Pretty Color
Colorful Chinese Miao holidays: relaxation and excitement
Who are the Miao?
Inhabiting the mountainous south and southwestern China, the Miao like to enjoy themselves during their happy holidays. With friends and neighbors around, they sing, dance, and enjoy big delicious meal together. Holidays offer a good opportunity for young people to seek for their lovers. Girls are especially beautiful on such occasions, with their huge sets of silver jewelry and embroidered garments.
The Miao New Year
Because they follow the lunar calendar, the Miao New Year can come in September, October, or November. With the New Year coming, the Miao will give their house a thorough clean, and prepare some specific dishes like bean curd, sausage, like sticky rice paste. Women at this time will prepare new clothes for their family.
Everyone stays up until midnight on New Year's Eve, then they take dragons into their home by lighting firecrackers. At dawn, they will hold a ceremony to worship their forefathers. The nose of a cow is put on some wine to prove that people have respect for this hardworking animal. After breakfast, people visit neighbors to send New Year’s wishes and greetings.
On the first two days of the New Year, the Miao don't do any cleaning work at home, and they are forbidden to chop wood on the mountains. Women won't cook, but men do.
Girls dress up with beautiful silver ornaments and embroidered garments to go to meet the boys. Some young males walk farther to other villages to attend various kinds of social activities.
The Miao New Year lasts nine days. It's the golden time for young people to get married.
Huashan Festival
There are various Huashan, or “Flower Mountain,” festivals held in different Miao areas. Some are in January, while others are in May or August on the lunar calendar.
On that day, people will adorn a pole with colorful flags and place it at the center of a playground. A small red bag with money inside is placed at the top of the pole. The pole climbing starts when a man announces the beginning of the festival. The man who can climb to the top of the pole first to take the pouch, while playing his Lusheng wind instrument, will get the reward. It's not easy to climb a pole and at the same time to play an instrument! Made from peeled pine timber, the pole is slender, smooth, and long. The champion will become the admiration of other people, especially the girls.
During the festival, people also have other sports, such as archery and horse races held. Women show great interest in exhibiting their perfect sewing skills and the men are busy displaying their superior physical strength.
By singing love songs, youngsters will use this time to look for lovers. If they find one, they will give each other some personal things, like an embroidered handkerchief or waistband. Elderly people go to meet friends and express their opinions about farming. The festival lasts a whole day and ends in the late evening.
Sister Festival: Miao Valentine’s Day
The Miao Sister Festival is also called Miao Valentine’s Day, as it’s a holiday for single women to invite young men from other villages to meet. The festival falls on mid-March of the lunar calendar.
On March 13th, Miao girls go to the mountains to pick special leaves and flowers used as food dyes. They then prepare sweet and colorful glutinous rice. The rice has five different colors. Blue typifies wealth, yellow stands for a good harvest, white indicates their true and pure love, green means their pretty hometown, and red hopes their village will go for prosperity.
The next day they go fishing to catch some fish and freshwater shrimp. In the afternoon they will buy a duck and duck eggs to prepare a big meal. The duck is indispensable to their meal, because a duck can swim which implies the girls' freedom to see men from the other side of the river.
When the men finally arrive in the evening, they will have dinner together, and go out to chat and sing love songs. The girls will be sure to wear their most beautiful silver jewelry like silver bracelets, as this is a symbol of beauty and status in Miao culture.
This Miao festival lasts four days, until March 17th. Various games and activities are held during this time, like horse races, bullfights, song competitions, and so on.
Before the men leave, the girls will give them bamboo baskets with glutinous rice, fish, meat, and duck eggs as presents. They may put some special things in the basket to tell how they feel about the men. Cotton means they will miss their presence. A bunch of pine leaves implies they like to have some needles and thread. Pepper or garlic tells their relationship is over.
The next year, when the men come again, they will bring some silk in these baskets for the girls.
Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival falls on May 5 of the lunar calendar, and thousands of people gather together to watch the exciting boat races. The rival teams row their boats in the shape of dragons on a lake or river, while drums are beaten loudly and firecrackers are set off from the banks.
April 8 Festival
The April 8th festival is held to remember the Miao’s hero Yanu, who died on this day while fighting against an invading tribe. The Miao will get together to hold traditional activities like playing Lusheng music, singing, and performing the lion dance.
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