A comprehensive review of Lantern Festival customs: Do you know the top ten customs?

A comprehensive review of Lantern Festival customs: Do you know the top ten customs?
Introduction: The Lantern Festival is a traditional festival in my country with a long history. Traces of the Lantern Festival already existed during the Qin Dynasty. The Lantern Festival has many colorful festival customs and activities, and the festival culture is colorful. What are the traditional customs of the Lantern Festival? Let’s find out 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.
1. Eat Yuanxiao
Eating Yuanxiao (Chinese glutinous rice dumplings) on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is a long-standing custom in China. Yuanxiao is also known as "tangyuan". Its preparation, ingredients and flavors vary, but the meaning of eating Yuanxiao is the same. It represents reunion, harmony and happiness, and a more prosperous life. There is a saying that harmony brings wealth. Family harmony and family reunion are such important factors for a complete family. Therefore, it is important to eat "Yuanxiao" with your family during the Lantern Festival.
2. “Send Lanterns”
"Sending flower lanterns" is abbreviated as "sending lanterns", and its actual meaning is sending lanterns to children. That is, before the Lantern Festival, the daughter’s parents would send lanterns to her family, or relatives and friends would send lanterns to the family of a newly married couple who are infertile, in the hope of having a child, because “lantern” and “ding” are homophones. It means 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 lantern, one or two pairs of small lanterns should also be given to wish her a safe pregnancy.
3. Dragon Lantern Show
The dragon is the totem of China. The Chinese nation worships the dragon and regards it as a symbol of good luck. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the festive atmosphere of dragon dancing, singing and dancing is spread to many places.
4. Lion Dance
Lion dance, also known as "lion dance", "lion lantern" and "lion dance", is often performed during festivals and festive events. In the eyes of the Chinese, the lion is a auspicious animal, symbolizing good luck and fortune. Therefore, the lion dance activity embodies the people's good wishes to eliminate disasters and seek good fortune.
5. Guess lantern riddles
During every Lantern Festival, riddles are posted in various places, hoping that this year will be joyous and peaceful. Because riddles can enlighten the mind and are interesting, they are welcomed by all walks of life during the process of circulation. During the Tang and Song dynasties, various acrobatic performances began to appear in lantern fairs. In addition to lantern riddles and various kinds of singing and dancing, the lantern fairs in the Ming and Qing dynasties also added opera performances.
6. Walking on stilts
Stilt-walking clubs are usually organized by the masses spontaneously. The street parade begins on the 11th and 12th day of the first lunar month, implying that people should register for one of the many folk flower festivals this year. The street festival officially starts on the 15th day of the first lunar month and ends on the 18th.
7. Offering sacrifices to the door and the household
There were "seven sacrifices" in ancient times, and these are two of them. The method of sacrifice is to insert a willow branch above the door, insert a pair of chopsticks into a bowl of bean porridge, or directly place wine and meat in front of the door.
8. Get rid of all diseases
"Walking away all diseases", also known as touring all diseases, dispersing all diseases, roasting all diseases, walking on a bridge, etc., is an activity to eliminate disasters and pray for health. On the night of the Lantern Festival, women make appointments to go out together. They walk together and cross every bridge they see, believing that this can cure diseases and prolong life.
9. Welcoming Zigu
Zi Gu is also called Qi Gu, and in the north it is often called Toilet Gu or Keng San Gu. According to ancient folk customs, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, people would welcome the toilet goddess Zi Gu and offer sacrifices to her, and predict silkworms and other matters. On the night of the Zigu Festival, people would make a life-size portrait of Zigu out of straw and cloth, and worship her in the pigpen between toilets at night. It truly reflects the thoughts and feelings of the working people, who are kind, loyal, and sympathetic to the weak.
10. Chase away rats
The rat-chasing ceremony is held on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, families who raise silkworms cook a big pot of sticky porridge. Some even cover it with a layer of meat. They put the porridge in bowls and place them on the ceilings and corners where mice are active. They put the porridge in bowls and chant something while putting it in their mouths, cursing the mice that they will have a miserable death if they eat silkworms again. It is said that if you do this, mice won't eat silkworms this year.
Summary: The ten customs introduced in the above article are the traditional customs of the Lantern Festival. You can learn about them and feel the cultural charm of traditional festivals!

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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>>:  What are the ways to improve your luck during the Lantern Festival?

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