Qiantong is a rural town in Haining, part of Ningbo in eastern Zhejiang Province. The ancient town celebrates the Spring Festival in a way and on a scale rarely seen anywhere else. After the 11 days of the first lunar month, people begin to gather in Qiantong to celebrate the Lantern Festival. If all the Spring Festival festivities before the Lantern Festival center on families, the Lantern Festival in Qiantong is a community celebration. The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the lunar January across the country, but it is excitedly celebrated on the 14th day in Qiantong and many other villages in Haining. In Qiantong, the celebrations last eight days from 13th to 20th of lunar January.

On the 10th day of lunar January, residents in Qiantong hear the sound of brass gongs, announcing the advent of the Lantern Festival. Villagers around the town begin to gather gradually. On the afternoon of 14th day, a ceremony is held at a temple to have the statue of Lord Hao, demigod of the town, join a grand parade. When the statue is in the central position, the parade begins. The 1,000-meter long procession is led by people holding banners high, followed by men carrying miniature pavilions and statues and child actors in theater costumes, dragon dance and lion dance performers, musicians, and percussionists. The demigod was actually a person who initiated a water-control system in and around the town to bring flood under control and distribute water to houses and farmlands. The extensive system still exists, maintained by households in turn. The parade goes through streets and lanes. Along the lanes and streets are tables set up by all the roadside houses. On the tables are heaps of red dates, longan, cakes and sweet white fungus soup free of charge for the people taking part in the parade. The parade continues into evening when all the lanterns in the town are lit. On the 15th day, the parade resumes all the day. In the evening, all the lanterns are lit again and fireworks are set off. The parade does not finish until the statue of Lord Hao is back at the temple again.

All the miniature pavilions are antiques, more than 100 years old. In the past, these pavilions were kept separately by households of the Tong clan. Nowadays, all these pavilions are kept and maintained at a museum especially built for these pavilions. After the annual parade, these well-crafted and well decorated antiques are sent back to the museum. Tourists can visit the museum to take a look at these antiques. They can also view a short documentary to see how these miniature pavilions are carried and paraded around town during the Lantern Festival celebration.

Qiantong is not the only place where a parade is staged on the 14th day of lunar January. In some villages, the dragon dance and lion dance are individually performed. In some villages, a lantern parade is a must. In the last decades of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and the early years of the Republic of China (1911-1949), Huatang, a village in Haining, had a special lion dance team and a special dance team that featured a performance called “carriage lantern”. With the assistance of the local government and the county center for intangible cultural heritage, the lion dance has been restored. The carriage lantern performance is lost forever, as no one in the village knows how to do it.

While most villages and towns in Haining celebrate the Lantern Festival on the 14th day, Xi’ao Village celebrates the festival on the 18th day of lunar January. It is the biggest day on the village’s calendar. On the day, villagers parade with long dragons. The tradition has been around for more than 700 years. It started in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). It stopped in 1929 because of the war chaos. In 2003, the village made a 32-meter-long dragon with a dragon head 3.8 meters tall. The dragon is yellow. In 2004, the dragon parade resumed after a hiatus of 75 years. In 2008, the village made another huge dragon: it is a 39-meter-long with a dragon head of the same size. Nowadays, the dragon parade on the evening of the 18th day of lunar January is a provincial intangible cultural heritage.

Qian’ao Village wraps up the Spring Festival celebration by giving a special treat to all the villagers on the evening of the 20th of lunar January. There are about 280 houses in the village. On this evening, all the houses open doors to neighbors. Neighbors go into any house they like. All houses offer a kind of a pasty delicacy made of sweet-potato powder. If it is prepared with seafood, it is salty. If it is prepared with apple, pineapple, longan, candied date, and raisin, it is sweet. Before 2008, the evening treat was just for villagers. Since 2008, it has been an attraction for tourists. Nowadays, more than ten thousand tourists flood into the village to enjoy the delicacy of the day. And it is no longer an evening event. 

        浙江宁海前童古镇的村民在正月初十就开始敲响锣鼓，提醒族人元宵节将到，各家各户要及时准备。正月十一过后，大街小巷就热闹起来，各村的人们从四面八方汇集拢来，锣声鼓声传遍山野，活动到正月十四达到高潮。

        元宵节是春节之后的第一个重要节日。正月十五闹元宵，也是一项历史悠久的传统民俗文化活动。但在浙江宁海，这里的元宵节活动却在正月十三就开始，一直延续到正月廿夜。

        据明《崇祯宁海县志》载：“元宵市庙张灯，十三日至二十日廼熄。”期间，除了传统的赏灯会、猜灯谜、看大戏、舞龙舞狮外，前童行会、一市吃馏、西岙抬龙等民俗活动也是应接不暇。

小灯人拉开元宵序幕

        农历正月十三，当人们还沉浸在春节的欢乐气氛中，宁海县长街镇山头村热闹的灯人会活动，却早早地拉开了元宵节的序幕。

        山头灯人会古称“鳌山灯会”，源出于宋代京城闹元宵，是山头村代代相传的一项集行会与灯会为一体的民俗活动，至今已有近500年的历史。传说当年有位逃难而来的冯姓官员落户山头，虽经几代繁衍，但人丁依然不兴旺，于是，冯氏后人就组织了“灯人”活动，通过游灯等活动，希冀增添人丁、后代兴旺。因此，“灯人”最早又叫“丁人”。

        过去，山头村灯人会在正月十三开始，持续到正月十八。正月十三那日，由百余人组成的送灯队伍把“灯人”从村西的乾山殿送至村东的西山殿，然后连续数日在殿里唱大戏。山头灯人会由全副銮驾开道，接着抬出古亭、抬阁、灯人台等。灯人台做成宫殿楼阁模样，上面安置着72个约10厘米高的身穿戏装的小灯人，灯人台下生有炭火，产生的热流使上面的小灯人能够转动，流光溢彩，惟妙惟肖。

行会是国家级非遗项目

        前童古镇元宵行会是一项古老的闹元宵民俗活动，始于明中叶，盛于明末清初，主要以鸣群锣、抬鼓亭、舞狮子、放铳花等方式来祈愿年景丰收。2014年，前童元宵行会被列入国家级非物质文化遗产名录。

        说是元宵行会，其实那里的村民在正月初十就开始鸣响群锣，提醒族人元宵节将到，各家各户要及时准备。正月十一过后，前童的大街小巷就热闹起来，各村的人们从四面八方汇集拢来，锣声鼓声传遍山野，活动到正月十四达到高潮。

        每年正月十四下午，所有的鼓亭和抬阁聚集一起，由大旗引路，古亭、抬阁、秋千以及游龙、舞狮随后，一路上锣鼓喧天、百乐交响，煞是热闹。行会队伍先到塔山庙“请”出“濠公老爷”，再走街穿巷进行巡游。这是前童人为了纪念自己的祖先童濠，俗称“濠公老爷”。因为古代的前童水利条件极差，年成的丰歉，常常取决于天时。濠公一马当先，顷己所有，带领乡亲历尽艰辛，终于在白溪流中堵砩引水，灌入百渠千沟，包括古镇的“八卦水系”，都源自这项工程。后来，前童人就以户为单位分成若干护砩养渠小组，一年一轮换，直至今日。元宵纪念濠公的活动，也一直传了下来。

        长达上千米的行会队伍浩浩荡荡，在游人的簇拥下走街串巷，沿路都有乡民在自家门前摆出红枣、桂圆、木耳汤及各种水果点心，供参加行会的乡亲和游人免费品尝。随着夜幕降临，古镇上万灯齐亮，光影璀璨。古亭抬阁也被各色彩灯装扮得火树银花，跟随着行会队伍游走在古镇的街巷中，流光溢彩。十五日行会继续，至晚上再看点灯和放铳花，将“濠公”抬回庙内，整个行会才告结束。

        前童古亭制作精美，造型漂亮。每个古亭各有名称，各具内涵，许多都是百年以上的老古董。过去，这些古亭平时都分散保管在童氏各房族，如今古镇上建起了“古亭博物馆”，行会结束后，这些古亭就会被送到博物馆里集中展示，通过声像还原，让游客在平时也能领略前童元霄行会的盛况。

恢复失传的花灯巡游

        通常，人们都是在正月十五过元宵节，而宁海人却要在正月十四闹元宵。旧时，宁海的元宵节除了要舞龙、舞狮和行会外，还有打车灯、划旱船、走五兽、跳马灯等花灯表演活动。尤其在岔路、桑洲等地，一些村子过去都有专门的花灯表演的队伍。村民们在农余时间扎好道具，编排好节目，每年正月初四一过，就到各村进行巡回表演，一直持续到元宵节。正月十四那日，各村举行行会，除了古亭抬阁、狮子龙灯外，各种花灯表演灯齐上阵，把年俗活动推向高潮。

        清末民初，岔路镇花堂村有专门的车灯队和舞狮队，远近闻名。因年久失传，车灯表演至今未能恢复。近年来，花堂村在县非遗中心和当地政府的支持下，不但恢复了舞狮队，还增加了舞龙、船灯、马灯等传统民俗文化表演，并整理编排了具有岔路特色的非遗曲艺节目《岔路道情》《莲花落》等。每年的正月十四，花堂村都会进行民俗花灯巡游活动，村民们身着彩装，随着声声锣鼓，载歌载舞，向游人展示当地独特的元宵花灯文化。

正月十八才是过“大年”

        大多数地方，过了元宵节便算正式过完了年，但在长街镇西岙村的风俗里，春节是“小年”，正月十八才是过“大年”的日子。这天，西岙人也迎来了一年之中最热闹的时刻，沿袭700多年的古老习俗“正月十八行大龙”的活动开始上演。

        西岙行大龙，气势恢宏。当夜幕降临，村子里烟火斑斓，两条由40人肩扛的巨龙在鼓乐声中缓缓“游”出，在祠堂桥汇集，形成了“双龙飞游”的壮观场面。这时，村民们在鞭炮声和欢呼声中祈福新的一年风调雨顺、安康如意。

        早在南宋时期，西岙就有了十八夜抬龙的习俗，历经700多年，直到1929年因战乱停止。为了挖掘和保护这一优秀的民间传统艺术，2003年，西岙村仿制了一条头高3.8米、身长32米的黄龙，并通过多方努力，于2004年恢复了在农历正月十八抬龙的习俗，中断了近百年的“双龙飞游”的盛景在西岙古村再现。2008年，西岙村又添制了一条身长39米、头高3.5米的“青龙”。如今，西岙“正月十八夜行大龙”已被列入浙江省非物质文化遗产名录，声名远播。

正月二十，万人尝馏

        正月廿夜，是一市镇前岙村在农历新年尾声里一项盛大的年俗活动。全村280多户村民每家都要点起灶火，摆上大锅，制作当地的特色点心：廿夜馏。

        家家户户敞开大门，迎接宾朋好友和各地游客。落灯馏用番薯粉勾芡成糊加入虾皮、蛏子、牡蛎等海鲜的成为“咸糅”，放上苹果、菠萝、桂圆、蜜枣、葡萄干的就成了“甜糅”。

        之前，正月廿夜挨家挨户尝馏还只是村内的一个传统活动，村里人借机互相串门，拉拉家常，互通信息，联络亲情。这几年，交通方便了，远在宁波、三门、天台等地的游客一下子多了起来。数以万计的游客涌入小山村，一起感受这古朴、温馨的大年气氛。村里村外到处都是车水马龙、人山人海，好一派热闹的景象。