When I was a child, interesting things to do during the New Year included watching the social fire.

Shehuo is inherited in many places in China, and it is a cultural activity that is more common in Shaanxi, Gansu and Xinjiang.

The social fire activities in our hometown are usually carried out at night, and what is inherited in the social fire is a typical officialdom culture, where everyone plays the role of an official, a groom, a general, a retinue, etc., to form a team.

The composition of the queue is quite interesting. At the front of the line were horsemen who were coming and going, and the grooms had many bells hanging on their bodies and were running and jingling. On both sides of the front of the team are two "tiger head lamps", which are called tiger head lamps because the outside of the lamps is made of tiger heads spliced with paper-cuts, which looks a little majestic and serious.

In the middle of the tiger head lamp is a head lamp, and the role of the head lamp is to guide the way for the official. The official man walked behind the head lamp, and some of them also rode a tall horse, which fully reflected the status of the official master. From time to time, the groom came back to report the situation ahead to the official master, and the official fan slapped the fan in his hand and instructed the groom: run and explore again. The official also made up a lot of slips to win the attention of passers-by. For example: the groom runs and explores at the same time, so that everyone can take a good look.

Behind the official master was his team, and there were lions in the team, and the lion shook back and forth in the team, showing its ferocity to the onlookers with vigorous and flexible steps. The lion is flanked by a queue of colorful flags, and colorful flags flutter in the wind, showing the size and majesty of the procession. Behind the lion is the band, which is divided into drummers, trumpeters, trumpeters, suona, etc. The drummers' drums are uniform, the pace is the same, and the posture rises and falls with the progression of the drums, and the drums become more and more intense. The sneers and gongs work closely together to the beat of the drums. The trumpeter was not willing to be lonely, and made a crisp rhythm in mid-air. Behind the band is the Yangge team, which includes men, women and children, blowing whistles and twisting their bodies, which is a scenery of the Shehuo team. At the end of the walk is the acting team, who are dressed up as characters in allusions, showing the unique ancient cultural atmosphere of Shehuo itself.

A lot of preparation is required before playing social fire. To rehearse the Yangge team, but also to memorize lines and rehearse the program. Through these links, the feelings between people are increased.

Receiving the gods is an important part of the social fire activities. People go to the temple to carry the statues of the gods to the village, invite Mr. Yin and Yang to recite the scriptures, and people kneel on the ground to listen to the scriptures and worship. It is said that the main purpose of playing social fire is not only to enliven the atmosphere, but also to please the gods, so that the gods can feel the sincerity of the people and bless the peace of the party. In the hometown, the status of the gods is immeasurable, and the gods affect all aspects of daily life. If something happens to someone, they often think of the role of the gods, either as a result of disrespect for the gods, or as a retribution for not abiding by the rules of the gods.

After nightfall, everyone began to clean up, and when the night was completely dark, the fire team set off to perform in other villages. Starting from the ninth day of the first lunar month, each village begins to take turns to play the main field, inviting the community fire of each village to come to the show.

As the host, the main community fire is stationed in a corner of the village, waiting for the arrival of other village community fires.

When the two social fires are about to meet, it is the most lively part of the social fire activities. The drummers of the two companies competed with each other, eager to penetrate the drum surface. The lions of the two families provoked each other and won the jackpot for their respective officials. The crowd of the two families pushed and shoved, as if there was going to be a war, the colorful flags waved, and the trumpets sounded crisply. The official master opened his voice to compliment each other, there was arrogance in modesty, and delicacy in coarseness.

When all the fires are welcomed, the host will provide a supper. Although sometimes the weather is slag in the north wind and snow, everyone still sits together and drinks a bowl of rice and noodles, and after dinner, everyone's eyes are on the stage set up, waiting for the official to come on the stage.

The officials of each family walked on the stage one by one, often at this time there will be a riot in the audience, and the audience is crowded to the front of the stage, the purpose is not really to see the majesty of the official master, but just to make a lively, in the crowd of people, so that the cold winter is a little warmer.

It's time for the official master to show his style, and they use the talents they have accumulated over the years to tease each other and shout at each other on stage. Coupled with the sound of gongs and drums, their slogans are smooth and trendy.

It's swollen!

With a shout from the audience, everyone began to coax and sigh for the swollen official. (Swollen: It refers to the official master's smooth mouth slipped away)

Wandering the dragon gate is the most dazzling part of the whole social fire, all the society lined up, took the belongings, and followed the senior dragon gate to lead people to walk in the open land. Walking through the dragon gate is not a random walk, you must be able to walk in, and you must be able to walk out. Leaders with a little less experience can often go in, but they can't get out. This left a laughing stock in the village and outside the village.

In the process of walking the dragon gate, the host will prepare a lot of fireworks. When the dragon gate is gone, the fireworks soar into the sky, blooming into beautiful patterns. Many villages have also paid a heavy price for fireworks, and when the fireworks go off, the grass pile at home will also burn, and everyone will quickly devote themselves to the firefighting operation.

After walking the dragon gate, it is a theatrical evening. Each village that comes to participate in the Shehuo will prepare one or two talent shows, and young guys, beauties, and dolls will take the stage to show their vitality and spirit. At this time, if you are offstage, the candy in your pocket will be thrown up. There will be a lot of children in the back of the stage to check the candy, and they will make a funny face for you. As an actor, you also have to be mentally prepared, maybe you will be wrapped in a lot of lumps in the sugar coating. It's going to break your head and bleed and you're looking for teeth all over the ground!

The final event is the lion show, where the boys jump onto the table waving their lion heads, and the lion heads swing from side to side and wink at their cute eyes. The lion sometimes prostrates on the ground, sometimes rises in the air, showing the charm of the lion.

The process of the social fire is over, and the host gathers at the entrance of the village to see off the coming social fire team. The officials and gentlemen greeted each other, greeted each other, and then said: Hard work.

After the fire was disbanded, everyone began to dismantle the station and pack up the equipment. It was about three or four o'clock in the morning. The next day, I could sleep well, I didn't get up until eight or nine o'clock in the afternoon, got up, ate and went to play social fire.

In recent years, with the development of urbanization, many rural people have moved to cities. The society in the villages is in decline, and in some villages there is no one to play the social fire. In the first month, the village is quiet, there is no more gongs and drums, and there is no trace of the little doll.

At the entrance of the village, only a few old men were playing cards. Companionship is so simple, you have hearts, I pad squares.