財運當頭

財運當頭

嶺 南 的年俗，帶 著濃厚的商 業 文明特色 。

一 年 之初，嶺 南 人用各種各樣的年俗活動祈求財運 ，既保留下 代 代相傳的風 俗 ，也成了 一 方經濟發展 的 體現。

春節時期，嶺南的民俗活動最為豐富。

在《廣東新語》記載的年俗中，很多離不開一個“火”字，因為根據中國五行之說，火主南方。廣州著名的南海神廟，所祀奉的就是火帝祝融。春節時，廣東人既要拜司火之神“灶君”，又要“賣冷”，就連“賣冷”時用的雞蛋也要特別染成紅色（火的顏色）。

“賣冷”就是把寒冷捉起來賣之意。粵語里，“冷”“懶”字相近，到了清末，“賣冷”的習俗就變成了“賣懶”。除夕夜，孩子們裝著煮熟的紅雞蛋，拿著點著的香，一起穿街走巷，一邊走，一邊齊聲高喊 ：“賣懶賣懶！賣到年三十晚，人懶我唔（不）懶！”走累了，便剝開雞蛋吃掉。從“賣冷”到“賣懶”，體現了廣州人的進取，也反映了民間發達的商業意識。在他們看來，冷也好，懶也好，都是可以捉起來賣的。

一年一度的花市，也是嶺南人重要的年俗活動。漢初時，由西域引進的素馨花、茉莉花，被廣州婦女當作首飾追捧。到南宋時，形成了專賣素馨花、茉莉花的花市。明、清時期，一年一度的除夕花市形成，成為一種由花農、花商們策劃形成的早期“營銷”性質年俗活動。

在潮州地區，還有一項習俗叫送橘（桔）。新春時，走親戚帶的禮物，必要有橘 ,以示新年大吉。主人不能收客人的禮物，要留著與回禮一起帶回。春節時，由于嶺南人對橘子的需求量大增，在一些地方還形成了專門的“橘市”。

在過年的舞獅游神活動中，也穿插著不少求財運的環節，比如獅子采青。多給錢的人家，可以請獅隊專門表演獅子這個環節，舞獅者爬到高處取下一株生菜 (生財的諧音 )及紅包，象征主人家明年“生財”運旺。

PIG SHOW, CHENGHAI DISTRICT

澄海賽大豬

On January 18th of the lunar calendar, Chenghai hosts the annual pig show where over hundreds of pigs lay on a special wooden rack with their owners' name written at the front, each with an orange in its mouth. Later, the swine chosen as “the pig of the year,” usually one over 500 kilos, will wear a red fl ower and sit in the front and its owner will be the envy of the year.

FLOWER MARKET, GUANGZHOU

廣州花市

Originated from “Hua-Du-Tou” (Flower Ferry) Area in Guangzhou, the fl ower market can be dated back to the Ming dynasty and was listed as one of the “Guangzhou Four Markets” in the history. Until the Mid-Qing dynasty when the fl ower market extended to the inner city, it run 24 hours and started to sell other fl owers besides jasmine.

LION DANCE, FOSHAN

佛山醒獅采青

During the lion dance, “cai-qing” (literally, pluck the green) is the climax. The move that a “lion”successfully bites the lettuce hung up high is seen as a sign of good fortune since the lettuce has a homophone for fortune in Chinese. The lion dance in Foshan is especially famous for performers' supreme techniques—sometimes several “lions”will pile up as a pyramid to pluck a red envelop, another symbol of good fortune.

DEITIES PARADE, CHAOZHOU

潮州游神賽會

During the fi rst month of the Lunar calendar, Chaozhou will hold the annual deities parade activity. In Chinese traditions, prefectural cities and villages have their own deities, and therefore, people will hold the status of deities and parade in the streets to pray for good fortune in the year.

GUA-FAN, SHANWEI

汕尾漁船掛幡

At the ports at Shanwei city during the Chinese New Year, fi shermen hang red fl ags and paste pictures of the god of fortune on their boats to pray for good harvest and fortune in the new year.