Customs of the Spring Festival and Dragon Boat Festival in Dongguan

Spring Festival

It is reported that people in Dongguan usually start cleaning the ceiling and then the walls. The cleaning tools are usually large brooms made of green bamboo branches and leaves, mainly cleaning the roof, Dust, cobwebs and other dirt accumulated on the eaves and walls. They also have to clean furniture, clothes and quilts, clean the courtyard, etc. They usually have to be busy until the twelfth lunar month, which is the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month.

“Sacrifices to the stove begin on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month.” Zhang Tiewen said that offering sacrifices to the stove is actually a matter of cleaning. According to folk tradition, civil servants generally worship the stove on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, military officers and common people on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, and the Dan family The twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Sacrifice to the stove must be done by a man. Sacrificing the stove means offering sacrifices to the image of the Stove Lord (the Stove Lord), which is affixed above the mouth of the stove. Men should apply maltose on the mouth of the Stove Lord’s statue and use hemp bones to make a ladder to heaven. Worship with sugar cane so that the Stove Lord can "speak good things to heaven and ensure peace to the earth". Zhang Tiewen said that the reason why offering sacrifices to the stove is also a matter of hygiene is because after offering sacrifices to the stove, a new statue of the Stove Lord must be replaced. The Stove Lord statue can be bought on the street and is printed on paper with a woodblock print. It is said that some people are afraid that the Kitchen Lord will seduce their wives when he leaves, so when they change the statue of the Kitchen Lord, they will make up a portrait of the Kitchen God's wife next to it.

Some odds and ends that are difficult to wash are usually cleaned on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month. Zhang Tiewen said that there is a saying in Dongguan, "On the 28th of the year, wash away the sloppy things." In Dongguan dialect, sloppy towers refer to some small and fragmented things. These things are generally not cleaned frequently and are relatively dirty.

Women wash their hair and men shave their heads

After cleaning the house, it’s time to do personal hygiene. According to reports, women can wash their hair after the 16th day of the twelfth lunar month.

“It is very troublesome for women to wash their hair, and they are also very particular.” Zhang Tiewen said that in his memory, women usually wash their hair after the house has been cleaned, otherwise cleaning the house will mess up the hair. dirty.

It is said that because there was no such thing as shampoo in the past, women usually used tea powder to wash their hair. Tea powder is the residue left from tea oil. It is poisonous and can poison lice. , like tofu dregs, the washing effect is very good. After washing their hair, unmarried girls should comb their hair into two braids. Married women should braid their hair into a bun. The buns have shapes such as bows, flying apsaras, dragons, and snails, which are more cumbersome to braid.

Compared to women, men are much simpler. Zhang Tiewen told reporters that men generally must shave their heads before the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, because they cannot shave their heads during the first lunar month, otherwise, their uncle will die.

As for the term "dead uncle", Zhang Tiewen said that there is an allusion. It is reported that the Qing government required Han people to shave their heads. In order to resist the rule of the Manchus, the Han people made up the theory that their uncle would be killed by shaving his head in the first month. In Chinese tradition, the uncle is a symbol of justice. In general, the uncle will administer justice when a family is separated.

Zhang Tiewen said that adults usually take a bath on the 28th of the year, while children take a bath before they become lazy. To sell laziness, a child is asked to hold a duck egg (eggs are generally used in Guangzhou), put in incense sticks and run three times outside the village. The child also sings the song of laziness: "Sell lazier, sell lazier, sell to Aunt Wang of Guangxi." "Let's all sell our laziness today and celebrate the New Year early in the morning." It is said that as long as a child can sell this duck egg, it means that he has sold his laziness. However, many children secretly eat the duck eggs themselves and tell the adults when they come back. Said it had been sold.

“Selling is on New Year’s Eve. On this day, parents will wake up their children early in the morning, let them get up to take a bath and change clothes, and then go to selling clothes, and the clothes they change will be sold on this day. After washing it, I will give it to my younger siblings to wear next year," Zhang Tiewen said.

The toilet must not only be cleaned but also cleaned

According to Mr. Zhang Tiewen’s recollection, usually on the 28th of the New Year, the soot from the bottom of the pot must be scraped. As for shrines and the like, after Weima, they are usually cleaned by men. "The toilet god is a special case. The toilet is usually cleaned on New Year's Eve." Zhang Tiewen told reporters that the toilet god worshiped by the people is called Zigu. Generally, after cleaning the toilet on New Year's Eve, candles are inserted in the toilet and incense is burned to worship the toilet god. .

For those who raise poultry and livestock, cleaning cow pens and chicken coops should be done before the twelfth lunar month. Zhang Tiewen said that cleaning is not allowed on New Year's Day. Water cannot be poured out, and brooms must be hidden so that no one can see them.

Dragon Boat Festival

Dongguan Dragon Boat Festival customs - go back to your parents’ home to eat rice dumplings and watch dragon boats

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2007-06-14 09:56:02 Source: Dongguan Agricultural Information Network

The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is The Dragon Boat Festival is also called the Duanyang Festival, the Noon Day Festival, the May Festival, the AI ??Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Chongwu Festival, the Noon Day Festival, and the Summer Festival. Although the names are different, the customs of people in various places to celebrate the festival are the same. In addition to the custom of eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival, people also drink realgar wine, wear sachets, and hang mugwort. This is because the weather in May is hot and humid, making it easy to get sick. The ancients scheduled May 5th to carry out various anti-epidemic activities. When going out to participate in activities, you need to bring easy-to-carry food. Zongzi has become a festive food.

The most lively Dragon Boat Festival in Dongguan is the people in the water town, who race dragon boats and eat dragon boat rice. Their married daughters will go home to celebrate the festival and live a lively day, especially in recent years. The atmosphere of the Dragon Boat Festival is getting stronger and stronger. On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, it is almost more lively than the Chinese New Year.

The custom in Dongguan is to spend the Dragon Boat Festival at grandma’s house. On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, married girls in Dongguan will take their husbands and children home to celebrate the festival. Their parents’ families have also killed chickens and ducks early and made rice dumplings waiting for their daughters to go home. At noon, everyone had a reunion dinner together and then chose a seat to watch the dragon boat race.

Many people in the water towns have their houses built near the water, right on the river. After eating the rice dumplings, you can find a good seat on the balcony of the house and sit and watch. Dragon boat. Many people also like to invite friends to their homes to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival and watch dragon boats. The hosts are warm and hospitable. The more guests they invite, the better it shows their popularity.