One night of fish and dragon dance, I saw it in "Zhanqi Village"

On March 1 (the second day of the second lunar month), I watched the fish lanterns in Zhanqi Village, She County, Anhui Province. Fish lanterns are said to have originated in the early Ming Dynasty and have a history of several hundred years. The local custom is to parade fish lanterns around the village in the first month of each year. The frame of the fish lantern is woven with bamboo, then pasted with paper and painted. The main color is red. The big fish lantern is one or two meters long, and the head, body and tail sections are all movable. It is connected to a wooden pole underneath and needs to be waved by two or three strong men together. The small fish lamp is only about 10 to 20 centimeters and is very light. Zhanqi Village is very small. The main street is an alley less than one kilometer long and can be walked around in an hour. Many villagers set up stalls on the street to sell small fish lanterns. If you come early, you can also experience painting fish lanterns. The starting point of the fish lantern activity is Dunmu Hall. There are several large fish lanterns and a "dragon lantern" in the hall. When you look at the fish lanterns at daybreak, the colors seem bright; when it gets dark, the lights in the fish lanterns light up, making them even more gorgeous. 🥁At around six o'clock, after a burst of gongs and drums, the fish lanterns began to move. The activity route is to walk back and forth along the main street. The narrow streets were full of people, and the level of congestion was comparable to that of Xi'erqi during the morning rush hour. People raised their hands high. The Fishing Lantern has a beautiful meaning: "Touch the fish head and you will have nothing to worry about" "Touch the fish's body, and you will be happy for life" "Touch the fish's tail and you'll have smooth sailing" The person holding the fish lantern wants the visitors to share this blessing. They swung the wooden pole and moved the fish lantern to the left, so that people on the left could touch it with their hands. After pausing for a few seconds, the fish lantern swung sharply to the right, targeting the tourists on Fukuzawa's right. An hour later, the team arrived at the small square in the village. Several fish lanterns formed a circle, fireworks were lit in the center, and the big fish lanterns flew up and down, leaping and dancing, with light and shadow interlaced... "The sound of the phoenix flute moves, the light of the jade pot turns, and the fish and dragons dance all night long" This sentence immediately brought to mind a picture.