The traditional festivals in China have been basically stereotyped since the Han Dynasty, with some increase or decrease. After the Republic of China, great changes have taken place due to

formal westernization, but the people still insist on a few of them that have not been determined by the government. Until the Cultural Revolution, the government even cut back on the promotion of traditional festivals except the Spring Festival.

Even for the Spring Festival, it was promoted as "a revolutionary Spring Festival". After the reform and opening up,

people began to celebrate some traditional festivals, and newspapers and periodicals also made some introductions and publicity accordingly. At present,

except statutory holidays, traditional festivals celebrated by the people account for about one third of the traditional festivals

.

Traditional festivals contain many folk culture and traditional humanistic concepts, as well as religious factors.

It is of certain significance to study the culture, history and social life of ancient society. The following

lists the main traditional festivals to reward friends who are interested in this aspect.

one. Pay New Year's greetings in the first month

The first month, also known as New Year's Day, or the first day of the first month. The first day of the first month is the day when one year, four seasons and twelve months begin. In Chunqiu Zhuan, the first month is called Duanyue. When the cock crows, set off firecrackers before the court

to ward off evil spirits. Therefore, the first month has been a

festival since its own calendar.

There are many customs in the first month, for example, the young and the old know how to dress properly, and pay homage to the next time. This custom is still maintained

. Drinking pepper wine, that is, wine made of pepper flowers, or cypress wine. However, some specific activities

have now been abandoned, including the Han and Jin Dynasties. As Zhou Chu said in

Records of Local Customs, "When you swallow a chicken, it is called body-building." "Dream of China in Tokyo" records that in the first month of the Northern Song Dynasty, the government will hold a grand meeting, the emperor and officials will hold large-scale group worship activities, and banquets will be given to the envoys of various countries.

Special attention will be paid to the banquet treatment for the Liao and Korean missions. This activity has been preserved to this day.

After the Revolution of 1911, the traditional festival legally reserved by the government of the Republic of China was only the first month, but it was renamed as

"Spring Festival", and New Year's Day was placed on the first day of January in the western calendar. Only the government and the people paid more attention to the Spring Festival, and the people * * * and the Chinese government had a legal holiday of four days. But at present, many private enterprises do not extend the Spring Festival appropriately to the same extent, and some even include weekends.

two. Sacrificing farmers in beginning of spring

beginning of spring is between January 1st and January 15th, which is an ancient traditional festival to sacrifice farmers. According to the book "Customs and Righteousness" written by Dong

Han and Ying Shao, the festival to sacrifice farmers was originally held in April, but it was changed to February by Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty, and

in Jin Dynasty, it was changed to beginning of spring. On this day in beginning of spring, officials should personally wear clothes to celebrate, and sit on Koharu Cattle

to show their support and attention to the farming after the spring, and there are corresponding celebrations among the people. This festival

is actually the real spring festival. Fu Xian's "Yan Fu" in the Western Jin Dynasty said: "When the Four Ages arrive, we should respect and disobey them < P >. He was born in the east, but Yan was set up to welcome him. [Feather Army] The divergence of light wings, if you will fly < P > but not get up. Mrs. He's skill is skillful, and her style and appearance are similar. When Yu Qing's book is praised, it is

good for Yichun. "

Few people know that beginning of spring is a traditional festival today.

three. Lantern Festival Lights

Lantern Festival is the busiest day of the year on the fifteenth day of the first month, because after this day,

most people have to go to work. Lantern Festival is a grand event, with lanterns and fireworks. Dance

Dragon and lion dance, social acrobatics, from day to night. In order to keep the attitude of sharing happiness with

the people, on this day, Jin Wu can't help but think that Jin Wu is the

near guard who guards the palace, and Jin Wu can't help but point out that ordinary people are not forbidden to visit

the Jinshui Bridge in front of the palace. Fireworks are set near Jinshui Bridge, so that the emperor and his concubines can enjoy them at the Imperial Gate

. In the old days, fireworks were all made by burning fireworks tied to a fireworks stand one after another. I saw it when I was a child. It was more splendid than western-style fireworks, but it was dangerous.

Tang Su Weidao's poem, "The fire tree and the silver flowers are in harmony, the golden bridge and the iron rope are open, the dark dust goes with the horse, and the fireflies come one by one."

vividly summed up the scene of Yuanxi.

With the arrival of the Lunar New Year, many young women and officials' families confined in boudoir were allowed to

watch the lanterns, which created a rare opportunity for young men and women to get in touch with each other and performed

many love stories, which were described in the vernacular novels of the Ming Dynasty. Ouyang Xiu's Ci in the Northern Song Dynasty

《 Shengchazi 》. Yuan Xi "Last year, at the Lantern Festival, the flower market was full of picturesque lights, and the willow tips were on the moon, and people were about

after dusk. On the first night of this year, the moon and the lights were still there, and last year's people were not seen, and Man Chun's shirt sleeves were in tears. " ,

wrote Yuan Xi encounter, lovesickness for a year and Iraqi people not see, what a shame. Xin Qiji's words "

suddenly look back, but that person is there, the lights are dim!" The

excited mood of the beloved unexpectedly falling from the sky is obvious.

Celebrations of the Lunar New Year have been maintained in rural areas in the north, but they have also recovered in the south, and most of them are only

limited to watching singing and dancing programs on TV.

four. March Qushui

On the third day of March, according to the Chronicle of Jingchu's Age, "the scholars went out of Jiangzhu Pond to drink Qushui." "Qushui" is the bend of the river, and the speed of water flow slows down. In the old days, tourists drifted along the river in a painting boat, and every time they reached the harbor or bend of the river, they stopped to drink

wine and compose poems. The origin of this festival is very early, and the Emperor Wu of Jin didn't even know its meaning. Zhi Yu answered

his question that it had existed since the Duke of Zhou, and it turned out that the glass was filled with wine and floated in the river.

This is the meaning of "meandering water flowing" in Wang Xizhi's Preface to Lanting Collection. People who read ancient prose for the first time but

don't read the annotations are easily confused by the meaning of meandering water.

five. No fire in cold food

Cold food is two days before Tomb-Sweeping Day and one hundred and five days after the winter solstice. On this day, no fire is allowed, and only fruits and snacks are eaten from top to bottom. Cold food originated from the story of Jin Wengong burning Jietui.

The story says:

Zhong Er, the son of Jin, fled abroad with Jietui, and when he passed through Wei, the son of Jin was hungry and lacked food.

His entourage Jietui cut off the meat on his thigh for Wen Gong to eat. After Wen Gong returned to China and became the

monarch, only Jietui was not rewarded for his merits. Zi tui Yu

wrote Song of the Dragon and Snake and lived in seclusion. Jin Wengong visited Zitui, but Zitui didn't want to come out.

So Duke Wen set fire to the trees around Zitui's secluded mountain, hoping to force Zitui to come out.

Zitui hugged the withered willow and let it burn to death. Duke Wen mourned him and ordered ordinary people not to light a fire on May 5th. Later, May 5th was changed to the time written on it in the Han Dynasty.

This story is not recorded in Zuo Zhuan and Historical Records, but it was specifically researched in Rongzhai

Essays by Hong Mai in the Southern Song Dynasty. Yuan Zhang Yanghao's song "Zhong Lu". And Yao folk songs. Cold food in the Road

It seems that cold food comes from the legend of Tang Yao.

I wonder if the Cold Food Festival is still celebrated in rural Shanxi today?

six. Tomb-sweeping Day

Tomb-Sweeping Day's offering sacrifices to ancestors and deceased relatives only rose after the Northern and Southern Dynasties, because

The Chronicle of the Age of Jingchu, which was written by Zong Gu in the Southern Dynasty, was not recorded. In the Northern Song Dynasty, every family was asked to stick willow branches in the doorway.

The government held a ceremony called "drilling for fire", that is, using elm trees to drill wood for fire, and

held a dragon boat race, which was very lively, not simply a grave-sweeping activity. The so-called "rainy days

and pedestrians on the road wanted to die" was so sad.

Qingming activities are still maintained up and down.

seven. April Buddha's Birthday

April 8th is Buddha's birthday, like Christmas in the west, which is a national religious festival after Buddhism spread to the east. This festival didn't appear until about the Tang Dynasty. On this day, there are Buddhist < P > fasting meetings in temples of all sizes. Monks present pilgrims with sweet medicine syrup, while folks cook wine and eat spring fruits to commemorate them.

At present, most young people in China who celebrate Christmas, a foreign holiday, don't know that China used to commemorate the birthday of a western god.

eight. Dragon Boat Festival

The 5th of May is the annual Dragon Boat Festival, which is very lively. People should organize dragon boat races spontaneously, eat zongzi, drink realgar wine and hang wormwood in the door. According to legend, this festival commemorates the story of Qu Yuan, a doctor of Chu, who was concerned about the country and the people and threw himself into the Miluo River. People used glutinous rice wrapped in palm leaves to throw rice balls into the river as bait, so that fish and turtles would not eat their respected Dr. Qu. However, according to Han Danchun's

Cao Ebei, "On May 5th, Wu Jun was greeted against the waves and was flooded." This

is a custom passed down from the State of Wu, which is related to Wu Zixu and has nothing to do with Qu Yuan. The legend of yue di says that this

custom originated from Gou Jian, the king of yue. It seems that the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the custom of wuyue.

The custom of drinking realgar wine, hanging wormwood and picking miscellaneous medicines may have come from ancient times.

Xia Xiaozheng: "Store medicine this month to eliminate poisonous gas." I told you.

The celebration of Dragon Boat Festival is still very enthusiastic in China, but it's not as crowded as it was before the 196s, and primary and secondary school students can't sit still in class when they go to see the dragon boat show. Overseas Chinese only

remembered zongzi when they saw it in the shop.

nine. Qiaqiao

On the evening of July 7th, there is a separate article, which is not redundant.

ten. Zhongyuan Ghost Festival

Zhongyuan Festival is on July 15th, commonly known as "Ghost Festival". On this day, it is said that it is necessary to burn paper money to pay for the dead.

The temple should try its best to make a Dojo to cross over the dead. This festival originated from "Mu Lian saves the mother" in Buddhist scriptures, so it was very enthusiastic in the Song Dynasty. It was necessary to set up a stage in the market to sing a miscellaneous play "Mu Lian saves the mother".

According to Buddhist scriptures, this story says:

Mu Lian saw his dead mother in the underworld, and immediately filled a bowl of rice for his mother to eat.

The rice was turned into food without being imported. Buddha said, "Your mother is guilty. You can't handle it alone. You need the power of ten monks. On July 15th, you should prepare all kinds of delicious food and five fruits for the seven generations of parents who are suffering in the local prison, and put them in pots and pans to offer sacrifices to the ten-square-high

monks and great virtues. I will warn all the monks to wish the donor's seven generations of parents to enter' meditation' and then < P > accept food. " Mulian did as the Buddha said, and his mother was relieved of all the pains of the Russian ghost. Mu Lian then told the Buddha, "In the future, if Buddhist disciples are filial to their parents, they should also set up a < P > Bonsai Club to support ten monks and great virtues." Buddha said, "Well said!"

So this story is actually a combination of Confucian filial piety and Buddhist Confucian classics, which is convenient for the popularization and propaganda of Buddhism. Therefore, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called the "Orchid Club". In Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio, there are many references to the Orchid Club. When I was a child, I heard the old man say many times that "in July and a half, ghosts < P > scurried around", but I didn't know why. At present, the vast majority of students studying in the United States only know a Halloween (on October 31st in the solar calendar), but they don't know the Yulan

Pot Club in China, which is much more solemn than the hippie smile on Halloween.

The Orchid Club may have appeared in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, but now it is probably only restored in monasteries, which is too superstitious.

eleven. Appreciating the Moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival

On the Mid-Autumn Festival night on August 15th, the moon looks particularly bright and big, and the commemoration of the Mid-Autumn Festival

begins. Sitting around eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival, and then going out to enjoy the moon, there is also the meaning of family reunion

, which may come from Su Shi's poem "When will there be a bright moon?" I fetch the wine glass from afar. . . . I hope that

people will last for a long time, and thousands of miles will be beautiful. " This is what Su Dongpo wrote when he missed his younger brother Su Ziyou in other places. However, the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival is not in this sense, but it is obvious to enjoy the moon, but it comes to the beautiful story of

visiting the Moon Palace with the help of Ye Fashan, a famous Taoist priest in the Tang Dynasty, and it also carries

the myth and legend of the fairy song "colorful plumage", which I have posted to explain.

As for the custom of eating moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Night, it is not recorded in the notes of the Southern Song Dynasty. It is said that at the end of the Yuan Dynasty

when the peasant Red Scarf Army started an uprising, it took the round cakes as its number.

Mid-Autumn Festival was very lively in the Song Dynasty. According to "Old Wulin Stories", in the Mid-Autumn Night in the Southern Song Dynasty, people

set off 1, parchments to make them drift along the Qiantang River, which is dotted with stars at night, just like a star, which is a lot of fun.

twelve. Climbing the Double Ninth Festival

September 9th is the traditional Double Ninth Festival, which coincides with the crisp autumn air and is a good time for hiking and looking far

. Wang Wei wrote in "Climbing the Mountain to Remember Shandong Brothers on September 9th": "Being alone in a different country is a stranger, and I miss my relatives twice every festive season. I know from afar where my brother climbed, and there was one less person in the dogwood. "

Show his true feelings of missing his loved ones. Wearing cornus grass on September 9th, climbing the top of the slope and drinking chrysanthemum wine on a sunny day, reminds people that life and nature are integrated,

so they think of longevity.

After the liberation of the Double Ninth Festival, there are no more celebrations.

thirteen. Laba boiled porridge

December 8th is the day of offering sacrifices to the kitchen god. "Zhou Li" said, "Zhuan Xu's son called Li, who was

Zhu Rong, and worshipped him as the kitchen god." Therefore, the origin of the sacrifice to the kitchen god may be before the Western Zhou Dynasty.

In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Zhen and others wrote "The History of the East View of Han Dynasty", which said that antelope should be sacrificed to the kitchen god. By

the Song Dynasty, the so-called "laba rice" appeared in the activities of offering sacrifices to the kitchen god, that is, eating porridge with

all kinds of fruit miscellaneous materials. This custom may come from the infiltration and transformation of Buddhism into the activities of China folk witches and gods. On this day, the monks saw that everyone was offering sacrifices to traditional witches and gods, fearing that it would be unfavorable to publicize their teachings, they took advantage of the excitement.

Buddhism's resistance to "cults" was very successful, which completely eliminated the previous activities such as jumping into the gods.

Zhang Heng's Ode to Tokyo in the Eastern Han Dynasty also said: "A grand Nuo ceremony will be held at the end of each year to drive away all kinds of evil spirits. Fang xiangshen holds weapons, wizard holds brooms, and tens of thousands of children wear red scarves and black clothes, holding peach bows and barbed arrows and firing aimlessly everywhere. " There are still records in

Record of Jingchu's Age, but in

Record of Dreams in Tokyo, there is no such joyful celebration scene.

"Laba porridge" has been handed down. So far, many families still have this custom, and some

clever daughters-in-law have done it very well.

fourteen. Celebrate the New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve is the last day of the year. On this day, ordinary families try their best to get together. The whole family gathers around the stove, drinking and eating delicious food to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year, while the outdoor sound is firecrackers.

The family spent the last night of a warm year together, which is still deeply maintained in China

, but the wonderful program of the Spring Festival Gala ruined the warm atmosphere.