"On the fourteenth night, send the grub, the grub, the grub, and send your grub down the river ......On February 23, the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, Jialing District, Shunqing District, Xichong County and other places ushered in the annual "Grub Festival". At about 6 o'clock in the evening, the streets of various towns and villages were lit up, staging a "New Year's carnival" with thousands of empty alleys.
The intangible cultural heritage inheritor makes the characteristic zodiac dragon "grub lamp".
Welcome to the 'Grub Festival'! At about 2 o'clock in the afternoon of February 23, when the reporter came to Sanhui Town, Jialing District, Zhou Qin, the inheritor of the Jialing Grub Festival, a provincial intangible cultural heritage project from the Yangerwan community of the town, greeted warmly and told the story of the inheritance of the Jialing Grub Festival.
Zhou Qin said that the Jialing Grub Festival, also called the "Fourteen Nights" and "Fourteen Festivals", is the fourteenth night of the first month of the first month every year, the old folks through the form of making grub lamps, shaking tender bamboo, sending grubs, etc., to pray for health and safety in the coming year. In more than 300 years of changes, the "Grub Festival" is centered on Sanhui Town, Jialing District, and radiates to Longpan Town, Jinbao Town, Qibaosi Town, Jialing District, Gongxing Town, Yuxi Street, Shunqing District, Duofu Town, Lianchi Town, Xichong County and other places, and has become a characteristic folk festival.
While introducing, Zhou Qin led the reporter to an open space, and a "big golden dragon" came into view. I saw that it was about 16 meters long, its whole body was golden yellow, and it had a red "dragon ball" in its mouth, which was quite spectacular.
This is tonight's 'big coffee' - the zodiac dragon. Zhou Qin told reporters that this "grub lamp" weighs 15 kilograms only for the faucet, and it takes 9 ** to lift the whole body at the same time. In order to make the lamp, he and another maker, Zhang San, began to prepare for the lantern on the eighth day of the lunar month, and then took time to make it intermittently until the evening of the thirteenth day of the first lunar month.
During the conversation, Zhang San, the maker of the "grub lantern", installed colored lanterns on the "dragon" again. "Actually, this is not the first zodiac 'grub lamp' we have made. Zhang San said that on the road of inheritance for hundreds of years, most people in various places used "giant grubs" as the "C position" in the "grub" team. In order to make the "Grub Festival" continue to develop in the inheritance, since 2016, they have started to produce the corresponding zodiac series "Grub Lantern" according to the year, and it has continued to this day.
Send lanterns to pray for blessings, and immerse yourself in the charm of folk culture feast.
After seeing the charm of the zodiac dragon "grub lamp", at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the reporter came to the grub square in Sanhui Town, and a lively performance for the people was in full swing. Despite the cold weather, many villagers still gathered in the square.
Look, the dragon is coming! In a burst of cheers, a "golden dragon" jumped up flexibly in the hands of the actors, or flipped and moved, or shuttled and circled, feasting the eyes of the audience. Subsequently, wonderful programs such as dance, Sichuan opera face changing, and northern Sichuan puppets were staged one after another, attracting continuous applause and cheers from the scene.
At about 6 o'clock in the evening, the "Grub Festival" ushered in the most lively moment. "On the fourteenth night, send the grub, the grub, the grub, and send your grub down the river ......The streets of Sanhui Town, Jialing District, are crowded with tourists and villagers from all directions, everyone sings the ballad of "sending grubs" in unison, and countless "grub lanterns" also converge into a sea of stars. At the same time, Longpan Town, Jinbao Town, Jialing District, and Gongxing Town, Shunqing District also held a grub festival blessing activity.
The long procession, mighty like a fiery dragon, illuminated the fields. The sound of gongs and drums, singing, and laughter mix together, filling the festive atmosphere. As the procession reached the river, drums rang out, fireworks filled the sky, and firecrackers exploded. After burning the giant "grub lanterns", some people insert their "grub lanterns" into the soft soil, while the children struggle to throw the grub lanterns into the river, symbolizing the toads being sent down the river.
I saw it on the Internet before, but today I came to experience it for myself, and it feels really different, and it is even more exciting for thousands of people to send lamps and pray for blessings. After He Ming, a tourist from Guang'an, sent the grub, he was still unsatisfied. He said that next year, he will bring his relatives and friends to participate in the "Grub Festival" to immerse themselves in the charm of this folk cultural feast.