How much do you know about the origin and customs of Lantern Festival？
the Lantern Festival
Lantern Festival, also known as Shangyuan Festival, Xiaoyuanyian Festival, Yuanxi Festival or Lantern Festival, is the 15th day of the first lunar month every year, which is the last important festival in China Spring Festival. Lantern Festival is one of the traditional festivals in China, Chinese character cultural circle and overseas Chinese. The first month is the first month of the lunar calendar. The ancients called "night" "night", so the fifteenth day of the first full moon in a year is called the Lantern Festival.
In the ancient customs of China, Shangyuan Festival (Tianguan Festival), Zhongyuan Festival (Diguan Festival, Yulanben Festival) and Xiayuan Festival (Shuiguan Festival) are collectively called Sanyuan. The formation of Lantern Festival custom has a long process. According to general data and folklore, the fifteenth day of the first month has been paid attention to in the Western Han Dynasty. The activities of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to sacrifice "Taiyi" in Ganquan Palace on the night of the first month are regarded by later generations as the first sound of offering sacrifices to the gods on the fifteenth day of the first month. However, the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month was really a folk festival after the Han and Wei Dynasties.
Since ancient times, the Lantern Festival custom has been dominated by the warm and festive custom of watching lanterns. Traditional customs include going out to enjoy the moon, burning lanterns and setting off flames, enjoying solve riddles on the lanterns, eating Yuanxiao together and pulling rabbit lanterns. In addition, in many places, traditional folk performances such as playing with dragon lanterns, playing with lions, walking on stilts, rowing dry boats, dancing yangko and playing Taiping drums have been added to the Lantern Festival.
In June 2008, the Lantern Festival was selected as the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage.
Origin of festivals
The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival, also known as Shangyuan Festival, Lantern Festival and Lantern Festival. The first month is the first month of the lunar calendar. The ancients called the night "Xiao", so they called the fifteenth day of the first month the Lantern Festival. The 15th day of the first month is the night of the first full moon in a year, and it is also the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty. On the night in spring returns, people celebrate this and celebrate the continuation of the Spring Festival. Sima Qian founded taichu calendar, which listed the Lantern Festival as a major festival. Since the Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties, it has been in full swing. "Sui Shu Musical Records" Day: "Every time in the first month, all nations come to Korea and stay in Jianguomen, outside Duanmen, until the 15th, which stretches for eight miles." Tens of thousands of people participated in singing and dancing, from faint to dull. With the changes of society and times, the customs of Lantern Festival have changed greatly, but it is still a traditional folk festival in China.
Lantern Festival is a traditional festival in China, and the formation of Lantern Festival custom takes a long time. According to general data and folklore, the 15th day of the first month has been paid attention to in the Western Han Dynasty. The activity of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty offering sacrifices to the "Taiyi" in Ganquan Palace on the night of the first month is regarded by later generations as the forerunner of offering sacrifices to the gods on the 15th day of the first month. The introduction of Buddhist culture in the Eastern Han Dynasty is of great significance to the formation of the Lantern Festival custom.
Yuanxiao originally meant "the night of Shangyuan Festival", because the main activity of Shangyuan Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month was to eat glutinous rice balls and enjoy the moon at night, and later the name of the festival evolved into "Lantern Festival". On the night of Lantern Festival, the streets are decorated with lanterns, and people enjoy lanterns, solve riddles on the lanterns and eat Lantern Festival, which will push the celebration activities that began on New Year’s Eve to another climax and become a custom that lasts for generations. Yuanxiao was only called the 15th day of the first month, the first half of the first month or the full moon when the early festivals were formed, and it was called Yuanxi or Yuanye after Sui. Influenced by Taoism in the early Tang Dynasty, it was also called Shangyuan, and it was only in the late Tang Dynasty that it was occasionally called Yuanxiao. But it has also been called Dengxi since the Song Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, it was also called Lantern Festival. In foreign countries, Yuanxiao is also known as The Lantern Festiva.
Other legends
In memory of "Pinglu"
Legend has it that the Lantern Festival was set up in memory of Pinglu when Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty. After the death of Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang, Lv Hou’s son Liu Ying became Emperor Hui of Han Dynasty. Huidi was born weak and indecisive, and the power gradually fell into the hands of Lv Hou. After Emperor Huidi died, Lv Hou monopolized the state affairs and turned Liu’s world into Lu’s world. The old courtiers and Liu’s imperial clan were deeply indignant, but they were all afraid of Lv Hou’s cruelty and dared to speak out.
After Lv Hou’s death, Zhu Lv was in a state of anxiety, afraid of being hurt and excluded. So, they secretly assembled in the home of Lv Lu, the general in the world, and conspired to make an insurrection, so as to completely seize Liu Jiangshan. The matter reached the ears of Liu Xiang, the king of the imperial clan of Liu. In order to protect Liu Jiangshan, Liu Xiang decided to attack Zhu Lv and then got in touch with zhou bo and Chen Ping, the founding elders, and designed to lift Lv Lu. The "Zhu Lv Rebellion" was finally completely put down.
After the rebellion, all the ministers made Liu Heng, the second son of Liu Bang, ascend to the throne, calling him Emperor Wen. Deeply impressed by the hard-won peace and prosperity, Emperor Wen designated the 15th day of the first month to quell the "Zhulu Rebellion" as a fun day with the people, and every family in Beijing decorated with lanterns to celebrate. Since then, the fifteenth day of the first month has become a popular folk festival-"Lantern Festival".
During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the sacrificial activities of "Taiyi God" were scheduled for the 15th day of the first month. Taiyi: the God who rules everything in the universe. When Sima Qian founded the "taichu calendar", he had identified the Lantern Festival as a major festival.
Torch Festival
Lantern Festival is a traditional festival in China since ancient times. Lantern Festival viewing began with ancient people holding torches in rural fields to drive away insects and beasts, hoping to reduce pests and pray for a good harvest. To this day, people in some areas in southwest China still make torches out of reeds or branches on the fifteenth day of the first month, and hold them high in groups and dance in fields or grain drying fields. Since the Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties, it has been in full swing. Tens of thousands of people took part in singing and dancing, from faint to dull. With the changes of society and times, the customs of Lantern Festival have changed greatly, but it is still a traditional folk festival in China.
"three-yuan theory"
The custom of burning lanterns in Lantern Festival originated from the Taoist "Sanyuan Theory". Shangyuan means the first full moon night in the new year. The origin of Shangyuan Festival is recorded in Miscellanies at the Age of Years, which is a Taoist stereotype. Taoism once called the fifteenth day of the first month of the year Shangyuan Festival, the fifteenth day of July as Zhongyuan Festival, and the fifteenth day of October as Xiayuan Festival, which were collectively called "Sanyuan". The gods worshipped by Wudou Midao, an important faction of Taoism at the end of Han Dynasty, were Tianguan, Diguan and Shuiguan. They said that heavenly god blesses the people, the Diguan pardoned sins and Shuiguan relieved Eritrea, and they matched three officials with three yuan, saying that Shangyuan Tianguan was born on the 15th of the first month, Zhongyuan Diguan was born on the 15th of July and Xiayuan Shuiguan was born on the 15th of October. In this way, the fifteenth day of the first month is called Shangyuan Festival. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Wu Zimu said in Dream Liang Lu: "On the fifteenth day of the first month, it is the day of heavenly god blesses the people in Shangyuan." Therefore, the lantern festival should be lit.
Ming Di respects Buddha.
Originated from Buddhism. This statement is mainly in "300 Topics of Social Customs" edited by Mr. Hu Shensheng: "In Buddhist teachings, the fire is compared to the mighty god of Buddha, and the Infinite Life Sutra has the statement that’ infinite flame shines on infinity’. In Buddhist teachings, the lamp has always been one of the offerings before the Buddha. Moreover, Buddhist classics have repeatedly publicized: "Repentance of a Thousand Lights", "Buddhist Scriptures", "The Best Light for the World" and "Infinite Life Sutra". Bright lights are needed in every Buddhist event. In Buddhist legends, the story of the Buddha’s transformation is related to the fifteenth lantern in the first month. According to "A Brief History of Monks", the Buddha Sakyamuni showed the change of gods and surrendered to demons on December 30 in the west, that is, on the 15th day of the first month of the first month in Dongtu. In order to commemorate the change of gods of Buddha, a lantern-burning ceremony was held on this day. When Emperor Hanming came to the East to preach, Morten Zhufalan ordered Emperor Hanming to light lanterns on the 15th day of the first month when the Buddha changed, and personally went to the temple to display lanterns to show his respect to the Buddha. Since then, Lantern Festival lanterns have become a common practice. " However, some scholars believe that this view is untenable and that Buddhism only uses people’s festive atmosphere to expand its influence on this day.
Festival and custom
The festivals and customs activities of the Lantern Festival are extended and expanded with the development of history. As far as the length of the festival is concerned, it was only one day in the Han Dynasty, three days in the Tang Dynasty, and five days in the Song Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, the lights were lit from the eighth day of the eighth day until the night of the seventeenth day of the first month. It is the longest lantern festival in China history, which is connected with the Spring Festival, and the day is the city. It is very lively and spectacular. Especially the exquisite and colorful lights make it the climax of entertainment activities during the Spring Festival. By the Qing Dynasty, there were more "hundred plays" such as dragon dancing, lion dancing, roller boating, walking on stilts and dancing yangko, but the festival period was shortened to four to five days.
In the Tang Dynasty, when the national strength was unprecedentedly strong, Lantern Festival was very prosperous. Whether in the capital or in towns and villages, lanterns were hung everywhere, and people also made huge lantern wheels, lamp trees, lamp posts, etc. The city was full of fire trees and silver flowers, which were very lively.
In the Song Dynasty, in addition to the carnival of "women traveling in the streets and lanes, women and men are confused", there are also officials who distribute profits, and the king and the people enjoy the Lantern Festival together; Even with horror, prison institutions will use lighting and images to interpret the stories of prisoners or display prison equipment. The Lantern Festival developed into the most lively secular carnival in the Song Dynasty, and the Lantern Festival was more colorful. The Lantern Festival lasted for five days, and the styles of lanterns were complicated and varied. It was a very pleasing thing to visit the lantern market. Xin Qiji, a poet, wrote: "Thousands of trees bloom in the easterly night, and the stars are like rain", which means that there are countless lanterns and fireworks like rain in the Lantern Festival in the Song Dynasty. At that time, solve riddles on the lanterns also emerged, that is, all kinds of riddles were written on paper and pasted on lanterns, and the person who guessed correctly could get a small reward. This kind of entertainment and educational activity is loved by people and widely circulated.
By the Yuan Dynasty, most holidays were cancelled, and the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty believed that life was in exercise and work was rest, and the annual holidays were only 16 days.
The Lantern Festival in the Ming Dynasty lasted longer, from the eighth day of the first month to the seventeenth for ten days, to show the crowing.
In the Qing Dynasty, Manchu entered the Central Plains, and the court no longer held lantern festivals, but the folk lantern festivals were still spectacular. The Lantern Festival in the Qing Dynasty lasted only three days, but the lights were bright, more exquisite and fantastic, and it was still very attractive.
Lantern accommodation
People should set up a "Heaven and Earth Hall" when offering sacrifices to God on New Year’s Eve. People put up a small shed in the yard, and a small table in the shed stands the god’s throne of "Heaven, Earth, Three Realms, Ten Thousand Spirits"; There are incense burners and offerings in front of the shrine, and a lantern is hung, which represents Jiang Taigong’s seat. It is said that when Jiang Taigong was a deity, everyone else was sealed, but he forgot to seal himself, so he had no seat and had to sit with God.
Lanterns are related to gods, so they are also endowed with many symbolic meanings.
In ancient times, in order to drive away the fear of darkness, lanterns were derived to have the meaning of exorcising evil spirits and praying for light.
In Minnan dialect, the pronunciation of "Deng" is similar to that of "Ding", so lanterns are also used to pray for children to add Ding, seek fame, and avoid evil spirits.
There is a kind of "light lamp". At the end of the year and the beginning of the year, lanterns are placed in temples, so that the Buddha’s magic can make the year safe and smooth.
There are also farmers who hang a lamp on a long bamboo pole in the field to observe the fire color to predict the flood and drought in a year, with a view to a bumper year.
The reason for "setting off sky lanterns" is that people used to set off sky lanterns as a signal of mutual peace after fleeing from bandits. Since the day of refuge and returning home is the Lantern Festival, since then, people have celebrated it with the ceremony of putting on the sky lanterns every year, so they are also called "blessing lanterns" or "safety lanterns". Later, it gradually evolved into a folk activity of praying and wishing for heaven. The sky lanterns are filled with all kinds of wishes in my heart, hoping that the sky lanterns can reach heaven and bring infinite hope and light to people.
Legend has it that Emperor Taizong of Li Shimin encouraged reading, and all the people sent their children to school. The first program of admission is called "Turn on the light", which is to bring lanterns made in advance to school and ask a learned old gentleman to light them to symbolize a bright future. In the past, most private schools started school later on the fifteenth day of the first month, so the lanterns that started school became an ornament of the "Shangyuan Festival".
There are many kinds of Lantern Festival lanterns, or image lanterns modeled after the image of things, such as dragon lanterns, tiger lanterns, rabbit lanterns, etc., or movable lanterns based on folk stories, such as Cowherd and Weaver Girl, Twenty-four Filial Piety, etc., which show the national spirit of loyalty, filial piety and righteousness. All kinds of lanterns are skillfully made, showing the wisdom and skills of craftsmen.
With the development of the times, the Lantern Festival has become more and more grand, with more and more national characteristics and longer time. The Lantern Festival in the Tang Dynasty was one day and three days before and after Shangyuan. In the Song Dynasty, two days were added after the sixteenth, which was five days. In the Ming dynasty, it was extended to ten days from the eighth day to the eighteenth. Because of the different lighting periods, the first day of lighting is called "trial lighting", the fifteenth day is called "positive lighting", and the last day is called "residual lighting" and "stop lighting". It is also called "magic lamp", "human lamp" and "ghost lamp". On the 14th night, it is a "magic lamp", which is placed in front of the shrine and ancestral hall at home to worship the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty. It is called "human lamp" at night on the fifteenth day, and it is placed on doors and windows, bedspreads, several cases, etc. to avoid scorpions and insects; On the 16th night, it is a "ghost lamp", which is placed in the tomb of Qiu and Yuan Ye, so that you can get rid of the ghost domain for wandering souls. Pray for God’s will, protect the common people, the gods, ghosts and animals, and do everything.
folk custom
China has a vast territory and a long history, so the customs of Lantern Festival are different all over the country, among which eating Lantern Festival, enjoying lanterns, dancing dragons and lions are several important folk customs. Lantern Festival is a traditional festival in China, so it is celebrated all over the country. The customs in most areas are similar, but each area still has its own characteristics.
eat yuanxiao
Eating Yuanxiao on the fifteenth day of the first month, as a food, has a long history in China. In the Song Dynasty, a novel food for the Lantern Festival was popular among the people. This kind of food was first called "Floating Yuanzi" and later called "Yuanxiao", and businessmen also called it "Yuanbao". Yuanxiao, or "Tangyuan", is filled with white sugar, rose, sesame, red bean paste, yellow cinnamon, walnut kernel, nuts, jujube paste, etc., and wrapped in glutinous rice flour into a round shape, which can be vegetarian and has different flavors. It can be boiled in soup, fried and steamed, which means a happy reunion. Shaanxi dumplings are not wrapped, but "rolled" in glutinous rice flour, or boiled or fried, hot and round. As a food, Yuanxiao has a long history in China. In the Song Dynasty, a novel food for the Lantern Festival was popular among the people. This kind of food was first called "Floating Yuanzi" and later called "Yuanxiao", and businessmen also called it "Yuanbao". In ancient times, the price of "Yuanxiao" was relatively expensive, and a poem said: "Guests look at the Imperial Street with a hook curtain, and the treasures in the city come at one time. There is no way to go in front of the curtain, and no money can be returned. "
The North "rolls" Yuanxiao and the South "wraps" Tangyuan, which are two foods with different practices and tastes.
lantern festival
The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival, which is also called Lantern Festival because there are folk customs of hanging lanterns, lighting lanterns and watching lanterns.
Lantern Festival is a traditional festival custom, which started in the Western Han Dynasty and flourished in Sui and Tang Dynasties. After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the wind of lights prevailed in past dynasties and was passed down to later generations. The fifteenth day of the first month is the climax of the annual lantern fireworks. Therefore, the Lantern Festival is also called "Lantern Festival". In the county-level city walls and even townships and towns in Shanxi, these residents are concentrated in the bustling and lively areas. Before the arrival of the fifteenth day of the first month, the streets are full of lanterns, flowers are everywhere, and lights are swaying, reaching a climax on the fifteenth night of the first month. On the fifteenth day of the first month, "watching lanterns" has become a spontaneous activity of Shanxi folk people. On the fifteenth night of the first month, red lights are hung high in the streets and lanes, with palace lanterns, animal headlights, lantern lanterns, flower lanterns, bird lanterns and so on, attracting people to watch lanterns. In Taiyuan area, the lights in Taigu County are very famous. Taigu lamps are famous for their variety, exquisite production and attractive appearance.
solve lantern riddles; guess riddles on hanging lanterns
Solve riddles on the lanterns, also known as playing riddles, is a unique form of traditional folk entertainment with rich national style in China. It is a characteristic activity of Lantern Festival that has been circulating since ancient times. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, traditional folks hang lanterns and set off fireworks. Later, some busybodies wrote riddles on paper and posted them on colorful lanterns for people to guess. Because riddles can enlighten wisdom and cater to the festive atmosphere, so many people responded, and then guessing riddles gradually became an indispensable program of the Lantern Festival. Lantern riddles add to the festive atmosphere, showing the intelligence and wisdom of ancient working people and their yearning for a better life.
Play dragon lantern
Playing dragon lantern, also known as dragon lantern or dragon dance. Its origin can be traced back to ancient times. Legend has it that as early as the Yellow Emperor’s period, in a large-scale song and dance of Qing Jiao, there was an image of a leading bird played by a man, and then a dance scene with six dragons interspersed with each other was arranged. The dragon dance recorded in writing is Zhang Heng’s "Xijing Fu" in the Han Dynasty. The author vividly describes the dragon dance in the description of hundreds of plays. According to the Records of Sui Shu Music, Huanglongbian, which was similar to the dragon dance performance in one hundred plays during Emperor Yangdi’s reign, was also very wonderful, and dragon dance was popular in many places in China. The Chinese nation advocates dragons and regards them as auspicious symbols.
walk on stilts
Walking on stilts is a popular folk mass performance. Stilts, originally one of the hundreds of ancient dramas in China, appeared as early as the Spring and Autumn Period. China first introduced stilts in Liezi Shuofu: "In Song Dynasty, there were lanzi, who used their skills to dry Song and Yuan Dynasties. Song and Yuan Dynasties summoned them to see their skills.
lion dance
Lion dance is an excellent folk art in China. Every Lantern Festival or assembly celebration, people always come to entertain with lion dance. This custom originated in the Three Kingdoms period and became popular in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It has a history of more than 1000 years.
"Lion Dance" began in the Wei and Jin Dynasties and flourished in the Tang Dynasty. It is also called "Lion Dance" and "Taiping Music". Generally, it is completed by three people. Two people dress up as lions, one acts as the lion’s head, one acts as the lion’s body and hind feet, and the other acts as a lion leader. The dance method is divided into civil and military. The dance shows the gentleness of the lion, shaking its hair and rolling. The martial lion shows the ferocity of the lion.
Dry boating
Rowing a dry boat, folklore is to commemorate Dayu who has made great contributions to water control. Rowing a dry boat, also known as running a dry boat, is to imitate the boat on land, and most of the performers are girls. A dry boat is not a real boat. It is made of two thin sheets, sawed into a boat shape, tied with bamboo and wood, covered with colored cloth, tied around the girl’s waist, just like sitting in a boat, rowing with paddles in hand, singing and dancing while running. This is a dry boat. Sometimes, another man dressed as a boatman and performing with a partner, mostly dressed as a clown, amused the audience with all kinds of funny actions. Dry boating is popular in many areas of China.
Sacrifice door and household
In ancient times, there were "seven sacrifices", which were two of them. The method of sacrifice is to insert poplar branches above the door, insert a pair of chopsticks in a bowl filled with bean porridge, or put wine and meat directly in front of the door.
Rat chase
Rat-chasing is a traditional folk activity during the Lantern Festival, which began in Wei and Jin Dynasties. Mainly for sericulture families. Because mice often eat silkworms in large areas at night, it is said that mice can stop eating silkworms by feeding them rice porridge on the fifteenth day of the first month.
The Chronicle of the Age of Jingchu says that on the fifteenth day of the first month, a fairy descended to a family named Chen and said to them: If you can sacrifice to me, let your silkworms have a good harvest. Later, customs were formed.
Send a child lamp
Referred to as "sending lanterns" for short, it is also called "sending lanterns", that is, before the Lantern Festival, the bride’s family sends lanterns to her newly married daughter’s home, or ordinary relatives and friends give them to the newly married infertile home in order to add good luck, because "lamp" is homophonic with "Ding". This custom is found in many places. In Xi ‘an, Shaanxi Province, lanterns are given during the eighth to fifteenth day of the first month. In the first year, a pair of palace lanterns and a pair of glass lamps with colorful paintings are given. I hope that my daughter will be lucky and have children early after marriage. If the daughter is pregnant, in addition to the big palace lantern, one or two pairs of small lanterns should be sent to wish her a safe pregnancy.
Yingzigu
Zigu is also called Qigu, and in the north, it is called toilet aunt and pit aunt. The ancient folk custom is to offer sacrifices to Ce Shen Zigu on the 15th day of the first month, and to divine silkworm and mulberry, which accounts for many things. Legend has it that Zigu was originally a concubine and was envied by the eldest woman. She was killed in the toilet on the fifteenth day of the first month and became Ce Shen. On the night of greeting Zigu, people tie up a portrait of Zigu with straw and cloth heads, and greet it with a pigsty in the toilet at night. This custom is popular all over the north and south, and it was recorded as early as the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
Walking sickness
"Walking through all diseases", also known as swimming through all diseases, dispersing all diseases, baking all diseases, walking across the bridge, etc., is an activity to eliminate disasters and pray for health. On the night of Lantern Festival, women meet and travel together, and when they see a bridge, they must cross it, thinking that this can cure diseases and prolong life.
Walking away from all diseases is a custom in the north since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, some of which are carried out on the 15th, but most of them are carried out on the 16th. On this day, women dressed in festive costumes went out of their homes in droves, crossed the bridge to cross the danger, went to the city, and begged for children until midnight.
On this Lantern Festival
I wish you all a happy family reunion.
People are round, things are round and round;
The popularity, happiness and fate are constant;
Wish, wish, wish!
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