Shandong Province
QuanBei Village
DaZhao Village
Lang Village
LiShe Village
LuLiu Village
MiaoJia Village
Xiaozhan Village
Nie Jiazhuang Village
Gaomi City
Weifang City
Traditional Foods
Shandong Province Chapters:
Roof Rasing
Celebrating roof-raising before the construction of a house is a custom in Northern China, and such events often take place in the spring or fall. A Feng Shui master measures the house for auspicious positioning before the ceremony. In the Lao Zhou area of Shandong Province, there is a sacred worm offering tradition that ensures a fortunate roof-raising. The sacred worm is a dough sculpture placed on the living room beam to protect the house from evils. Some worms weigh as much as 10 pounds. These sculptures have big bodies, big ears, and friendly faces, and they have three big flags attached to their back. The worms are decorated with auspicious domesticated and wild animals, figures of fairies and saints, and holy flowers in red, green, gold, and silver, showing lots of power and dignity.
In addition to the sacred worm, there are a variety of different small dough animals, such as Gate-Keeping Lion and Door-Supporting Pig, that bring prosperity to the house. People also make hundreds of colored steamed buns in the shapes of dragons, phoenixes, tigers, swallows, flowers, peaches, Buddha hands, etc. These buns are held in wicker containers and are tossed into the air for the crowds to catch. The number of steamed buns should equal the oldest family member’s age.
