Spring Festival is the first traditional festival in China. In the past, the Spring Festival was called "New Year" because according to the lunar calendar that has been used in China's history, this day is the first day of the first month and the beginning of a new year. According to records, the people of China have celebrated the Spring Festival for more than 4,000 years, which was initiated by Yu Shun. One day more than two thousand years BC, Shun became emperor and led his men to worship heaven and earth. Since then, people have regarded this day as the beginning of a year, that is, the first day of the first month. It is said that this is the origin of the Lunar New Year, which was later called the Spring Festival. 19 1 1 After the Revolution of 1911, China adopted the Gregorian calendar, and the Lunar New Year was renamed "Spring Festival" (the Gregorian calendar lasted from the end of June to the middle of February). During the Spring Festival, every household puts up Spring Festival couplets and New Year pictures to decorate their rooms. The night before the Spring Festival is called "New Year's Eve", which is an important moment for family reunion. The whole family get together and have a big "New Year's Eve". Many people stay up late, which is called "keeping the old age". The next day, everyone began to "pay New Year greetings" to relatives and friends, greeting each other and wishing all the best in the new year. During the Spring Festival, lion dancing, dragon dancing, boating and walking on stilts are the most common traditional recreational activities.
The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival, also known as Shangyuan Festival, Lantern Festival and Lantern Festival. This is the first full moon night after the Spring Festival. According to legend, Emperor Wendi of the Han Dynasty (179- 157) celebrated Zhou Bo's suppression of the rebellion of the Lus on the 15th day of the first month. Every night, he will go out to play in the palace and play with people, and set the fifteenth day of the first month as the Lantern Festival. Sima Qian founded the taichu calendar, which listed the Lantern Festival as a major festival. Since the Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties, it has been in full swing. "Sui Shu Music Record" Day: "Every first month, all nations come to the DPRK and live outside the Duanmen Gate, which lasts for eight miles until the 15th." Tens of thousands of people participated in singing and dancing, from faint to dark. With the changes of society and times, the custom of Lantern Festival has changed greatly, but it is still a traditional folk festival in China. After the Lantern Festival, there is a custom of eating Yuanxiao and watching lanterns. Yuanxiao is round, with glutinous rice flour as the skin and fruit and sugar stuffing inside, which is a symbol of "reunion". Lantern Festival began in the first century A.D. and is still popular all over the world. On the night of the Lantern Festival, many cities will hold the Lantern Festival and display all kinds of lanterns, which are novel and varied. In rural areas, people hold recreational activities, such as setting off fireworks, walking on stilts, playing dragon lanterns, dancing yangko and swinging.
The Zhonghe Festival is on the second day of the second lunar month, commonly known as the Dragon Head Up. At this time, before and after the shock, spring returned to the earth and everything recovered. Insects, snakes and animals that lie dormant in the soil or caves will wake up from hibernation, and the legendary dragon will also wake up from a deep sleep, hence the name "Dragon Head Up". In ancient times, dragons were sacred symbols, so they were used to drive away pests. In the Ming dynasty, smoked insects were very popular. On February 2 nd, people will fry the cakes left over from the New Year's Day sacrifice on the smoke bed and kang, which is called fumigation. In rural areas, people use plant ash to wind around the house and then walk around the water tank of the hospital, which leads to the return of the dragon. Interestingly, this day's diet is also named after dragons. Eating jiaozi is called eating dragon ears, eating spring cakes is called eating dragon Lin, and eating noodles is called eating dragon whiskers. This is probably the name of "Longxu Noodles" now. Children shave their heads and get a haircut on this day, which is called "the head-shaving faucet". On this day, women still don't sew, which is said to avoid hurting longan. There is also a candle shining on the wall of the house, and there is a saying that "February 2, shining on the beams, scorpions and centipedes have nowhere to hide." However, this festival has been forgotten by people now, but there are still customs such as eating spring cakes.
Tomb-Sweeping Day visited the grave to pay homage to his ancestors around April 5th in Tomb-Sweeping Day. Tomb-Sweeping Day, also known as March Festival in ancient times, has a history of more than 2,000 years. Tomb-Sweeping Day is one of the 24 solar terms around April 5th in the Gregorian calendar. Among the 24 solar terms, Qingming is the only solar term that is both a solar term and a festival. Tomb-Sweeping Day used to be a festival to worship ancestors, but now more activities are to sweep graves and mourn martyrs on this day. During Tomb-Sweeping Day, the weather became warmer and plants sprouted again. People often go hiking together, fly kites and enjoy the spring scenery in the suburbs, so Tomb-Sweeping Day is sometimes called "Walking Festival".
Dragon Boat Festival in memory of patriotic ancestors The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the Dragon Boat Festival, whose real name is "Dragon Boat Festival". The thirty-first volume of "Taiping Magnolia" quotes the local custom that "midsummer is five days, the end is five days, and the beginning is also the beginning". It is generally believed that it was produced in memory of Qu Yuan, an ancient poet in China. Qu Yuan (about 340 BC-278 BC) was a native of Chu during the Warring States Period. He could not realize his political ideal, nor could he save the destruction of Chu. When the State of Qin destroyed Chu, on the fifth day of May, he threw himself into the river with a huge stone in his arms. When people by the river learned about it, they went by boat to salvage Qu Yuan's body. In memory of this great patriotic poet, later generations designated this day as the Dragon Boat Festival. On this festival, people have the custom of carrying sachets, eating zongzi and racing dragon boats. The sack represents Qu Yuan's moral integrity, which will last forever: Zongzi was originally designed to prevent fish from eating Qu Yuan's body, and later became holiday food, while dragon boat rowing was designed to rescue Qu Yuan.
On the evening of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, it is called "Tanabata", which is the legendary day when the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet each other every year. It was dusk, Chen Guo was in court, and the girl was wearing a seven-hole needle. They say it's wise to wear it first. Jojo's Day is also called Girls' Day, because most girls will attend.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month. It is the birthday of the legendary magistrate, so it is also called "Ghost Festival". On this day, Buddhists will set up "bonsai", give alms to monks, hold chanting ceremonies, and hold religious activities such as land and water Dojo and river lanterns. China began to establish "Yulan Benzhai" in Liang Wudi (the first half of the 6th century). At present, people rarely set up "orchid flowerpots", but the custom of putting river lanterns is still handed down in some areas.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th of the lunar calendar, also called "Reunion Festival". August 15 is autumn, hence the name "Mid-Autumn Festival". The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the ritual of the ancient emperors offering sacrifices to the moon in autumn. Since Wei, Jin, Tang and Song Dynasties, it has gradually evolved into the custom of enjoying the moon. The word "Mid-Autumn Festival" first appeared in the book Zhou Li, and it really became a national holiday in the Tang Dynasty. It is said that the formation of this important festival of the Chinese nation is related to the story of "Tang Sleepwalking in the Moon Palace". In ancient times, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, people would offer exquisite moon cakes to the Moon God. After the sacrifice, the whole family shared it, indicating family reunion. This custom has been passed down to this day.
The Double Ninth Festival is the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, and it is a festival that rose after Wei and Jin Dynasties. The names of "Double Ninth Festival" and "Double Ninth Festival" originated in the Three Kingdoms period. There are mainly five traditional customs. First, climb the mountain. At this time, the autumn is crisp and the scenery is pleasant. This is a good season for traveling, which can not only cultivate interest, but also benefit health. Second, inserting Cornus officinalis can drive away autumn mosquitoes and kill pests. The third is drinking and enjoying chrysanthemums. September in the lunar calendar is the time when chrysanthemums are in full bloom. Seeing all kinds of chrysanthemums and drinking several cups of chrysanthemum wine are also the joy of the Double Ninth Festival. The fourth is to eat Chongyang cake. People make the grains into white and delicious rice cakes, which are called Chongyang cakes. "Cake" and "Gao" are homophonic, meaning that eating can be promoted step by step. The fifth is to carry out activities to respect the elderly. The wind of respecting the elderly in Chongyang has never stopped since ancient times.
The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month (also called the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month), commonly known as Laba. Earlier, it was said that this day was the day when Sakyamuni became a monk, and all the monasteries cooked porridge to worship the Buddha, which later became a folk custom to show that the grain was plentiful.
There is such a folk song; "Every year, every family is busy, and on the 23rd, people are kings. There is a table in the middle with two plates of sugar on both sides. A bowl of water with black beans and hay burned the fragrance in the stove. The head of the family came to work, I wish praise and good luck to the kitchen god. " It reflects the scene of folk sacrifice to stoves in the past. Because this day is particularly lively, some people even think that it is a "rehearsal" for the Lunar New Year, so it is also called off-year. Now, although there are no more sacrificial stoves, the Guandong sugar sold around the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month is still a traditional food that people like.