The application of She nationality paper-cutting in etiquette and folk customs
There are three main types of paper-cutting in etiquette and folk customs: fireworks, birthday flowers and funeral paper-cutting. Fireworks in wedding customs are mainly used as gifts, and the most distinctive one is the "fixed flower" used as a gift for engagement. Cut from red paper, most of them adopt the "flower within flower" format, with suitable patterns organized within a specific pattern outline. This format is often related to the content of the gift, such as the gifts given to each other by men and women, that is, with patterns. It has a thick outline graphic, and the inner outline is filled with thin lines of flowers, forming a quite complete pattern in a pleasant way. There is fineness in the roughness, spirit in the clumsiness, vivid shapes and full of interest. There are also flowers with the characters "Fu" and "Lu", which are not only taken from the artistic shapes of calligraphy, but also cut out with the characters of birds, reflecting the relationship between the patterns and wishes. In short, fireworks are mainly used to emphasize and beautify gifts and highlight the folk gift principle of "it is less important than etiquette and more important than intention".
The She people call the birthday of an old man "ten", but it is actually "nine", that is, fifty for forty-nine, sixty for fifty-nine, etc. Birthday flowers are paper-cuts posted in birthday celebrations. Birthday celebrations mainly use a series of activities such as banquets and birthday celebrations to show off the wealth and wealth of the deceased and to express the good wishes of the younger generation for the health of the elders. The folk paper-cuts in birthday celebrations include various characters such as "shou", "crane", "old man", "mirror", "comb", "pine tree", "turtle", "lotus", etc., which symbolize longevity. There are also stickers on At the gate, there are "blessing door curtains", etc., which indicate that someone in the family is having a birthday. Many of the gifts that people offer to the deceased are made of cut, carved and pasted paper of various colors, such as soul-drawing flags, bodhi trees, etc. Soul-guiding flags are cut from white paper and guide the souls of the deceased to heaven. The Bodhi tree is placed on the urn and the flowers are cut when the soul is saved. Although these paper-cuttings are burned for the deceased after the funeral, they are full ofIt fully expresses the sorrow of the living for the dead, and also pours the efforts of folk paper-cutting artists.
