Hakka Spring Festival

Guangxi
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The locals of Hezhou City regard the second day of the second lunar month as the "Spring Festival". On this day, every household prepares a banquet to entertain the guests who come to "get more and more prosperous". Huangtian Town is the most lively. On the day of the festival, the streets and alleys of the town are decorated with lights and colorful lanterns, and there are rich cultural activities such as lion dance, dragon dance, dancing, singing, and grabbing fireworks. Every family is full of guests and banquets. To this day, Hakka descendants have inherited the cultural characteristics of their ancestral home and hold the "Dragon Tail Wearing" activity every February 2nd. That is, using straw, wheat straw, colored paper, bamboo strips and other materials to tie into the shape of a dragon, with a high dragon head and a strong dragon tail, respectively hung on the roof of the Guangdong Pavilion (Nanhua Pavilion) and the ancestral hall for sacrifice to celebrate the Dragon Head Raising Festival. Now on the second day of February, many Hakka people, as usual, use water or stove ash to draw the shape of a dragon on the ground, and ask little boys to get a haircut on this day, praying that the enlightened baby will be touched by the dragon's spiritual light. Women who are particular about customs do not sew on this day, implying "not to hurt the dragon's eye". On this day, Hakka people must eat noodles, called "dragon whisker noodles"; eat Yuanzi, called "Canglong eggs"; eat soybeans, called "chewing scorpions", all of which show the dragon's food culture. There are still different opinions on the origin of the Dragon Head Raising Festival. However, Hakka people regard February 2 as the beginning of a new round of agricultural activities. This is because Hakka ancestors speculated that this is the activity pattern of "dragons" during the two solar terms of Jingzhe and Spring Equinox. Jingzhe means "hibernating insects are startled out", and "dragons", as the leader of scaled insects, will undoubtedly follow this pattern. The time of February 2 is between Jingzhe and Spring Equinox, so the dragon wakes up at Jingzhe, raises its head on February 2, and ascends to the sky on Spring Equinox. At that time when science was not developed, it was just a natural understanding. Under the mutual wishes, the dragon is revered as a god who brings clouds and rain in secular beliefs, and whether there is rain in early spring is closely related to the harvest, people's food and clothing. As the saying goes: Auspicious snow indicates a good harvest, and spring rain is as precious as oil. Therefore, whether the "dragon" can raise its head on time and descend to the sky to bring rain is naturally what the people hope for. Year after year, the Hakka people who are immersed in the Dragon Head Raising Festival worship the dragon, the god of auspiciousness and blessings, and pray for good weather, good harvests, and abundant food and clothing. In addition, exchanging farm tools and giving each other melon and bean seeds are the epitome of the early farming culture. To this day, the farming folk song is still popular in Shanqiuliangzi: On the second day of the second month, the dragon raises its head; the big granary is full, and the small granary is overflowing.

Intangible culture related to the heritage

China tourist attractions related to the heritage