On the twenty-fifth day of the first lunar month, in the customs of the Huang family of Jiangxia's old home in Huaqiao Village, Caitang Town, Chaozhou City, it is the day of "welcoming the master". On this day, the villagers will carry eight sedan chairs, invite the old man out of the temple to parade in the village, the procession includes the standard-bearers, players, sedan chair drivers and musicians, etc., the scene is very spectacular, the time is also relatively long, starting from the morning and lasting until the evening. At the invitation of our old friend Huang Xichao, it was the third time that we came to see the excitement.
In the morning, we came to the North Li God in Huaqiao Village, waiting for the village shrine god to worship. It was built by the villagers with a large bamboo shed, the lights in the shed were dazzling, the decoration was very festive, and the whole pig, the whole goose, the whole chicken and many kueh products, all kinds of sacrifices were placed on the table of the eight immortals one by one. In front of and behind the greenhouse, there are many villagers of all ages, young and old, among which there is no shortage of graceful girls and happy children. This festival in the custom is undoubtedly the happiest for children.
came to wait at the entrance of an alley in the village, and in the sound of firecrackers from far and near, the team of "welcoming the master" came. In the huge fugue procession, the honor guard at the forefront is a teenager wearing a school uniform, with the sound of drums along the way, and the children who are in the kindergarten are also dressed up, painted with exquisite makeup, and perform while walking in the honor guard; Then there are the girls carrying the flags, wearing colorful cheongsams or costumes with a trendy style, and their neat costumes are unusually bright and beautiful, adding bright colors to this iQue Festival. In addition, the young and middle-aged people in the village carried several sedan chairs of the old man, and as soon as they appeared, it was the climax of the fugue, and the sound of firecrackers was endless; Behind them, there is also a drum band composed of gongs, drums and orchestral music, beating gongs and drums, blowing and blowing, and beautiful Teochew music echoes in the streets and alleys of the countryside and thousands of households. Accompanied by the guard of honor, the drum band, the flag bearer, and the elders of the village, the old man set off from the ancestral hall, he passed through Koucuochi, Sanzao, Chenpan, Beili, Neipan, Xiban, Xinbu, Xinci Ancestral Hall and Shangyuan, walked through the streets and alleys of Huaqiao Village, and all the main roads in the village were patrolled before returning to the ancestral hall for worship.
In the vast land of China, after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, it is already goodbye to the New Year. However, in the Chaoshan area, the lively smell of the New Year is still coming, and the lively atmosphere is no less than the Chinese New Year's Eve or the beginning of the first month. The reason why the township is so lively is because of this kind of rural community day activity since ancient times to "welcome the lord". Ying Laoye, also known as Ying Laoye, is a folk sacrificial cultural activity in Chaoshan area, Chaoshan people call the gods as the lord, "Ying Laoye" is the wandering god, is an ancient and unique folk activity in Chaoshan area, with profound historical and cultural heritage and local characteristics, but also an important carrier to display Chaoshan traditional culture and folk beliefs.