Eating Yuanxiao on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is a common custom all over the country, and almost every family eats Yuanxiao, that is, glutinous rice balls.
Folklore experts believe that when cooking dumplings, they float on the water after boiling, which is beautiful and reminiscent of a bright moon hanging in the clouds. There is a bright moon in the sky, glutinous rice balls in a bowl, and every household is round and round, which means reunion and good luck. Therefore, eating glutinous rice balls expresses people's love for family reunion. The survey also shows China people's inheritance and love for traditional festivals, as well as their love for China culture. You have to taste different when you eat Yuanxiao.
Moreover, the name of Tangyuan is similar to the pronunciation of "reunion", which means reunion and symbolizes the reunion of the whole family, harmony and happiness. At the same time, people also miss their parting relatives and place their hopes on the future life.
The origin of the lantern festival
Lantern Festival, also known as Shangyuan Festival, Xiaoyuanyian Festival, Yuanxi Festival or Lantern Festival, is the first important festival after the Spring Festival, and it is also one of the traditional festivals of China and overseas Chinese. The first month is the first month of the lunar calendar. The ancients called the night "Xiao", so the fifteenth day of the first full moon in a year is called the Lantern Festival. According to records, the Lantern Festival appeared around the Han Dynasty, and in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was called the three traditional folk festivals in China together with the Spring Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival, with a history of more than 2,000 years.
In June 2008, the Lantern Festival was selected as the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage.
The custom of eating glutinous rice balls on the Lantern Festival was formed in the Song Dynasty. According to records, during the Tang Dynasty, people ate "cocoons" and "circles don't fall into corners" during the Lantern Festival. In the Southern Song Dynasty, a "lactose dumpling" appeared, which should be the predecessor of glutinous rice balls. In the Song Dynasty, Zhou Bida wrote the poem "Boiling a Floating Yuanzi on the Lantern Festival", which read "The stars are in the dark clouds and the pearls are floating in the turbid water". By the Ming Dynasty, there were more names for "Yuanxiao".