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The Yearly Worship
The Yearly Worship is a grand traditional folk culture activities,which is prevalent in the western Guangdong,especially in the area of Maoming and its neighboring villages in Wuchuan and Zhanjian.The purpose of holding the Yearly Worship is to pray for good weather, prosperous business, and peaceful prosperity. The Yearly worship is held every year but the time for holding it varies from place to place.It focuses on the Spring Festival in the first lunar month and February. When holding the Yearly Worship,people will decorate the streets with red lanterns and small colorful flags and make a feat to entertain friends and relatives. The yearly Worship is an unique festival in the western Guangdong.It is not as widely-celebrated as Spring Festival, Mid Autumn Festival and other national festivals, but they have some similarities that they are traditional customs. Like the Water Splashing Festival of Dai nationality,the Yearly Worship is unique to the local people for it has a strong folk customs and local flavor. As for the form of celebration,it shows the rural people's honesty, enthusiastism and optimism.Its uniqueness will improve the local people's sense of superiority.[1]

God Parade
" God Parade" is the most grand part of celebrating the Yearly Worship. On that day, young men who are selected in advance will carry the gods to parade through the village.There are many kinds of god and people in different places worship different gods. The most common gods are Bodhisattva, Mrs. Xian Tai, Guan Gong,the four kings, and etc.In the parade procession,there are some people carrying the incense burner, some holding flags, some blowing trumpets, some percussion gongs,some blowing suona,and so on.Besides,people plant many flags marked with the words like "good weather" or "bumper grain harvest" at both sides of the streets where the parade pass and decorated the streets and the open place of the god’s temple with red lanterns and small colorful flags.When the parade pass a family’s front door,that family will set off the firecracker to show their respect to the gods and pray for god’s protection.When the parade procession finish the parade,they will carry the gods back to the open place of the god’s temple.Then every family gathers at the open place of the god’s temple,putting the chicken, salted fish, pork as well as some candy, cookies, fruit etc.in the tables and burning incense to worship the gods.During the time of worshiping the gods,there are some people dressed like lions dancing to bring joys to people and some Taoist priest chanting to bless every family in this village.[2]

Making a feast
At the day of the Yearly Worship,every family,no matter its rich or poor, will make a feast to entertain friends and relatives.Whether you know the host or not,you can come to joint the feast.For the host,the more the better because there is a saying there,the more guests the more prosperous the family.What’s more, no matter how far away from home a person is or how busy he might be,he will always manage to get home for the feast.Then all friends and relatives will sit together enjoying the delicious food,chatting and laughing.The whole house is full of happy air.

Watching performances
Among the many performance,Guangdong Opera is most popular one there.In general, it was played for several days around the Yearly Worship.During the yearly worship period, there are nearly 100 Opera Troupe in Guangdong travel around the villages in western Guangdong to play the Guangdong opera.In addition,there are some local theatrical form,like Jumping flower shed in Huazhou,Puppet show in Gaozhou and so on taking turns to play in different villages.

Reference
1. https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E8%8C%82%E5%90%8D%E5%B9%B4%E4%BE%8B/1042209?fr=aladdin 2. https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E8%8C%82%E5%90%8D%E5%B9%B4%E4%BE%8B/1042209?fr=aladdin