What is the meaning of the Lantern Festival? What are the customs of the Lantern Festival?
Every year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, just after the Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival, one of the traditional festivals of the Han Chinese, is celebrated. So, what is the meaning of the Lantern Festival? What are the customs of the Lantern Festival? The first month of the lunar calendar is an important month. Let us pay attention to the traditional festivals in the first month and have a good start of the month together. For more knowledge about the first month of the lunar calendar, please pay attention to the 2019 first month of the lunar calendar special topic on Shuimoxiansheng.com.The meaning of Lantern Festival:China's traditional festival customs cater to the comprehensive material, spiritual, ethical and aesthetic needs of the general public in Chinese society. In terms of material life, China's traditional festivals have many unique foods for different festivals. During the Lantern Festival, the whole family eats glutinous rice balls together. “Tangyuan” sounds similar to “tuanyuan”, which symbolizes reunion and harmony.The cultural value of the Lantern Festival lies in the fact that it is a carnival for the entire nation, in which everyone participates and enjoys themselves. In ancient times, the Lantern Festival was no longer a holiday, and people flocked to it. Men and women met and fell in love easily. Over the past thousands of years, there have been countless love stories that took place during the Lantern Festival. The main activity of the Lantern Festival is mass entertainment, but its social and cultural significance goes beyond entertainment. There are many religious activities on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, praying for the gods' blessings. The Lantern Festival is also a good time to pray for a child. In the Song Dynasty, Chen Yuanliang's "Sui Shi Guang Ji" Volume 12 "Stealing Lanterns" explains the reason why people stole lanterns during the Lantern Festival: "It is said that stealing lanterns is a sign of giving birth to a boy." Here "lantern" is a homonym of "ding", which means male. In this way, stealing the lamp symbolizes giving birth to a son, and stealing the lamp means praying for the continuation of offspring. According to the same logic, watching lanterns also has the meaning of seeking children. Therefore, ancient women had a legitimate reason to go out to watch the lanterns. Festival culture has no borders, this is true for the Spring Festival and the Lantern Festival is no exception. The enthusiasm, unrestrainedness and flamboyance of hundreds of millions of Chinese people can be compared with the carnivals in Brazil, Germany and other countries. Customs of the Lantern Festival:The duration of the Lantern Festival varies in different eras. It lasted one day in the Han Dynasty, three days in the Tang Dynasty, five days in the Song Dynasty, and nine days in the Ming Dynasty. During the Ming Dynasty, it was connected with the Spring Festival and was very lively. In the Qing Dynasty, it only lasted four to five days. But a lot of activities have been added. The modern era continues the Qing Dynasty and is also five days. During the Lantern Festival, people also hang a lantern to worship Jiang Taigong.The customs of the Lantern Festival are generally eating Yuanxiao, playing with lanterns, guessing lantern riddles, playing with dragon lanterns, stilt walking, lion dancing, land boat racing, eating Yuanxiao, etc. The ethnic minorities also celebrate the Lantern Festival. The Manchus, like the Han, eat Yuanxiao and hang colorful lanterns, while the Bai people play with dragons and do lion dances, etc. The most popular food on the Lantern Festival is Yuanxiao, and there are several types of Yuanxiao, such as sugar Yuanxiao and salty Yuanxiao. The Lantern Festival meets the needs of the Chinese nation in all aspects. It not only has delicious food, but also provides activities such as watching lanterns and guessing lantern riddles that enhance people's spiritual outlook and enrich people's lives. No matter how the Lantern Festival activities innovate, the Lantern Festival is still one of the most popular festivals. |
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