When is the Lantern Festival in 2020? What are the meanings and customs?
In the blink of an eye, the 2020 Spring Festival is about to arrive, and the Lantern Festival is not far away. Knowing the specific time of the Lantern Festival and the cultural connotations behind it in advance will help us better spend this traditional festival. The nicknames of the first month of the lunar calendar include: the first month of the year, the end of spring, the beginning of the sun, etc. The special content of the first month of 2020 on Shuimoxiansheng.com is being updated, please feel free to check and click!When is the Lantern Festival in 2020?The Lantern Festival, also known as the Little New Year and Yuanxiao, is the last important festival in the Chinese New Year customs. This day is also the first full-moon night after the New Year, symbolizing reunion and perfection. In Taoism, this day is also called the Lantern Festival and the Tianguan Festival. "Menglianglu" said: "The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival, which is the day when the Shangyuan Tianguan bestows blessings." There are no taboos when the Tianguan bestows blessings, so people will celebrate and offer sacrifices on this day in order to pray for good fortune. Because there is a custom of watching lanterns, lighting lanterns and praying for blessings on this day, it is also called the Lantern Festival.The Lantern Festival is on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month every year. The specific date of the Lantern Festival in 2020 is Saturday, February 8, 2020 in the Gregorian calendar. The meaning of Lantern FestivalAccording to legend, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty (179-157 BC) would go out of the palace to enjoy himself with the people on the fifteenth night of the first lunar month to celebrate the fact that Zhou Bo put down the Rebellion of the Lü clan. In ancient times, two nights were called "yuan" and the first month was also called "yuan". Therefore, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty designated the fifteenth day of the first lunar month as the Lantern Festival, and this night was called Yuanxiao. Sima Qian created the Taichu Calendar and listed the Lantern Festival as a major festival. During the Sui, Tang and Song dynasties, this festival reached its peak.Lantern Festival customs in different regions(1) The most lively festival in old Beijing is not the Spring Festival, but the Lantern Festival. The annual Lantern Festival, dragon and lion dances, old Beijing hawking and other traditional Lantern Festival programs with a strong old Beijing folk flavor are a major reason why old Beijing residents look forward to this festival. Traditional Beijing Lantern Festival activities mainly consist of three parts: flower show, lantern show and eating Lantern Festival dumplings.(2) Hebei Province One of the more unique Lantern Festival customs in Hebei is Jingxing Lahua, which is an ancient art wonder. The Lantern Festival custom in Zanhuang County - "Laluluo", Laluo is a dance that expresses working life. The main activity is during the Lantern Festival, and it is accompanied by percussion instruments. There are big drums, big gongs, cymbals, water cymbals, etc. During the Lantern Festival in Yongping Prefecture, sick women gathered under the kiln, which was called "Taojiu". Children cross the bridge in an alternating manner, which is called "overcoming a hundred disasters". Some people also cut paper into nine strips and tie them into knots to predict good or bad luck, which is called "tying sheep intestines". (3) In the ancient city of Fengyang County, Anhui Province, folk customs such as swinging on swings, carrying lanterns, and lighting torches have become the three major customs of the Lantern Festival. There is a saying among the people in Fengyang that "Swinging on a swing during the Lantern Festival will keep your back free from pain for the whole year." During the Lantern Festival, what excites children the most is "carrying lanterns". Various lanterns were put on the market a few days ago, and lanterns of various shapes decorated Fucheng Town at night. Carrying torches is a collective activity for young people. In the rural areas of Fengyang, attentive children will consciously collect and prepare some old brooms and brush handles early in the morning in preparation for lighting torches during the Lantern Festival. (4) Hanging lanterns in Shanxi Province is an essential way for Shanxi people to celebrate the Lantern Festival. Every time the Lantern Festival comes, every household hangs up various kinds of lanterns. From the 14th to the 16th, every night the lanterns are lit in various colors and brilliant colors. Setting off fireworks is the most enjoyable activity during the Lantern Festival for the people of Shanxi. On the night of the Lantern Festival, fireworks are set off in the square. The whole family will go to the street to watch the beautiful fireworks. (5) Entertainment activities are an important part of the Lantern Festival in Shandong Province. There are various forms of acrobatics, including lion dance, dragon lantern dance, stilts, dry boat, flower sticks, yangko, donkey driving, etc., and the content is mainly opera. Every village around Qufu City plays with dragon lanterns, and each village's dragon lanterns are performed in the Confucius Mansion. The place where the dragon lantern show was performed in the Confucius Mansion was in front of the lobby inside the second gate. The Confucius Mansion, which was usually off-limits, also allowed outsiders to enter and watch the dragon lantern show at this time. While the dragon lantern was being performed, the servants of the Confucius Mansion and the "firework makers" set off fireworks on the side. (6) The most unique custom of the people of Henan Province is that on the night of the Lantern Festival, every household has to make lanterns out of bamboo strips and red paper in front of their ancestors’ tombs, light candles inside and let them burn out. The general customs of the Lantern Festival are admiring lanterns, guessing lantern riddles, eating rice dumplings and lion dancing. Even among people in Henan, it is rare to see the custom of lighting lanterns in front of ancestral graves. (7) During the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month in Shaanxi Province every year, in addition to the grand display of lanterns, there is also a custom of "releasing sky lanterns". This custom has a long history and according to historical records it was already practiced during the Tang Dynasty. "Bandeng Mo" is popular in Tongchuan, Shaanxi. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month every year, during the Lantern Festival, every household sets up an altar in their own house, lights candles and burns incense, and sets off firecrackers. Lights are lit everywhere in the house, and various kinds of steamed buns are placed next to the lights, which are called "lantern-accompanying buns". (8) There are five major customs during the Lantern Festival in Taizhou, Jiangsu Province: eating Lantern Festival dumplings, celebrating the Lantern Festival, guessing lantern riddles, setting off fireworks, and sending good luck. Sending good luck is a unique custom in some towns and villages in Taizhou. On the Lantern Festival, relatives and friends will give the new bride bridge piles, fertility-giving Guanyin and other gifts to wish her a quick birth of a son. In some places, the bride is dragged across the Baizi Bridge, also to pray for a child. (9) Sichuan Province has a custom of "four stealings" during the Lantern Festival: "One is stealing glutinous rice balls, two is stealing green, three is stealing eaves lanterns, and four is stealing red." Except for stealing green, which is for strengthening the body, the rest are customs for seeking children. There is a custom of "swearing at each other" in Kai County. During the Lantern Festival, people move stools outside and vent all their daily grievances by cursing. The person being cursed is not allowed to curse back. (10) In Fujian Province, sending lanterns to newly married girls during the Lantern Festival is an old custom in Fujian. The styles of lanterns sent in different places vary, but the purpose is the same: "adding a son." In some places in southern Fujian, such as Zhangpu, there is also a custom called "wearing lantern feet" during the Lantern Festival. The dragon dance during the Lantern Festival is the most popular program during the Lantern Festival in Fujian. The dragon lantern is dozens of feet long and has a head and a tail. There is also a kind of lantern guessing game which is very popular during the Lantern Festival. It is also called "guessing lantern riddles" or "guessing lanterns". (11) Guangdong Province: During the Lantern Festival, people in Guangdong like to "steal" some lettuce, mix it with cakes and make a meal to pray for good luck; in Xin'an County, if a boy was born in the previous year, people would celebrate the Lantern Festival on the night of the Lantern Festival. During the Lantern Festival in Nanxiong, parents would use the dragon whisker string from the dragon lantern to tie it around their children, which was said to protect the children from disease. They also took the remaining candle from the dragon lantern and used it to light the bed, which was said to help give birth to a son. When the people of Wenchang County steal vegetables on the night of the Lantern Festival, those who succeed in stealing consider being scolded as a good omen, while those who fail consider not being scolded as a good omen. (12) Taiwan Province In Taiwan, there is a traditional custom that if an unmarried woman steals onions or vegetables on the night of the Lantern Festival, she will marry a good husband. This custom is commonly known as "stealing onions will marry a good husband" or "stealing vegetables will marry a good son-in-law". Girls who hope to have a happy marriage will steal onions or vegetables from the vegetable garden on the night of the Lantern Festival, hoping for a happy family in the future. In the Tang Dynasty, there were also music and dance performances at the Lantern Festival. Thousands of palace maids and folk girls sang and danced under the lights, which was called walking songs and stepping songs. |
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