Gelao New Year's Day is the most solemn traditional festival of the Gelao people. It is the Gelao people's Thanksgiving Day, thanking their ancestors for "clearing the wasteland and chopping grass" and celebrating the harvest. It is also an activity to thank the motherland for its peace and prosperity. The purpose is to worship the heaven and earth, remember the ancestors, pray for a good harvest, and wish for peace. During the activity, the person in charge wears a gorgeous dress to pick the newly harvested rice, barnyard grass and other grains and corn, pumpkins, and vegetables (called picking green) on the ridges near the village, and go to the spring to get clear spring water. The picked crops are used for sacrifice, and the clear spring water is used to make food for sacrifice. During the sacrificial ceremony, the old people in the village will place grains, rice wine, etc. on the sacrificial table, and tie peppers, cabbages and other vegetables to the tree behind the table to worship the heaven, the earth, the trees, and the ancestors. The person in charge sings and sings in the sacrifice to thank nature and the ancestors, praying for a good harvest in the coming year, and reads the sacrificial text. After the sacrifice, everyone shared the offerings together. During the event, the Gelao people performed a variety of cultural and artistic programs, including traditional folk dances such as the Caitang drum dance and the Chu Festival, performed paulownia instruments, sang folk songs, etc. The Miao people nearby also brought reed pipes to celebrate together. The Gelao people are an ancient ethnic group in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau with a splendid culture. The simple folk customs have become the unique cultural customs of the Gelao people. In the seventh month of the lunar calendar, when crops are ripe, it is the season for the Gelao people to "eat new things". Legend has it that the ancestors of the Gelao people came from heaven. When they first arrived on earth, there were no grain seeds. They lived a hard life by eating wild vegetables and wild yams every day. Later, the Jade Emperor sent a heavenly dog to bring down the grain seeds. The ancestors of the Gelao people reclaimed wasteland and cut grass, slept in the open air, and worked hard, but after a year of hard work, there was still not enough food. So they sent people to ask King Pangu for the reason and solution. Pangu said: "To grow food, we must rely on heaven and earth. A good harvest of food is closely related to the weather. If the weather is good and the weather is favorable, the food will naturally be good. Otherwise, it will be difficult to harvest and you will not be able to fill your stomach. If you open up wasteland and cut grass, you will offend the Earth Mother, who will trample on the land all year round and you must apologize to her. So you must offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, and there will be a good harvest of food." The Gelao ancestors did so, and the next year they really had a good harvest. From then on, the Gelao people offered sacrifices to heaven and earth every year. During the sacrifice, they also had to offer food and fruits. Since they were all newly ripe, people called this festival the "Eating New Food Festival." (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)