What are the traditional customs of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month?
The fifteenth day of the first lunar month every year is the Lantern Festival. The Lantern Festival is the first major festival after the Spring Festival. On this day, every household is decorated with lights and the streets are full of lanterns. Admiring lanterns and guessing lantern riddles, and eating rice dumplings in the evening are some of the customs of the Lantern Festival. What other customs are there on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month? If you want to know more about the first month of the lunar calendar in 2018, please pay attention to our fortune teller website!What are the traditional customs of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month?1. Releasing sky lanterns Releasing sky lanterns during the Lantern Festival is also a major folk custom. Sky lanterns, also known as Kongming lanterns, were invented by Zhuge Liang during the Three Kingdoms period. The custom of flying sky lanterns is said to have been introduced by immigrants from Hui'an, Fujian, and has a history of more than 200 years. Legend has it that sky lanterns can convey wishes to the gods, so those who release them write their names, addresses and wishes on white paper lanterns with brushes and set off firecrackers to boost the momentum of the lanterns.2. Dragon Lantern Playing , also known as playing with dragon lanterns, dragon lantern dances and dragon dances, is one of the important traditional cultural activities among the Chinese people. The dragon, as the totem of the Chinese nation, is highly respected and loved by all ethnic groups and has always been regarded as the first of the five auspicious beasts in China. At the end of every year, or during major festivals and solar terms, from national celebrations to folk activities, people will happily play with dragon lanterns to pray for the dragon god to bring good luck, and to ensure a year of good weather, peace and prosperity for the country and the people, and prosperity of all industries. 3. Eating Yuanxiao (Chinese Yuanxiao) It is a custom for people to eat Yuanxiao (Chinese Yuanxiao) during the Lantern Festival. Yuanxiao is made of glutinous rice and can be solid or stuffed. The fillings include red bean paste, sugar, hawthorn, and various fruits. It can be boiled, fried, steamed, or deep-fried when eaten. At first, people called this food "floating dumplings", and later called it "tangtuan" or "tangyuan". These names are similar to the word "reunion", which means reunion, symbolizing the reunion of the whole family, harmony and happiness. People also use it to miss their separated relatives and express their good wishes for future life. 4. Sending lanterns to children is referred to as "sending lanterns", also known as "sending flower lanterns", etc. That is, before the Lantern Festival, the daughter's parents send flower lanterns to the family of the newly married daughter, or relatives and friends send lanterns to the family of the newly married infertile couple, 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. 5. 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. 6. Welcoming Zi Gu Zi Gu is a kind, poor girl in folk legends. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Zi Gu died of poverty. The people sympathized with her and missed her, and in some places the custom of "welcoming Zi Gu on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month" emerged. Every night on this day, people make a life-size portrait of Zi Gu out of straw and cloth. The women stood by the toilet, pigpen and kitchen where Zi Gu often worked to welcome her. They held her hands, spoke kind words to her and comforted her with tears, just like they would their own sister. The scene was very vivid and truly reflected the working people's thoughts and feelings of kindness, loyalty and sympathy for the weak. 7. Get rid of all diseases "Walking away all diseases" is also called "touring all diseases", "dispersing all diseases", "roasting all diseases", "walking on a bridge", etc. This is also an activity used by people to eliminate disasters and pray for health. 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 the night of the Lantern Festival, many women would make appointments to go out together. They would walk together and cross every bridge they saw, in order to cure diseases and prolong their lives. Single friends can move around more during the Lantern Festival, which can also improve their emotional fortunes. 8. Making zodiac animals: Making zodiac animals is a custom in Rongcheng, Shandong. Generally, soybean flour is used as the material. The posture of the zodiac animal can be improvised, but it must be accompanied by some vegetable seeds and leaves, symbolizing "a good harvest." The zodiac animals all carry a lamp bowl on their backs. The bowl is filled with oil and a small stick wrapped with cotton wool is inserted into it, commonly known as "yao niang". On the night of the Lantern Festival, the lanterns are placed on a plate and lit. Everyone gathers around to watch, hoping that sparks will burst. The bigger the sparks, the more auspicious it is, as it indicates a good harvest in the coming year. Moreover, whoever's zodiac lamp burns the longest will have good luck, health and safety in the new year. 9. Stealing vegetables : It is said that "stealing vegetables" during the Lantern Festival will bring good luck, especially if someone discovers you during the stealing process. On the 14th or 15th night of the first lunar month, villagers will beat gongs and drums to steal vegetables from each other's vegetable fields in order to be discovered. It is said that the more you are scolded, the better your luck will be in the coming year. In ancient times, the stolen vegetables had to be eaten on the same night, but nowadays they are usually eaten the next day. It is said that eating these stolen vegetables can drive away evil spirits and cure diseases, and people will become smart, generous, and kind-hearted. 10. Pray for dolls: Every Lantern Festival, people can see devout pilgrims kneeling and burning incense before the Goddess of Childbirth, and taking home lively and handsome clay dolls of various shapes. This is the custom of praying for dolls in the Heluo area. The time for praying for a baby is not fixed, but it is usually on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. The custom of praying for a baby is actually the parents' hope that the newlyweds will give birth to a baby soon and that the family will prosper. It is also a form of supervision and reminder to their sons and daughters-in-law. 11. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the people of Lecheng would carry the City God out of the temple and carry him around in a sedan chair to check on the people's livelihood. Wherever the City God went, there were sounds of firecrackers, and every household would offer fat chickens in the hope that everything would go well in the coming year. In addition, the lantern parade on the 15th day of the first lunar month is also a big happy event in Qionghai. 12. Watching Lanterns The main activity on the night of the 15th day of the first lunar month is watching lanterns. In the early years, people started to take action from the 10th day of the first lunar month. Almost everyone took part in making lanterns in every household. On the night of the Lantern Festival, people hold candles and lights and play together. Especially during the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were many styles of lanterns, including lotus lanterns, eight-treasure lanterns, octagonal lanterns, high-angle lanterns, dragon lanterns, etc. In today's Dengshikou, Gulou and Dazhalan areas, there are a large number of lanterns. People light lanterns and appreciate lanterns. The lights are bright, and the place name "Dengshikou" comes from this. 13. Listening to incense : There is a custom of "listening to incense" on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. In ancient times, a young girl who wanted to find a good husband would first burn incense and worship before the gods at home, tell them her worries, and pray to the gods to tell her the direction to listen to the incense. Then, she would remember the first words she heard accidentally or overheard on the way according to the direction indicated, and then go home to throw the dice to judge whether the divination would be good or bad. For example, when fortune-telling about one's lifelong events, if one hears things like eating sweet cakes, blooming flowers or a full moon, it means a good omen and happiness is approaching. However, nowadays, the custom of listening to incense and fortune-telling is no longer common. 14. Burning prosperous fire In Shanxi, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia, there is a custom of "burning prosperous fire" in the first month of the year. As for the big fire, some areas burn bamboo branches, some areas burn pine branches, and some areas burn coal. According to the elders, the purpose of burning a strong fire is mainly to drive away evil spirits and pray for blessings, but of course it also has another meaning of welcoming gods and receiving blessings. In areas such as Daning and Jixian in Shanxi and Yan'an Prefecture in Shaanxi, which are located in the Jin-Shaanxi Grand Canyon area, there is a custom of burning a big fire in the countryside on the fifteenth night of the first lunar month. 1 5. Guess lantern riddles "Guessing lantern riddles" is also called "playing lantern riddles". It is an activity added after the Lantern Festival. Lantern riddles were first developed from riddles and originated in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. It is a literary game full of satire, admonition, humor and jokes. The practice of hanging riddles on lanterns for people to guess began in the Southern Song Dynasty. Nowadays, every Lantern Festival, riddles are posted in various places, hoping that this year will be joyous and peaceful. 16. In Hainan, the Chinese New Year is not considered over until the 15th day of the first lunar month. In Wenchang, the "Qing Lantern Fur Festival" on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is very interesting. "Deng" is pronounced the same as "Ding" in Hainanese dialect. In Wenchang, on the fifteenth night of the first lunar month, when people hold up lanterns they have made and walk around the village and hang them up in the village temple, couples who are yet to conceive will rush to grab the lanterns made by pregnant parents, in the hope of having a child in the coming year. After giving birth to a child as she wished in the next year, she would make lanterns and hang them in the village temple to fulfill her wish. At this time, other couples who have not yet had children can participate in the "lantern grabbing" activity. |
>>: When is the Lantern Festival and what are the customs?
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