Can I go out on the 15th day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival? How do different places celebrate the Lantern Festival?

Can I go out on the 15th day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival? How do different places celebrate the Lantern Festival?
Introduction: What is the Lantern Festival? The first month of the lunar calendar is the first month of the year. "Xiao" is a way for ancient people to call night. The night of the fifteenth day of the first month is called the Lantern Festival, which is the full moon of the first month of the new year. So, can we go out on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month? How do different parts of my country celebrate the Lantern Festival? Let’s find out together! The first month of the lunar calendar is about to begin with various festivals. Let us count the important traditional festivals and customs of this month. A good year starts with spring.

Can I go out on the 15th day of the first lunar month?

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the first full-moon night of the year. It is also the night when a new year begins and the earth returns to spring. On this night when the moon is high in the sky, people light up thousands of colorful lanterns to celebrate. Go out to admire the moon, light lanterns and fireworks, guess lantern riddles, eat Yuanxiao together, reunite with family, and celebrate the festival together in great joy. However, some customs say that in order to avoid the lanterns on the 15th day of the first lunar month, children cannot be taken out.

How do different places celebrate the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month?

[Hebei Province] During the Lantern Festival in Yongping Prefecture, sick women would gather under the kiln, which was called "Taojiu". Children cross the bridge in an alternating manner, which is called "overcoming a hundred disasters". Some people also cut paper into nine paper ropes and tie them into knots at random to predict good or bad luck, which is called "tying sheep intestines". Twelve dough bowls are filled with oil and steamed in a pot. The amount of water in the bowls is used to predict whether it will be sunny or rainy that month. The Lantern Festival in Jinghai County is celebrated with big steamed buns. During the Lantern Festival in Qingyun County, men ask the Fifth Patriarch to teach them boxing and martial arts, while women ask Zi Gu to predict good and bad luck. [Shandong Province] During the Lantern Festival, many people living near water in Zibo County release river lanterns. During the Lantern Festival in Ningyang County, people send lanterns to their ancestral graves. There is a custom of lighting lanterns during the Lantern Festival in the rural areas of Boxing. If a boy holds a lantern and walks around the jujube tree six times, chanting "Du Lao Du Lao, bloom and bear jujubes" six times, the jujube tree will have a good harvest. Men, women, old and young in Ju County go out for an outing on the 16th day of the first lunar month. It is called "walking for a youthful look". It is said that walking once a year can keep one young forever. [Henan Province] During the Lantern Festival in Xiangcheng County, wonton soup is eaten, which is called "reunion tea". The daughter's parents will invite her home to celebrate the festival. During the Lantern Festival in Yan County, sick people, young and old, will all use fire to moxibustion on stone turtles. If there is a river bridge in the local area, everyone will cross it. If there is no bridge, a "sky bridge" several meters high is built with wooden planks, which is called "walking away all diseases." [Shaanxi Province] Fengxiang County entertains daughters and sons-in-law on the Lantern Festival, which is called "eating the fifteenth". Sending lamps and oil is called "adding oil". [Jiangsu Province] On the Lantern Festival in Wujin County, people tie reeds into torches about a meter long and stick them in the fields. This is called "lighting up the wealth in the fields" and is used to predict early floods. The white color of fire represents water, and the red color represents drought. On the Lantern Festival in Yixing, children wear ghost masks, bend their legs and shake their shoulders and dance, which is called "jumping ghosts." [Zhejiang Province] According to folk tradition in Hangzhou, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the day when the Heavenly Official bestows blessings. Many people fast and recite scriptures, then prostrate themselves at Mount Wu to worship. The most famous Lantern Festival in Haining County is the exquisite chrysanthemum lanterns. Young men from Shangyu County went to the Kanshi platform to compete in martial arts on the night of the Lantern Festival. In Jiande County, families who have a newly married daughter-in-law will set up wine and offer sacrifices to the bed on the Lantern Festival. [Jiangxi Province] Residents of Xinjian County use bamboo as lanterns when visiting graves during the Lantern Festival. All the villages in Wan'an County worship the Shangyuan Shenzhou on the Lantern Festival. [Hubei Province] Old farmers in Yunmeng County (now Jianghan) would hold torches and shine them on their fields on the night of the Lantern Festival, which was called "lighting up the silkworms in the wild." Children welcome the gods with field drums and predict events of the coming year. The "dragon-playing" activity in Wuchang lasts for three days. Men, women, old and young from the whole village follow the dragon lantern to the neighboring village for a banquet, which is called "dragon exchanging wine". [Hunan Province] In Shangyuan, Changde, every household uses pepper as soup and adds leeks, ginger and other ingredients to entertain guests. This soup is called "seasonal soup". After the dragon lantern parade in Xintian County, people burn it, which is called "sending away disasters." [Sichuan Province] Sichuan has the custom of "four stealings" during the Lantern Festival: "One is stealing glutinous rice balls, two is stealing green, three is stealing eaves lanterns, and four is stealing red." Except for stealing green for strengthening the body, the rest are customs for seeking children. There is a custom of "swearing at each other" in Kai County. During the Lantern Festival, people move stools outside and vent all their daily grievances by cursing. The person being cursed is not allowed to curse back. [Fujian Province] Quanzhou lanterns are unique and include incense lanterns, paper lotus lanterns, silk palace lanterns, eight-knot lanterns and so on. On the night of the Lantern Festival in Shaowu County, temples in the area are paraded around the temples to welcome incense, which is called "cleansing the streets." In southern Fujian, there is a custom of children from two villages throwing stones at each other during the Lantern Festival. It is said that if the stone is not thrown, a plague will surely strike the village. [Guangdong Province] On the 15th day of the first lunar month, citizens of Meizhou hold a grand "lighting" ceremony for male children born in the previous year: gongs, drums and lion dances are played to inform the ancestors of the addition of a new baby and to pray for the health of the newborn. In the evening, fireworks are set off and guests are entertained for dinner. Those Xin'an County residents who gave birth to boys last year all celebrated the Lantern Festival on the night of the Lantern Festival. During the Lantern Festival in Nanxiong, parents would use the dragon whisker string from the dragon lantern to tie it around their children, which was said to protect the children from disease. They also took the remaining candle from the dragon lantern and used it to light the bed, which was said to help give birth to a son. When the people of Wenchang County steal vegetables on the night of the Lantern Festival, those who succeed in stealing consider being scolded as a good omen, while those who fail consider not being scolded as a good omen. [Yunnan Province] Yunlong County welcomes the three sacred gods before the Lantern Festival and sets up tents along the streets to offer sacrifices. One day after the Lantern Festival in Mile Prefecture, people burn incense on the bridge, throw stones into the water, and then take the water to wash their eyes. It is said that this can cure diseases.
Summary: After reading the introduction in the above article, we know that according to the customs in some places, people are not allowed to go out on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, but it varies from person to person, so we should analyze specific problems specifically!

After reading this article, there are more exciting contents in the special topic of the first month of the lunar calendar. Let’s take a look!

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