The festival to celebrate the birthday of Lord Guan on the 24th day of the 6th lunar month is called "June 24 Reception" in Daxi. The organization of this event relies on the temple’s management team and the "Shetou" who participate in the procession together to pass on the rituals and performances of the art formation. In addition to June on the Lunar Calendar, following the procedures of Puji Temple in preparing for the festival, the temple management team holds meetings and coordinates with relevant organizations. The adherents help to allocate resources, and volunteers participate in "temple washing" (cleaning and tidying up the temple). People of all ages are able to find their own roles in connection with this highly-anticipated festival. The whole parade celebration consists of 31 Shetou organizations, who hail from all corners of Daxi, whether it’s from a certain community, a certain neighborhood, or a certain industry, so everyone in Daxi is more or less inextricably linked to the Shetou organizations. Locals also recall their childhood days of being encouraged by the Shetou to join the formations while waving flags, and interacting with children of similar age in the neighborhood, forming an exclusive fond childhood memory of the people of Daxi.
Schedule of 6th Lunar Month
In the past, most of the farmland of Daxi grew rice. To thank Lord Guan for his care, the village chiefs would, in accordance with how many people it was estimated would take part in the pilgrimage, call on everyone to harvest the plump rice in June and make rice snacks to give to the hardworking pilgrimage teams and the visiting believers and friends and family. The rice snacks of the Daxi pilgrimage acquired a reputation for being tasty.
Townsfolk place an incense table outside their front door and welcome the pilgrimage, celebrating Lord Guan’s birthday while also having the meaning of praying for good fortune. The life situation of the incense altar of each family shows their lifestyle; there are simple and pious traditional incense altars, exquisite antique ones, as well as incense altars with a western plate pattern that are a mix of east and west. They show the care that people have taken and the power of belief in the town.
Today, the festival ceremonies and pilgrimage haven’t changed, however, due to social changes, outflow of population, smaller families, changes in leisure habits and other factors, the etiquette and customs of the ordinary people that extended from the festival ceremonies are gradually disappearing. Unearthing their meaning is an important factor that will influence the continuation and development of Welcoming the 24th day of the 6th Lunar Month in future.
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