The fifteenth day of the first month is the traditional Lantern Festival in China, also known as "Shangyuan Festival" and "Lantern Festival". About the origin of the Lantern Festival, there are generally the following four statements:
? The first statement is related to Taoism. ?
Taoism says that among the "three officials" of heaven, earth and water, the heavenly official was born on the 15th of the first month, the local official on the 15th of July and the water official on the 15th of October, so it is called Shangyuan Festival on the 15th of the first month, Zhongyuan Festival on the 15th of July and Xiayuan Festival on the 15th of October. Lantern Festival originated in the Western Han Dynasty when the emperor offered sacrifices to Taiyi God. "Historical Records Le Shu" contains: "Han people often sacrifice Taiyi Ganquan on the first month of the first month, and sacrifice it at night when they are unconscious, until the end of the Ming Dynasty." "Taiyi", also known as "Taiyi", has been regarded as the god who dominates everything since the pre-Qin period. Qu Yuan's "Nine Songs of the East Emperor Taiyi" wrote about the folk custom of offering sacrifices to Taiyi at that time. Song Yu, a contemporary poet of Qu Yuan, also described in his "Gao Tang Fu" that Chu people offered sacrifices to Taiyi: "There are nobles ... who worship ghosts and gods, and the ceremony is Taiyi." This custom reached the Han Dynasty, when the imperial court sacrificed Taiyi in the Shangyuan Festival, and the whole city was decorated with lanterns and colored lanterns all night, thus forming the Lantern Festival.
? The second view is that the origin of the Lantern Festival is related to the Han generals zhou bo and Chen Ping's efforts to pacify Zhulu. ?
According to records, after the death of Emperor Liu Ying of the Western Han Dynasty, his mother, Lv Zhi, usurped the throne, and the Lushi clan dominated the state affairs. After Lv Zhi's death, zhou bo, Chen Ping and others worked together to wipe out Zhulu in 180 BC, and made Liu Heng emperor, that is, Emperor Wen of Chinese. Because the day when Zhulu was leveled was the 15th day of the first month, every night, Emperor Wen of Han would go out to play in the palace and have fun with the people to celebrate. In ancient times, the "first month" was also called "January" and "night" was also called "night", so Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty designated the 15th day of the first month as the Lantern Festival. Later, when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty formulated the taichu calendar, the Lantern Festival was listed as a major festival.
? In the third way, the origin of the Lantern Festival was moved to Liu Zhuang, the Emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty. ?
Liu Zhuang loved Buddhism, and was the first emperor interested in Buddhism in the history of China. In order to admire Buddhism, he ordered "burning lanterns to show Buddha" on the fifteenth day of the first month, which symbolized the bright light of Buddhism. Therefore, all the gentry and common people put up lanterns on the night of the fifteenth day of the first month. "Things Jiyuan" records that Jin Wu was in charge of the curfew in Chang 'an, the western capital of the Han Dynasty, and "Xiao Yun called to ban night trips". Only on the fifteenth night of the first month, the emperor chartered Jin Wu to relax the ban, and even allowed the people to watch the lights on the moon one day before and one day after it. This is the origin of "Jin Wu can't help it" written in many places during the Lantern Festival.
? The fourth statement is the story of Dong Fangshuo deceiving Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. This statement is the most legendary. ?
This legend is related to the custom of eating Yuanxiao: According to legend, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had a favorite named Dong Fangshuo, who was kind and funny. One winter, it snowed heavily for several days, and Dong Fangshuo went to the Imperial Garden to fold plum blossoms for Emperor Wu. As soon as I entered the garden gate, I found a maid-in-waiting in tears ready to throw herself into the well. Dong Fangshuo rushed forward to help and asked why she wanted to commit suicide. It turns out that this maid-in-waiting is named Yuanxiao, and there are parents and a sister at home. Since she entered the palace, she has never seen her family again. Every year when spring comes, I miss my family more than usual. I think it is better to die than to be filial in front of my parents. Dong Fangshuo was deeply sympathetic to what happened to her and assured her that she would try to reunite her with her family.
One day, Dong Fangshuo left the palace and set up a divination booth on Chang 'an Avenue. Many people are vying to ask him for divination. Unexpectedly, what everyone wants is the signature of "the sixteenth day of the first month burns us". Suddenly, there was a great panic in Chang 'an. People are asking for solutions to the disaster. Dong Fangshuo said, "On the evening of the 13th day of the first month, Vulcan will send a goddess in red to visit the earth. She is the messenger who ordered the burning of Chang 'an. I will give you the transcribed poems, so that the emperor can do something." Say that finish, then dropped a red post and roared off. The common people picked up the red post and quickly sent it to the palace to report to the emperor.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took it and saw that it said, "Chang 'an is robbing, the imperial palace is being burned by fire, and the fire is burning for fifteen days, and the midnight snack is red." He was so frightened that he quickly invited Dong Fangshuo, who was resourceful. Dong Fangshuo thought for a while, and said, "I heard that Vulcan loves to eat glutinous rice balls. Doesn't Yuanxiao in the palace often make glutinous rice balls for you? Let Yuanxiao make dumplings on 15th night. Long live the incense and offerings, and command every family in Kyoto to make dumplings and worship Vulcan together. Then tell the subjects to hang lights together on the fifteenth night, light firecrackers and set off fireworks all over the city, which seems to be a fire all over the city, so that the jade emperor can be fooled. In addition, inform the people outside the city that they will go to the city to watch the lights on the fifteenth night, and they will eliminate disasters and solve problems in the crowd. " Upon hearing this, Emperor Wudi was very happy, so he ordered him to do it according to Dong Fangshuo's way.
On the fifteenth day of the first month, Chang 'an city was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and tourists were bustling and lively. The parents of the maid-in-waiting Yuanxiao also took their sister to the city to watch the lights. When they saw the big palace lantern with the words "Yuanxiao" written on it, they shouted in surprise: "Yuanxiao! Lantern Festival! " When Yuanxiao heard the shouts, she was finally reunited with her relatives at home.
After such a busy night, Chang 'an was safe. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was overjoyed, so he ordered that glutinous rice balls should be made for Vulcan every fifteenth day of the first month, and the whole city would hang lights and set off fireworks on the fifteenth day of the first month. Because Yuanxiao makes the best dumplings, people call them Yuanxiao, and this day is called Lantern Festival.
In foreign countries, Yuanxiao is also known as "The Lantern Festival". On the night of the fifteenth day of the first month, China people have a series of traditional folk activities, such as watching lanterns, eating glutinous rice balls, eating Yuanxiao, solve riddles on the lanterns and setting off fireworks.