Exciting holidays among Chinese Miao ethnic group
Who are the Miao?
Residing in the mountainous south and southwestern China, the Miao minority group have holidays in each month. With friends and neighbors around, they sing, dance, and enjoy big delicious meal together. For young people, holidays are a good occasion to look for their significant other. 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. Before the New Year, people give their house a general cleaning, and prepare some special food like rice wine, bean curd, and sticky rice paste. Women will make new clothes for their family members.
People stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve, then they go outside to light firecrackers to invite dragons into their home. After daybreak, they will hold a ceremony to worship their ancestors. Some people put wine on the nose of a cow to express their appreciation for the hard work the cow has done during the past year. After having breakfast, people go to visit their neighbors to send New Year's wishes.
On the first two days of the New Year, no one is allowed to go to mountains to chop wood, cut grass, or even do any cleaning around the home. Women won't do housework like cooking, and men do.
Girls dress up with beautiful silver ornaments and embroidered garments to go to meet the boys. Some young men will go to other villages on foot to join in different kinds of social activities.
The Miao fully enjoy themselves during 9 days of new year. 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, a pole decorated with colorful flags is set up in the center of a playground. At the top of the pole is a little red bag with bonus inside. With a man announcing the beginning of the festival, a pole climbing games gets going. 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. Climbing a pole while playing an instrument is quite difficult! The pole is smooth, tall, and slender because it's made of peeled pine wood. The winner will always win the respect of others, especially the girls.
People can also enjoy other interesting games like archery and horse races, which are held at the same time. Women show great interest in exhibiting their perfect sewing skills and the men are busy displaying their superior physical strength.
Single young people will use the occasion to sing love song and look for lovers. If they find someone who grab their hearts, they will give some private things to each other, such as a waistband or silver hair pin. Older people go to see friends, and may talk about many things like fishing and farming. The festival is over 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 happens in mid-March on the lunar calendar.
On March 13th, girls go to pick some specific flowers and leaves in the mountains for their food dyes. Then they are busy with preparing colorful and sweet glutinous rice. The rice is characterized by its five distinctive 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 to some rivers or lakes to catch fish and shrimp. After get some duck and duck eggs, they will cook a big meal in the afternoon. The duck is needed because a swimming duck symbolizes the girls’ ability to meet 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.
The holiday lasts four days until March 17th. Lots of activities and games are held during that time, like dance competition, horse fighting, bullfights, etc.
Before the men leave, the girls will give them bamboo baskets with glutinous rice, fish, meat, and duck eggs as presents. Some specific things are placed in the basket to show their feelings of the men. Cotton means they will miss their partner. A bundle of pine leaves indicates they need some thread and needles. Pepper or garlic indicates they won't have future.
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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