A Night of the Torches 火把节: 6th Day of 1st Lunar Month 农历正月初六
There is a belief in the Teochew region that the multitude of deities the people worship report back to heaven once a year on the 24th day of the 12th Lunar Month and return to earth on the 4th day of the 1st Lunar Month. In the subsequent days the guardian deities of every village are carried around in a boisterous parade to bless the community.
In Iang-mui village located in Gekyor (Jieyang) this annual event takes place as a night of the torches. As the sun sets after six in the evening, firecrackers are set alight and all the idols of the local deities are carried out from the temples to tour the area. Villagers and businessmen carrying lighted torches follow along to walk through every street. The long queue of people form up like a fiery dragon, as fireworks light the darkness to create a rousing atmosphere.
揭阳市东山区磐东镇阳美村举办每年一度的“火把节”。傍晚6点开始，鞭炮燃放不停，村里各个庙的神像被抬出来，村民们簇拥出游，由村民、商人们组成的万人游行队伍燃起无数火把，绕街穿行。队伍像一条巨大的火龙，沿途烟花鸣放，万众沸腾。
Pageant of the Pigs 赛大猪: 8th Day of 1st Lunar Month 农历正月初八
This is the day of a yearly pageant of pigs held in Gueh-phou village outside Swatow city. The “contestants” are adorned with gold earrings and a large Mandarin orange placed in their mouths to symbolise good fortune. The event, which kicks off at 11pm the night before, is actually a local adulthood initiation rite for all males 24 years in age. The pig that wins the pageant is the one that is both the fattest and the best-dressed. To round up the ceremony, participating families, with pigs their tied to poles on shoulders, run off in race to see who reaches home first.
汕头市月浦村举办年度“赛大猪”活动。人们给大生猪戴金耳环、咬桔子。从初七晚上11点开始，以赛大猪的形式，为村里年满24岁的男子举行贺丁头。赛大猪是指比村里谁家的猪养得更肥、装扮得更美、拜完后扛回家谁跑得更快。
Lantern Parade 游灯: 9th Day of 1st Lunar Month 农历正月初九
This is the evening of a lantern parade in Thenghai's Longdou Hok-iang village, which begins with the beating of gongs by the village elders. Villagers form up in a procession to throng the narrow and winding lanes, and march three full rounds around the community. The youths raise excitement with continuous cries of “one, two three... lift up your lanterns”. An electric mood is sparked by the glow of fireworks and the sounds of firecrackers and shouts of the crowd - the louder the noise, the people believe, the greater is the coming prosperity.
澄海隆都镇福洋村游灯，游灯队伍在几个乡里长老的敲锣引领下举灯前行。村里弯弯曲曲的小巷道里，队伍头尾相接绕村三圈，轻人不断的吆喝“一二三”、“撑灯”，烟花鞭炮鸣放响声和人群的喊叫声此起彼伏，喊得越大声，说明越兴旺。
Dance of the Fire Dragons 烧火龙: 10th Day of 1st Lunar Month 农历正月初九十
The dragon dance is not unfamiliar to most Chinese. However the villages of Gekyor's Khiau-lam and Khiau-sai villages celebrate their New Year dancing fire dragons brought to live by sparklers in accordance to a tradition dating back to the Ming dynasty 600 years ago. Endless firecrackers and fireworks set a spectacle of colours and excitement that will mesmerise everyone present.
揭阳磐东镇乔南、乔西两村同时烧火龙。乔南村原与乔东、乔西合称古乔林村，乔林村烧火龙民俗始于明代，至今已有六百多年历史。烧火龙的时候，鞭炮烟花同时燃放，场面十分壮观，人们沉浸在漫天的火花闪烁五彩缤纷里。
The Photographer 摄影师简介:
A Taiwanese born in Myanmar, Ling Shyue Miin is a professional photographer and presently a photography lecturer at Shantou University (STU). He graduated from the prestigious Nippon Photography Institute in Japan, specialising in advertisement photography and digital photography. He is the recipient of multiple international photography awards, including the Italian Associazione Culture Cyprea and Tokyo Fifth Hasselblad Award. Since moving to Swatow several years ago, he has fallen in love with the Teochew culture and has travelled to all corners of the area to capture images of its people and life.
凌学敏，出生于缅甸，台湾籍旅日摄影师，汕头大学摄影课程教师。毕业于日本东京写真艺术学院，专修广告摄影、数码写真艺术，曾在日本任职专业摄影师，作品多次获国际摄影大奖。凌学敏对潮州文化情有独钟，工作之余便到潮州各地，用相机记录多彩的潮州。
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