What is the cultural significance of the Lantern Festival? What are the traditional customs of the Lantern Festival?
The Lantern Festival is a very representative festival of the Chinese New Year, but do you know what cultural significance the Lantern Festival has? Are there any traditional customs for 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.What is the cultural significance of the 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. Traditional customs of the Lantern Festival:1. Watching Lanterns <br /> The so-called watching lanterns is watching the lantern festival, which is made up of lanterns. There was a legend in the past that the gods in the sky wanted to burn the lower world. Because the kind fairy told the people in the lower world this news, people came up with a way to use lanterns. Every family hung a lantern, so that the gods in the sky thought that the world was burned. So the custom of watching lantern festivals and hanging lanterns remained.2. Guess lantern riddles <br /> Nowadays, every Lantern Festival, people in various places post lantern riddles, hoping to be happy and safe. Because riddles can enlighten the mind and are interesting, they are welcomed by all walks of life during the process of circulation. 3. Eat Yuanxiao <br /> Yuanxiao, also known as Tangyuan, is made of glutinous rice flour that is hand-mixed and can be filled with stuffing, which is usually sugar or black sesame paste. Nowadays, there are various kinds of stuffing. Eating glutinous rice balls is one of the important customs of the Lantern Festival, because glutinous rice balls represent reunion, bringing the family together and bringing prosperity. 4. Lion Dance <br /> Lion dance is an excellent folk art in China. During the Lantern Festival or gatherings and celebrations, people perform lion dance to liven up the atmosphere, representing joy and prosperity. 5. Dragon Lantern Dance <br /> The Chinese people worship dragons and regard them as a symbol of good luck. In ancient times, people used dragon dances to pray for the dragon's blessing in order to obtain good weather and good harvests, so this custom has been passed down to this day. |
<<: Can I travel on January 23, 2019?
Recommend
Is it a good idea to worship our ancestors on September 21st of the lunar calendar in 2017?
China has been a country of etiquette since ancien...
How is the fate of a male rat born on the 19th day of the first lunar month in 2020? What is his zodiac sign if he was born today?
Introduction: Although the specific time of birth ...
Is it good for people to be born on the night of the Ghost Festival? Do people born on Ghost Festival have the ability to see ghosts?
The Zhongyuan Festival is also known as the Ghost ...
Is it suitable to travel on October 26th of the lunar calendar in 2018?
The tenth month of the lunar calendar is the Pig M...
Is it not suitable to get married one day after the Spring Equinox in 2020? When does the Spring Equinox in 2020 begin and end?
Introduction: The Spring Equinox is one of the 24 ...
What day is the seventh day of the fourth lunar month in 2018? Grain Full solar term?
Introduction: In traditional Chinese culture, many...
How is the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness of the 16th day of the ninth lunar month in 2019 suitable for tomb sweeping and ancestor worship?
The ninth month of the lunar calendar is already l...
Do people born on Bailu day in 2021 have a strong life? Is the fate of a child born on Bailu good or bad?
Bailu is the third solar term in autumn, belonging...
What day is the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in 2021? Is the fifteenth day of the lunar year the Lantern Festival?
The Lantern Festival is one of the traditional fes...
What is the fortune of a girl born in the Beginning of Autumn in 2022? Can she become rich and powerful?
We often want a rich life, so that everything we d...
Is the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month in 2017 a suitable time to sign a contract?
Introduction: Signing a contract concerns the inte...
Is September 13th of the lunar calendar in 2017 a suitable date to go to the temple to worship Buddha and pray for blessings?
Introduction: Nowadays, many families still take t...
Is it okay to pray for a child on the 28th day of the fifth lunar month in 2019? When is the due date?
Every day is different. Is it okay to pray for a c...
How about opening a new store on the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month in 2020?
The opening day is a happy day, full of joy. If yo...
Why do we eat mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival? How to say mooncake in English?
Why do we eat mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Fest...