China's New Year's Day is said to have started in Zhuan Xu, one of the three emperors and five emperors, with a history of more than 3,000 years. The word "New Year's Day" first appeared in the Book of Jin: "It was actually the spring of New Year's Day when the emperor was transferred to Xia Meng in the first month." During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Xiao Ziyun's poem "Jieya" in the Southern Dynasties also recorded "New Year's Day in four seasons, longevity in early spring".
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. After the Revolution of 1911, China adopted the Gregorian calendar and renamed the Lunar New Year "Spring Festival" (from late/kloc-0 to mid-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 all night, which is called "Shounian". 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 (179- 157 BC) celebrated the investigation and suppression of Zhuolu rebellion on the 15th day of the first month. Every night, he goes out to play in the palace and plays with people, and the fifteenth day of the first month is designated as the Lantern Festival. Sima Qian founded the taichu calendar, which listed the Lantern Festival as the main festival. It has been in full swing since the Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties. "Music of Sui Shu" Day: "Every first month, all nations come to the DPRK and stay at Jianguomen outside Duanmen until the 15th, stretching for eight miles." Tens of thousands of people took part in the song and dance performances, 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 lantern festivals to display all kinds of colored lights, which are novel and diverse in shape. 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 fright, spring returned to the earth and everything recovered. Insects, snakes and wild animals dormant in soil or caves will wake up from hibernation, and the legendary dragon will 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, people will fry the cake left over from the New Year's Day sacrifice on the smoked bed and kang, which is called fumigation. In rural areas, people use plant ash to meander around houses and then bypass hospital water tanks, which leads to the return of dragons. Interestingly, this day's diet is also named after dragons. Eating jiaozi is called eating dragon ears, eating spring cakes is called eating dragon whiskers, and eating noodles is called eating dragon whiskers. This is probably the name of "Longxu Noodles" now. Children shave their heads and have their hair cut on this day, which is called "Shaving Day". On this day, women still don't sew, which is said to avoid hurting longan. There are also candles shining on the walls of the house. There is a saying that "on February 2nd, the scorpion and centipede 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 is around April 5th. Tomb-Sweeping Day, also known as March Festival in ancient times, has a history of more than two thousand 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 devoted to sweeping the tombs of martyrs and mourning the 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".
The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the Dragon Boat Festival, whose original name is Dragon Boat Festival. The thirty-first volume of Taiping Yu Lan quoted the sentence of "the fifth day of midsummer, the fifth day of the end, and the beginning" in local customs. 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 the State of Chu, he threw himself into the river with a huge stone on the fifth day of May. When the people by the river learned about it, they took a 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 wrapping sachets, eating zongzi and racing dragon boats. Sacks represent 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.
The seventh night of the seventh lunar month is called "Qixi Festival", which is the legendary day when cowherd and weaver girl meet every year. In the evening, Chen's fruit is in court, and the girl is wearing a seven-hole needle. It is said that it is wise to wear it first. Jojo's Day is also called Girls' Day, because most girls will attend.
The fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is the birthday of the legendary county 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, it is rare to set up "orchid pots" among the people, but the custom of putting river lanterns is still circulating in some areas.
August 15th of the lunar calendar is the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the "Reunion Festival". August 15th is autumn, hence the name "Mid-Autumn Festival". The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the ritual of offering sacrifices to the moon in autumn by ancient emperors. 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 "Don Huang Ming sleepwalking in the Moon Palace". In ancient times, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, people would sacrifice exquisite 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 Evodia rutaecarpa 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. Watching 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 you can rise step by step after eating them. 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 twelfth lunar month), commonly known as Laba. Earlier, it was said that this day was the day when Sakyamuni became a monk, and all monasteries cooked porridge to worship the Buddha, which later became a folk custom to show that the grain was abundant. The original religious meaning of Laba porridge gradually faded, and now it has actually become a seasonal food with good color and taste. Experts pointed out that Laba Festival has a history of 1000 years and is an important traditional folk festival in China.