People have always pursued a peaceful and safe society, hoping to create a civilized country where "the night never closes the door", but in history, there is such a people, they have a special traditional festival - "Stealing Day", on this day, they encourage stealing, and even see stealing as an act of blessing. Then today, let's learn about this special festival with you - Stealing Day.
The Khitan, also known as the Liao Dynasty, was a minority regime in Chinese history, and the Hu-Han partition system they created has been used by us for generations, and has now become one of the important policies for China's governance of ethnic minority areas. According to the record of the Khitan National Chronicles, the Khitan has a unique traditional festival, in the three days from the thirteenth day of the first month to the fifteenth day of the first month before and after the Lantern Festival every year, the Khitan people are allowed to be thieves openly for three days, whether it is vegetables, melons and fruits or cattle, sheep and horses, as long as the total amount does not exceed ten yuan, it is legal, and what is even more incredible is that on this day, the people can not only steal goods, but even women can be "stolen" to be daughters-in-law.
Regarding the strange marriage custom of stealing daughters-in-law in the "Stealing Day", most scholars believe that it is related to the social, cultural and economic conditions of the Khitan. The early Khitan nation was a matrilineal clan society, and under the influence of this, the status of Khitan women was relatively high, so the society allowed women to freely enter into marriage contracts, so it was also in line with national etiquette and cultural Xi to leave home with their husbands on the day of releaseAnd it is also due to the legacy of the matriarchal society, there is a rule in the folk customs of Khitan at that time: if a man wants to marry a daughter-in-law, he needs to do three years of hard labor in the woman's house, and only after having a child can he pay the "bride price" to regain his freedom, so "stealing the daughter-in-law" on the day of stealing has also become a method for lovers to quickly unite.
Of course, the theft of the "Stealing Day" is more of a reflection of a spirit of national harmony and unity, and a kind of friendly and harmonious entertainment interaction. Legend has it that in the earliest days, the day of stealing was set up to pray for the blessings of the people. Therefore, on this day, the Khitan people will put on festive costumes and masks to send blessings to other families in the form of "stealing", and the stolen families will not feel angry, but will think that it means that good luck will come to their own families.
Although the traditional festival of "Stealing Day" has now disappeared in the long river of history, its unique customs and historical value are worthy of our continued review and research.