A wonderful review of the traditional customs of celebrating the Lantern Festival in various parts of my country
Introduction: As the saying goes, customs vary every ten miles, and customs vary every hundred miles. The regional differences in culture are very obvious. The Lantern Festival is one of my country's traditional festivals. So, how do people across the country celebrate the Lantern Festival? Let’s take a look together! The first month of the lunar calendar is an important month. Let us pay attention to the traditional festivals and solar terms in the first month and have a good start of the month.Lantern Festival Customs in Jiangsu ProvinceOn the Lantern Festival in Wujin District, people tie reeds into torches about ten feet 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 while dancing, which is called "jumping ghosts".Lantern Festival Customs in Zhejiang ProvinceAccording 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 crawl to 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.Lantern Festival Customs in Jiangxi ProvinceDuring the Lantern Festival, residents of Xinjian County would visit graves and place bamboo lanterns. All the villages in Wan'an County worship the Shangyuan Shenzhou on the Lantern Festival.Lantern Festival Customs in Hubei ProvinceOld 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" 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".Lantern Festival Customs in Hunan ProvinceIn Shangyuan, Changde, every family uses pepper as soup and adds leeks, fruits and other foods to entertain guests, which is called "seasonal soup". After the dragon lantern parade in Xintian County, people burn it, which is called "sending away disasters."Lantern Festival Customs in Sichuan ProvinceSichuan has a 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.Lantern Festival Customs in Fujian ProvinceQuanzhou 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 hold a procession 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.Lantern Festival Customs in Guangdong ProvinceThose 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.Lantern Festival Customs in Yunnan ProvinceYunlong 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. Eating Yuanxiao during the Lantern Festival is a common custom throughout the country. This food first appeared in the Song Dynasty. The poet Jiang Baishi wrote in a poem "Ode to Lantern Festival": "The distinguished guests draw the curtain to look at the Imperial Street, and the treasures of the market come all at once." The "treasures of the market" here refer to the Lantern Festival. Zhou Bida, a poet from the Song Dynasty, also wrote a poem called "Cooking Floating Dumplings on Lantern Festival": What night is this? We are reunited and everything is the same. The soup official inspects the old flavors, and the kitchen maid marvels at the new achievements. Stars shine in the dark clouds, pearls float in the turbid water. I compiled miscellaneous poems during the corresponding period and attached these to talk about family traditions.Lantern Festival Customs in Taiwan ProvinceIn Taiwan, there is a traditional custom that unmarried women who steal onions or vegetables on the night of the Lantern Festival will marry a good husband. The custom is commonly known as: "Steal onions, marry a good husband" and "Steal vegetables, marry a good son-in-law." Girls who hope to have a happy marriage must steal onions or vegetables from the vegetable garden on the night of the Lantern Festival, looking forward to a happy family in the future. In the Tang Dynasty, there were also music and dance performances at the Lantern Festival, with thousands of palace maids and folk girls singing and dancing under the lanterns, which was called walking songs and stepping songs.Summary: After reading the above article introducing the customs and traditions of celebrating the Lantern Festival across the country, do you have a new understanding of the Lantern Festival? 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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