Lantern Festival is a traditional festival in China, so it is celebrated all over the country. The customs in most areas are similar, but each area still has its own characteristics.
Eating Yuanxiao
Eating Yuanxiao on the fifteenth day of the first month, as a food, has a long history in China. In the Song Dynasty, a novel food for the Lantern Festival was popular among the people. This kind of food was first called "Floating Yuanzi" and later called "Yuanxiao", and businessmen also called it "Yuanbao". Yuanxiao, or "Tangyuan", is filled with white sugar, rose, sesame, red bean paste, yellow cinnamon, walnut kernel, nuts, jujube paste, etc., and wrapped in glutinous rice flour into a round shape, which can be vegetarian and has different flavors. It can be boiled in soup, fried and steamed, which means a happy reunion. Shaanxi dumplings are not wrapped, but "rolled" in glutinous rice flour, or boiled or fried, hot and round.
Watching lanterns
During the reign of Emperor Yongping of the Han Dynasty (58-75 AD), because the Ming Emperor advocated Buddhism, it coincided with Cai Cheng's return from India to seek Buddhism, saying that on the 15th day of the first month in Mohatuo, India, monks gathered to pay tribute to Buddhist relics, which was an auspicious day to participate in Buddhism. In order to carry forward Buddhism, Emperor Hanming ordered "burning lamps to show Buddha" in palaces and monasteries on the fifteenth night of the first month. Since then, the custom of putting lights on Lantern Festival has spread from being held only in the court to the people. That is, on the fifteenth day of the first month, no matter the gentry or the common people, lights are hung, and the city and countryside are brightly lit all night.
The custom of setting off lanterns on Lantern Festival developed into an unprecedented lantern market in the Tang Dynasty. At that time, Chang 'an, the capital city, was already the largest city in the world with a population of one million, and its society was rich. Under the emperor's personal initiative, the Lantern Festival became more and more luxurious. After the mid-Tang Dynasty, it has developed into a national carnival. During the prosperous time of Kaiyuan in Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (685-762 AD), the lantern market in Chang 'an was very large, with 5, lanterns and various lanterns. The emperor ordered people to make 2 giant lantern buildings, which were 15 feet high and glittering and spectacular.
In the Song Dynasty, the Lantern Festival was better than that in the Tang Dynasty in terms of scale and fantastic lighting, and the activities were more folk and with stronger national characteristics. Since then, the Lantern Festival has developed continuously, and the time of Lantern Festival has become longer and longer. The Lantern Festival in Tang Dynasty was "one day before and after Shangyuan". In Song Dynasty, two days were added after 16th, and in Ming Dynasty, it was extended to ten days from the eighth day to the eighteenth day.
in the Qing dynasty, when Manchu came to the central plains, the court no longer held lantern festivals, but the folk lantern festivals were still spectacular. The date was shortened to five days and continues to this day.
In Taiwan Province, lanterns have the meaning of brightness and grace, and lighting lanterns means lighting up the future, and the homonym of Taiwanese lanterns and grace means giving birth to boys. Therefore, in the past, women would deliberately wander under lanterns in the hope of "drilling under lanterns to give birth to eggs" (that is, swimming under lanterns to give birth to boys).
China's Valentine's Day (214 Valentine's Day romantic dinner reservation entered from this)
Lantern Festival is also a romantic festival. In feudal traditional society, Lantern Festival also provides an opportunity for unmarried men and women to get to know each other. In traditional society, young girls are not allowed to go out for free activities, but they can go out to play together on holidays. Lantern Festival lanterns are just an opportunity to make friends, and unmarried men and women can also find objects for themselves by the way. During the Lantern Festival, it is also a time for young men and women to meet their lovers.
In Taiwan Province, there is a traditional custom that unmarried women who steal onions or vegetables at midnight snack will marry a good husband, commonly known as "stealing onions, marrying a good husband" and "stealing vegetables, marrying a good husband". Girls who want to have a happy marriage should steal onions or vegetables in the garden on the night of Lantern Festival, hoping for a happy family in the future. There are thousands of dances and performances at the Lantern Festival in the Tang Dynasty.
Ouyang Xiu (born Chazi) said: Last year, at the Lantern Festival, the flower market was lit like a book. The moon rose above the willow tree, At dusk he had a tryst with me. Xin Qiji (Jade Case) wrote: Many people looked for it, but suddenly looking back, the man was in the dim light. It is to describe the scene of midnight snack, while the traditional opera Chen San and Wu Niang met at the Lantern Festival and fell in love at first sight. Lechang official document and Xu Deyan made love at the Lantern Festival in second time around at midnight snack, and Yu Wenyan and Ying Niang made love at the Lantern Festival in Spring Lantern Enigma (from which solve riddles on the lanterns won the prize). So the Lantern Festival is also China's "Valentine's Day".
walking away from all diseases
besides celebration, there are also religious activities in the Lantern Festival. That is, most of the participants in "walking all kinds of diseases", also known as "baking all kinds of diseases" and "spreading all kinds of diseases" are women. They walk together or walk by the wall, or cross the bridge and walk through the suburbs, with the aim of driving away diseases and eliminating disasters.
With the passage of time, there are more and more activities in the Lantern Festival. In many places, activities such as playing dragon lanterns, playing lions, walking on stilts, rowing dry boats, dancing yangko and playing Taiping drums are added during festivals.
On the fifteenth day of the first month, there are some folk activities that are little known and have been lost. Here are two or three.
There were "seven sacrifices" in ancient times, which were two of them. The method of offering sacrifices is very simple. Put poplar branches above the door, put a pair of chopsticks in a bowl filled with bean porridge, or put wine and meat directly in front of the door.
Rat-by-rat
This activity is mainly for sericulture families. Because mice often eat silkworms in large areas at night, it is said that mice can stop eating silkworms by feeding them rice porridge on the fifteenth day of the first month. As a result, these people cooked a large pot of sticky porridge on the fifteenth day of the first month, and some of them covered it with a layer of meat. They put the porridge in a bowl and put it in the ceiling, corner and mouth where mice were infested, cursing the mice that they would not die a natural death if they ate silkworm babies again.
Ying Zigu
Zigu is a kind and poor girl in folklore. On the fifteenth day of the first month, Zigu died of poverty. People sympathize with her, miss her, and in some places, the custom of "welcoming Zigu on the fifteenth day of the first month" appeared conveniently. Every night, people use straw, cloth heads and so on to tie up a portrait of a life-size purple aunt. Women have stood beside the toilet, pigsty and kitchen where Zigu often works to meet her, holding her hand like sisters, telling her sweet words and comforting her with tears. The scene is very vivid and truly reflects the thoughts and feelings of the working people who are kind, honest and sympathetic to the weak.
Lantern Festival is the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar, also known as Shangyuan Festival. Lantern Festival is the oldest night festival in China. According to legend, the Western Han Dynasty pacified "Zhulu", and the Chinese Emperor started the foundation on January 15th, which was designated as the Lantern Festival. The whole country is decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations to celebrate the festival. The royal family in the deep palace, ladies and gentlemen can also go to the streets to watch the lights.
On the Lantern Festival, every household makes its own Lantern Festival (now it is monopolized by professional households). Yuanxiao Yuan, known as "Floating Yuanzi" in ancient times, is a kind of folk snack that tastes elegant and vulgar, sweet but not greasy, and is popular all over the country. "The stars are in the dark clouds, and the beads are floating in the turbid water". "Light round is better than chicken head meat, and it is better to use crab eye soup when you are bored." It is no wonder that the ancient poets describe the Lantern Festival so much that it has been popular for thousands of years.
hang lanterns and set off fireworks. It is the most gratifying activity of Quanzhou Lantern Festival, "There are many lamps, and Su and Fu are the crown" (see Song's Old Wulin Story). "The world is full of money, and the lights and candles are no more than those in Fujian" (see Xie Zhaozhe's Five Miscellanies). Quanzhou is the city of lanterns, which are called "ancient lanterns". The lanterns are pasted by families, spread and sold by shops, and specially made by professional artists. There are drum lamps, cake-moistening lamps, fish, shrimp, chicken, duck and goose lamps, orange, banana and pineapple lamps, palace lamps, wishful lamps, silk lamps, glass lamps and lantern lanterns ... all kinds of colorful. The bride's family sends lotus-seed lanterns to her husband's family, and the newly-married man hangs lanterns to the ancestral hall (lotus gives birth to a precious child, and the lanterns are homophonic with Ding, praying for more). Lights are hung on streets, halls and porches. The "Aoshan Mountain" is set up on the thoroughfare avenue, with movable organs, landscape figures, flowers, birds, fish and insects, which are dazzling. There is also a lantern show, and the lamps of exquisite large-scale activities are dazzling. Kaiyuan Temple and Chengtian Temple are good places for the lantern show. Cultural people held a Spring Lantern Poetry Meeting, and Nanyin Society put up a "pavilion" on the street and sang on stage. Couplets in front of the Tang Palace in Fengzhou, Nan 'an: "Orchestral strings are loud, and people come and go to Jinwu night;" Snuff everywhere, Xi Nanxi North Yuyuanchun ". The grand occasion of the Lantern Festival is all in it.
literature and art stepping on the street can be called a folk culture makeup parade. "Dress up stories, adorn jewelry, bells and drums are loud, and a country is crazy". (Ming Qiao Yuan's Book of Min). Make-up, Quanzhou is commonly known as "Makeup Man" and "Makeup Pavilion". Dress up the characters in all kinds of plays, such as walking on stilts, centipede pavilion, horseback riding team and floats. The parade is accompanied by various bands, such as Nanyin, Ten Tones, Car Drum, Cage Blow and Western Band. It is accompanied by various dances rich in Minnan customs, such as kicking the ball, patting the chest, burning the tripod, dancing the sword, dancing the fan, playing the lion, playing the dragon and so on. Tourists are watching along the street, and Licheng is empty.
The Lantern Festival attracts overseas tourists to visit relatives in Quanquan, and relevant parties hold various activities by using the festival, such as Nanyin Concert Singing, Puppet Festival and Shaolin Wushu Festival, commodity fairs, cordial meetings and conferences, which promote the development of quanzhou economic and trade and culture. Lantern Festival is the highest peak of Spring Festival celebrations.