Among so many traditional festivals in China, Spring Festival is the most ceremonious. However in West Guangdong, especially in Maoming and Zhanjiang, one festival is more ceremonious than Spring Festival, that is Nian Li. For local people, they might not come back home for family reunion during Spring Festival, but they will definitely return for Nian Li.
Lion dance is performed to celebrate Nian Li in Maoming. [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]
What is Nian Li?
Nian means a year in Chinese, while Li means a routine. The combination of these two words means a routine of a year. Nian Li is more like a combined celebration of Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, temple fair and other important commemorations related to ancestors or gods.
Nian Li is held in different villages on different dates in the first two months of the lunar calendar. The dates were set by the ancestors of each clan and are followed by the later generations.
On Nian Li, celebrations are held to pray for good weather, good harvest, peace and prosperity, including ceremony of greeting gods, parade for worshiping gods, banquets and folklore performances.
Generally speaking, ceremony of greeting gods, parade for worshiping gods and folklore performances are held in the public with village as a unit, while banquets are served in each family with household as a unit.
People watch Cantonese opera performances during Nian Li in Maoming.
Public activities include lion dance, dragon dance, martial arts demonstration, puppet shows, Cantonese opera performances, firework and firecracker shows, bamboo torch parade, sports competitions, dancing and singing performances, and so on.
Houses and public places like roads and squares in the village are decorated with colored flags, lanterns and illuminations. Host family prepares fancy lunch and dinner for relatives, friends and even strangers coming in without invitation.
Lion dance is performed during the ceremony for worshiping gods on Nian Li.
How is Nian Li like?
For guests of Nian Li, they just go to the host family, enjoy the activities and banquets. For an ordinary host family, this is how they prepare and celebrate Nian Li.
Several days before Nian Li, they meet with dedicated staff who are responsible for the public events of Nian Li in the village. After getting to know about the arrangement of this year’s Nian Li, they donate money for the public spending of the festival, voluntarily according to their financial situation.
They make calls to invite relatives and friends, prepare foods, dinnerware, tables and chairs for the banquets, buy fireworks and firecrackers, decorate their house, and enjoy the cultural performances which start one or two days before Nian Li.
Guests enjoy banquet on Nian Li.
On the day of Nian Li, they wake up early to prepare for god worshiping ceremony as well as banquets. As guests arrive one after the other, they chat, drink tea, eat snacks or enjoy lion dance which is performed from door to door before banquet. They also accompany guests to view the ceremony or visit the temple which is the headquarters of the whole Nian Li festival.
After the banquet, they bid farewell to some guests, and accompany the rest to enjoy the folklore performances, firework shows and bamboo torch parade. After all the guests leave, they clean up the house and call it a day probably late at night.
People hold lanterns to go on a parade on the night of Nian Li in Xinyi county-level city, Maoming.
Why do people still celebrate Nian Li?
In 2012, Maoming Nian Li was listed as a provincial intangible cultural heritage. According to historical materials, Nian Li had been very popular in the Qing Dynasty. It can be dated back to even longer ago.
As for the origin of Nian Li, there are several versions. Some said it evolved from the Lantern Festival. Some said it is because of Lady Xian. For the latter version, there are historical materials recording that the Xian family of Lady Xian started the Nian Li festival which becomes how it is today after long-term evolution. That also explains why Lady Xian is often seen in the parade for worshiping gods during Nian Li celebrations in Maoming.
A table of dishes for the banquet on Nian Li.
On Nian Li, entertaining guests at banquets is not aiming for returns. All guests are welcome, even strangers. Therefore it is also called “free banquet”. The most important meaning is probably the joyful gathering of long-time-no-see relatives and friends. Now it is also a social setting for young people to meet new friends.
Nian Li is also a stage for folk art, promoting the inheritance and development of traditional art. In different regions, there are different folk art performances. For example, Piao Se in Xinyi county-level city, puppet show in Gaozhou county-level city, Kylin dance in Dianbai county, Nuo dance in Huazhou and so on. As a result, villagers get to enjoy a rich variety of cultural activities as well.
