The first month is the first month of the lunar calendar, the ancients called the night for the "night", so called the first month of the fifteenth for the "Lantern Festival". The 15th day of the first month is the first full moon of the year, but also the beginning of the year, the night of the earth back to spring, people celebrate this, but also to celebrate the continuation of the New Year. The Lantern Festival is also known as the "Festival of the New Year". According to Chinese folk tradition, in this day on the night of the white moon, people want to light up the colorful lanterns, in order to show the celebration. Going out to enjoy the moon, burning lanterns and fireworks, guessing lantern riddles, *** eating Lantern Festival, family reunion, celebrating the festival, a happy and harmonious.
Light watching: the Song Dynasty attached more importance to the Lantern Festival, more lively lamp-appreciation activities, lamp-appreciation activities to be carried out for five days, the style of the lamp is also richer. Ming Dynasty to 10 days, which is China's longest lantern festival. Although the Qing Dynasty Lantern Festival activities only 3 days, but the Lantern Festival activities on a large scale, unprecedented, in addition to burning lights, but also fireworks to help.
Guess the riddles: "Guess the riddles", also known as "playing riddles", is an activity added after the Lantern Festival, appeared in the Song Dynasty. In the Southern Song Dynasty, the capital Lin'an every Lantern Festival to make a fan, guessing riddles of many people. At the beginning of the riddles were written on strips of paper and pasted on colorful lanterns for people to guess. The riddles were popular among people from all walks of life because they were both intellectually stimulating and interesting.
Eating dumplings: the folk custom of eating dumplings on the Lantern Festival. Yuanxiao made of glutinous rice, or solid, or with filling. Filling with bean paste, sugar, hawthorn, all kinds of fruit, etc., when eating boiled, fried, steamed, fried can be. At first, people called this food "floating rounds", and later called "soup dumplings" or "soup dumplings", the names "reunion
Crossing the bridge: some places of the Lantern Festival and the custom of "walk a hundred diseases", also known as "bake a hundred diseases," "scattered a hundred diseases," the participants are mostly women, they walk in pairs or walk! wall, or across the bridge, walking in the countryside, the purpose is to drive away diseases and disasters.
Stilts: As time goes by, the Lantern Festival activities are more and more, many local festivals added to the dragon lanterns, lions, stilts, rowing the dry boat twisting rice-planting songs, playing the drums and other traditional folk performances.
This traditional festival, which has been passed down for more than 2,000 years, is not only prevalent on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, but is also celebrated year after year in overseas Chinese settlements.
The Lantern Festival customs inventory
1, Lantern Festival customs of Beijing
The most lively festival in old Beijing is not the Spring Festival, but the Lantern Festival. The annual Shangyuan Lantern Festival, dragon and lion dances, old Beijing hawking and other traditional programs of the Lantern Festival that are full of old Beijing's folklore are a big reason why old Beijingers look forward to this festival. The traditional Old Beijing Lantern Festival events mainly consist of 3 parts: the flower show, the lantern show, and the eating of the Lantern Festival.
2, Lantern Festival Customs of Hebei Province
Hebei more unique Lantern Festival customs are the Jingfuzu pull flowers, Jingfuzu pull flowers is a strain of ancient art oddball. Zanhuang County Lantern Festival Customs - "Threshing Thresher", Pulling Thresher is a kind of dance that expresses the labor life, the main activity is in the Lantern Festival, it is accompanied by percussion. There are drums, gongs, cymbals and water cymbals. On the Lantern Festival in Yongpingfu, sick women gather under the kiln, called "Tao Moxibustion". Children staggered degree bridge, called the "degree of hundred Er". Some people also cut paper into nine paper ropes, hand knots to divine the blame, called "knot sheep's intestines".
3, Lantern Festival customs of Anhui Province
Ancient city of Fengyang County, swinging, picking lanterns, put down the torch and other folk customs, into the Lantern Festival of the three major customs. Fengyang folk "Lantern Festival swing, a year of back pain". Every Lantern Festival, the most exciting thing for children is "picking lanterns". Various kinds of lanterns as early as a few days ago have "grab early" on the market, different shapes of lanterns will be decorated with a new night in the town of Fu. Putting down the torch is a kind of youth collective activity. In the rural areas of Fengyang, pay attention to the children will be early and consciously collect, prepare some waste broom, brush, in preparation for the Lantern Festival put torch.
4, Lantern Festival customs of Shanxi Province
Hanging lanterns is a necessary form of celebration of the Lantern Festival in Shanxi. Whenever the Lantern Festival comes, every family hangs up all kinds of lights, from fourteen to sixteen, open every night. Fireworks, for the people of Shanxi Lantern Festival is the most delightful activities, Lantern Festival night in the square to fireworks activities, when the whole family went out into the street, to see the beautiful fireworks. Literary street, known as folk culture makeup parade. From fourteen to sixteen, three consecutive days in various counties and districts are organized in various cultural performances to the city.
5, Lantern Festival customs of Shandong Province
To carry out juggling activities is an important part of the Lantern Festival. Various forms of juggling, lion dance, dragon lantern dance, stilts, dry boat, flower stick, rice-planting songs, catch donkey? There should be everything, the content of the main opera. Qufu city around the village village to play dragon lanterns, each village's dragon lanterns to perform in the Confucius Palace. Kongfu play dragon lantern place in the second door in front of the hall, usually not allowed to enter the Kongfu, this time also allows outsiders to enter to see the play dragon lantern. Playing dragon lanterns, the Confucius House of the pawn and "flower gun households" in the side of the fireworks.
6, Lantern Festival customs of Henan Province
Changxing Henan people's most unique custom is that on the night of the Lantern Festival, families have to be in front of the ancestors' graves, with bamboo scotch and red paper tied on the lantern, light the candles in between and let it burn out. The general custom of the Lantern Festival is to enjoy lanterns, riddles, eat dumplings, lion dance, even Henan people, it is rare to see the custom of lighting lanterns in front of the ancestors' graves.
7, Lantern Festival customs of Shaanxi Province
Every year during the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar calendar, in addition to the big lanterns, there is also a "sky lanterns" custom. This custom has a long history, according to the history of the Tang Dynasty has been this move. The "accompanying lantern bun" is popular in the Tongchuan area of Shaanxi Province. Every year on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar, during the Lantern Festival, each family in their own houses, set up incense burning candles, firecrackers. Lights everywhere in the house, lights placed next to a variety of flower buns, known as "with the lights buns.
8, Lantern Festival customs of Jiangsu Province
Taizhou Lantern Festival has five major customs, eating Lantern Festival, Lantern Festival, riddles, fireworks, send auspicious. Sending good luck is a custom unique to some towns in Taizhou. On the day of the Lantern Festival, relatives and friends should send bridge stakes and Guanyin to the newlywed bride to bless an early birth. There are also some places where the bride is pulled to walk Baizi Bridge, again to seek children.
9, Lantern Festival customs of Zhejiang Province
Hangzhou folk legend on the 15th day of the first month of the Shangyuan heavenly official blessing of the hour, more than Lenten vegetarian chanting scripture, creeping to Wushan worship. Haining County Lantern Festival is best known for its delicate chrysanthemum lanterns. Shangyu County less than the Lantern Festival night to the counter-support bullying on the platform to compete in martial arts. Jiande County people have a newly married daughter-in-law, in the Lantern Festival set up wine offering bed.
10, Lantern Festival customs of Jiangxi Province
Wanan people from the first day of the first month of the first to fifteen after dinner, the whole village will gather in the village shrine or temple, holding the Lantern song book, the Lantern paintings singing, the local people called singing Lantern song (also called singing boat). On the night of the 15th day of the first lunar month, in addition to singing boats, praising boats, rowing boats and other activities, you have to drink Lantern Festival wine and eat Lantern Festival soup - this is the finale of the night. The entire ancestral hall is filled with tables and chairs, and some villagers use age-old sea kettles filled with their own brewed rice wine to pour a bowl full of it for each guest, and a large pot of Lantern Jelly is also served on each table for everyone to enjoy.
11, Lantern Festival customs of Hubei Province
Jingzhou Lantern Festival day, Guandi Temple are to hold a large temple fair, when the people of Jingzhou, where they play dragon lanterns, rowing Cailian boat, horseback riding and archery, blowing the trumpet set of sedan chair, making a lot of noise. And the boys who play the dragon have to go to the Guan Di Temple to pay homage to the God of Guan first, and then dance the dragon along the streets of the old city. In addition, the Lantern Festival is also Jingzhou people's "son-in-law day", this day is the father-in-law feast son-in-law days. Shiyan people attach great importance to the Lantern Festival, to hold a play Lantern Festival, such as dragon dance, play lion, rowing colorful lotus boat, dance mussel shells, stilts and so on. Among them, Shiyan Fangxian's "Fire Dragon" Lantern Festival is the most famous.
12, Lantern Festival customs of Hunan Province
Changde Lantern Festival families to pepper for the soup, adding leeks to watch the fruit of the guests, known as the "soup". In Xintian County, the dragon lanterns are burned to the ground after the tour, which is called "sending disaster".
13, Lantern Festival customs of Sichuan Province
Sichuan Lantern Festival has a "four steal" custom: "a steal dumplings, two steal the green, three steal the eaves light four steal red." In addition to stealing the green is to strengthen the body, the rest of the custom of seeking children. In Kaixian County, there is the custom of "scolding". Lantern Festival, people carry benches to the outdoors, the usual grievances, all cursed out, the cursed person shall not be cursed back.
14, Lantern Festival customs of Fujian Province
Lantern Festival to the new bride to send lamps, is the custom of Fujian in the old days, the lamps sent around the style is not the same, but the same purpose: "Timing." Some places in southern Fujian, such as Zhangpu and other places, there is a lamp festival called "wearing lamp feet" custom. The Dragon Lantern Dance in the Lantern Festival is the most popular program of the Lantern Festival in Fujian, with dragon lanterns tens of feet long, with heads and tails. The festival is also popular for a kind of Lantern Guessing, which is also called "Lantern Riddle Guessing" or "Lantern Guessing".
15, Lantern Festival customs of Guangdong Province
Guangdong Lantern Festival like to "steal" picking lettuce, mixed with cakes and cakes to cook for good luck; Xin'an County, the people in the last year to give birth to a man, are celebrated on the night of the Lantern Festival lights. Nanxiong lanterns, parents take the dragon lanterns on the dragon beard line to the child tie, it is said to protect children from disease. It is also said that the remaining candles in the dragon lanterns can be used to light up the bed, which is said to give birth to a son. Wenchang County people to steal the night of the Lantern Festival green, steal in order to be scolded as an auspicious omen, steal not in order not to be scolded as an auspicious omen.
16, the Lantern Festival customs of Yunnan Province
Yunlong County in the Lantern Festival before the welcome three Chong God, along the street shed sacrifice. Mile State one day after the Lantern Festival burning incense in the bridge, throwing stones in the water, and then take the water to wash your eyes, it is said that you can go to the disease.