What does it mean to light up a lamp?

What does it mean for Cantonese people to light up lanterns?

What does it mean for Cantonese people to light up lanterns? Many cities in China have their own various customs and customs, and they may be found in many places. It is the custom to light lanterns during the New Year, but the sayings and values ??vary from place to place. So what does it mean for Cantonese people to light lanterns? What does Cantonese people mean by lighting lanterns 1

Introduction to the custom of lighting lanterns in the first month of Zhanjiang Why light lanterns

In Longtou Town, Zhanjiang, lighting lanterns in the first month is a custom with a history of more than 500 years.

"Lighting the lamp" means carrying the village gods to your home to worship. During the worship ceremony, a Taoist priest will wear a Taoist robe and a Taoist crown, and "speak" in front of the statue with both hands. Wen does "legal affairs". Every year during the Spring Festival, each village sets its own auspicious day for "lighting up lanterns" due to its different "village customs".

"Lighting lanterns" in some places in Zhanjiang can only be lit if a boy is born. The first boy born in the village every year is called the "lamp head", and the first lantern lit is his lamp. Those born after "Dengtou" are called "Dengzi", and the "Dengzi" are chosen in turn by drawing lots.

The "lamp head" born every year must complete the "lighting of lanterns" ceremony during the Spring Festival of the coming year and cannot postpone it to the next year, while the "lamp boy" can. "Lighting up lanterns" is practiced in every village in Longtou Town, and the sacrifices are roughly the same. The difference is that people's living standards are better now

Some villagers even customized cakes to worship together. It means that the cakes will rise step by step! In some villages, "women" can also light them, but they must finish lighting the "men's lamps" before they can light the "women's lamps", because men are "sirs".

On the second day after lighting the "little lamp", the "lamp head" will be escorted to the village's land with colorful flags to open the way, loud gongs and drums, the sound of musical instruments, and a lion farewell. There are high hangings in the temple (also known as Jingzhi Temple). It is said that if a family wants to have a son in the coming year, they should wait until the "lamp holder" is hung in the Tutu Temple and then grab the "lamp eggs" hanging under the lantern.

On the second day of the Lantern Festival (that is, the 16th day of the first lunar month), all lanterns of all sizes in the village will gather in front of the Tutu Temple, together with the "lamp head" lanterns (commonly known as "big belly lanterns" than "lanterns"). (larger ones) were burned together, thus ending the year’s “lantern lighting” event. What does it mean for Cantonese people to light up lanterns 2

The origin of "lighting up"

In Hakka, "deng" is the homophonic pronunciation of "ding" in the dialect, and it also means light, hope, lights starting a prairie fire, A symbol of endless life. The Hakka people made their way from their ancestral land in the Central Plains and finally settled in the area where Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi meet. Their unique life experience gave the Hakka people the need to unite the ethnic group and fight against enemies. The resulting Hakka people It is the tradition of people to respect their ancestors and express gratitude to them, and to celebrate the birth of a child with the help of "lanterns".

"Putting on lanterns" means having a baby

In Hakka clan society, all boys must hold a "lighting on lanterns" ceremony, which happens only once in their lives. The age of the person who "lights up the lantern" is regardless of age. A boy who has just been born is called "Sheng Xinding", and an older boy who does not have this ceremony due to various reasons is called "Sheng Laoding". Therefore, "lighting up the lantern" is actually a celebration held by all surnames and ethnic groups to celebrate the birth of a new boy that year.

Time to "light up the lantern"

Every year, anyone with this surname and clan having a "child" (that is, a boy) must hang a new lantern in the upper hall of the ancestral temple. (Hymonic for "Newcomer"). The earliest date for "lighting up" is the ninth day of the first lunar month, and the latest is the nineteenth day of the first lunar month, but it is usually one or two days before and after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. "Shang Deng" means to report to the ancestors that a new member has been added to a certain family.

The form of "lighting up"

When "lighting up", "three sacrifices" must be done. Wine and fruit are used to honor the ancestors and the gods of heaven and earth. The emphasis is also on Hold a "Lights and Wine" event to invite relatives and friends to reunite and congratulate you. In areas where Hakkas gather, the etiquette of this custom is more complicated

and has evolved. After "lighting up the lamps", they also "warm the lamps" (an activity in the process of "lighting up the lamps") , it cannot be said to be a "Warming Lantern Festival"). Finally, "Respect the ancestors and thank the heaven and the earth", which is very grand and warm, with the atmosphere of "a family welcomes a new child and the whole village celebrates".

Changes in the custom of "lighting up lanterns"

Hakkas who have given birth to a son will light lanterns in their ancestral halls on the Lantern Festival next year, that is, hang up a beautiful lantern, and then invite the dignified old man in the village to hug the boy

and formally write his name into the genealogy. The boy will officially become a member of the family. Afterwards, a banquet will be held for the whole village. men came to drink. With the advancement of social civilization, many people who give birth to daughters now also have daughters, and their daughters have also entered the family tree.

The Hakka custom of lighting lanterns has a long history. Some are hundreds of years old, and some are thousands of years old. This custom has become more colorful now, which profoundly reflects the Hakkas’ excellent cultural inheritance awareness. Cantonese people light lanterns. What does it mean 3

In Cantonese, "ding" and "deng" have the same pronunciation. Adding lanterns means adding ding. In some places in Guangdong, families who have had a baby boy use "lighting lanterns" to celebrate the birth, to celebrate the successor, and to pray for the prosperity of the family. The whole process is divided into three steps: lighting the lamp, turning on the lamp, and closing the lamp.

When a boy is born in the family, the elders will go to the paper shop to order paper lanterns. On the first day of the first lunar month, these paper lanterns are hung at home, in the ancestral hall of the family, and in the village temple, and grandpa lights the lanterns. The paper lanterns are octagonal, with flowers and stickers on the outside, and a small dish filled with oil hanging inside for lighting. Several small paper bags are hung below, containing red dates, peanuts, oranges, arrowhead mushrooms and other items with beautiful meanings.

When hanging in the ancestral hall, the boy's birth date and name must be entered into the family tree. Then a lantern feast is held. On a certain day from the second to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the host family decides the specific day, and invites fellow clansmen, relatives and friends to drink lantern wine. There is also a village or a family that holds a lantern feast together. "Knotting lanterns" means taking down all the lanterns and raising them to heaven (that is, burning them) on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month to pray to heaven for blessings.

The highlight is the light feast. "Drinking lantern wine" is one of the essential Spring Festival activities in some places in Guangdong, called "Congratulations on Lantern Festival". Relatives and friends should send New Year's packages or "red robes" (red clothes) to "Lengzi", and the host will also give gifts in return.

"Lengjiu" is usually placed in village ancestral halls or restaurants. As a nation where food is paramount, China’s celebration of any happy event will end in six words after the ceremony: “Everyone eat well and drink well.”

< p> The traditional lantern wine has nine big guis, which symbolize longevity. The dishes are also very particular. Each of these nine dishes contains a beautiful blessing. For example, braised pig's knuckles are called "Silk and Foot Tongxin", and lotus seed soup is called "Liansheng Takako". The exact number of dishes to choose depends mainly on the wishes of the host. But no matter what dish you choose, there will definitely be mushrooms. Bud mushroom is also called Ci mushroom, which means male in Cantonese.

During the first month of the year, tourists often see signs saying "A certain house is turning on a light banquet" in some restaurants in Guangdong. After listening to the locals’ explanation, I couldn’t help but ask, what if the baby is a daughter? A friend of the author replied with a wry smile: Then there is no need to do anything, my mother gave birth to us three sisters.

My parents finally adopted a son from Guangxi. He was not kind to my parents, but he still got everything in the house and the village dividends. The friend then told us that the elders in their village said that in the old society, there was a male child in the house and no lantern feast was held. This meant that he had not recognized his citizenship and was not recognized as a man of his sect. The ancestral hall would not give him pork.

In the final analysis, isn’t it just a matter of favoring boys over girls? Haven't you heard that in rural areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, daughters have been included in the genealogy like sons as early as more than ten years ago? My friend is already in her thirties. According to her age, what she said should have happened more than thirty years ago. This kind of thing should not happen now. However, the Lantern Festival can still be seen in the first month of every year.