Spring Festival customs of Chinese ethnic minorities

 

Spring Festival customs of Chinese ethnic minorities

 

Tibetan customs

 

On Tibetan New Year's Eve, people put on colorful clothes and strange masks, play music with suonas, conch shells, and drums, and hold a grand and grand "God Dance Party." The young men dance and sing wildly, which means to get rid of the old and welcome the new, to drive away evil spirits and bring blessings. On New Year's morning, women carry "auspicious water" to wish them good luck in the new year.

 

Yi customs

 

The Yi people choose their festivals based on the Yi calendar. Some celebrate the Spring Festival with the local Han people. In some areas, Yi compatriots set up green pine trees in front of their doors and spread the ground with pine needles to avoid disasters. In other areas, pigs and sheep are killed during the festival and lumps of meat are eaten. People visit each other and give each other meat and steamed buns. On the morning of New Year's Day, the first thing I do when I get up is to carry water home. They compare the weight of a bowl of water with the water of the previous day. For example, if the water in the New Year is heavier, it means there will be plenty of rain in the coming year.

 

Zhuang customs

 

On New Year's Eve, the rice eaten on the festival day is called "New Year's Rice". In some areas, people call it "Eating Lijie", which means "Celebrating the Old Year" in Zhuang language. It heralds a good agricultural harvest in the coming year. Some even make cakes that are more than a foot long and weigh five or six kilograms. A family with a small population will not be able to finish the whole meal. Early in the morning on the first day of the Lunar New Year, people get up before dawn, put on new clothes, and set off firecrackers to welcome the new year. Women are rushing to the river or well to "draw new water" to start the exciting life of the new year.

 

Buyi customs

 

On New Year's Eve, the entire Buyi family stays up all night by the pond. As soon as day breaks, the girls rush to fetch water. Whoever carries back the first load of water first will be the most diligent and happiest girl.

 

Qiang customs

 

The Qiang New Year Festival is celebrated every year on the first day of the tenth month of the lunar calendar. It usually lasts for 3-5 days. In some villages, it lasts until the tenth day of the tenth month. According to folk customs, during the Qiang New Year, people are still willing to worship gods and offer sacrifices to the gods of heaven, mountains and land owners (village gods). The whole village will have a reunion dinner, drink and dance until they part ways happily. The entire ceremony was presided over by "Xu", and the sipping wine was opened by a respected elder in the village. During the festival, relatives and friends can congratulate and greet each other.

 

Dong customs

 

During the Spring Festival of the Dong people, a popular mass activity called "Dong Year Fighting" (also called the Lusheng Festival) is popular. This kind of activity is similar to the "group worship" of the Han people, but it is more joyful and enthusiastic. This kind of event is usually organized by mutual agreement between the two villages. The two teams officially held a Lusheng singing and dancing competition in the square. At this time, the audience in the two villages danced to the music and had fun.

 

Bai customs

 

During the Chinese New Year, the Bai people of Yunnan have a celebration called "Fang Gaosheng". The so-called "Gaosheng" is to use a whole big bamboo, load gunpowder into the bamboo joints, and after lighting it, the whole big bamboo can collapse hundreds of feet into the sky, becoming a veritable "Gaosheng". In some areas, Bai compatriots, like the Miao and Zhuang people, engage in the "Hydrangea Throwing" activity from the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival.

 

Tujia customs

 

During the Spring Festival, the Tujia people hold a grand waving dance. The hand-waving dance is a popular ancient dance of the Tujia people. It includes more than 70 dance movements such as hunting, military, farming, and banquets. It has a distinctive rhythm, graceful movements, simple dance postures, and a healthy mood. It does not use props and has distinct ethnic characteristics and strong breath of life.

 

Dai customs

 

The Water Splashing Festival is the New Year festival of the Dai people and the most grand traditional festival of the year for the Dai people. The day when Guyu begins is designated as the "Water Splashing Festival". During the three- or four-day festival, people splash water on each other to wash away the old dirt on their bodies and wish them happiness and peace in the new year.

 

Li customs

 

For the Li people living on Hainan Island, whenever the Spring Festival comes, every household will serve sumptuous food and wine, and the whole family will sit together to eat "New Year's dinner"; during the dinner, the whole family will also sing "New Year's greeting songs". On the first and second days of junior high school, a "Spring Festival Hunt" is held for all young and middle-aged men in the village. The day's catch was shared by the whole village.

 

Lisu customs

 

The Lisu people call the New Year's Day "Yu Shi". Most of them make indica rice cakes, glutinous rice cakes and brewed water wine. They put a little of the rice cakes pounded out from the first mortar on peach, plum and other fruit trees to wish for fruitful harvests in the coming year. The Lisu people in the Nujiang area of Yunnan first feed their cattle salt to show respect for their work.

 

Jinuo customs

 

When the Spring Festival comes, the Jinuo people living in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, old men chewing betel nuts raise their heads and play cymbals, and old women wearing big pointed hats lower their heads and sound gongs. Zhouba (the village father) is the first to beat the drums, and young men and women gather around. Dance with bare hands in a circle.

 

Gaoshan customs

 

During the Spring Festival, people of the Gaoshan ethnic group dress up in colorful ethnic costumes and gather in groups at the edge of the village to drink wine and sing and dance to the accompaniment of musical instruments. Some villages also hold spearfishing competitions and carry out sports activities such as basket ball and poleball.