What is Chaozhou custom?

There are many traditional cultures in every place. In Chaozhou, congou tea is considered as a household name. Chaozhou people likes drinking tea. Drinking tea is good for your health. Drinking tea is good for our digestive system. Drinking two cups of tea half an hour after a meal will accelerate the digestion of food in the stomach and will not cause symptoms such as indigestion. Everyone is familiar with it except drinking congou tea and Chaozhou gongs and drums team. Every time overseas Chinese come back, there will always be a pleasant sound of gongs and drums in the village. It was people in the village celebrating the return of overseas Chinese. Nowadays, most of the gongs and drums teams are composed of teenagers, so that many students don't even know how to hold and beat gongs and drums while learning about their hometown culture. Whenever there are festivals in the village, gongs and drums will ring, which not only enlivens the atmosphere, but also unites everyone. Let's unite in order to run our hometown culture well.

The ninth day of the ninth lunar month is a traditional festival in China-the Double Ninth Festival. During this festival, celebrations will be held all over China, and Chaozhou, Guangdong Province, like the whole country, will also hold activities to celebrate this festival. The ninth day of September is the Double Ninth Festival, and nine is a positive number in the food classics. The month is nine and the day is nine. These two yang numbers are combined, so the ancients called it "Chongyang". In the Central Plains, the Double Ninth Festival has the custom of climbing mountains, drinking chrysanthemum wine and accompanying dogwood. Mr. Wang Ciyang, a researcher of Chaozhou folklore, said: "chaozhou people also has the custom of climbing Chongyang, but in the past, it was mainly the activities of some literati. They climbed Chongyang Mountain and expressed their feelings with poems, which were recorded in local chronicles of past dynasties. As for the projects that form customs among the people, they mainly fly kites and become attached. "

Let's talk about flying kites first. September in the lunar calendar is the best weather in rural areas in a year. Chaozhou is located in the south, with heavy humidity, which was called miasma in ancient times. But in September, the air is dry, the weather is clear, the sky is high and the clouds are light, the sun is shining, and the autumn wind is cool, so this kind of weather is very loose and fast, which is an excellent season for flying kites and for everyone to go outdoors. Why does chaozhou people call kites "wind birds"? At first, kites were shaped like birds and birds. Flying in the air is like a bird, so it is called "wind bird". We think this metaphor is more appropriate. Chaozhou people also called the "wind bird" a "paper contract", which was the ancient name for kites. Chaozhou is called the old saying. Yue is a big bird, which looks like an eagle and flies like an eagle. "Paper Yue" is actually a big bird made of paper, so it makes sense for chaozhou people to call a kite "Paper Yue".

Flying kites is a mass activity in chaozhou people, especially for young children, with strong interest and enthusiasm. As soon as September comes, the autumn wind blows, and everyone is scrambling to fly kites in the high places. In Chaozhou, kites are usually made by themselves, and the materials are bamboo and paper; There are also special kites with many styles. Besides birds, there are butterflies, fish, heads, the sun, centipedes and so on. There are also some kites tied with wind chimes that make noise when flying in the air, which is very interesting. Flying kites is the most lively on the Double Ninth Festival.

Mr. Wang Ciyang said: "It is the custom of Chaozhou to attach Chongyang. Attachment to Chongyang was originally a Buddhist saying, which means that attachment to Buddha and Bodhisattva can lead to "crossing over" in the future. Affinity also has the opportunity to make friends with people. In addition to bonding between Buddhists, there are usually opportunities for bonding between people. We usually say that someone is so good with someone that it is very predestined. This is what we mean. "

In the past, chaozhou people became attached by giving each other sesame balls. "Sesame Pill" is a dessert made of glutinous rice, sugar and peanuts. There is a very profound implication in this: the sound and edge of maru are homophonic, representing fate; Sesame blossoms higher and higher, indicating that fate will continue to develop in depth. Glutinous rice is sticky and strong, indicating close fate. The fruit of peanuts is in the heel, which means that fate can bear fruit; Sugar is sweet, which means happiness, sweetness and beauty. So sesame balls are made of these kinds and have far-reaching influence.

On the ninth day of September, chaozhou people also called it "heaven", and there is another saying that it is the birthday of nine kings. On this day, folk worship became a common practice, and a shrine was set up in the city for people to worship. In addition to the usual fruit and three sacrifices, sesame balls are definitely indispensable. After the sacrifice, sesame balls are presented to relatives, friends and neighbors to show deepening friendship and fate. However, if there is a white family at home, you can't give others sesame balls. Give sesame balls to convey the desire of unity and affinity. For example, if the man wants to get married, but it is not clear whether the woman is interested, then on the ninth day of September, sesame pills will be given to the woman's home, which sends a signal to the woman that the man wants to marry her; If the woman returns sesame balls, it means that the woman agrees to propose. At this time, the man can invite the matchmaker and relatives to propose to the woman. There is also the etiquette of sending sesame balls to avoid unnecessary embarrassment when proposing marriage. Chaozhou people is very face-saving. If he fails to pursue others, he will be rejected, his face will be ugly and he will be embarrassed. It is normal to send sesame balls between neighbors at ordinary times.

As for the in-laws who are engaged or newly married, the woman's family will send sesame balls and fruits to the man, and then the man will give these sesame balls and fruits to relatives and neighbors. Chaozhou people often said that a distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor, so he attached great importance to neighborhood relations and fate. Chaozhou has a good neighborhood relationship. They take care of each other and help each other. For example, if you go to find someone, if he is not here, your neighbor's uncle and aunt will invite you to his house to have tea and entertain you on behalf of the host. This is very common in Chaozhou, and it also shows the harmonious neighborhood relations in chaozhou people. Now, for example, if there are some minor conflicts between neighbors, sesame balls are often given to each other on the ninth day of September, which means letting bygones be bygones and getting back together.

Small sesame balls play an affinity role.

Another example is the Mid-Autumn Festival. In Chaozhou dialect, in order not to forget the sufferings of alien rule and maintain today's stable, United and harmonious society, there is a custom of Mid-Autumn Festival in Yue Bai, which is mainly for women and children. There is also a saying called "Men are dissatisfied with the moon, and women don't sacrifice stoves". At night, when the bright moon rises, women set up a box in the yard and balcony to pray. Silver candles are burning high, cigarettes are everywhere, and the table is filled with good fruits and cakes as sacrifices. There is also the custom of eating taro in the Mid-Autumn Festival. There is a saying in Chaoshan: "River to mouth, taro to eat." August is the harvest season of taro, and farmers are used to using taro to worship their ancestors. Of course, this has something to do with farming, but there is also a popular folk legend: 1279, Mongolian nobles destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty, established the Yuan Dynasty, and brutally ruled the Han people. Mafa defended Chaozhou against the Yuan Dynasty. After the city was broken, the people were slaughtered. In order not to forget the suffering of Hu people's rule, later generations used taro as a homonym with "Hu tou", which looked like a human head, in order to pay homage to their ancestors and pass it on from generation to generation, and it still exists today.