Enjoy the Lantern Festival and see how people in Quanzhou celebrate it
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Introduction: The Lantern Festival is one of the four major traditional festivals in my country with a long history. It is also the first festival after the Spring Festival. The festival forms are rich and colorful, and the festival customs are unique. So, do you know how people celebrate the Lantern Festival in Quanzhou, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road? Let’s find out together! During the first month of the lunar calendar, you will have a good year. The first month is the most important month of spring. Mr. Shui Mo will share with you some knowledge about January. Early in the morning of the Lantern Festival, cook a pot of Yuanxiao balls that have been prepared early, and the whole family sits together to eat them. Yuanxiao balls are eaten during the Lantern Festival. Their round shape symbolizes family reunion, good luck and happiness. This food custom began in the Song Dynasty. Quanzhou's Yuanxiao balls are well-known for their unique preparation method. The shells of roasted peanuts are removed and ground into powder. The mixture is then added with sugar, sesame seeds, candied winter melon, kumquat puree, lard with baked scallions, and banana oil (spices). The balls are then kneaded into fillings, moistened, and placed on a plate filled with dry glutinous rice flour. The balls are rolled repeatedly several times and are sweet but not greasy when cooked. A few days before the fifteenth day of the first lunar month this year, a long queue formed early outside a small shop on Zhongshan Road in Quanzhou that is famous for its Yuanxiao fillings, which shows people's strong recognition of Yuanxiao balls. Growing up in Quanzhou, I was fascinated by the process of "rolling Yuanxiao balls" when I was a child. The whole family rolls Yuanxiao balls together, which adds a lot of fun to the festival. Quanzhou people also have the habit of eating "tender pancakes" during Yuanxiao. "Nenbingcai" is a direct translation from the Minnan dialect. It is a bit like spring rolls and the way of eating it is a bit like Peking duck. Its characteristic is that those who need to eat it can wrap it "by themselves" at the table and eat it. The size and ingredients are all decided by themselves, which makes it quite interesting to eat. The most important thing about tender pancake dishes is the tender pancake skin. Only a few shops on Quanzhou West Street make tender pancake skins that are recognized as the most authentic. Obviously, at this time, there will be many people queuing up to buy it. The main ingredients are carrots, bean pods, and dried tofu cut into shreds, added with rice noodles and fried in a pan, a few fried eggs cut into shreds, and then a plate of Quanzhou specialty "Omelette" fried, served with crushed peanuts with sugar, coriander and a kind of seaweed, and placed on the table in plates, and it's ready. When eating, spread out the tender pancake skin, sprinkle a layer of seaweed and a little peanut candy on it, put some carrot fried rice noodles and some shredded egg in the middle, and then add some "fried oysters". First fold the bottom up, then close the two sides, and a roll of "tender pancake" is ready. Tender pancake dishes are rather time-consuming to prepare and in the past were usually only made during the Lantern Festival. In recent years, as living conditions have improved, many people make tender pancake dishes on weekdays and invite friends and family to share the joy. The evening is the highlight of the Lantern Festival in Quanzhou. When you are in Quanzhou city on the night of the Lantern Festival, you will feel that it is a night of "city-wide celebration". The famous Quanzhou lanterns were ready a few days ago, with all kinds of lanterns hung not only in major display locations such as the Confucian Temple, but also in street corridors such as Zhongshan Street. The custom of lanterns in Quanzhou was introduced from the Central Plains after the city was founded in the early Tang Dynasty. By the Southern Song Dynasty, the popularity of lanterns had become famous throughout the country. Quanzhou's lanterns include paper-cut silk lanterns, tin-carved palace lanterns, and colorful tied lanterns. They combine painting, calligraphy, knife carving, mounting, colorful tying, and tin carving. Their various shapes, dazzling colors, and colorful lights set off the lively and festive atmosphere of the traditional Lantern Festival. During the Ming Dynasty, even the lighting in Hangzhou required craftsmen from Quanzhou to make the lanterns. After the founding of New China, Quanzhou lantern making technology has been continuously innovated, with a wide variety of varieties, novel shapes, and exquisite craftsmanship, which are appreciated by people at home and abroad. During the Lantern Festival, thousands of lights are hung in the city, and the long streets look like stars. Kaiyuan Temple, Weiyuan Tower and other places are even more brightly lit and crowded with people. The dragon lanterns in Longjuanshanhou Village, Anxi County are very unique. The "dragon head" and "dragon tail" are prepared by the public, and lanterns from each household are inserted in the middle. There is only one dragon lantern in the whole village. The longer the dragon lantern, the more prosperous the village. Another thing that adds to the lively atmosphere of the Lantern Festival is the "literary and artistic street parade", which is said to have evolved from the earliest "welcoming gods and competitions". The festival to welcome the gods is held on the Lantern Festival or a few days later. He Qiaoyuan, a Jinjiang native in the Ming Dynasty, said in "Minshu" that at that time "there were competitions for statues of gods, costumes, decorations, treasures, bells and drums, and the whole country was crazy." After liberation, Quanzhou’s cultural department transformed the costume parades in the festival to welcome gods and turned them into “literary and artistic street parades”. During the parade, some main roads are under martial law. The parade team sets out from the main station and circles the city along a predetermined route, performing various cultural and artistic programs as they march. Among them, the most Quanzhou-style programs are "Huoding Gong and Huoding Po" and other programs. At this time of year every year, the roadsides are crowded with people. I remember when I was a child, I would always move a high stool early an hour or two before the parade started and take a good spot next to the main street, for fear that I would not be able to see it if there were too many people. My parents would sometimes lift the children up high, which was quite interesting. For individuals, there is one romantic thing that must be done this evening, that is, "lantern parade", which means lighting a lantern and walking through the streets. Although there are many electronic lanterns now, there are still many young and middle-aged people who prefer traditional paper lanterns, which are called "tender cake lanterns" in Minnan dialect. This kind of lantern is usually folded into a flat shape. When in use, a small wax candle is fixed on a small iron sheet in the middle. After lighting it, it is slowly lifted up, and a stick is hooked on the iron wire on it, and then you can carry it around. Even wind will not blow out the candle. The lanterns come in colors such as red, yellow, green, pink, and orange, and are painted with simple patterns of flowers and plants. When lit, light shines through the paper, swaying dimly, which is instantly beautiful and intoxicating. People all over the city lit lanterns. The big lanterns and small lanterns complemented each other, making the whole city a bright, bustling and splendid city. Other customs of the Lantern Festival in Quanzhou include listening to Nanyin, watching Liyuan opera, Gaojia opera, string puppets, bo bing, guessing lantern riddles, etc. In my opinion, the most precious thing about Quanzhou’s Lantern Festival customs is that they are deeply imprinted in the hearts of every Quanzhou citizen and have become an indispensable part of their life throughout the year. Summary: After reading the introduction in the above article, I believe everyone has a certain understanding of Quanzhou’s Lantern Festival culture. I also wish everyone good luck and good fortune in the new year! 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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