Why do we hang lanterns during the Spring Festival? What is the legend behind hanging lanterns?
Introduction: The Spring Festival is a festive day. During the Chinese New Year, many families will put up Spring Festival couplets and hang big red lanterns. So, what is the meaning of hanging lanterns? What is the legend behind hanging lanterns? Now, let’s follow the editor to take a look. New year, new atmosphere, there are countless topics about the Spring Festival. If you want to know more about the Lunar New Year, please continue to pay attention to Mr. Shui Mo’s exclusive Spring Festival special articles for you!Legend 1Legend has it that after Jiang Ziya was deified, he did not have any duties but served as a substitute for a certain god when he went out. On New Year's Eve, all the gods returned to their positions, but Jiang Ziya had nowhere to go. The people felt sorry for him, so they lit a lamp on a tall pole and made him squat under the lamp all night. Over time, the custom of lighting lanterns was formed.Legend IIAccording to legend, there was a monster called "Nian" in ancient China. It had tentacles on its head and was extremely ferocious. "Nian" lives deep in the sea for most of the year, and only crawls ashore on New Year's Eve to devour livestock and harm human lives. Therefore, on every New Year’s Eve, people in every village and hamlet would take their elderly and children and flee to the mountains to avoid being harmed by the beast “Nian”.On New Year's Eve of that year, the people of Taohua Village were helping the elderly and children to go up the mountain to seek refuge when an old beggar came from outside the village. He was leaning on a crutch, with a bag on his arm, his silver beard flowing and his eyes as bright as stars. Some of the villagers were closing windows and locking doors, some were packing their luggage, and some were leading cows and driving sheep. Everywhere there were people shouting and horses neighing, a scene of haste and panic. At this time, who would still care about this begging old man? Only an old woman at the east end of the village gave the old man some food and advised him to go up the mountain quickly to avoid the beast Nian. The old man stroked his beard and smiled, "If the old woman lets me stay at home for one night, I will definitely drive the beast Nian away." The old woman looked at him in amazement and saw that he had white hair, a youthful face, and was in good spirits and had an extraordinary bearing. But she still continued to persuade, and the beggar just smiled without saying a word. The mother-in-law had no choice but to leave her home and go to the mountains to take refuge. In the middle of the night, the beast "Nian" broke into the village. It found that the atmosphere in the village was different from previous years: at the old woman's house at the east end of the village, there was a big red paper pasted on the door and the house was brightly lit. The "Nian" beast trembled all over and let out a strange cry. "Nian" glared at her mother-in-law's house for a moment, then rushed over screaming. When he was near the door, there were sudden "bang bang bang" sounds in the yard. "Nian" trembled all over and dared not move forward anymore. It turns out that "Nian" is most afraid of the color red, fire and explosions. At this time, my mother-in-law's door opened wide, and I saw an old man in a red robe in the yard laughing. "Nian" was horrified and fled in a panic. The next day was the first day of the first lunar month. The people who had returned from the refuge were surprised to see that the village was safe and sound. At this time, the old woman suddenly realized and hurriedly told the villagers about the beggar's promise. The villagers all rushed to the old woman's house. They saw red paper pasted on the door of the old woman's house, a pile of unburned bamboos in the yard were still "cracking", and a few red candles in the house were still glowing... To celebrate the arrival of good fortune, the ecstatic villagers changed into new clothes and hats and visited their relatives and friends to express their congratulations and greetings. This story soon spread to the surrounding villages, and people all knew how to drive away the "Nian" beast. From then on, every New Year’s Eve, every family would put up red couplets and set off firecrackers; every house would be brightly lit with candles, and everyone would stay up to wait for the new year. Early in the morning on the first day of the New Year, people visit relatives and friends to congratulate and say hello. This custom spread more and more widely and became the most important traditional festival among the Chinese people. Similarly, hanging red lanterns is also for the "New Year", and this tradition has been passed down from then on. Legend ThreeThere is an interesting folk story about the origin of lanterns. Legend has it that a long time ago, a divine bird landed on the earth because it got lost, but was shot to death by an unsuspecting hunter. When the Emperor of Heaven learned about it, he was very angry, and ordered the heavenly soldiers to set fire to the human world on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and burn all the human, animal and property in the world. The Emperor of Heaven's daughter was kind-hearted and could not bear to see innocent people suffer, so she secretly came to the human world and told people the news. A clever man came up with an idea. He asked everyone to decorate their homes with lanterns, light firecrackers and set off fireworks on the 14th, 15th and 16th days of the first lunar month. In this way, the Emperor of Heaven would think that the heavenly soldiers had set a fire. On the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Emperor of Heaven looked down and found a red light all over the world and a deafening noise. This happened for three consecutive nights. He thought it was the flame of a big fire and gave up. To commemorate this success, every household hangs lanterns on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month to commemorate this day.Legend FourDuring the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, there was an old man in Hebei Province. He was very clever and had a passion for folk crafts. He had a set of skills in making lanterns. Every New Year, he would make several pairs of brightly colored lanterns and hang them in front of his door, adding a peaceful and festive atmosphere to the Spring Festival and attracting neighbors to watch and appreciate them every year. One year, the old man made several pairs of lanterns and went to Gaocheng market to sell them. The county magistrate, who was strolling around the market to relax, happened to see them. He bought all the lanterns and hung them in his mansion for people to admire all day long. The lantern was exquisitely crafted and magnificent, and the county magistrate regarded it as a treasure and could not put it down. This year the time had come to pay tribute to the emperor, and the county magistrate was racking his brains over what gift to give to please the emperor. Someone suggested that he try sending a few pairs of lanterns. Although the county magistrate was a little reluctant, he had to give it up in order to please the emperor. Sure enough, the emperor took a liking to it at first sight and was very pleased. He rewarded the magistrate of Gaocheng handsomely and designated the lantern as a tribute. Later, these big red Tuntou lanterns were hung everywhere inside and outside the palace. Hebei lanterns were designated as tribute and named tribute lanterns, becoming exclusive products of the imperial palace. Later, people replaced the word "tribute" with "palace", and it became the current "palace lantern".Summary: Through the above article, we know four legends about hanging lanterns during the Spring Festival. I hope the above content can help you gain more knowledge. I wish everyone a happy, peaceful, joyful and auspicious new year! |
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