Talk about the customs of Fujian Province! ! !

Sacrifice to the "Seventh Mother", the protector of children

In southern Fujian and Taiwan, the most important content of the ancient Qixi Festival is not to beg for luck, but to worship the "Seventh Mother". " "Seventh Mother" is an idol who protects the safety and health of children. It is very popular among the people to worship the Seventh Mother. According to the research of the book "Minnanren" by Lin Zaifu, a Taiwanese scholar from southern Fujian, people from southern Fujian used to cross the gorge and cross the ocean to Taiwan or other countries. Most of them have been unable to return home for many years to do business and make a living, so women have to place all their hopes on their children. Only with hope can they have the courage to live. Therefore, Qixi, a festival of lovesickness, has evolved into a festival to protect children. People in Fujian and Taiwan believe that children under the age of 16 are taken care of by the bird mother in the sky, and the bird mother is entrusted by the seventh mother. Therefore, Qiniangma has become the protector of underage children. After the baby is one year old, the devout mother or grandmother will hold the child and bring rich sacrifices, plus cockscombs and acanthus, to the baby. Worship at the temple to pray to the Seven Mothers to protect their children and grow up safely. They use ancient coins or lock tags to string red envelopes and wool threads around their necks. They wear them until they are 16 years old. Then they take off the lock tags on the Chinese Valentine's Day and go to the temple. To express my gratitude to Mother Qi for her blessings over the years. In "Lujiang Zhi", this is what "remove the thread of life" means.
On this day, people in Fujian and Taiwan will hang a picture of holding a child at the door of their bedroom. In the evening, seven portions each of flowers, melons, fruits, rouge gouache, oil rice, and "Qi Niang Ma Pavilion" and "Qi Niang Ma" are placed. After the worship, burn the "Qi Niang Ma Pavilion" and the "Qi Niang Ma Sedan", throw half of the sacrifices on the roof for Qi Niang Ma to enjoy, and keep the other half for your own use. More beautiful and healthy. Some people will also hold adult ceremonies for their children and entertain relatives and friends to celebrate.

The custom of "giving food and performances"

In the past, Fuzhou area had relatively strong economic power. Weak little troupes mostly perform mobile performances in remote mountain villages and villages. Due to the high mountains and long distances, transportation is inconvenient. It often takes a day to arrive at the scheduled performance location, so people have to be dispatched. First, go to the village that must pass between these two places, and put up a "red paper list", usually posted on the wall of the ancestral hall or temple. Stay temporarily and perform a music in your place. After seeing this red paper list, the local squire immediately called for gongs to notify the whole village to prepare for the reception of the mirror troupe. As soon as the troupe entered the village, the first thing to do was to solve the problem of food. The local squire asked the troupe leader to draw up a list of people, and then drew lots to assign one person to each household, or two people to each household, depending on the economic status of the household head. In this way, the actors' food problems were dispersed. Go to each house to solve the problem. There is no charge for meals, and everyone is entertained for free. This is the custom of "distributing food and performing".

It is a custom in Jianning for women to walk across the Nanpu Bridge on Mid-Autumn Festival. Hanging lanterns is a good sign to ask for a child from the Moon Palace. During the Mid-Autumn Festival in Shanghang County, the method is to use a bamboo basket as a substitute for the Moon Girl. If a god comes, the bamboo basket will shake by itself. The number of times is used to predict good or bad luck. When Longyan people eat moon cakes, parents will place a round cake with a diameter of two or three inches in the center for the elders to eat, which means that secrets cannot be known to the younger generations. This custom comes from the legend that mooncakes contain messages of anti-Yuan killings of Tatars. Before worshiping the moon during the Kinmen Mid-Autumn Festival, you must first worship God. Worshipers use a peach-shaped red ball called "Tiangong". The red arrows used to worship the moon are made in the shape of pigs and sheep, and the number must be nine pigs and sixteen sheep.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, in addition to admiring the moon and eating Mid-Autumn moon cakes, Xiamen people also have a folk activity of "playing cakes and gambling for the top prize" which has been passed down since Zheng Chenggong expelled the Dutch and regained Taiwan. interesting. There are 63 pieces of cakes in each Mid-Autumn Festival, with different sizes. They are divided into 6 types, which respectively represent the number one scholar, second place, third flower, Jinshi, successful person and scholar in ancient imperial examinations. Each person takes turns throwing 6 dice into the bowl, and receives the cake according to the number of the dice thrown into the bowl. It is considered lucky to win the "top prize" in the end. For more than 300 years, this fun-filled activity has been popular among Xiamen people. Xiamen’s bakeries and cake factories will mass-produce this kind of cakes for sale before and after the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Xiamen Suici Folklore

Xiamen has many folk customs, which have changed greatly in recent years with the progress of the times. In order to follow the customs of the country, here is the introduction:

On the first day of the first lunar month, the door opens at dawn and the incense burns, which is called "Kai Zheng".

Get up in the morning to offer sacrifices to your ancestors. On that day, do not dump any excrement outdoors.

The third day of the first lunar month is the day for mourning (i.e. burning a new bed) for bereaved families. Anyone who has not been to a friend's house on the first or second day of the Lunar New Year should not visit on that day. Visiting is considered disrespectful. There is a proverb that goes, "The first day of the lunar month is early, the second day of the lunar month is early, and the third day of the lunar month is sleepy and full." It means that there are no guests coming to the house on the third day of the lunar month, so it doesn't matter if you get up late. So where did this custom come from? According to legend, during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, Japanese pirates occupied Wuyu, an island outside Xiamen. One New Year's Eve, the officers and soldiers were busy celebrating the New Year and neglected to defend. A large number of Japanese pirates took the opportunity to attack the city. The soldiers and civilians rose up to resist the enemy. After two days and three nights of fierce fighting, the Japanese pirates were defeated. However, the soldiers and civilians in the city suffered heavy casualties. On the third day of the Lunar New Year, people bury their relatives and friends, mourn the dead, and cry loudly. They have no time to visit other homes to pay New Year greetings. On the third day of the second lunar month, Xiamen residents regard this day as their death anniversary. Over time, it has become a custom.

On the fourth day of the first lunar month, Buddhist worshipers must burn paper, silk and horses to receive the gods, as a way to welcome the gods on December 24th.

On the ninth day of the first lunar month, the Jade Emperor’s birthday, the incense table is used to worship God. However, the mourning family must stop offering sacrifices for two years.

The tenth day of the first lunar month is the birthday of the Earth. No wood is cut or earth is dug on this day. And pay tribute with ordinary items.

On the 13th day of the first lunar month, the birthday of Emperor Guan Sheng was celebrated by merchants.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Lantern Festival or Lantern Festival, which is the birthday of Emperor Sanguan, is celebrated with lanterns.

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