the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month is coming soon. The fifteenth day of the first month is a traditional Chinese Festival immediately after the Spring Festival. There are many traditional customs in the ancient Lantern Festival, but now some traditional customs have not been well inherited, so many people feel that the festival atmosphere is not as strong as before. So what are the traditional customs of the Lantern Festival? This article brings you the traditional customs of the Han Lantern Festival. The custom of Lantern Festival in Han nationality
decorate
Since the formation of the custom of lanterns on the Lantern Festival, it has been a great event for all dynasties to watch lanterns on the 15th day of the first month. Emperor Jianwen of the Liang Dynasty once wrote a "Ode to the lights": "all the oil in the south is full, and the paint in the west is burning. Su Zheng rest in peace, wax out of Longchuan. The twilight reflects each other, and the reflection is clear and fresh. " It depicts the grand occasion of the court opening lanterns on the Lantern Festival at that time. During the reign of emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, a grand party was held on the 15th of the first month of each year to entertain guests and envoys from all over the world. According to the records of Sui Shu & middot; music Chronicle: the Lantern Festival celebration is very grand, with lights and colors everywhere, singing and dancing and music day and night. There are more than 30000 performers and more than 18000 musicians. The stage is eight miles long, and countless people play and watch lanterns all night. It developed into an unprecedented light Market in the Tang Dynasty. After the Mid Tang Dynasty, it has developed into a national carnival. In the heyday of the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 685-762), the lamp Market in Chang'an was very large, with 50000 lights and a wide variety of lanterns. The emperor ordered people to make a huge lamp building, with a width of 20 rooms and a height of 150 feet. It was golden and spectacular. In the Tang Dynasty, curfews were imposed. As soon as the drums sounded at night, travel was prohibited, and night offenders were punished; Only on the Shangyuan Festival, the emperor granted a three-day ban, known as "night release". In the Song Dynasty, the lantern was extended from three nights to five nights. Besides the lights, fireworks were set off and various acrobatics were performed, making the scene more lively. It is recorded in the Tokyo dream records that during the Lantern Festival, on Kaifeng Royal Street, thousands of colored lights are built into a lamp mountain, with lanterns and fireworks, glittering with gold and jade. Kyoto girls sang and danced, and thousands of people watched. Under the two corridors of the Royal Street, visitors gather magical powers, songs and dances, scales are tangent, and music is noisy for more than ten miles. In the streets and alleys, tea houses, wine shops, lights and candles are burning together, gongs and drums, firecrackers are ringing together, and lights are burning for hundreds of miles.
Compatriots everywhere celebrate the Lantern Festival
In the Ming Dynasty, after Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne in Jinling, in order to make the capital prosperous and lively, he also stipulated that the lights should be on on the eighth day of the first month and off on the seventeenth day of the first month. Even on the tenth night of the first month, every household should hang five-color lights. On the colored lights, various characters were depicted, dancing, birds flying and flowers flying, dragons leaping, fish leaping, lanterns and fireworks shining all night, drum music playing and noisy Dadan. This is the longest Lantern Festival in China, the Qing Dynasty, When the Manchus came to the Central Plains, the palace no longer held lantern fairs, but the Folk Lantern fairs were still spectacular. The date was shortened to five days and continues to this day.
guess lantern riddles
'guessing lantern riddles', also known as' playing lantern riddles', is an activity added after the Lantern Festival. Lantern riddles were first developed from riddles and originated in the spring and autumn and Warring States periods. It is a literary and artistic game full of ridicule, admonition, discipline, humor and banter. Riddles hanging in the lamp for people to guess and shoot began in the Southern Song Dynasty. It is recorded in the old stories of Wulin & middot; lanterns that poems are written with silk lanterns, with ridicule, figures, hidden head argot, and old Beijing funnies, teasing pedestrians. The Lantern Festival, the imperial city never sleeps, the Spring Festival Lantern Festival, the people miscellaneous Chen, poetry riddles book in the lamp, reflected in the candle, listed in the thoroughfare, let people guess, so it is called lantern riddles. Today, every Lantern Festival, lantern riddles are played everywhere, hoping to be happy and safe. Because riddles can inspire wisdom and interest, they are welcomed by all levels of society in the process of spreading.
In the Tang and Song Dynasties, various juggling skills began to appear in the lamp market. In addition to lantern riddles and hundreds of operas, songs and dances, opera performances were added to the lamp markets in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
In addition to touring the lantern market, people of all dynasties also have the customs of welcoming Zigu to worship the toilet God, crossing the bridge, touching nails and walking all kinds of diseases, and games such as hitting the Taiping drum, Yangko, stilts, dragon dance and lion dance.
The Lantern Festival in traditional society is a folk festival valued by urban and rural areas. It is particularly noisy in cities. It reflects the unique carnival spirit of Chinese people. The festival customs function carried by the traditional Lantern Festival has been dispelled by daily life. People gradually lose their common spiritual interest. The complex festival customs have been simplified to the food customs of 'eating Lantern Festival'.
dragon lantern dancing
Playing dragon lantern, also known as dragon lantern dance or dragon dance. Its origin can be traced back to ancient times. It is said that as early as the Yellow Emperor's time, in a large-scale song and dance of "qingjiao", there appeared the image of the leading bird played by people, and then arranged the dance scene of six dragons interspersed with each other. The Dragon Dance found in written records is the Xijing Fu written by Zhang Heng of the Han Dynasty. The author vividly depicts the dragon dance in the narration of 100 operas. According to the records in the book of Sui Dynasty & middot; musicology, Huanglong Bian, which was similar to the dragon dance performance in hundreds of operas, was also very wonderful. Dragon dance was popular in many parts of China. The Chinese nation advocates the dragon as a symbol of auspiciousness.
stilt walk
Stilt walking is a popular folk art performance. Stilts belong to one of the hundred operas in ancient China. They appeared as early as the spring and Autumn period. The earliest introduction of stilts in China was Liezi & middot; Shuo Fu: 'those who have LAN Zi in Song Dynasty use their skills to dry the song and Yuan Dynasties. The song and Yuan Dynasties summoned him to see his skills.
Folk traditional program -- lion dance
Lion Dance
Lion dance is an excellent folk art in China. People come to entertain with lion dance during the Lantern Festival or assembly celebrations. This custom originated in the Three Kingdoms period and became popular in the northern and Southern Dynasties. It has a history of more than 1000 years.
'lion dance' began in the Wei and Jin Dynasties and flourished in the Tang Dynasty. It is also known as' lion dance 'and' taipingle '. It is generally completed by three people. Two people dress up as lions, one as the lion's head, one as the lion's body and hind feet, and the other as the lion's Guide. The dance method is divided into civil and martial arts. The civil dance shows the lion's docility, shaking his hair, rolling and other movements. The martial lion shows the lion's ferocity, including jumping, pedaling Roll the ball.
land-boat dance
According to folklore, rowing a dry boat is to commemorate Dayu who made meritorious contributions to flood control. Rowing a dry boat, also known as running a dry boat, is to imitate the work of a boat on land. Most of the people who perform running a dry boat are girls. The dry boat is not a real boat. It is made of two thin plates, sawn into a boat shape, tied with bamboo and wood, covered with colored cloth and tied around the girl's waist. It is like sitting in a boat, holding an oar in hand and rowing. While running, it sings some local tunes and dances while singing. This is the dry boat. Sometimes another man dressed up as a passenger on a boat and performed with his partner. Most of them dressed up as clowns to amuse the audience with all kinds of funny actions. Dry boating is popular in many parts of China.
Eat yuanxiao
As a food, Yuanxiao 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 "fuyuanzi" and later called "Yuanxiao". Businessmen also called it "Yuanbao". In ancient times, the price of 'Lantern Festival' was relatively expensive. A poem said: 'distinguished guests hook the curtain to see the Royal Street. The treasures in the city come for a while. The flower rack in front of the curtain has no way, no money, no return. "
The practice of Lantern Festival is based on stuffing. The general process is to mix the stuffing, mix it evenly, spread it into large round slices, cool it, and then cut it into cubes smaller than table tennis. Then put the stuffing into a machine like a big sieve, pour rice noodles and 'sieve' it. As the fillings become spherical in collision with each other, jiangmi also sticks to the surface of the fillings to form yuanxiao.
Northern 'Roll' Lantern Festival, southern 'pack' dumplings, these are two different approaches and tastes of food.
Sacrificial door and household
There were 'seven sacrifices' in ancient times, which were two of them. The method of sacrifice is to insert poplar branches above the door, insert a pair of chopsticks in the bowl containing bean porridge, or directly put wine and meat in front of the door.
Rat chase
This activity is mainly for sericulture families. Because rats often eat large tracts of silkworms at night, it is said that on the 15th of the first month, rats can not eat silkworms if they are fed rice porridge. Therefore, these people boil a large pot of sticky porridge on the 15th of the first month, and some cover it with a layer of meat. They put the porridge in a bowl and put it in the ceiling and corner of the wall where the mice haunt. They also chant words while putting it in their mouth, cursing the mice that they won't die if they eat the baby silkworm again.
In Jingchu's chronicle of age, it is said that on the fifteenth day of the first month, an immortal came to a family surnamed Chen and said to them: if you can sacrifice me, you will have a good harvest of silkworms. Later, customs were formed.
Send child light
Referred to as' sending lanterns', also known as' sending lanterns', that is, before the Lantern Festival, the mother's family sends lanterns to the newly married daughter's family, or ordinary relatives and friends to the newly married infertile family, in order to add auspicious omens, because 'Lantern' is homonymous with 'ding'. This custom exists in many places. In Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, lamps are sent from the eighth to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. In the first year, a pair of palace lamps and a pair of glass lamps with colored paintings are sent. I hope my daughter will have good luck and give birth to Linzi as soon as possible after marriage; If your daughter is pregnant, in addition to the palace lights, you should also send one or two pairs of small lanterns to wish your daughter peace during pregnancy.
Yingzigu
Purple Gu is also called Qi Gu. In the north, it is mostly called toilet Gu and pit San Gu. It was an ancient folk custom that on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, purple Gu, the God of the toilet, should be worshipped, divined, sericulture, and accounted for public affairs. It is said that purple Gu was originally a concubine and was envied by the big woman. She was killed in the toilet on the 15th of the first month and became the toilet God. Every night on this day, people tie a life size portrait of Zigu with straw and cloth, and worship it in the pigsty in the toilet at night. This custom was popular in the north and south, and was recorded as early as the northern and Southern Dynasties.
Lantern Festival 'walking all diseases' for health
'walking all diseases', also known as traveling all diseases, dispersing all diseases, baking all diseases, walking bridges, etc., is an activity of eliminating disasters and praying for health. On the night of the Lantern Festival, women meet and travel together. When they see the bridge, they will cross it. They think this can cure diseases and prolong life.
It has been a custom in the north since the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Some are on the 15th, but most are on the 16th. On this day, women dressed in festival costumes went out of their homes in groups, crossed the danger by bridge, climbed the city, touched nails and begged for children, and didn't return until midnight.