In ancient times, there were many folk festivals and many different ethnic groups. If you are a Chaoshan person, you should have heard of the Ghost Bridge Festival on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month. On this day, traditional folk customs in the Chaoshan area include activities such as posting books, uncovering objects, fools crossing the bridge, and asking fools. In this issue of National Culture, I will show you the taboos of Crossing the Bridge Day.
June 6th every year is the traditional "Bridge Crossing Festival" in Chaoshan. An old man in the family passed away, and it was only a hundred days before June 6th.
Crossing the bridge, also known as Naihe Bridge, originated from a ridiculous story in Chapters 10 and 11 of "Journey to the West": Due to the accusation of the Dragon King of Jinghe River, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was invited by King Yama to Confronted with him in the underworld, Prime Minister Wei Zheng wrote to Cui Jue and extended Li Shimin's life by 20 years. Li Shimin promised to report the fruit situation to King Yama, and King Yama said that he had eaten winter melon and pumpkin, but he had never eaten watermelon. Tang Taizong promised to send watermelons as soon as he returned to China. After Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was resurrected, he recruited a man named Liu Quan to risk his life and send Watermelon to the underworld, where he met his deceased wife. He was very happy to take the watermelon and let Liu Quan and his wife return to the sunshine. However, many years after the death of Liu Quan's wife, her body disappeared, and Yan also arranged a "reincarnation" so that the little girl who had just died in a neighboring village became the soul of Liu Quan's wife.
Since then, the story of Yinsi and Rebecca’s love for watermelon has been passed down from generation to generation. When Chaoshan people arrange bridge festivals for their deceased relatives, watermelon becomes the protagonist. However, according to folklore, some lazy children didn't want to pick their own watermelons. But I want to catch strong people on the road to pick watermelons. Therefore, Chaoshan people have the habit of not going out in early June. In addition, there are many taboos.
It is forbidden to eat watermelon. Starting June 1, purchasing watermelons is exclusive to bereaved families. In addition to watermelons, the "five fruits" that are worshiped across the bridge: peaches, plums, lychees, grapes, and yellow-skinned fruits are also prohibited from being purchased.
Married daughters are not allowed to return to their natal family. From the first to the sixth day of June, returning to your natal home means having to hold funerals there, so it is unlucky for married women who have not been bereaved.
You are prohibited from visiting relatives and friends. Similarly, if there is no worship service at home during this period, there will be no relatives or friends to visit.
Don’t go out at night. A few nights before liberation, the streets and alleys were deserted. After liberation, superstition was broken and became active. But there are still some people who insist on not going out on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, especially those children with shallow roots.
Cooking and eating are prohibited. Those who have the task of worshiping must make bridge cards and "five banquets and five banquets", that is, long cakes, round cakes, bean cakes, turrets, and round cakes, to perform spiritual worship. Among them, the bridge board is very unique. It is divided into seven pieces, each weighing three kilograms and six pairs of meters. It is made into the shape of a shoe sole and folded into a domino shape during worship. After taking it, the pig must be eaten or fed before noon at level 6, otherwise the undead will be delayed in crossing the bridge.
There used to be a silly woman in rural Chaoshan who forgot about the funeral on May 5th. In early June, she saw a funeral home in her own home. She thought it was another holiday, so she followed her without asking. Ask her neighbor what she was doing when no one was dying in your house. The stupid woman replied: "I can't hold on until May 5th, but I must hold on until June 6th.". Later, this sentence became a folk proverb in Chaoshan.