Detailed explanation of the origin and customs of the Lantern Festival. Is this how you celebrate the Lantern Festival?
Introduction: Speaking of the Lantern Festival, I believe everyone is familiar with it. The Lantern Festival is a traditional festival of the Han nationality and also a festival of many ethnic minorities. The Lantern Festival is also known as the "Shangyuan Festival", "Lantern Festival", etc., and has many colorful traditional customs and activities. How did the Lantern Festival come about? What are the traditional customs of the Lantern Festival? Please follow the editor to learn more about it below! In addition to the grand and festive celebrations of the Spring Festival, we also need to pay attention to some taboos regarding the Spring Festival. Next, let’s take a closer look at the Spring Festival special topic compiled by Mr. Shui Mo!Introduction to Lantern FestivalThe fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival, which is a traditional Chinese festival. Also known as the Lantern Festival, Yuan Ye, and Lantern Festival. The Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is an important traditional festival in my country. This day was called "Shangyuan" in ancient times, and the night was called "Yuan Ye", "Yuan Xi" or "Yuan Xiao". The ancient Chinese calendar was closely related to the phases of the moon. On the fifteenth day of every month there would be a full moon, which was called "Wang". The full moon symbolizes reunion and happiness. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, people welcome the first full-moon night of the year, and this day is naturally regarded as an auspicious day. According to the "Records of the Grand Historian: Book of Music", as early as the early Western Han Dynasty, the palace had a ritual activity on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month to worship Taiyi God (Emperor of Heaven) and pray for blessings. According to Chinese folk tradition, on this night when the moon is high in the sky, people light up thousands of colorful lanterns to celebrate. During the Lantern Festival, people go out to enjoy the moon, light lanterns and fireworks, guess lantern riddles, eat Lantern Festival dumplings together, and have family reunions to celebrate the festival in great joy. The Lantern Festival is the first full-moon night of the Lunar New Year, symbolizing the arrival of spring. People eat Lantern Festival rice dumplings, admire lanterns, and guess lantern riddles to express their congratulations.What are the customs of the Lantern Festival?1. Eat Yuanxiao. 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. This kind of food was first called "Fuyuanzi" and later called "Yuanxiao". Businessmen also called it "Yuanbao". Yuanxiao is filled with sugar, rose, sesame, bean paste, osmanthus, walnut kernels, nuts, and jujube paste. It is wrapped in glutinous rice flour into a round shape. It can be meat or vegetarian and has different flavors. It can be cooked in soup, fried, or steamed, symbolizing reunion and happiness. It is called Yuanxiao in the north and Tangyuan in the south. 2. Watching Lanterns During the Yongping period of Emperor Ming of Han (58-75 AD), in order to promote Buddhism, Emperor Ming of Han ordered that lanterns be lit in the palace and temples on the fifteenth night of the first lunar month to show respect to Buddha. Therefore, the custom of lighting lanterns on the fifteenth night of the first lunar month gradually spread in China with the expansion of the influence of Buddhist culture and the addition of Taoist culture. The custom of lighting lanterns during the Lantern Festival developed into an unprecedented lantern fair in the Tang Dynasty. After the mid-Tang Dynasty, it has developed into a carnival for the entire nation. During the Kaiyuan Period (685-762 AD) of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the Lantern Festival in Chang'an was very grand, with 50,000 lanterns lit and a wide variety of lanterns. The emperor ordered people to build a giant lantern tower, which was 20 rooms wide and 150 feet high. It was dazzling with golden light and extremely spectacular. In the following generations, the Lantern Festival continued to develop and the duration of the festival became longer and longer. The Lantern Festival in the Tang Dynasty was "one day before and after the Lantern Festival". In the Song Dynasty, two days were added after the 16th. In the Ming Dynasty, it was extended to a full ten days from the 8th to the 18th. In the Qing Dynasty, the Manchus took control of the Central Plains and the palace no longer held lantern festivals. However, folk lantern festivals were still spectacular, with the duration shortened to five days. "Guessing lantern riddles" also known as "playing lantern riddles" is an activity added after the Lantern Festival and appeared in the Song Dynasty. During the Southern Song Dynasty, riddles were made in the capital Lin'an every Lantern Festival, and many people came to guess the riddles. In the beginning, curious people would write riddles on pieces of paper and stick them on colorful lanterns for people to guess. Because riddles can enlighten the mind and are interesting, they are welcomed by all walks of life during the process of circulation. 3. Chinese Valentine's Day The Lantern Festival is also a romantic festival. In the feudal traditional society, the Lantern Festival also provided an opportunity for unmarried men and women to get to know each other. Young girls in traditional society were not allowed to go out freely, but they could go out to play in groups during the festival. Viewing the lanterns on the Lantern Festival was a good opportunity for socializing, and unmarried men and women could also look for partners while viewing the lanterns. During the Lantern Festival, it is an opportunity for young men and women to meet their lovers. 4. Get rid of all diseases. In addition to celebrations, the Lantern Festival also has religious activities. That is "walking away from all diseases", also known as "roasting away all diseases" and "dispersing all diseases". Most of the participants are women. They walk in groups or walk along the wall, or cross the bridge or walk in the suburbs, with the purpose of driving away diseases and disasters. 5. Setting off fireworks is the most enjoyable activity during the Lantern Festival. On the night of the Lantern Festival, fireworks are set off in the square. The whole family then goes to the street to watch the beautiful fireworks. The fireworks are becoming more and more beautiful, bigger and bigger, with higher and higher technological content, and the colors are becoming more and more beautiful and brighter.Summary: The above article content is an analysis of the origin and customs of the Lantern Festival introduced by the editor to readers. You can learn about it and feel the cultural charm of traditional festivals! After reading this article, there are more exciting content in the Spring Festival special topic, let’s take a look! |
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