was running, one of its hooves was stuck in a crack in the stone, crying with pain. Ying Luo was unable to help it out, so he had to pick tender grass to feed it and sing for it. This song is excellent and sincere. It not only touched the hearts of bison, but also touched flowers, plants and the moon. The hard stone also moved, slowly cracked the gap and the cow's foot was pulled out. It followed Ying Luo to the fields, diligently pulling plows and rakes for people and ploughing fields from generation to generation. With cows, life in the field is much easier.

In recent ten years, people's lives have improved, and the celebration of this festival is even more grand. During the festival, the old custom of offering sacrifices to the cow god is gone forever, but the cow will still have a day off. Feed it with green fodder such as citronella, tender bamboo leaves and awn leaves, wrap it with glutinous rice oil, some feed it with yellow wine, and some feed it with cooked potato vines and sweet wine. In addition, people will also entertain relatives and friends, enjoy the joy of the festival, and raise a glass to wish prosperity and abundant crops. This festival is a big festival for Zhuang compatriots.