Yuanxiao originally meant "the night of Shangyuan Festival", because the main activity of the "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.
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 Lantern Festival 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 on dry boats, dancing yangko and playing Taiping drums have been added to the Lantern Festival.
Putian area of Yuanxiao custom;
In Putian, the Lantern Festival celebrates the Spring Festival. In the past month, different villages and surnames have had Lantern Festival in different forms every day, and the activities are colorful.
On the Lantern Festival in a certain village, there will be a palace society to set up vegetarian dishes, set up a "banquet table", stack cakes and fruits, and set up an orange tower, and the villagers will carry the statue of Bodhisattva. Every household hall is decorated with incense tables, burning incense and shooting, turning "tribute silver" and burning firewood, praying for a more prosperous life in the coming year. At night, I stayed up all night, swimming in lanterns, swinging brown bridges, jumping on fire, dancing dragons and lions, and performing big dramas.
Putian Lantern Festival is the most lively on the 14th, 15th and 16th days, which is called "Yuanxiao Heart". At the same time, Putian also has the customs of "Zongyuanxiao" and "Mazu Yuanxiao". The Lantern Festival is actually a literary "outing". The "outing" teams include cavalry, dressing pavilion, colorful flag team, ten tones and eight music, dragon dance and lion dance. Swim from 8: 00 a.m. to the palace temple at night 12.
The custom of Mazu Lantern Festival is generally on the coastal islands of Puxian, especially on Meizhou Island. The exact day of Mazu Lantern Festival is on the tenth day of the first month. There is a custom of "Candle Mountain" in the Lantern Festival in Mazu Tempel. Mazu Lantern Festival will last until the 29th of the first month, because the dragon lanterns dancing in Puxian have to be cremated.
According to folklore, if the dragon lantern is not cremated, the dragon will turn into a "evil dragon" and hurt the people. Because the dragon is the symbol of the ancient emperor, the general level of the palace and temple is low, so it is impossible to perform the duty of "transforming the dragon", and Mazu, the dragon girl, must take this position. After the Lantern Festival in each township is over, all the dragon lanterns will be gathered and "transformed into dragons" on the 29th of the first month of Mazu Lantern Festival.