The Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month, is an important traditional festival in our country.

The Lantern Festival is one of the traditional festivals in China, the Chinese cultural circle and overseas Chinese. The first month of the lunar calendar is the first month of the lunar calendar. The ancients called "night" "xiao", so the fifteenth day of the first full moon of the year is called the Lantern Festival.

The Lantern Festival custom has been dominated by the warm and festive lantern viewing custom since ancient times. Traditional customs include going out to admire the moon, lighting lanterns and setting off flames, guessing lantern riddles, eating Yuanxiao, pulling rabbit lanterns, etc. In addition, many local Lantern Festivals also include traditional folk performances such as dragon lantern dancing, lion dancing, stilt walking, land boat rowing, Yangko dancing, and Taiping drum playing.

Traditional Customs

1. Eating Yuanxiao

Eating "Yuanxiao" on the Lantern Festival is a traditional custom in my country. Yuanxiao, also known as glutinous rice balls, has a long history as a food in my country.

In the Song Dynasty, it was popular to eat a novel food during the Lantern Festival. This kind of food was first called "Fu Yuanzi" and later "Yuanxiao". Businessmen also euphemistically called it "Yuanbao".

The Lantern Festival is stuffed with sugar, roses, sesame, bean paste, cinnamon, walnut kernels, nuts, jujube paste, etc., and is wrapped into a round shape with glutinous rice flour. It can be meat or vegetarian and has different flavors. It can be boiled in soup, fried or steamed, and has the meaning of happy reunion. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, people all over the country make Lantern Festivals to celebrate the festival.

2. Setting off fireworks

Setting off fireworks is an indispensable entertainment activity for celebrating festivals in our country, and the Lantern Festival is no exception. When the colorful fireworks shoot high into the sky, the night sky suddenly becomes dazzling and beautiful, and the trees and flowers on the ground form a beautiful picture in the sky and the world. This is also one of the favorite programs for people to watch during the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month.

3. Sending lanterns to children

Sending lanterns to children is also called "sending lanterns" for short. That is, before the Lantern Festival, the mother's family sends lanterns to the newly married daughter's family, or generally Relatives and friends give it to newlyweds and infertile families to pray for good luck in the birth of a baby, because "lamp" and "ding" are homophonic.

This custom exists in many places. In Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, lanterns are given between the eighth and fifteenth day of the first lunar month. In the first year, a pair of large palace lanterns and a pair of glass lanterns with paintings are given to wish the daughter good luck after her marriage. If the daughter is pregnant, one or two pairs of small lanterns will also be sent to wish her a safe pregnancy.

4. Shehuo

Shehuo is a traditional celebration carnival in my country to celebrate the Spring Festival. In the north, every year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, every village holds a social fire performance, which means that the villagers will have a prosperous life in the coming year.

5. Lion Dance

The Chinese nation respects the dragon and regards the dragon as a symbol of auspiciousness. Lion dance is an excellent folk art in my country. During the Lantern Festival or gatherings and celebrations, people come to celebrate with lion dance. It is said that it is popular in the south. This custom originated during the Three Kingdoms period and became popular during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It has a history of more than a thousand years.

6. Flower lantern viewing

Flower lantern viewing is a joy for ordinary people during the Lantern Festival, and it is also an activity that is still widely circulated today. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, temple fairs and parks all over the country launch flower lantern viewing activities. At that time, there will be thousands of stars in the sky, trees and silver flowers on the ground, and the world will be a happy and peaceful scene, which is very lively.