Lantern Festival custom in various places

Lantern Festival is on the 15th day of the first month, commonly known as Lantern Festival, but in many places, lights are not only lit on the 15th day, but also started as early as the 12th day, and it was not until the 16th day that the lights went off.

Turn on the lights and turn on the lights

On the 13th, Tongzhou, Jiangsu Province was called "Turn on the lights"; Dinghai, Zhejiang Province, is also the day when the lights start to light up until sunset on the 18th. In Luoyuan, Fujian Province, from the 13th onwards, lights were set in front of every house to compete with each other in splendor. From this day on, Hebei and Tianjin will hang a square glass lamp on the wall of their homes, with characters in the novels of the Three Kingdoms and the Water Margin painted on it; Yixing, Jiangsu Province, also set up a wooden shed and hung lanterns two days before this day to try the lights first.

On 13th in Haifeng, Guangdong Province, there were many lanterns hanging in temples and zongci, where children played gongs and drums, which was very lively. This was called "turning on the lights". Ordinary people should also prepare a lot of tea and invite relatives and neighbors to drink it. Let's have a cup of tea. Even if the host doesn't invite you, if you are happy, you can go in casually. The host won't be unwelcome.

In Dongguan, Guangdong Province, there is a custom of "the birthday of the lamp holder, go home to pick up the child", that is, the birthday of the lamp holder on the 13th day of the first month. All brides must go back to their husbands' homes, saying that they have gone to their parents' homes to pick up the child, and the family that gave birth to a boy last year must light a paper lamp before the gods and ancestors this year. In the second to thirteenth day of the first month, choose an auspicious day, hang a big octagonal paper lamp in the middle of Zongci and Shentang, and hang a pair of lotus lanterns on both sides and at the gate. There is a small paper lamp with carved patterns in front of the landlord, the kitchen gentleman, the well gentleman, the bedside woman and the land god in the streets and lanes. When the tide rises, they worship the gods. After the sacrifice, the parents took a knife and scraped off a lamp petal. It is called "turning on the light".

In Wengyuan, Guangdong Province, a "Lantern Festival" is to be held. The dates are predetermined, and some are on the 13th or 14th. On this day, every family that gave birth to a boy last year must prepare lanterns first. This lamp is made of bamboo as the skeleton, made of colored paper and decorated with palace figures. Put an oil lamp in the middle of the paper lamp and hang it on the beam of Zongzi with red rope. At the same time, gongs and drums were knocked and firecrackers were set off, which meant that the more noisy the "lights" were, the more prosperous the "ding" was. In addition, you have to buy many lamps, one of which is called "drum lamp" and must be given to the temple; A kind called "Lotus Lantern" has to be given to Guanyin. On this day, everyone will eat and drink, and the oil banquet will be prepared by the family or clan who gave birth. At the beginning of the toast, everyone should say Geely's eulogy: "Congratulations, have more babies! Tian ding! Tian Ding! "

the "turn on the light" date in yangjiang, Guangdong province is even earlier than the morning of the tenth day of the first month. Every family that gave birth to a boy last year must buy paper lanterns and hang them in ancestral halls or temples. Some families are afraid that their babies will be difficult to raise, so they have to hang paper lanterns on trees or intersections at the same time. At home, a banquet is held to treat guests, which is called "please light wine". Guests are invited to sit down and give silver ornaments to newborn children, as well as sugar and persimmon to congratulate them.

Dragon lanterns and lion lanterns

It says that from 13th, there will be lanterns in front of the door, hanging on the wall, hanging on trees or beside intersections. Also, from the 13th, the activities of dragon lanterns and lion lanterns were also widely launched.

The "Dragon-making" in Wuchang, Hubei Province lasted for three days from 13th to 15th. The length of the dragon lantern ranges from more than ten knots to dozens of knots, and each knot is three or four feet to five or six feet long. In the past, the dragons in the two villages had to entertain each other, that is, the dragon in village A went to village B for dinner, and all the men, women and children in that village followed, often eating more than a dozen tables a day. This is called "dragon for wine".

The "Lantern Festival" and "Playing with Dragons" in Changsha, Hunan Province are even more exciting. The lantern festival lasted for five days from eleven to fifteen; Playing with dragons lasts for eleven days, from the fifth to the fifteenth. Lantern Festival is a parade of hundreds of people holding various lanterns in the countryside or cities. To play with dragons, people who hold "pearls" first lead dragons to the open space, and dance in a special way, forming dragons into auspicious words such as "signs".

Dragon lanterns and lion lanterns in Chengdu, Sichuan, came out as early as the ninth day of the first month. There are three kinds of dragon lanterns: Pendulum Dragon, Ssangyong Dragon and Fire Dragon. Pendulum Dragon and Ssangyong Dragon are mostly played in the daytime, and they are led by a gold ingot tied with red silk in front. The fire dragon went out at night, and there were meteors and fireballs in front to clear the way. The lion lantern also went out at night, but it also came out during the day, and there were laughing monks and monkeys jumping together.

Wanxian County, Sichuan Province also held a Lantern Festival from the sixth day to the sixteenth, and wealthy businessmen competed in various lanterns.

Fourteen light trials

There are also many places where the Lantern Festival begins on the 14th day of the first month. For example, in some areas of Shanxi, lights are put on from the 14th "light trials" to the 16th.

Suiyuan will return to Suiyuan, and from 14th to 16th, it will be full of fire and lanterns.

Lintao, Gansu, Zichuan, Huimin and Huailai, Chahar, Shandong, put on lanterns for three nights around Shangyuan.

in Henan, it lasts for fourteen, fifteen and sixteen days, which is called the Lantern Festival.

In Jixian County, Henan Province, memorial archways, Aoshan Mountain, light sheds, fireworks and yangko operas were set up everywhere in these three days.

In Xinhe, Hebei Province, from the 14th onwards, lanterns are decorated, drums and drums are loud, and trees are lit on the road.

In Baoding, Hebei Province, the streets are also full of lights, and there are more people playing with lions, and everyone is competing with each other to win.

Scholars in Liangxiang and Wuqiao, Hebei Province, should visit the Confucian Temple, take the Yangqiao Bridge and set off fireworks.

Shouchun, Anhui Province, called the 14th, 15th and 16th days "Lantern Festival". Lights were lit in front of the door, and gongs and drums were played in the court, making a scene of "Lantern Festival", saying that without this noise, it would be a disaster of fire.

fifteen lights

"lights" is the day of the Lantern Festival. Changping, Beijing, called the 15th "Lighting Day". Yongping, Hebei province, also said that looking up to the sun and going to the Yuan Dynasty, the thoroughfare is decorated with lights, which is called "positive lights".

In Jintan, Jiangsu Province, Lantern Festival is decorated with lanterns, fireworks are set off and "Lantern Drum" is played.

Jinmen, Fujian, worships the gods in Shangyuan. Children cut bamboo paper lanterns, put flowers and birds on them, and burn them in the middle of the night to see if the fire is red or black, so as to make a sunny and rainy year.

In Changshan, Zhejiang Province, all kinds of lanterns or dragon lanterns are hung in villages.

In Huangpi, Hubei Province, lanterns are held in every village, and the words "good weather, peaceful country and people", "five winds and ten rains" and "colorful" are written on the lanterns, followed by stilts, gongs and drums and dragon lanterns.

In Suining, Jiangsu Province, Shangyuan Lantern Festival, gongs and drums were played in every village, ribbon-cutting was made for lions, and one person held his head high and the other wagged his tail, dancing everywhere. There are even more people who paste gauze as dragons, burn red candles in the middle, and more than a dozen people hold poles to meet dragons, marching in urban and rural areas, and the lights shine like daytime.

Shanghai is even more exciting. Just talking about a dragon lantern, there are 18 sections long, and 36 handsome young men, dressed in colorful pants and splendid clothes, each with a lamp foot, danced a lot of tricks in the sound of gongs and drums.

The long dragon in Guiyang, whose eyes are bigger than a bowl, must be three feet long and spit out a dragon's tongue. In front of the dragon, someone is holding a treasure and dancing up and down, which is called "the dragon grabs the treasure". When the dragon lantern passes by, it sets off a "clay platform flower", which is called "receiving the dragon".

In Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, besides making lights, fireworks are set off at dusk. There are "three levels in a row", "golden pots make trouble with the moon" and "wearing mice".

Lantern Festival is also very lively in all parts of Taiwan Province. Apart from "playing with dragons" and "playing with lions", there is also the custom of "crossing the lamp feet". On this night, women paid more visits to the "midwife" to wish them a baby. There is a saying that "the foot lamp is shining, and it is thrown away; Pass the footlights and throw them. " Therefore, they hung lanterns under their own eaves, and they carried lanterns and walked under them, saying that they acted like this. You can have a boy this year.

The girl takes a fancy to Mr. Right, and she will go to entertain his family's onions or wild vegetables at the Lantern Festival night. Men should go to bed very late at the Lantern Festival, saying that the later they are, the longer their lives will be. Old people and old women also have the common belief of "listening to incense". They first burn incense and worship in front of God, then throw lanterns, hold cups and lanterns according to their direction, eavesdrop on passers-by or stand outside people's walls. Hearing the first sentence, I took it back to God and threw it at him, so that I could be lucky for one year. Literati gather under the lamp, and everyone shoots Wen Hu, which is called "lamp guessing".

In northern Taiwan Province, on the Lantern Festival night, everyone goes out to meet Vulcan. They put Vulcan statue in a sedan chair with no top, and two naked youths carry it. Every family greets them with paper cannons when they pass by.

Golden Dragon and Silver Fight Make the Lantern Festival

Every Spring Festival or Lantern Festival, there are folk activities of "Golden Dragon" and "Silver Fight" in Puzhai District, a famous hometown of overseas Chinese in Guangdong and the southwest border of Fengshun County, the ancestral home of Taiwan Province.

The activities of burning "Golden Dragon" and "Silver Dou" in Puzhai District of Fengshun County began in the sixth year of Qing Qianlong (AD 1741). According to legend, in ancient times, the 21st grandson of the Dragon King in the East China Sea was named Zhuolong, who was sent by his grandfather to the Lotus Mountain in South Guangdong to administer Chiling (it is said that it is now Puzhai District). After this dragon took office, he ran amok, devoured the people, and made this place a mess. The crowd couldn't bear it, so they sued the old dragon king. The Dragon King ordered his youngest daughter to have a cool breeze, and Pei cut the dragon sword to drive away the divination from South Guangdong. One day, when the turbid dragon was drunk, he killed it and cut it into four sections: the dragon head, the dragon neck, the dragon body and the dragon tail. The breeze brought the chopped dragon head back to the Dragon Palace to report to the father, leaving the remaining three sections, which became the dragon body in Puzhai District of Fengshun County. Longjing (now Longjing Reservoir) at the junction of Jieyang, Jiexi and Fengshun counties, and Longwei in Jieyang county. Later, people in Puzhai District skillfully handed down this touching folk tale by burning "golden dragons" and "silver buckets".

let's talk about burning the silver bucket first. On the flat square, at night, only the deafening milling cannon rang. In the sound of gongs and drums, hundreds of young men waved torches and braved the cold, flying around the field shirtless. After being ignited by local elders, celebrities or overseas Chinese leaders and overseas Chinese sages, I saw countless small rockets shooting at the head of the "Silver Dou". The "Silver Bucket" suddenly changed, showing a new look of "proud as a peacock", but it was colorful and dazzling in the fireworks. At this time, dazzling couplets floated down from the "Silver Bucket", which read the words "Celebrate the Spring Festival (Lantern Festival) and wish you all the best". When the "Silver Bucket" was burned to the highest floor, it showed a basket of flowers hanging high. At this time, rockets at all levels were also in full swing, and salamanders, silver flowers and golden beads were all over the place. It was really like being in a strange flower.

When the "Silver Fight" program came to an end, under the dark night, "Golden Dragon" appeared. Under the guidance of hydrangea, more than 2 burly young people held the dragon fire, holding the dragon 5 meters high and 3 meters long, just like coming out of the mist. Amid the sound of firecrackers, 5 or 6 young people followed, holding "Little Dragon", "Golden Carp", "Lobster" and "Aoyu" in their hands, formed a magnificent team. Suddenly, Jinlong spit out colorful gold beads from his mouth, and suddenly colorful and radiant pearls were emitted around the dragon body. Suddenly, Jinlong turned to spit and compete for beauty, and his posture and appearance changed to red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. The magnificent scenery on earth seems to have brought the audience into Penglai fairyland.

Lantern Festival custom in Chaoshan

In Chaoshan area, as in those years, families with boys have been hanging lanterns in large-scale ci halls in villages since the 11th day of the lunar calendar. The light screens of rich families have four to five floors, and ordinary families have one to two floors. The contents of the lamp screen are mostly myths and legends and historical stories, such as Fairy Maid's Sending the Son, Guo Ziyi's Birthday Celebration, Peach Blossom Party, Feng Yi Pavilion and so on. All kinds of characters on the light screen are made of clay sculpture and various colors of cloth, with different shapes and lifelike. The name of the household is written on the red paper attached under each lamp screen for people to watch and compare. From the day when the lights are hung on the 11th, it is called "lighting up", but in fact it is "lighting up". This means that the ceremony of the new-born boy (male) entering the clan also means wishing a bright future. All families who light the lanterns will go to the ancestral temple to light them every night from the day they light them up until the 18th.

On the Lantern Festival, a red light is hung in front of every household, indicating that it is auspicious. In the countryside, lantern races are organized and all kinds of lanterns are participated in, with different shapes, refined and beautiful appearance. Such as lotus lanterns, plum blossom lanterns, carp lanterns, lantern lanterns, landscape painting and calligraphy lanterns and palace lanterns with various styles, converge into a fire dragon, which is as brilliant as day. Just as Ouyang Xiu, a writer in the Northern Song Dynasty, described the wonderful sentence of "Last year's Lantern Festival, the flower market was lit like a day". In addition, dressing up and walking on stilts, Chaozhou gongs and drums are noisy and lively.

On the 15th day of the first month, there is a custom of "the bride leaves the ancestral temple" in Chaoshan. All newly-married brides in the countryside go to the ancestral hall to watch the lights at night. The bride dressed up in powder beforehand, wearing a red coat, a long skirt, a rockhopper and a beaded face. Ordinary people wear a "civilization hat" (tied into a half-moon shape with dyed feathers and colored velvet), and then use it for more than 2 feet. A mass of red silk with large flowers is tied in the middle and tied to the "civilization hat". The red silk ribbon hangs from the temples to the feet, wearing a long red flower gown, and it looks like a fairy. Then the bridesmaids (one or two people) will accompany them to the ancestral hall to watch the lights.

inside the ancestral hall, the lights and candles are brilliant, and people are bustling, scrambling to watch the lights to see the bride. When the bride comes to the ancestral hall, the bridesmaid lights three candles first, so that the bride can bow down to her ancestors and pray for a child next year. After worshipping the ancestors, the bridesmaid walked around the hall with the bride and watched the lights screen by screen. Afterwards, the bride stepped out of the ancestral hall and stood in the ancestral hall to watch a play (Chao Opera) for people to watch. At this time, people flocked to watch, especially young men. You pushed me and squeezed me, eager to squeeze into the bride's eyes. The bride's going to the theatre was just a formality, and it didn't last long. Immediately, the bridesmaid escorted the bride home. This custom is called "the bride leaves the Tong Hall".

The next day, people who hung lanterns held a big banquet, and relatives and friends from Guangqing went to the banquet to celebrate their happiness, commonly known as "eating Ding wine".

On 18th, when the ceremony of hanging lanterns was over, the people who started the lanterns took them home from the temple in order to have another child next year, which was called "Xie Deng".

Stone-cutting Lantern Festival

On the Lantern Festival night, there has always been a lantern festival in the ancient town. On the night of the festival, people in the streets and lanes played drums, paddled down the window, decorated with lanterns and colorful lanterns, and teams of brightly colored lanterns flocked to the streets. Singing and dancing in the sound of gongs, drums, silks and bamboos, people watching lanterns swarmed from all directions, and surrounded a stone town, which was really one of the most influential folk activities in the local area.

It is said that the Lantern Festival began in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Song Dynasty, with a history of more than 1,2 years. It is characterized by the combination of static (decorating with lanterns) and dynamic (welcoming lanterns and swimming lanterns), which is similar to but different from the lantern festivals in previous capitals. According to local books such as "Records of Shaanxi and Sichuan", it was recorded that bamboo was picked and shed in the lanterns on the 13th day of the first month of the summer calendar until the 18th day. The lantern festival begins with three days later, and two days later, with five nights in Enigmatic as a sign of bumper harvest. The procession of welcoming lanterns starts with fireball, followed by post torches, colorful flags, hard cards and orchestras, followed by landscape flowers, birds and animals, insects, fish, bees and butterflies, pavilions and lanterns, and bead curtain umbrella lanterns, and finally ends with fireball Hall. It's really "people are full of street dance and Xiao Guxuan smells the morning". Another feature of the stone-cutting lantern festival is that colorful mass activities are carried out on the same night when the lanterns are displayed. Some set off fireworks, called "Sai Yue Ming"; It is also called "drip gold" to entertain guests. Some make Lanhui, Plum, Chrysanthemum, Mulan and Narcissus with flaxen and iron filings, which sparkle like life and form wonders, and the relative angle is called "Saihua". Zhu Shuzhen, a famous poetess in the Song Dynasty, once wrote such a poem, "Last year's Lantern Festival was like a day. In the morning, the willow shoots meet after dusk. The lantern festival on the fifteenth day of the first month of this year, the moonlight and the lights are still the same as last year. I didn't see last year, and my tears wet my shirt sleeves. " Write a woman's feelings that she can't get in pursuit of love freedom. Extremely sad and moving. This shows that the Lantern Festival has a long history. The third and main feature of the Stone Cutting Lantern Festival is that the displayed lanterns are famous for their needled patterns. Its unique artistic style is to carefully pierce various patterns on the lamp with a needle, or landscape flowers, or birds, animals, insects, fish and figures, or stories such as A Dream of Red Mansions, The History of the Three Kingdoms and The Water Margin, which are widely spread among the people, and then light candles in the lamp or install electric lights, so that the light shines beautifully through the needle.