1. When a baby is born, the whole family is happy. The father of the newborn prepares chicken, wine, eggs, and firecrackers to go to the father-in-law's house to announce the good news, which is called "tea announcement". A rooster is given for a boy, and a hen is given for a girl. Red eggs are also distributed to neighbors, relatives and friends, and relatives and friends come to congratulate. The host family often chooses the baby's third day, full month, and first birthday to entertain guests. The grandfather is the chief. When the banquet is over, avoid saying "trouble" or "thank you", and it is appropriate to say "come again to congratulate". The gifts are the most abundant from the grandfather's family, including clothes, hats, shoes, socks, hug skirts, cloaks, children's quilts, children's beds, chickens, eggs, rice and noodles, etc., while the relatives give rice, noodles, and eggs as gifts, or wrap money in red paper, and write "tangbing", "full month", and "shi pan" on them to replace the gifts. In the old days, there was a custom of newborns worshipping the "Ji Ye" in all parts of Xiushui. Any man other than relatives who sees the newborn first becomes the "Ji Ye", and will always be treated as a relative and treated very well. As a result, many children in the folks have been doing things like sending their grandparents. Some families in the countryside still have this custom. 2. People under 50 years old generally do not celebrate their birthdays. It is said that "Thirty is unknown, forty is unknown, and fifty is killing a chicken". On their birthdays, they usually eat eggs, and on their full birthdays, they kill chickens to celebrate. Most people over 60 years old celebrate their birthdays. The customs of birthday celebrations vary from place to place. Hakka people celebrate one year (over one year old), local people celebrate the same number (every ten years old), and Huanggang and Huangsha places mostly celebrate nine years (virtual one year old). The gifts for birthday celebrations are most abundant in the daughter's family, mainly noodles, chicken, clothes and trousers, shoes and socks, etc. Most relatives give red envelopes, and some give birthday couplets and birthday plaques. If the couple is still alive, the clothes and shoes should be given in double. Red paper and cypress leaves must be pasted on the gifts, which means "longevity". 3. Marriage In the early years of the Republic of China, the feudal marriage system was inherited. The marriage of men and women was entirely subject to the orders of their parents and the words of the matchmaker. The parties could not meet each other and the procedures of asking for the name, passing on the age, paying the lottery, paying the betrothal, asking for the date, and marrying were followed. This is the main form of marriage. In addition, there are special forms of marriage such as marrying a son-in-law, looking for a son-in-law, raising a child bride, taking a concubine, bigamy, and selling a wife. In the middle of the Republic of China, the National Government issued some instructions to protect women and children, strictly prohibiting the raising of maids, taking concubines, and raising a child bride. At the same time, the Chinese Soviet Government promulgated the Marriage Regulations to abolish the feudal marriage system of buying and selling in the Xiushui Soviet Area. In addition, there were also some enlightened people in the society who held civilized weddings, which led to changes in the procedures and forms of marriage. After the implementation of the new marriage law in March 1953, the old marriage system was gradually abolished, and marriage autonomy, monogamy, and free union of men and women were implemented. The legal marriage procedure is very simple. If it meets the requirements of marriage registration, go to the local government to obtain a marriage certificate, and their husband-wife relationship is confirmed. Weddings are held on holidays in most cities and towns. When welcoming the bride, the host family distributes candies, relatives and friends give gifts, and the host family holds a banquet to thank them. The wedding wine is one meal, breakfast for the bride and lunch for the groom. After the reform and opening up, new-style weddings are advocated, and collective weddings or travel weddings are held. In rural areas, the four procedures of blind dating, doorman inspection, engagement, and wedding are still followed. Blind dating is the first procedure of marriage, commonly known as "visiting the eldest aunt". On the day of the blind date, 410 male relatives of the man should be invited to the woman's house, and the woman will serve a tray of tea for guests. At this time, the man and the woman meet, and if the man disagrees, he can leave; if the woman is not satisfied, the second love tea will not be served; if both parties are satisfied, when the woman serves the love tea, the man puts the gift money in the tea tray, which is called "pressing the tea tray", and the woman will set up a lunch to entertain the man's guests, and the marriage is considered preliminary. The man invites about 10 relatives of the woman (sometimes the woman's family has more than 20 people) to the man's house to check the family situation, which is also called "looking at the door". The family conditions are an important condition for the success of marriage. The man must host a banquet to entertain the woman's guests, and when the guests leave, they must also give them cloth umbrellas, clothes, gifts, etc. Engagement is also called "eating the engagement meal". The man's family chooses a date and invites several relatives of the woman to the man's house to discuss the marriage. The main relatives of the man are also invited to accompany. On this day, the gifts, gift meat, wedding clothes and various small gifts are discussed. Lunch is rich. After eating the engagement meal, the man and the woman have confirmed their husband and wife status. After that, the man and the woman can come and go freely. In recent years, this custom has changed a lot. At this time, the man and the woman often go to the marriage registration office to register their marriage and obtain a marriage certificate. Welcoming is commonly known as "getting married". In the old days, weddings were held in sedan chairs, with paper lanterns, crying and worshipping, and drummers were used to see the couple off. The couple worshipped the heaven and earth, ancestors, elders, and passed soup. On the wedding day, both the man and the woman held a banquet. The woman had two meals, the sedan chair wine and the wedding meal. The man had three meals, the matchmaking meal, the main meal, and the thank-you meal. A few people who cared about the show had as many as dozens of banquets. The gifts were usually given after the invitation, and no congratulations were given without an invitation. In the 1960s, the wedding was mainly held on foot, and after the 1980s, the man sent a car to pick up the bride, or sent a car to pick up the new relatives. 4. Funerals Xiushui folks call funerals for the elderly "white weddings". The main procedure is: when the elderly are dying, the family members try to gather together to "send them off". After death, cannons are fired and mournful cries are made, and "fallen money" (fire paper) is burned in the pot. A little tea and pepper water is put into the mouth of the deceased to prevent him from drinking the soul-stirring soup in the underworld, and a piece of earthen paper is used to cover the face to avoid polluting the heaven and earth. Makeup is also called corpse washing and dressing. The eldest son of filial piety takes 3 sticks of firewood incense, 3 pieces of earthen paper, and a bowl to the well or riverside, burns the incense paper, kneels down and asks for a bowl of water, then uses a small piece of cloth dipped in water to wipe the face, hands, feet and other parts of the deceased. Wipe 3 places in Huangshagang, Ningzhou and other places, and 7 places in front of the temple, while wiping and washing, praying. Dressing cotton and silk clothes, hats, pants, shoes, etc. 4 pieces on the top and 3 pieces on the bottom or 8 pieces on the top and 7 pieces on the bottom, with cloth strips as buckles, tied with thread around the waist, 1 piece per year, plus 10 pieces, wishing for longevity in the next life. The shoes are not sewn, and are dotted with ink. After dressing, the deceased is moved to a wooden board and guarded by relatives to prevent rats and other things from invading. Setting up a mourning hall and burying the body in a small coffin For those who die outside, the mourning hall is set outside the gate, and the corpse is forbidden to enter the house. For those who die at home, the mourning hall is set in the middle hall, and the coffin is placed in the center of the mourning hall. After the mourning hall is set up, the coffin is placed at an auspicious time. Lime and red paper are placed inside the coffin. The body is placed, the center line is determined, and the two sides are packed with old clothes and lime to make it stable. The four corners are placed with earth paper, which is called "eye mouth". Then the coffin lid is installed, and the four feet of the coffin lid are pressed with padding paper. A small table is placed in front of the hinge, on which the portrait or spirit tablet of the deceased and tea, wine, rice, etc. are offered. Some people offer chicken, fish and meat. Mats are placed in front of the table for people to kneel and worship. Seven-star lamps are lit under the coffin. The filial son wears mourning clothes, a cage crown, a mourning head, holding a mourning branch in his hand, mourning shoes on his feet, and a straw rope tied around his waist. The men are on the left and the women are on the right, standing guard on both sides of the coffin. Memorial service and burial ceremony can be divided into condolences, beating sacrifices, and doing Taoist rituals. Condolences are also called mourning incense. Those who go to mourn kneel and kowtow to burn incense. There are three types of sacrifices: heavy mourning sacrifice, filial son sacrifice, and guest sacrifice. The deceased's merits are praised with sacrificial texts and three offerings are performed. For the Taoist ceremony, Taoist priests are invited to help the deceased to transcend. The duration of the ceremony ranges from one to three days. After the sacrifice, the coffin is put into the coffin. The paper pads at the four corners of the coffin lid are removed. The coffin lid is opened and the longevity blankets sent by relatives and friends are placed on the body layer by layer from close to distant. For male deaths, the elders of the family are invited, and for female deaths, the elders of the maternal family are invited to bless. Then the lid is closed and the iron sling is nailed. This is called entering the coffin. Taking out the coffin and returning to the mountain After the coffin is put into the coffin, the Eight Immortals tie the coffin with ropes according to the selected time. The rope ends are pulled on their shoulders and the coffin is carried to the outside of the gate. This is called "leaving the coffin". At this time, no cannons are fired or music is played, only crying, and the spirits must still be guarded and lights are provided. Returning to the mountain is burial, commonly known as "going up the mountain". The coffin is carried with wooden poles, called "spiritual poles". Using one pole is called "lifting a single spirit", and using two poles is called "making an official sedan". When returning to the mountain, a person in front carries a basket and scatters small pieces of earthen paper, called "scattering money for the way", followed by wreaths and sacrificial banners, and the eldest filial son carries the spirit tablet or portrait. Behind the coffin are filial sons, filial relatives, relatives, friends and drummers, and firecrackers are set off along the way. The coffin should not fall to the ground on the way, and should rest at least once, in order to "respect the dead and not treat bones lightly". The mourners should return along the original route. For the burial of the body, in Bailing, Daqiao, Ma'ao and other places, some people have tombs prepared when they are alive, commonly known as "living tombs". They are made of lime, sand, yellow mud and bricks. After death, a tile coffin is covered with a wooden coffin, moved into the tomb, and a stone tablet is erected outside, and the burial is not changed. In Ningzhou, Huangshagang, Shankou and other places, people are buried in wooden coffins after death. After eight or nine years, the bones are put into the tendon altar and buried in a selected place. Poor families put the tendon altar into the rock, which is called "Jiyan". When the family situation improves, they will choose a place for burial. In the old days, there were also people who moved the bodies many times to fight for the feng shui. Offering spirits and keeping mourning. On the third day after the burial, relatives go to the "three graves", bringing fruits, incense, candles, fire paper, cigarette holders and small items that the deceased loved to use during his lifetime to pay tribute to the deceased, which is called sending lanterns. The cigarette holders are made of straw, and in addition to the one-year-old cigarette holder, there are 10 additional cigarette holders, wishing the deceased a long life in the next life. The cigarette holders are lit and coiled on the back of the grave. It is said that if the cigarette holders are not burned, the deceased will miss his family, and if they are all burned, the deceased will not miss his family. Offering spirits is also called "respecting the spirit". In the old days, there was a spirit house for worshipping the spirit. The spirit house was made of bamboo strips and paper, and was colorful. The house was generally about 1 cubic meter in size. There were beds, tables, chairs, washbasins and other items inside. There were horizontal scrolls such as "Penglai Fairyland" or "Bie Yi Tian" on the door platform, and couplets on the door. The spirit tablet was placed in the spirit house, and the spirit house was placed on the upper hall table. Incense was constantly burning, and the time for worshipping the spirit was 7 days, 49 days, and the longest was 3 years. After the expiration of the period, Taoist priests and monks were invited to perform a Taoist ceremony and chant sutras to transcend the dead. Then the spirit house was cremated, which was called "exorcising the spirit." For those who worship the spirit for 3 years, a new case must be set up during the Spring Festival of the first year. Those who wish the new year will kneel down to the new case first, which is called "worshiping the new case." No red couplets are posted within three years. Generally, yellow filial couplets are posted in the first year, blue filial couplets are posted in the first year, and green filial couplets are posted in the third year. After the founding of New China, rural funeral customs basically followed the old customs except for the elimination of some superstitious habits. There were major reforms in urban government agencies. Most people express their condolences by sending wreaths or sacrificial banners, wearing black veils, and hanging white flowers at memorial services. In Xiushui County, funerals are often carried through the streets, with wreaths, sacrificial banners, coffins, filial sons, relatives and friends, and drummers walking slowly in order, with gongs, drums, firecrackers, mourning music, and suonas making a chorus. This has a negative impact on traffic. Cremation has also been recorded in history. According to the "Records of the Tomb of the Righteous" by Zhou Jilin of the Ming Dynasty, at that time, some people in the county adopted water burial and cremation due to poverty. In the 35th year of the Republic of China (1046), farmers in Daijia Village, Miaoling, founded a simple incarnation kiln and tried cremation. In 1973, You Demao and 16 other farmers in Shankou Village, Miaoling Township, planned to build an incarnation kiln, and the Civil Affairs Bureau allocated funds to support and promote cremation. In 1993, the county began to promote cremation and set up a funeral home in the urban area. In 2002, the county funeral parlor was abolished, and Changqing Garden and the funeral parlor were set up in Zouma. (No pictures yet, please provide them.) (No pictures yet, please provide them.)