2020-03-06
My hometown is Xunyang County, Shaanxi Province. It is located in the southeastern part of Shaanxi Province, in the eastern section of the Qinba Mountain District. It borders Baihe County and Yunxi County of Hubei Province to the east, Pingli County and Zhushan County of Hubei Province to the south. Zhuxi County is connected to Hanbin District in the west and Daren Town in Zhenan County and Yunxi County in Hubei Province in the north. The county is about 82 kilometers long from north to south, 79 kilometers wide from east to west, and has a circumference of about 390 kilometers. The county seat is located at the intersection of Han River and Xun River. The new urban area extends upward for several kilometers along the west bank of Xun River. The northern section is the old town of the county. Because the Xun River enters the Han River in an "S" shape, it is also called "Tai Chi City" today.
The Xunyang people who were influenced by Bashu and Qinchu have a wide range of folk customs that can be found almost all the time and everywhere. Clothing, food, housing, transportation, entertainment, etc. have formed their own unique lifestyle. For example, Xunyang people like to eat sour food, mainly pasta, and generally every household makes sauerkraut. Steamed noodles and thick wine are also a favorite of Xunyang people. They kill pigs and smoke them for their own consumption. These lifestyles and customs also fully demonstrate the simplicity, honesty, roughness and generosity of Xunyang people. The folk customs of Xunyang are also reflected in the colorful solar terms, weddings and other folk arts and other activities. From calligraphy and painting, paper-cutting, sculpture, drama and local opera to the weaving and making of handicrafts; from the social fire dance of dragon and lion to the dragon boat race of the Dragon Boat Festival, it has both the style of Qinba culture and the charm of the Jiangnan water town. . The following is a brief introduction to the solar terms and wedding customs and habits of Xunyang people.
1. The solar terms and customs of Xunyang people:
1. February 2nd The second day of the second lunar month is said to be the day when the dragon raises its head. Women did not dare to do needlework on this day for fear of pricking longan and preventing rain from the ground.
2. On Qingming Festival, every family pays homage to their ancestors and sweeps their graves. People in the city put incense, burn paper, set off firecrackers and hang "Qingming hangings" on their ancestors' graves; farmers do not put up Qingming hangings, but press white or yellow paper around the tombs.
3. Duanyang Festival The fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar is the Duanyang Festival. People in Xunyang call it "the Dragon Boat Festival in May". On this day, families put calamus, mugwort, and some pomegranate flowers on their doors. They drink realgar wine with garlic and mugwort leaves soaked in the wine. They use the wine to smear the children's ears and noses to prevent poisonous insects from getting in. Make sachets for children to wear to ward off evil and avoid filth. At this time, farm wheat comes on the scene, and the new wheat is used to make glutinous rice. City people mainly eat rice dumplings and give gifts to each other. After lunch on the Dragon Boat Festival, people on the riverside went down to the river to watch the dragon boat race.
4. June 6 "The weather in June is unbearably hot, so we hang out our clothes on June 6." Officials and people in both urban and rural areas hang out their clothes on this day to prevent them from being eaten by insects.
5. Half of July This day is the "Ghost Festival". Immigrants from the south of the Yangtze River drew circles and burned paper on the river beach to pray to their ancestors. On this day, the Chenghuang Temple invites Taoist priests to recite the Emperor's Sutra, lights up lanterns at night, and sends the deceased to attend the "Ullan Festival".
6. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, rural areas do not pay much attention to admiring the moon. Instead, they eat new rice to celebrate the autumn harvest, and use new sesame and fragrant fried oil cakes to prepare sumptuous dinners and meals to improve their lives and celebrate reunion. The grand Mid-Autumn Festival luncheon for people in this county is second only to the family reunion dinner on New Year's Eve.
2. Marriage customs:
1. The man and woman discuss and determine the wedding date. A few days before the wedding, the man goes to the woman’s house to report the date, that is to say, the exact date of the wedding is determined. Next, both parties make preparations for the wedding. For example: How many people will be present when a man picks up a bride? The woman should prepare a banquet in advance. It’s not that preparing too much for the banquet is a waste. If there is less preparation, there will be more people, and there will be no place to sit, and the host will feel embarrassed. The man needs to know how many people are coming to see the bride off, and then prepare a vehicle according to the number of people coming to see off the bride (nowadays, vehicles are used as a substitute for marriage in rural areas).
2. Xunyang people’s wedding customs and wedding banquets
The man’s wedding banquet usually lasts for three days. The day before the wedding, the “guest reception” banquet is called and the responsibilities of various helpers are clarified at the banquet. While eating, the waiter explained the work of each helper clearly in four rhyming sentences. The banquet on this day was mainly to entertain the helpers.
The next day is the official day of the wedding. It is mainly used to entertain guests from the mother’s family. Only two brides-in-law are arranged at each table in order to allow everyone in the mother’s family to sit at the table. At the same time, according to the status of the bride-to-be. Accompany guests accordingly according to their status. After the guests are seated, the groom toasts to the guests and bows, and the butler salutes the guests on behalf of the host family.
3. Funeral customs
Funeral is a major event in the lives of Ankang people. Throughout the ages, funeral rituals have received great attention from people. Because Ankang is close to Chu and Shu, the residents are "from all over the world", with different customs, etiquette and habits. However, due to the mutual influence, complementation and penetration of various customs, the main agenda of funeral customs is generally the same. Generally speaking, the funeral ceremonies for those who have sufficient financial resources are very solemn and solemn, from the moment the person dies to the funeral and burial, and even the "Juqi", 100th day, and anniversary. It includes family sacrifices, adult clothing, and keeping filial piety. A series of procedures include singing filial piety songs, playing funeral drums, recommending the deceased, observing Feng Shui, and burial, cliff burial, and hanging coffins. The sacrificial procedures are complicated and cautious. Here is a brief introduction to head turning, setting up spirits, and encoffining.
1. Bathing and dressing after death
After the old man dies, he must first burn the paper on his head to prepare for the deceased to spend money on the way to heaven or to the underworld; at the same time, he must Cannons fired outdoors signify the deceased's ascension to heaven, and are also used to notify neighbors to come to help. The close relatives of the deceased should use warm water to purify the body of the deceased. If the deceased is a male, the deceased should be asked to have a haircut and shaved by a barber; if the deceased is a female, the daughter should comb her hair. The deceased is dressed in a shroud to make him appear neat and peaceful, as if dead but asleep, and then the body is moved to the wooden planks laid out in the hall and covered with yellow paper or fire paper. A vegetable oil lamp is burned at the feet of the deceased, which is called a "street lamp", which means to illuminate the way for the deceased in the darkness of the underworld. This lamp remains burning until the funeral.
2. Set up a mourning hall
The deceased is parked in the hall, with a sacrificial table in front of it, with incense burners, wax stands, sacrifices, fruits, etc., and a playing card stacked with yellow and red paper On it, it is written, "The new story reveals the (concubine) × male (mother) taboo × × the spiritual position of the old lady (ruren)" and placed it in the center of the sacrificial table. Wealthy families tie a filial piety curtain with white silk or white cloth, and hang the portrait of the deceased in the middle of the filial piety curtain behind the spirit tablet. Elegiac couplets are hung on both sides of the filial piety curtain, and paper bundles sent by filial men and filial women and relatives and friends are placed on both sides of the memorial table in the mourning hall, such as golden boys and girls, gold and silver mountains, treasure pots and money trees, carriages and horses, and elegiac couplets and wreaths. While setting up the mourning hall, the funeral should be reported to relatives and friends. In most families, filial sons or close relatives will visit to announce the funeral to all relatives and friends. Large families also print obituaries. At this time, a blank paper couplet is posted on the door of the deceased's home, with the words "It's a big event" written on the forehead.
3. Encoffining is commonly known as "sealing the coffin"
After the deceased has laid his head, the prepared painted coffin should be cleaned and placed in the hall. First, a layer of padding should be placed inside the coffin. Wrap the ash bag with white paper and lay it on a newly made special red bedding. In some places, it is customary to lay a layer of paper on top of the plant ashes in the coffin. On the paper, place medicinal essence, incense, charcoal bark, cypress leaves, silk and linen, five-color thread, and seven copper coins made in the Qing Dynasty, which means that the corpse will not melt and the incense will flow. wishes. Then lay down the burial sheets, bedding, etc., and then place the body. In wealthy families, the coffin should be filled with red silk and satin, and gold, silver, and jewelry should be placed inside the coffin. Gold or copper coins should also be placed in the mouth of the deceased). Relatives of the deceased should witness the whole process of being placed in the coffin and "see the burial in person", which means that the descendants have "cared for the deceased until he died".
4. Burial uphill
Rural people usually bury a person on the third day after death. On this day, help people carry the coffin to the courtyard and put two sticks on both sides of the coffin board. For wood, use ropes to fix the wood and the coffin board, and put small bars on the front and back to reinforce the bars for carrying the coffin board. During this period, the filial son always kneels on the ground, facing the coffin board. After everything is ready, the steward calls "get up", and eight people lift up the coffin board. The master throws the filial son's basin on the ground and walks towards the dug grave.
After carrying the coffin board to the cemetery, the filial son knelt in front of the tomb. Then several people who dug the grave put the coffin board into the grave, and the filial son began to return the soil. Finally, the grave digger fills the entire pit with soil, and the whole process is over. The specific construction of tombs and monuments is usually completed in the first seven days in rural areas.