(New Year’s walk to the grassroots) Race the big pig to pray for a good harvest
China News Service, Fujian Changtai, January 30th (Wang Yapeng, Lin Ziyue, Lin Tingting, Liu Yong) Race big pigs and pray for a good year.
On January 29th, the eighth day of the first month of the lunar calendar, Shanzhong Village in Changtai District, Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province ushered in the grand scene of "racing a big pig and praying for a good harvest".
From 12:00 noon that day, the villagers got to work, slaughtering, branding, and weighing... Afterwards, the selected "out-of-the-circle" "Tiangong pig" had a tangerine in its mouth and a red rope on its legs, and was carried by the villagers. Send it to the family temple.
The live drums and music rang together, and the crowd was full of voices. The "out of the circle" "big pig race" activity attracted many villagers and tourists to gather to watch the big pig.
The scene of the big pig race in Shanzhong Village.
Photo courtesy of Changtai District Financial Media Center
"Shanzhong's 'Pig King Contest' has attracted many outsiders to watch, and there is a very good atmosphere." Xue Yaohui, a villager in Shanzhong Village, said.
This year's "big pig race" was won the "No. Sit on the big sedan chair and be carried into Xue's ancestral hall.
The local villagers believe that only a family with good luck can raise a big pig, and the family that raises a "champion pig" is even more blessed.
Xue Zhixiang, the daughter of Xue Yayuan, a farmer of the "No. 2023 is getting better and better, and at the same time, we can pass on this blessing to everyone."
As a unique "blessing culture" activity in Shanzhong Village, Shanzhong's folk custom of "Saibi Pig" offering sacrifices to ancestors has a long history, and was included in the fourth batch of representative items of provincial-level intangible cultural heritage in Fujian Province in 2011 .
The lively scene of the Big Pig Race.
Photo courtesy of Changtai District Financial Media Center
For more than 1,300 years, the folk custom of praying for a good harvest with big pigs in Shanzhong has gradually evolved into a pig-raising competition. The event not only shows the hard work and prosperity of the people in Shanzhong, but also "raises big pigs, passes on skills, ensures safety, and celebrates a good harvest." The good wishes of the villagers are to deliver "Fu Culture" to every villager.
Xue Dexing, the chairman of Shanzhong Village Elderly Association and the chairman of Xue's Council, said that this event was left by the ancestors and will continue to be held.
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