类别：传统习俗

出处：http://www.gdsqyg.com/agdfyzg/mingluinfo?mlproid=2018040991573217

简介：席床生日节是广东省和平县林寨镇乌石村民在打席手工业发展中，形成的以“席床”为纪念对象，以举办家宴、手工打席竞技、吟诵歌谣、演练席拳棍术等为内容的传统岁时风俗。乌石村民世代靠种植淡水草，从事打席维持生计。相传，乌石村开基祖鉴兴公于元末明初迁至此地，就地取材，发展打席手工业，其次子景贵创席拳棍术传授给族人。后人感恩祖辈传授打席技艺带来的稳定、美好生活，以及传授席拳棍术所带来的强健体魄与生命安全，于每年农历九月廿九日共庆“席床生日”。席床生日节的传统活动简约、朴素，没有繁琐的祭祀活动。其节日活动主要包括举行家宴、手工打席竞技和切磋席拳棍术等。每逢席床生日节，乌石村家家户户杀猪、烫鸡、磨豆腐，准备家宴，嫁出去的女儿也要回娘家庆祝。一家男女老少欢聚一堂，女人们谈家常，男人们则对酒当歌，吟诵的歌谣多与打席、读书、练拳等生产生活有关，如“书爱（要）读，席爱（要）打，拳爱（要）练，老婆不娶好（很）随便”、“一条担杆六尺长，伴君担席走四方，练好一身好拳脚，不怕虎豹和豺狼”、“打席要平整,做人要公正”、“人爱漂亮，席爱（讲究）面光”、“练棍先练胆，卖席先练担”，等等。家宴后，村民们自由组合成群，以展示打席技艺、媲美草席质量、外观的方式，感恩先辈授传打席手工技艺，赐给后辈安定无忧的生活。此外，乌石村的男人们家宴前后就开始进行席拳棍热身，然后成群演练比试，席拳棍术表演精彩不断、高潮迭起，一般会持续到当天深夜乃至第二天凌晨。席床生日节融传统的节日习俗、生产生活、体育竞技等于一体，是在传统手工打席这一生产商贸活动中发展、延续下来的独特习俗，具有重要的民俗研究价值。数百年来，席床生日节这一民俗活动，在传承着乌石村人对祖先感恩之情和传统打席工艺、席拳棍术的同时，也承载着当地人热爱劳动、崇尚科学、公正处事、正直做人、和气兴家的精神内涵，为增进社会凝聚力、促进和谐社会建设方面发挥着重要的作用。36

英译：The Birthday of the Mat Festival is a traditional seasonal custom in Wushi Village, LinzhaiTown, Heping County, Guangdong Province. It originated from the development of mat weavingcraftsmanship, specifically commemorating the "mat bed." The festival includes activities such asfamily banquets, competitive mat weaving, reciting folk songs, and demonstrating mat boxing andstick techniques. For generations, the villagers of Wushi have relied on cultivating freshwater grass andengaging in mat weaving for their livelihoods. According to legend, the founding ancestor ofWushi Village, Duke Jianxing, migrated to the area at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and thebeginning of the Ming Dynasty. He utilized local materials and developed the craft of matweaving. His second son, Jinggui, passed down the martial art of mat boxing and stick fighting tothe clan. Descendants are grateful for the stability and prosperity brought by the ancestralteachings of mat weaving skills and the physical strength and safety imparted by mat boxing andstick fighting. They celebrate this on the 29th day of the ninth lunar month each year as the"Birthday of the Mat Bed." The traditional activities of the Birthday of the Mat Festival are simple and unadorned, without elaborate rituals. The festivities mainly involve hosting family banquets, competitive matweaving, and showcasing skills in mat boxing and stick fighting. On this day, every household inWushi Village slaughters pigs, boils chickens, grinds tofu, and prepares feasts. Even daughterswho are married return to their parents' home to celebrate. Men, women, and children gathertogether, with women chatting about daily life and men singing and reciting folk songs related tomat weaving, reading, and practicing martial arts. For example, songs include verses like "Booksmust be read, MATS must be made, fists must be practiced, and wives can be married or not," "Acarrying pole six feet long, carrying mats and traveling everywhere, practicing good skills, fearlessof tigers, leopards, and wolves," "Weaving mats must be smooth, being a person must be fair,""People love beauty, mats love to shine," and "Practice stick first to build courage, sell mats firstto practice carrying." After the family banquet, villagers form groups to freely demonstrate their mat weaving skills, compare the quality and appearance of their grass mats, and express gratitude for the ancestralcraft of mat weaving, which has bestowed a stable and worry-free life upon later generations. Furthermore, men in Wushi Village start warming up with mat boxing and stick exercises beforeand after the banquet, organizing into groups to perform demonstrations and contests. Theperformances of mat boxing and stick fighting are continuous and thrilling, often lasting until lateat night or even into the early hours of the next day. The Birthday of the Mat Festival integrates traditional customs, production activities, andsports competitions into one, developed and continued within the traditional craft of mat weaving. It holds significant value for the study of folklore. For centuries, this festival has not onlypreserved gratitude towards ancestors and traditional mat weaving techniques and martial arts butalso embodies the local spirit of loving labor, advocating for science, fair dealing, upright conduct, and promoting family harmony. It plays an important role in enhancing social cohesion andpromoting the construction of a harmonious society.