Red egg party of the Zhuang minority | A celebration for a baby’s first month

This book contains four parts： clothing， folk customs， craftsmanship and food. With costumes， patterns， brocade， embroidery and accessories as clues， the clothing part introduces the costumes of various ethnic minorities in Guangxi; the folk customs part takes traditional festivals， folklore and customs as clues to present weddings and funerals in ethnic minority areas， supernatural beliefs in “ghosts and gods” and folk customs; the third part records the craftsmanship of ethnic minorities in Guangxi， including the production of costumes， the collection and production of raw materials， etc.; with the theme of the residential characteristics and specialties of ethnic minority areas in Guangxi， the last part shows readers the life and food culture of Guangxi.

Guangxi： A Wonderland

Xiong Hongyun， Zhan Binghong， Liang Hanchang

China Textile amp; Apparel Press

April 2018

398.00 （CNY）

Xiong Hongyun

Xiong Hongyun is an associate professor and master supervisor of the School of Art and Design， Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. Over the years， she has been engaged in the digital inheritance and preservation of ethnic costume culture， and the Internet products development based on traditional culture.

Zhan Binghong

Professor Zhan Binghong is vice president of Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. He is mainly engaged in digital media art and design. As the first PhD holder in information design in China， he has been mainly engaged in the research of basic issues in information design for many years.

Liang Hanchang

Liang Hanchang was born at Jieting， Longlin， Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in 1964. He graduated from Huazhong University of Science and Technology and now is chairman of Culture and Art Research Institute of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the Imaging Arts Research Office of Guangxi Research Center for Intangible Culture Heritage. He is a fellow of China Folklore Photographic Association， executive vice president and secretary-general of Guangxi Photographers Association and vice president of Young Photographers Association of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. He also works as a freelance photographer in Jieli Publishing House and Lijiang Publishing House.

Paternal aunt’s hat

Maternal aunt’s shoes

Maternal grandmother’s clothing will be sent

– A folk song of the Zhuang minority

The celebration （the red egg party） for a baby’s first month has a long history. Giving birth to a child is an important and happy event for a family of the Zhuang minority. The Zhuang people believe that the first month of a baby’s life is a particularly difficult time. Once passed， the parents usually hold a baby’s first-month party to celebrate and wish for their newborns to grow up healthy. The parents always invite relatives and friends to participate in the ceremony and pray for their child. This is the origin of the “red egg party”.

Customs

Grandma giving straps as a gift

Straps are sent to the father’s family by the

mother’s family when the newlyweds give birth to their child for the first time. Generally， the group， ranging from over ten to twenty-odd people， is led by the maternal grandmother of the newborn baby. Then the father’s family holds a banquet to welcome all guests. It symbolizes good wishes for the elderly’ health and longevity and the marriage and love of young people， appreciation for the craftsmanship and gratitude for the straps. The straps are usually handwoven by the maternal grandmother. At the same time， one or two artisans are invited to join her. It usually takes about a month to weave the embroidered straps. The mother’s family always attach great importance to making straps and endeavor to the best they can. In this way， this craftsmanship is widely circulated.

The Giving of Red Eggs

As a folk song in China goes， “Red eggs， from door to door; let’s eat your steamed buns this year， and eat your red eggs the next year.” Giving out eggs dyed red with food pigments to relatives and friends， as a way of celebration， is popular throughout the country. The shape of eggs symbolizes perfection and red eggs also carry the meaning of “living long and prosper”. Therefore， the food made from eggs is an important sign of the first month celebration. People of the Zhuang minority send out red eggs to guests to celebrate and pray for good fortune when their children are one month old.