What to eat during the Lantern Festival? Why do we eat glutinous rice balls during the Lantern Festival?

What to eat during the Lantern Festival? Why do we eat glutinous rice balls during the Lantern Festival?
The Lantern Festival is a traditional festival in my country. Do you want to know more about the Lantern Festival? The lunar calendar is different every day. Do you want to know what auspicious and inauspicious days are in the first month of 2022? Then come with me to Shui Mo Xiansheng website to see more content about the first month of 2022.

What to eat during the Lantern Festival?

The main food during the Lantern Festival is eating Yuanxiao or Tangyuan. In addition, there are other food customs, such as:
1. Camellia oleifera
The food for the Lantern Festival night is as follows: in the plains, it is called “flat dumplings on the 15th and round dumplings on the 16th”; in the mountainous areas, it is called “oil tea on the 15th and flat dumplings on the 16th”. This is exactly what is meant by “customs vary every ten miles”. Making tea means stirring the tea with chopsticks and putting it into the pot to make oil tea, also known as noodle tea.
2. Sticky cake
Sticky cake is also known as rice cake. In addition to Yuanxiao and noodles, people also eat sticky cakes during the Lantern Festival. Sun Simiao, a famous doctor in the Tang Dynasty, wrote in "Prescriptions for Emergencies: Food Therapy" that "Rice is sweet, slightly cold, non-toxic, can remove heat and benefit Qi." After the Tang Dynasty, there were also records of eating cakes on the Lantern Festival in the Yuan Dynasty.
3. Dumplings
The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is here. People in the north have the habit of eating dumplings. People in Henan have the Lantern Festival custom and tradition of "flat dumplings on the fifteenth and round dumplings on the sixteenth", so dumplings should be eaten on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Dumplings are a folk food with a long history and are very popular among the people. There is a folk saying that "nothing tastes better than dumplings."
4. Date Cake
People in western Henan like to eat date cakes during the Lantern Festival, as they represent good luck and fortune. Date cake was originally a royal pastry of the Qing Dynasty. It has a fragrant flavor and is sweet in the mouth. It contains nutrients such as vitamin C, protein, calcium, iron, vitamins, etc. It can not only nourish the spleen and stomach, invigorate qi and promote salivation, but also protect the liver, increase muscle strength, nourish the skin and prevent aging. 5. Soup
People in Taizhou eat fermented rice soup after watching lanterns on the 14th day of the first lunar month every year. The rice soup is made by stir-frying shredded pork, shredded winter bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, black fungus, fresh dragonfly, dried tofu, fried dough sticks, Sichuan bean curd, spinach, etc., then adding a little rice flour and cooking it into a salty paste. The fermented rice soup drunk on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is sweet, made with sweet potato starch or lotus root starch, lotus seeds, sweet dates, longans, etc.
6. Noodles
There is a folk saying in Jiangbei area that goes "Eat noodles on the fifteenth night of the first lunar month to wish for the coming year". Locals eat noodles on the fifteenth night of the first lunar month, which may sound unrelated to the Lantern Festival, but it also means praying for good luck. "Yihui Sui Shi Ji" records: "On the 18th day of the first lunar month, the lanterns are turned off and people eat noodles, which is commonly known as 'dumplings for the lanterns and noodles for the lanterns'. Each family holds their own banquet to celebrate." Eating noodles when the lanterns are turned off symbolizes continuous joy.
7. Oil hammer
Youchui is a traditional food for the Lantern Festival. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, it was rice or bean porridge topped with gravy. But this food is mainly used for sacrificial offerings and cannot be considered a festival food. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that Zheng Wangzhi's "Records of the Chef" recorded: "People in Bianzhou celebrate the Lantern Festival with oil hammers." The method of making oil hammers, according to a record of "Shangshi Ling" in "Lu's Miscellaneous Stories" quoted in "Taiping Guangji", is similar to the later fried Yuanxiao. Some people also call it the "Pearl of Oil Painting".

Why do we eat glutinous rice balls during the Lantern Festival?

Tangyuan is the name used in the south, while it is called Yuanxiao in the north, but the preparation of the two is also different.
Yuanxiao is eaten on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. As a food, "Yuanxiao" has a long history in China. In the Song Dynasty, a novel food for the Lantern Festival became popular among the people. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, it was rice or bean porridge topped with meat and feces soup. But this food is mainly used for sacrificial offerings and cannot be considered a festival food. It was not until the Song Dynasty that Zheng Wangzhi's "Records of the Chef" recorded: "People in Bianzhou practiced diet and had oil hammers on the Lantern Festival." The production method of oil hammer, according to the record of a "Shangshi Order" in "Lu's Miscellaneous Stories" quoted in "Taiping Guangji", is similar to the fried Yuanxiao of later generations. Some people also call it "Oil Painting Pearl".
Yuanxiao is called "tangyuan", "yuanzi", "floating yuanzi" and "shuiyuan" in the south. It is made of glutinous rice and can be solid or stuffed. The fillings include red bean paste, white sugar, hawthorn, etc., and can be boiled, fried, steamed or deep-fried. 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 place their beautiful expectations for future life. Eating Yuanxiao symbolizes family reunion like the full moon, and expresses people’s good wishes for their future life.

Do you want to know your own Bazi? Want to figure out where your golden marriage is? Click on the [Premium Calculation] below to calculate your horoscope and fortune!

<<:  Is it okay to hold the funeral on the fifth day of the second lunar month in 2022? What should you pay attention to during a funeral?

>>:  What is the meaning of eating glutinous rice balls during the Lantern Festival? What celebrities and great people are there during the Lantern Festival?

Recommend

How is April 23rd of the lunar calendar 2018? Can the contract be signed?

With the continuous development of society, there ...

How about the fifth day of the seventh lunar month in 2018? Is it a good day?

In the seventh month of the lunar calendar, summe...

Is May 17th of the lunar calendar 2021 an auspicious day for engagement?

People believe that the fifth month of the lunar c...

Can I get married on December 24th of the lunar calendar in 2018?

The twelfth month of the lunar calendar is the la...

Can I open a store on November 13th of the lunar calendar in 2020?

Choosing a good auspicious day is a traditional cu...