What are the customs of the Manchu people during the New Year?

The Spring Festival is a unique festival for the Manchu and Han people. The Manchu people also call the Spring Festival "New Year". There are about 30,000 Manchus living in Lanzhou, and they have their own unique Spring Festival customs.

"Laba porridge" and "leading animals": Manchu people also celebrate the Past Eight Festival (the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month). According to legend, in the early years there was a Manchu chief who used his power to bully others. He went from house to house all year round asking for food and drink. The Manchu people dared not speak out in anger. On the eighth day of the lunar month, a farmer named Ujinla came up with a good idea. He cooked a kind of porridge with glutinous rice, brown sugar and dozens of dried fruits, and invited the clan leader to eat it. The clan leader became angry when he saw it: "What is this?" This thing is slimy!" Ujinla then told the patriarch that it was called "Laba porridge." After hearing the unpleasant name of the porridge, the patriarch left angrily and stopped going from house to house asking for food or drink. In order to commemorate Ujinla, the Manchu descendants cook "Laba porridge" every year on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. In the past, the Manchu people not only made their own "Laba porridge" during the Laba Festival, but also sent "Laba porridge" to each other to strengthen the unity between relatives and neighbors.

After the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Manchu people will kill the New Year pig on any day to offer sacrifices to their ancestors, benefactors and ancestors of their clan. New Year pigs must not have white hair. After the pigs are tied, they are carried to the ancestor's altar. Before killing, wine is poured into the pig's ears. If the ears move, it means "leading the animal." If the ears do not move, you need to pray until they move. die. After killing the pig, the pig must be chopped into eight pieces, placed in front of the ancestor's memorial tablet, burned with incense, and the whole family kowtows. After the ceremony, you can eat meat. When eating the first meal of meat, the whole family sits around the pot without a table.

Sacrificing ancestors and eating New Year’s Eve dinner: On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, every Manchu family would put up window grilles, hang paper, couplets and the Chinese character "福". In the past, the Manchu people were very particular about posting hanging notes. The family would stick whatever color banner they wanted. Their ancestors came from a few ditches in Changbai Mountain, so they would stick a few hanging notes on the top of the ancestral board. On the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, every family will erect a five- to six-meter-high "Solo pole" (also known as the sacred pole). A square tin liter is hung on the top of the pole, and the pig's internal organs are contained in the pole for crows and other animals. The magpies went to eat. According to legend, this pole was the pulling stick used by Nurhachi, Emperor Taizu of the Qing Dynasty, when digging ginseng. It is also said that Li Chengliang, the general of the Ming Dynasty, killed Nurhachi. Nurhachi was rescued by Mrs. Li and escaped on horseback. On the way, his horse lost its front hoof and fell to the bottom of a cliff. A group of crows and magpies fell on him to protect him. The pursuers thought he had fallen to death and turned around. . Nurhachi escaped danger and fled into the mountains. He used the proceeds from digging ginseng to buy weapons, food and grass, and raised troops to unify the Northeast. To commemorate the crows and magpies who saved their ancestors, later generations erected the "Solo pole" during the Spring Festival.

On New Year’s Eve, the Manchu people worship their ancestors. When worshiping ancestors, you must first offer 13 cups of homemade rice wine and 13 plates of homemade cream snacks in front of the ancestor board in the main hall of your home, and put a new hanging sign (in Manchu) on the board. In front of the "Solo Pole" in the southeast corner of the courtyard, the same offerings as indoors are also offered. Then, the elders of the family will preside over the ceremony and lead the whole family in worship. Afterwards, offerings are made to the ancestors, including meals, dishes, wine, dried and fresh fruits, snacks, etc.

After the ancestor worship is completed, the whole family will go to the house of the senior parent to perform New Year greetings. After the ceremony, the whole family, young and old, sit down in sequence and eat the New Year's dinner. Generally speaking, Manchu people eat dumplings on New Year's Eve. The dumplings should be placed in horizontal and vertical rows, which means good fortune in the coming year. When cooking dumplings, "Xingtiao" firewood needs to be burned at the bottom of the pot, because "Xing" and "Xing" are homophonic. When the dumplings rise from the boiling pot, the person who cooked the dumplings shouts: "The little day is up, the little day is up!" The whole family must shout: "Get up! Get up!" After eating the dumplings, some people You may even ask your children to jump a few times on high places in the house, which indicates that your family will jump high in their childhood. Some people also wrap copper coins or other things in dumplings to test their luck for the year, thereby adding to the festive atmosphere.

The Lantern Festival and "Aunt Yanli": During the Chinese New Year, from New Year's Eve to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Manchu people light the lanterns on the "Solo pole" and under the eaves, and then stay up all night to show that the red lanterns are high. According to. If the lights go out, it means unlucky. Some people even light the lights until the second day of February. The Lantern Festival of the Manchu people is also the Lantern Festival. On this day, every household will hang up various colored lanterns and hold a lantern festival. In rural areas, some families also "check the months" on this night: make 12 small light bowls with buckwheat noodles, mark the months on the sides of the bowls, put a soybean in each bowl, and then steam them in a pot. If the beans in the bowl are swollen, it means there will be waterlogging in that month. If the beans are small, it means drought. If the beans are medium, it means good weather.

The Lantern Festival is also a festival for young Manchu women. On this day, the "Gege" (girls) dressed up beautifully to play "Aunt Yanli".

They pasted pink lotus paper on the fence and drew it into a beautiful beauty. Then they tied the chopsticks and the fence into the shape of a "ten", with the vertical ones (the handles of the fence) as the body and the horizontal ones (the chopsticks) as the hands. , put "Aunt Yanli" in beautiful clothes made of colored paper, and let "Aunt Yanli" dance happily on the table. Afterwards, onlookers can also "ask divination" to "Aunt Yanli", anything is acceptable. "Aunt Yanli" will nod if it is positive, and shake her head if it is negative.