Every year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, just after the Spring Festival, we usher in the Lantern Festival, one of the traditional festivals of the Chinese Han people. The first month is the first month of the lunar calendar. The ancients called the night "Xiao", so The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is called the Lantern Festival. The 15th day of the first lunar month is the first full-moon night of the year. It is also the night when the Yuan Dynasty begins and the earth returns to spring. People celebrate this and it is also the continuation of celebrating the New Year. The Lantern Festival is also called the "Shangyuan Festival". According to Chinese folk tradition, on this night when the bright moon hangs high in the sky, people light up thousands of colored lanterns to celebrate. They go out to enjoy the moon, light lanterns and set off flames, guess lantern riddles, and eat Yuanxiao. The family reunites and celebrates the festival together, and it is a joyful time. Shangyuan means the first full moon night in the new year. The origin of the Shangyuan Festival is recorded in "Sui Shi Za Ji" that it is due to the stereotypes of Methodism. Taoism once called the fifteenth day of the first lunar month of the year the Shangyuan Festival, the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Zhongyuan Festival, and the fifteenth day of the tenth lunar month the Xiayuan Festival, collectively known as the "Three Yuan Festival". The gods worshiped by Wu Dou Mi Dao, an important sect of Taoism in the late Han Dynasty, are Tianguan, Diguan, and Shuiguan. It is said that Tianguan blesses blessings, Diguan forgives sins, and Shuiguan relieves misfortunes. It also uses three yuan to match the three officials, and it is said that Tianguan is the first month of the Yuan Dynasty. Born on the 15th day of the 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 lunar month is called the Shangyuan Festival. Wu Zimu of the Southern Song Dynasty said in "Mengliang Lu": "The Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month is the time when the heavenly officials of the Shangyuan Dynasty bestow blessings." It is said that the heavenly officials grant blessings and the earthly officials forgive sins, and the real driving force of the Lantern Festival customs is Because it is at a new point in time, people make full use of this special time stage to express their life wishes.

Origin

The Lantern Festival is a traditional festival in China. It existed as early as the Western Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago. Lantern viewing began in the period of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Emperor Ming advocated Buddhism and heard about Buddhism. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, monks observed the Buddha's relics and lit lamps to worship the Buddha. They ordered that on this night, lamps should be lit in the palaces and temples to worship the Buddha, and all the nobles and common people hung lamps. Later, this kind of Buddhist ritual festival gradually became a grand folk festival. This festival has experienced the development process from the palace to the folk, and from the Central Plains to the whole country. During the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month was designated as the Lantern Festival. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the sacrificial activities for "Taiyi God" were held on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. (Taiyi: God who controls everything in the universe). When Sima Qian created the "Taichu Calendar", he had already identified the Lantern Festival as a major festival. Another theory is that the custom of lighting lanterns during the Lantern Festival originated from the Taoist "Three Yuan Theory"; the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Shangyuan Festival, the fifteenth day of July is the Zhongyuan Festival, and the fifteenth day of October is the Xiayuan Festival. The three officials in charge of the upper, middle and lower yuan are respectively heaven, earth and man. The heavenly officials are happy, so the Lantern Festival delicacies - Lantern Festival

It is necessary to light lanterns during the Lantern Festival. It is also said that the Lantern Festival originated from the "Torch Festival". People in the Han Dynasty held torches in the countryside to drive away insects and beasts, hoping to reduce insect pests and pray for a good harvest. To this day, people in some areas of southwestern China still make torches out of reeds or tree branches on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and hold the torches high in groups to dance in fields or drying fields. Since the Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties, it has become more prosperous. Tens of thousands of singers and dancers participated in the performance, from dusk to dusk, and then stopped at dusk. With the changes of society and times, the customs and habits of the Lantern Festival have already undergone major changes, but it is still a traditional Chinese folk festival. The festival period and customary activities of the Lantern Festival have been extended and expanded with the development of history. In terms of the length of the festival, 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 lunar month until the lights were turned off on the night of the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, a full ten days. Connecting with the Spring Festival, the city is bustling during the day, and the lights are lit at night, which is spectacular. Especially the exquisite and colorful lights make it the climax of entertainment activities during the Spring Festival. In the Qing Dynasty, dragon dance, lion dance, land boat racing, stilt walking, Yangko dancing and other "hundred operas" were added, but the festival period was shortened to four to five days. Dongfang Shuo and the Yuanxiao Girl This legend is related to the custom of eating Yuanxiao: According to legend, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had a favorite named Dongfang Shuo, who was kind and funny. One winter, it snowed heavily for several days, so Dongfang Shuo went to the Imperial Garden to pick plum blossoms for Emperor Wu. As soon as I entered the garden gate, I found a palace maid with tears streaming down her face and ready to throw herself into the well. Dongfang Shuo hurriedly stepped forward to rescue her and asked her why she wanted to commit suicide. It turns out that the palace maid's name is Yuanxiao, and she has parents and a younger sister at home. Since she entered the palace, she has never met her family again. Every year, the spring season comes. , I miss my family even more than usual. I felt that if I could not fulfill my filial piety in front of my parents, it would be better to die. Dongfang Shuo felt deeply sympathetic after hearing her experience, and assured her that he would try to reunite her with her family. One day, Dongfang Shuo left the palace and set up a divination stall on Chang'an Street. Many people are vying to ask him for divination. Unexpectedly, what everyone asked for was the sign of "burning the body with fire on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month". Suddenly, there was great panic in Chang'an. People have been asking for solutions to the disaster. Dongfang Shuo said: "On the evening of the 15th day of the first lunar month, Lord Vulcan will send a red-clothed goddess down to earth to investigate. She is the envoy who was ordered to burn Chang'an. I will give you the copied verses so that you can think of a solution today." After finishing, he threw down a red post and walked away. The common people picked up the red sticker and hurriedly sent it to the palace to report to the emperor. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took it and took a look, and saw that it read: "Chang'an is in tribulation, the emperor's palace is burned, fifteen days of fire, flame red supper." He was shocked and quickly invited the resourceful Dongfang Shuo. Dongfang Shuo thought for a while and said, "I heard that Lord Vulcan loves glutinous rice balls the most. Doesn't Yuanxiao in the palace often make glutinous rice balls for you? You can ask Yuanxiao to make glutinous rice balls on the night of the 15th."

Long live the festival, burn incense and offer sacrifices, and order every household in Kyoto to make glutinous rice balls to worship the God of Fire. Then he ordered the subjects to hang up lanterns on the night of the 15th, light firecrackers and set off fireworks all over the city, as if the city was full of fire, so that they could hide it from the Jade Emperor. In addition, the people outside the city were notified to come to the city to watch the lanterns on the night of the 15th, and to mingle with the crowd to eliminate disasters and solve problems." Emperor Wu was very happy after hearing this, and he issued an order to follow Dongfang Shuo's method. On the 15th of the first lunar month, Chang'an City Zhang The lanterns were decorated with colorful lights and tourists were busy coming and going. The parents of the palace maid Yuanxiao also took their sister to the city to watch the lanterns. When they saw the big palace lantern with the word "Yuanxiao" written on it, they shouted in surprise: "Lanxiao!" Lantern Festival! "When Yuanxiao heard the shout, he was finally reunited with his relatives at home. After such a lively night, Chang'an City was indeed safe and sound. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was so happy that he ordered that glutinous rice balls be made for the God of Fire every fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Fireworks are still hung all over the city. Because the glutinous rice balls made during the Lantern Festival are the best, this day is called the Lantern Festival. According to the legend of Yuan Shikai and the Lantern Festival, after Yuan Shikai, the thief of the country, usurped the achievements of the Revolution of 1911, he wanted to be restored to the throne as emperor, but he was afraid of the opposition of the people. He was always on tenterhooks. One day, he heard the man selling Yuanxiao on the street shouting in a long voice: "Yuanxiao!" "I felt that the word "Yuanxiao" was homophonic to "Yuan Xiao", and it was suspected that Yuan Shikai had been eliminated. Thinking of his own fate, before the Lantern Festival in 1913, he banned the calling of "Yuanxiao" and could only call it "rice dumplings" or "pink rice dumplings". "Fruit". However, the word "Yuanxiao" was not canceled due to his will. The people did not buy his account, and it was still spread among the people

Eating Yuanxiao "Yuanxiao" has a long history as food in China In the Song Dynasty, a novel food was popular among the people during the Lantern Festival. This kind of food was first called "Fu Yuanzi" and later called "Yuanxiao". Businessmen also called it "Yuanbao" in ancient times. It is relatively expensive. There is a poem that says: "The distinguished guest hooks up the curtain to look at the royal street, and the treasures in the market come to him for a while." The flower stand in front of the curtain has no way to go, and if you don't get the money, you won't get it back. "On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, we eat Yuanxiao. Yuanxiao, or "tangyuan," is stuffed with sugar, rose, 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. Different. It can be cooked in soup, fried, or steamed, and it means a happy reunion. Shaanxi glutinous rice balls are not wrapped, but are "rolled" in glutinous rice flour. .

Eat Yuanxiao scientifically

The Lantern Festival is approaching, and many people have already prepared Yuanxiao at home. They can’t finish it in one meal, and they even become “frequent guests” on the dining table for several days. It is indispensable for breakfast, snacks and even late-night snacks. As the saying goes, it is the same when it comes to eating Yuanxiao. From a nutritional point of view, glutinous rice skin is added with sweet fillings such as bean paste, sesame seeds, jujube paste, and peanuts, or salty foods such as fresh meat and vegetables. Fillings are high-sugar, high-calorie non-healthy foods. So how to eat Yuanxiao to ensure both deliciousness and health? Yuanxiao is a high-calorie, high-sugar food that is not suitable for breakfast. It also contains fat but lacks nutrients. , except for calories and sugar, there are not many other nutrients. This kind of food is not suitable for breakfast in the first place. In addition to the lack of nutrients, the function of the gastrointestinal tract is the weakest when people get up early, and the outer part of Yuanxiao is the weakest. Glutinous rice is highly sticky and difficult to digest. Therefore, eating Yuanxiao for breakfast is prone to indigestion, which can lead to pantothenic acid, heartburn, etc., which can affect your work and life throughout the day.