Celebrating Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month
Every year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, just after the Spring Festival, China welcomes its traditional festival - the Lantern Festival. The first month of the lunar calendar is the first month of the year. The ancients called the night "xiao", so the fifteenth day of the first month is called the Lantern Festival. If you want to know more about the first month of the lunar calendar in 2018, please pay attention to our fortune teller website!The Origin of the Lantern FestivalThe Lantern Festival is a traditional Chinese festival which has existed as early as the Western Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago. The Lantern Festival began during the reign of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Emperor Ming promoted Buddhism. He heard that in Buddhism, monks would view Buddha relics and light lanterns to worship Buddha on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. So he ordered that lanterns be lit in the palace and temples on that night to worship Buddha, and ordered both the nobles and common people to hang lanterns. Later, this Buddhist ritual festival gradually became a grand folk festival. This festival has gone through a development process from the palace to the folk, and from the Central Plains to the whole country.During the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, an order was issued to designate the fifteenth day of the first lunar month as the Lantern Festival. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the sacrificial activities for "Taiyi God" were set on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. When Sima Qian created the "Taichu Calendar", he had already designated the Lantern Festival as a major festival. Another theory is that the custom of lighting lanterns during the Lantern Festival originated from the Taoist "Three Yuan Theory"; the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Shangyuan Festival, the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is the Zhongyuan Festival, and the fifteenth day of the tenth lunar month is the Xiayuan Festival. The three officials in charge of the upper, middle and lower Yuan are the three officials of heaven, earth and man respectively. The official of heaven is happy, so lights must be lit on the Lantern Festival. The period and customs of the Lantern Festival have been extended and expanded with the development of history. In terms of the length of the festival, it was only one day in the Han Dynasty, three days in the Tang Dynasty, five days in the Song Dynasty, and in the Ming Dynasty the lights were lit from the eighth day to the seventeenth night of the first lunar month, a full ten days. It is connected with the Spring Festival. It is very lively during the day and the lights are lit at night, which is spectacular. Especially the exquisite and colorful lights make it the climax of entertainment activities during the Spring Festival. In the Qing Dynasty, dragon and lion dances, land boat racing, stilt walking, and yangko dance were added, but the festival period was shortened to four to five days. Legend of Lantern FestivalLegend about the lamp : It is said that a long time ago, there were many vicious birds and beasts that hurt people and livestock everywhere, so people organized to fight them. A divine bird landed on the earth because it got lost, but was accidentally shot to death by an uninformed hunter. When the Emperor of Heaven learned about it, he was very angry, and immediately issued an order to the heavenly soldiers to set fire to the human world on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and burn all the people, animals and property in the human world to death. The Emperor of Heaven's daughter was kind-hearted and could not bear to see innocent people suffer, so she risked her life and secretly came to the human world on a auspicious cloud to tell people the news. When everyone heard the news, it was like a loud bang in their heads. They were so scared that they didn't know what to do. After a long time, an old man came up with a solution. He said: on the 14th, 15th and 16th days of the first lunar month, every household should decorate their homes with lanterns, light firecrackers and set off fireworks. In this way, the Emperor of Heaven will think that all the people were burned to death."Everyone nodded in agreement and went to prepare separately. On the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Emperor of Heaven looked down and found that the world was full of red light and there was a deafening noise. This happened for three consecutive nights. He thought it was the flame of a big fire and was very happy. In this way, people saved their lives and property. To commemorate this success, every household hangs lanterns and sets off fireworks on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month to commemorate this day. Another legend is that the Lantern Festival was established during the reign of Emperor Wen of Han to commemorate the "suppression of the Lü clan". After the death of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, Liu Ying, the son of Empress Lü, ascended the throne as Emperor Hui of Han. Emperor Hui was cowardly and indecisive by nature, and power gradually fell into the hands of Empress Lu. After Emperor Hui of Han died of illness, Empress Lü took control of the government and turned the Liu family's empire into the Lü family's empire. The old ministers in the court and the Liu family were deeply indignant, but they were afraid of Empress Lü's cruelty and dared not speak out. After Empress Lü died of illness, the Lü clan became extremely worried and fearful of being harmed and ostracized. So, they secretly gathered at the home of General Lu Lu and conspired to make a rebellion in order to completely seize the Liu family's kingdom. This matter reached the ears of Liu Nang, the King of Qi and a member of the Liu clan. In order to protect the Liu clan's kingdom, Liu Nang decided to lead an army to attack the Lü clan. He then contacted Zhou Bo and Chen Ping, two old ministers who had founded the country, and designed a plan to remove Lü Lu. Finally, the "Lü Rebellion" was completely put down. After the rebellion was quelled, the ministers supported Liu Bang's second son Liu Heng to ascend the throne and he was called Emperor Wen of Han. Emperor Wen felt that peace and prosperity were hard-won, so he designated the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the day when the "Lu Rebellion" was quelled, as a day to celebrate with the people. Every household in the capital decorated their homes with lanterns and streamers to celebrate. From then on, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month became a folk festival celebrated throughout the country - "Lantern Festival". The legend of Dongfang Shuo and the Yuanxiao Girl is related to the custom of eating Yuanxiao: According to legend, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had a favorite minister named Dongfang Shuo, who was kind and humorous. One winter day, after several days of heavy snow, Dongfang Shuo went to the imperial garden to pick plum blossoms for Emperor Wu of Han. As soon as I entered the garden, I saw a palace maid with tears streaming down her face, preparing to jump into a well. Dongfang Shuo rushed forward to rescue her and asked her why she wanted to commit suicide. It turned out that the palace maid was named Yuanxiao, and she had parents and a younger sister at home. Since she entered the palace, she has never had the chance to meet her family again. Every year when the end of the year comes and spring arrives, I miss my family more than usual. I feel that since I cannot fulfill my filial duties to my parents, it would be better to die. Dongfang Shuo felt deeply sympathetic after hearing her story and promised her that he would find a way to reunite her with her family. One day, Dongfang Shuo left the palace and set up a fortune-telling stall on Chang'an Street. Many people vied to ask him for divination. Unexpectedly, everyone’s fortune was the same: “You will be burned to death on the 16th day of the first lunar month.” For a moment, there was great panic in Chang'an. People asked for solutions to the disaster. Dongfang Shuo said, "On the evening of the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, the God of Fire will send a goddess in red to investigate. She is the messenger who was ordered to burn Chang'an. I will give you the copied verses, and you can let the current emperor think of a solution." After that, he threw down a red note and left. The common people took the red card and rushed to the palace to report to the emperor. Emperor Wu of Han took it and saw that it was written: "Chang'an is in danger, the imperial palace will be burned, the fire will last for fifteen days, and the flames will be red at night." He was shocked and quickly invited the resourceful Dongfang Shuo. Dongfang Shuo pretended to think about it and said, "I heard that the God of Fire loves to eat glutinous rice balls. Doesn't Yuanxiao in the palace often make glutinous rice balls for you? You can ask Yuanxiao to make glutinous rice balls on the fifteenth night. Your Majesty should burn incense and offer sacrifices, and order every family in Kyoto to make glutinous rice balls to worship the God of Fire together. Then order your subjects to hang lanterns together on the fifteenth night, and set off firecrackers and fireworks all over the city, as if the whole city is on fire. In this way, you can deceive the Jade Emperor. In addition, notify the people outside the city to enter the city to watch the lanterns on the fifteenth night and mingle with the crowd to ward off disasters and solve problems." After hearing this, Emperor Wu was very happy and ordered to do as Dongfang Shuo suggested. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the city of Chang'an was decorated with lights and colorful lanterns, and tourists were bustling about, making it very lively. The parents of the palace maid Yuanxiao also brought her sister into the city to watch the lanterns. When they saw the big lantern with the word "Yuanxiao" written on it, they shouted in surprise: "Yuanxiao! Yuanxiao!" Yuanxiao heard the shouts and was finally reunited with his family. After such a lively night, Chang'an City was indeed safe and sound. Emperor Wu of Han was overjoyed, and he ordered that every fifteenth day of the first lunar month, people would make glutinous rice balls as a sacrifice to the God of Fire. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the whole city would hang lanterns and set off fireworks. Because the glutinous rice balls made on the Lantern Festival are the best, people call them Yuanxiao, and this day is called the Lantern Festival. What other customs are there during the Lantern Festival?Eating Yuanxiao is eaten on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. "Yuanxiao" as a food has a long history in China. In the Song Dynasty, a novel food for the Lantern Festival became popular among the people. This kind of food was first called "Fuyuanzi" and later called "Yuanxiao". Businessmen also called it "Yuanbao". Yuanxiao, also known as "tangyuan", is filled with sugar, rose, sesame, bean paste, osmanthus, walnut kernels, nuts, jujube paste, etc. It is wrapped in glutinous rice flour into a round shape. It can be meat or vegetarian, with different flavors. It can be cooked in soup, fried, or steamed, symbolizing reunion and happiness. The glutinous rice balls in Shaanxi are not wrapped but "rolled" in glutinous rice flour and then boiled or fried. They are hot and round.The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival. During this festival, people have the custom of hanging, lighting and watching lanterns, so it is also called the Lantern Festival. Playing with lanterns is a traditional festival custom of the Lantern Festival, which originated in the Western Han Dynasty and flourished in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the custom of lighting lanterns became popular and was passed down to later generations. The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the climax of the annual lantern and fireworks festival. That's why the Lantern Festival is also called the "Festival of Lanterns". In Shanxi's county towns and even villages and towns, which are densely populated and prosperous areas, before the arrival of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the streets are hung with lanterns, flowers are in bloom and lights are swaying, reaching a climax on the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. "Watching lanterns" on the 15th day of the first lunar month has become a popular activity among the people of Shanxi. On the night of the 15th day of the first lunar month, red lanterns are hung high in the streets and alleys, including palace lanterns, animal head lanterns, revolving lanterns, flower lanterns, bird lanterns, etc., which attract people to watch the lanterns. In the Taiyuan area, the lanterns of Taigu County are very famous. Taigu's lanterns are famous for their wide variety, exquisite workmanship and attractive appearance. Guessing lantern riddles, also known as playing lantern riddles, is a traditional folk cultural and entertainment form unique to China with rich national style. It is a special activity of the Lantern Festival that has been passed down since ancient times. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, traditional people would hang up colorful lanterns and set off fireworks. Later, some people wrote riddles on pieces of paper and posted them on colorful lanterns for people to guess. Because riddles can enlighten the wisdom and cater to the festive atmosphere, many people responded to them, and guessing riddles gradually became an indispensable program of the Lantern Festival. Riddles add to the festive atmosphere and showcase the ancient working people’s wisdom and wisdom and their yearning for a better life. Dragon lantern performance is also called dragon lantern dance or dragon dance. Its origin can be traced back to ancient times. Legend has it that as early as the Yellow Emperor period, in a large-scale song and dance called "Qingjiao", there appeared an image of a human playing a dragon head with a bird body. Later, a dance scene of six dragons interweaving with each other was choreographed. The first recorded dragon dance was in the "Fu of Western Capital" by Zhang Heng of the Han Dynasty. The author gave a vivid description of the dragon dance in the narration of a hundred plays. According to the "Book of Sui·Music Records", during the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui, the "Yellow Dragon Change" performance, which was similar to the dragon dance in various acrobatics, was also very exciting and dragon dance became popular in many places in China. The Chinese nation worships the dragon and regards it as a symbol of good luck. Stilt walking is a popular mass performance among the people. Stilt walking is a type of acrobatics in ancient China and appeared as early as the Spring and Autumn Period. The earliest introduction of stilts in China is in the Liezi Shuo Fu chapter: "In Song there was a man named Lan Zi, who used his skills to compete with Song Yuan. Song Yuan summoned him and showed him his skills. Lion dance is an excellent Chinese folk art. During the Lantern Festival or gatherings and celebrations, people perform lion dance to add to the fun. This custom originated in the Three Kingdoms period, became popular during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and has a history of more than a thousand years. "Lion dance" originated in the Wei and Jin Dynasties and flourished in the Tang Dynasty. It is also known as "Lion Dance" and "Taiping Music". It is usually performed by three people. Two of them dress up as lions, one acts as the lion's head, one acts as the lion's body and hind legs, and the other acts as the lion's leader. There are two types of dance: civil and martial. The civil dance shows the lion's tameness, with movements such as shaking hair and rolling. The martial lion dance shows the lion's ferocity, with movements such as leaping, kicking high, and rolling colorful balls. Rowing the land boat Rowing the land boat, according to folklore, is to commemorate Dayu, who made great contributions to flood control. Land boat rowing is also called land boat running, which is to imitate the movement of a boat on land. Most of the people who perform land boat running are girls. The land boat is not a real boat. It is made of two thin boards, sawn into a boat shape, tied with bamboo and wood, and covered with colorful cloth. It is tied around the girl's waist. It is like sitting in a boat. She holds oars in her hands and makes rowing gestures while running, singing local tunes and dancing at the same time. This is land boat rowing. Sometimes there is another man dressed as a passenger on the boat, and his partner in the performance is mostly dressed as a clown, using all kinds of funny actions to amuse the audience. Land boat rowing is popular in many areas of China. There were "seven sacrifices" in ancient times, namely sacrifices to doors and sacrifices to households, and these are two of them. The method of sacrifice is to insert a willow branch above the door, insert a pair of chopsticks into a bowl of bean porridge, or directly place wine and meat in front of the door. Chasing away rats is a traditional folk activity during the Lantern Festival, which began in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. This is mainly said to people who raise silkworms. Because mice often eat large numbers of silkworms at night, people say that if you feed mice with rice porridge on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, they will stop eating silkworms. "Jingchu Sui Shi Ji" said that on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, a god came down to a family surnamed Chen and said to them: If you can offer sacrifice to me, you will have a good harvest of silkworms. Later it became a custom. Sending lanterns to children is referred to as "sending lanterns" or "sending flower lanterns". That is, before the Lantern Festival, the daughter's family sends flower lanterns to the family of the newly married daughter, or relatives and friends send lanterns to the family of a newly married couple without children, in order to pray for a good omen of having a child, because "lantern" and "ding" are homophones. This custom exists in many places. In Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, lanterns are sent between the 8th and 15th day of the first lunar month. In the previous year, a pair of large palace lanterns and a pair of painted glass lanterns are sent, hoping that the daughter will be blessed with good fortune after marriage and give birth to a son soon. If the daughter is pregnant, in addition to the large palace lanterns, one or two pairs of small lanterns are also sent, wishing the daughter a safe pregnancy. Welcoming Zi Gu Zi Gu is also called Qi Gu, and in the north she is often called Toilet Gu or Keng San Gu. According to ancient folk customs, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, people would welcome the toilet goddess Zi Gu and offer sacrifices to her, and predict silkworms and other matters. Legend has it that Zi Gu was originally a concubine of a family. She was envied by the eldest wife and was killed in the toilet on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. She became the toilet god. On the night of the Zigu Festival, people would make a life-size portrait of Zigu out of straw and cloth, and worship her in the pigpen between toilets at night. This custom is popular in all parts of the north and south, and was recorded as early as the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Get rid of all diseases "Walking away all diseases", also known as touring all diseases, dispersing all diseases, roasting all diseases, walking on a bridge, etc., is an activity to eliminate disasters and pray for health. On the night of the Lantern Festival, women make appointments to go out together. They walk together and cross every bridge they see, believing that this can cure diseases and prolong life. Walking away all diseases has been a custom in the north since the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Some people do it on the 15th day, but most of them do it on the 16th day. On this day, women dressed in festive attire, went out of their homes in groups, walked across dangerous bridges, climbed up city walls, and touched nails to pray for children, and did not return until midnight. |
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