At the end of the year, most people who go out will return to their original villages for the next year. Generally, a year's new year's goods will last for three days. The first day is called "a year in a year", the second day is called "a year in a year" and the last day is called "the end of a year". There are also some villages that have only one day, which are divided into sightseeing, posing and taking pictures. At six o'clock in the morning, three thunders rang, and the Bodhisattva patrolled the village. It was very lively: people who thundered, people who carried Bodhisattva sedan chairs, people who beat gongs and drums and suona, people who carried flags and lanterns and umbrellas, people who carried sacrificial vessels and paper boats, followed by Taoist priests and vendors who did small businesses, and they patrolled the village in droves. When the village is big, the team will be huge, and thousands of meters is not a problem. Bodhisattvas will patrol from morning till night, and Taoists will draw spells everywhere on paper boats to collect ghosts, which is also called "sealing boats".
There will be many other programs on this day, such as puppet shows, lion dances, watching big plays, setting off fireworks and so on. On this day, the host will also invite many relatives and friends to enjoy drinking, which is very lively.
After eating the calendar year, there will be an amateur program "Calendar Year", also called drama. Traditionally, the biggest purpose of annual regulations is to worship God. All kinds of Han folk art performances do their best to express God and please God, and pray for good weather and good harvests in the coming year. The pendulum is part of the Bodhisattva's parade. This is the most lively scene in the annual activities. All the men, women and children in the village are holding their arms, gathering the prepared offerings at the head of the village or a clearing in the village and putting them on the altar. The most conspicuous sacrifice is of course chicken. Zhanjiang people can't sit without chickens, so naturally there will be no chickens to offer. After selection and cooking, the chicken is fat and has a bent neck, which looks heroic. A chicken always has a profit bag (equivalent to a purse) in its mouth, ready to accept the gift of God. Chickens' heads all face in one direction-the direction from God. Except chickens, everything people enjoy in festivals, such as wine, meat, fish and fruit, should be brought to God for enjoyment. In some places, tall candles are inserted in the middle of the offerings, which adds a lot of warm and mysterious atmosphere. Fireworks are indispensable. Together with other offerings, they poured into the altar from all directions, coiled together with piety to God, and some were almost as big as millstones. The children spread out plates of firecrackers, one after another, forming dozens of long-term unity knots in the village and a red array to drive away the gods.
"Bodhisattva Parade" is also called "Wandering God", and the atmosphere of welcoming God is getting stronger and stronger. You can see, hear and smell it. Suddenly, a gong and drum sounded, and people's expressions immediately stood in awe. Their eyes turned in one direction: Bodhisattva came to them in Ran Ran. God sat in a sedan chair, mighty and incomparable, and was sent by a guard of honor. Naturally, there are music, drums and flags ... so even firecrackers are deafening in advance, reporting people's infinite joy and respect; Bundles of paper are burning brightly, expressing people's infinite generosity and piety to God. Thick smoke rose into the sky, reflecting God's kind eyes and smiling face. Only those offerings led by chickens are motionless, waiting for the warmth of God's lips. After being carried around the altar for three weeks, the Bodhisattva stopped to enjoy people's sacrifices, so some people (mostly elderly people, women and children) began to bend down and kowtow and pray. ...
After people and God were satisfied, God started driving again and rushed to another public sacrifice place full of incense, offerings and crowds, full of respect and piety. People go around tirelessly, calling them "Bodhisattvas". Bodhisattva was invited out of the temple. They are mud, wood or gold bodies molded by people.
Bodhisattva parade time in every place is usually one day of the year, and in some places it is noon or early morning, which varies from place to place. Wandering teams were formed by villagers in various ways, such as drawing lots, before the Chinese New Year. Some are responsible for carrying colorful flags, some are responsible for drumming, and some are responsible for beating gongs and drums. Many children and adults in the village follow the team with homemade torches. Among them, the villagers who were selected to carry the Bodhisattva are considered lucky, because everyone believes that carrying the Bodhisattva will be blessed by the Bodhisattva next year. Such a huge team of wandering gods marched in the village and accepted the worship of the villagers, which was spectacular. Banquet is the so-called "annual eating", and it is also the highlight of the New Year in western Guangdong. Entertaining guests is the most substantial content in the annual activities. The rich sacrifice prepared for God was generously placed in front of God for a while, and then it was taken home intact. After some deep processing, it was put on the table, allowing guests to eat big fish and big meat.
The New Year's Eve dinner is not like some people's begging feast-it has a clear purpose of going out of favor, and it seems that the New Year's Eve dinner is for invitation; Guests and hosts don't need to be familiar with it, or even have never heard of it: with the arrival of relatives or friends, everyone is welcome, even the more the better. The more guests there are, the more tables there are, which proves that the home is more prosperous. On the contrary, whoever has fewer guests will feel left out. What the hell is this for? Probably to celebrate the success of the old year and pray for the auspiciousness of the new year, for a fashion. This is obviously a legacy.