Speaking of Xilong Lantern,
It has a history of more than 600 years,
Puning Xilong Village,
Men, women and children are familiar with this skill,
So much so that Xilong has the reputation of "sunrise and thousand lights".
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Xilong lanterns are named after Xilong, and the villagers play their own strengths, cooperate with each other, and rely on each other. This brand is well-known at home and abroad, and its products are sold to Chaoshan Province, Xingmei, Hailufeng, as well as Thailand, Malaysia and other places.
Xilong lanterns are handmade. Guangning bamboo, Guanyin bamboo, and pink bamboo are ideal raw materials for making Xilong lanterns. These bamboos have the characteristics of integrity, knot length, thinness and flexibility that cannot be replaced by other bamboo materials. With good bamboo, you can cut out the bamboo grate, weave it into a lantern embryo, and then process the decoration, so as to finish the product.
This is an ancient traditional folk craft that is famous in the Chaoshan region. Xilong lanterns have been handed down for more than 600 years.
What role do lanterns play in the daily lives of the Chaoshan people?
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Speaking of lanterns, there is a craft called writing lanterns.
Writing lanterns has a deep cultural heritage, lanterns are both "tools for blessings" and "signs of portals", and different surnames, their origins are different, which are reflected in lanterns. The so-called lamp number is the fiefdom name at the beginning of the creation of each surname, or the official title given by the emperor to his ancestors in ancient times, or the praise of his virtue and reputation.
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The Chaoshan countryside has been handed down since ancient times, "lighting lanterns on the first day of the month".
In the Chaoshan dialect, "lamp" is homophonous with "Ding", and "bamboo" is homophonous with "de", so the lantern made of bamboo has the meaning of "prosperity of Cai Ding" and "long deze". The function of lanterns in Chaoshan is not only to illuminate and watch, but also to pray for blessings and signs of portals. Every year on Chinese New Year's Eve night, every household in Chaoshan village and even in the ancestral hall and temple have the custom of hanging lanterns to pray for blessings, and in the first month, some villages also have the custom of "swimming lights" at night to pray for the new year's grain and peace.
The Chaoshan people use lanterns as a tool for blessings, and such customs are also different, which is the so-called "one village and one custom".
Newlyweds in some villages in Chenghai and Raoping should bring lanterns to the ancestral shrine on the fifteenth night of the first month, and borrow the candles in the ancestral hall to light the lanterns, which is called "Tim Ding"
The people in the Chao'an area, Chinese New Year's Eve night, every household must be carried by the man to the temple with a lantern, the temple candle to light the lantern, take home and hang it in front of the door, called the light of the gods to bless the peace of the family.
People in Jieyang, Chaoyang, Shantou and other places are accustomed to hanging lanterns with the words "Parents of Heaven and Earth" and "Family Peace" as mascots in front of their doors.
Although with the progress of society, the use of lanterns has been slowly fading, but as long as there are auspicious festivals, whether in the city or in the countryside, everyone will still hang red lanterns high, this custom has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, has been a common way of celebrating.
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