Zhao Haihua Cover reporter Xi Qinling Xiao Yang trainee reporter Zhou Yi
Eating tangyuan, dragon and lion dance, and stealing green can be called the three folk customs of the lantern with the most local characteristics in Huidong County, Liangshan Prefecture.
Today, we will focus on "stealing youth."
The custom of "stealing green" is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in Huidong County on the banks of the Jinsha River, and this traditional custom is not only compatible with the essence of Dianqian culture, but also completely retains the characteristics of local folk customs and customs.
The circle of friends of the huidong people
On the eve of the Lantern Festival, when Zhao Haihua, a Huidong person, brushes the WeChat circle of friends, he will always be brushed by this message:
Urgent recruitment
Due to the needs of the "stealing youth" business, 3 to 5 salesmen are specially recruited.
Requirements: bold, strong adaptability, sprint speed, good at walking at night, and can distinguish the difference between vegetables and grasses by feel.
Appointment period: The evening of the fifteenth day of the first month (Lantern Festival).
Salary: Eat hot pot according to the team harvest.
Remarks: When registering, you will bring a backpack, plastic bag and other tools to steal greens; those who are familiar with the surrounding vegetable gardens are preferred.
Of course, this recruitment notice is just a joke, but it is enough to show that the custom of "stealing youth" has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and entertained in Huidong County.
What is "stealing youth"? The so-called "stealing green" is stealing vegetables.
Huidong County is not large, the suburban houses are like a place, vegetable beds are everywhere; because the soil is fertile and the sunshine is abundant, every early spring, the peach trees emerge with fiery red shoots, and the willow trees hang tender green branches.
Huidong citizens busy stealing green in the field (file photo)
Why steal vegetables? It turns out that "dish" is pronounced "wealth", and stealing vegetables is also stealing wealth.
According to the legend of the old man, the custom of "stealing green" in Huidong County was inherited from Guangdong when the lake was filled in Sichuan. In Guangdong and Sichuan in the Qing Dynasty, there was a custom of stealing that "stealing green on New Year's Eve is auspicious to be cursed (scolding), and the loser is lucky to be unlucky". Inherited to this day, the custom of "stealing green" in Huidong has evolved into a grand carnival of all peoples.
"Stealing Green" fun multi-variety supper night, Huidong County thousands of empty alleys, people (especially young people) call friends or walk or drive, hurriedly disappeared in the night on the outskirts of the city.
When the green thieves come to the city, the vegetable farmers on the outskirts of the city can be careful. At night, there was also a good drama of defending the vegetable garden and fighting wits and courage.
Some kind peasant women saw that the green thieves were coming, and carefully reminded: Pick less, don't step on the vegetable field; the vegetable farmers who love to be funny, the green people who steal the green people have not yet arrived at the vegetable field, have been attacked by a large amount of dirt; what is even more unfortunate is that the people who steal the greens see the vegetables in the night and pull a handful, they never expected to be full of sticky hands, it turned out that they touched the dung that the vegetable farmers specially poured at dusk...
Of course, "stealing green" people often have gains, will not return empty-handed, after going back, a group of people gathered around to burn hot pot, so unhappy. Planning, acting, getting it, going home, washing, cooking, enjoying, the whole process is fresh and exciting.
It only takes about ten yuan to buy back the tender greens from the market, etc., why do you have to spend so much effort to risk? Huidong people say that it is nothing more than enjoying the fun of the process of "stealing youth".
Huidong people steal the spoils of the green at the lantern night (file photo)
Lantern Festival, also known as "Shangyuan Festival", is the first full moon night of the year that people celebrate, so the Lantern Festival full of strong spring is also a good time for young men and women to date, and "stealing youth" also has the meaning of "bold pursuit of love".
Ouyang Xiu wrote in the "Sheng Cha Zi Yuan Xi", "When the moon reaches the head of the willow, people are about after dusk. The saying of Huidong also says: "Steal the onion, marry a good man; steal the vegetables, marry a good son-in-law." Folk believe that if an unmarried girl steals vegetables or green onions from another family's vegetable garden on the night of the Lantern Festival, it means that she will meet a ruyi langjun in the future; for the young man, the beautiful and delicious dishes undoubtedly convey the exuberant vitality of nature, and the bold "stealing green" indicates that it can bring good luck for the year.