Colors of Xiamen - traditions, festivals, mentality and lifestyle

Xiamen is a great place to experience traditional Chinese culture. In addition, many traditions have been preserved here due to the proximity of Taiwan. These traditions are completely gone from the daily life of the rest of China. The traditional Qingming festival is the Day of remembrance of the dead. It is celebrated here on the 108th day after the winter solstice or otherwise - on the 15th day after the vernal equinox. According to Taiwanese tradition, locals burn money in the city on this day. Local customs suggest that this money will help ancestors in the afterlife to ease their fate and get rid of debts.

In addition to money, fruits, and vegetables are also ritually burned. But this is not done for their transfer to ancestors, but as a sacrifice to the Earth God. It is customary to visit the graves of relatives and decorate them with green branches at this time. Locals remember the dead, and if possible go to nature. Thus they welcome the coming of spring and the triumph of life over death. Most citizens prefer to spend the day with family in Xiamen. Qingming day is a day off in all local institutions. You can see costumed performances for tourists, telling about the essence of the holiday in the city.

The Mid-Autumn Festival, or Moon Festival, is another very large-scale celebration in Xiamen. It is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunar calendar. This roughly corresponds to the end of September - the beginning of October of the Gregorian calendar. It is customary to cook and eat mooncakes from butter dough with paste from bean or Lotus seeds at this time. Very often these small pies are stuffed with fruit. However, there are a lot of variants of preparation of a festive delicacy. So, even the most demanding gourmet will be able to find the perfect taste. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

The Mid-Autumn Festival, which is sometimes also mistakenly called the Lanterns Festival, is dedicated to gathering the family, thanking the gods for a good harvest and praying for the well-being of the next year. Often lanterns are launched into the sky at this time. Young people are in a hurry to start a courtship. The Mid-Autumn Festival is held in offerings to the goddess, family fellowship and dice games. This game is to roll the dice in the bowl by all family members in turn. The winner is determined by the combinations. Performances of traditional stories about an Archer who shot down the extra suns with arrows, which threatened to destroy all life, are held in local city theaters.

Lantern Festival in China is held on the 15th day of the New Year. It is dedicated to the return of the souls of the dead to their world. You can observe hundreds of thousands of paper lanterns that accompany the ancestral spirits at this time in Xiamen. Another variation of the interpretation of the departing lanterns is the death of the past “me”. It finally remained in the past year, for the sake of a new “me”, happiness and harmony. You can see very simple lanterns, and incredibly complex and expensive, in the form of birds, animals or flowers. Today it is difficult to say exactly where the holiday came from. But it is still popular in Xiamen, unlike many cities on the mainland of the country.

Traditionally, young people were looking for a mate on the streets at this time. They hoped that the relationship that started during the renovation of everything around will give love. Parents increased their efforts to find a bride or groom for their son or daughter. These customs are a thing of the past today. But many young people still believe in the fatality of the meeting during the Lantern Festival. It is customary to eat a glutinous rice ball at this time. It is usually filled with sweet red bean paste, sesame paste or peanut butter. This ball is called Yuan-Xiao. It symbolizes family unity.

The colorful Dragon Boat Festival takes place in the city in June. According to legend, the officer and poet, beloved by the people, knew about the defeat of his homeland army and the fall of the capital a long time ago. He wrote a poetic epitaph with grief and threw himself into the water. The peasants, wishing to save the author, sailed to him in boats, which were decorated with the image of dragons at that time. While some tried to reach the officer, others distracted the local fish by crumbling rice into the water. The tradition of sailing in ornate boats and eating Yuan-Xiao from glutinous rice has emerged since then.

This day is a day off. It is customary to wear painted bags and make necklaces for children on this day. Several dozen international exhibitions and forums are held in the city throughout the year. It can be an interesting exhibition of national food or a highly specialized Congress of traditional medical professionals. If you like animated movies, then you should visit the Cyber Sousa-Xiamen International Animation Festival. It has been held since 2008 in Xiamen in mid-November. You can see both the creations of famous professionals and the first films of novice animators at the event.