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What is the next Yuan Festival? Introduction to the meaning and origin of the next Yuan Festival

There are many folk traditional festivals in China. Among them, Shangyuan Festival, Zhongyuan Festival and Xiayuan Festival are all folk traditional festivals with sacrificial customs. So what is the next Yuan Festival? How did the next Yuan Festival come from? Many people don't know much about these. This article brings you the meaning and origin of the next Yuan Festival. Let's learn about it.

what is the next Yuan Festival: October half and October dynasty

October 15 of the lunar calendar is a traditional Chinese Folk Festival, Xiayuan Festival, also known as' Xiayuan day 'and' Xiayuan '. The origin of Xiayuan Festival is related to Taoism. There are three Taoist officials, heaven officials, earth officials and water officials. They say that heaven officials bless, earth officials forgive sins, and water officials solve misfortune. The birth dates of the three officials are the 15th of the first month, the 15th of July and the 15th of October of the lunar calendar. These three days are called "Shangyuan Festival", "Zhongyuan Festival" and "Xiayuan Festival".

People in ancient times who believe in Taoism, or people who do not believe in Taoism but have a certain degree of recognition of its cultural connotation, attach great importance to the divine power of the water official emperor to "eliminate difficulties and solve difficulties". On this day, people offer sacrifices to their ancestors and welcome the water official emperor in order to seek relief from hardship and peace of life.

Some people think that the next Yuan Festival is' October new moon ', in fact, they are different festivals. The authoritative reference books Cihai and Ciyuan explain 'Xiayuan': 'festival name. In the old custom, the 15th day of October in the lunar calendar was the next Yuan Festival. " October new moon is the first day of October, and the next Yuan Festival is October 15. They are not on the same day. The special emphasis on the next Yuan Festival began in the Northern Song Dynasty, which worshipped Taoism. Volume 22 of Li Tao's "continued Zizhi Tongjian Chang Bian": "the sixth year of Emperor Taizong's Taiping and rejuvenating the country, the imperial edict that the next Yuan Festival should be like Shangyuan from now on, and give a three-day holiday." Volume 113 of the history of the Song Dynasty: "on the mid Yuan Festival in July of the second year of the Taiping rejuvenation of the country, Yudong turret watched the lanterns and gave officials a banquet. On the next Yuan Festival in October of the fifth year, according to the example of the Chinese yuan, lights were put on for three nights. "

'Xiayuan Festival' comes from Taoism and is a day for water officials to solve the problem. The full name of Xiayuan water official is "five Qi and three products to solve the evil water official". It is in charge of nine rivers and four blasphemies, three rivers and five seas, and twelve streams. It is the true holy God King, in charge of the books of dead ghosts and gods, and records the merits and demerits of all living beings. On October 15 of each year, the water official takes an examination of his status. According to the merits and demerits of all living beings, he receives rewards with blessings and turns into a form with evils. On this day, the Taoist temple set up fasting and Jiaojiao to solve the difficulties and surpass the dead. " October new moon is the first day of October. This day of sacrificial ancestors, which is popular everywhere to "send cold clothes", originated quite early. The beginning of October is a time node of autumn harvest and winter Tibet. The emergence of the festival should be related to the farming and belief of our ancestors. It can be seen from the earliest documents that the records of Jingchu customs and land by Zong Yu of the Southern Dynasty.

Because the "Xiayuan Festival" and "October new moon" are very close, both in October, and the festival customs are mainly sacrifice, which is related to ghosts, so it is difficult to distinguish between the people. Therefore, some local documents later confused the two into one, such as volume 4 of Chongming County Chronicle in 1930: October new moon is Xiayuan, and the county officials' sacrifice is as fierce as Qingming. The 1993 edition of Zhenjiang City Chronicle: 'the first day of October in the lunar calendar is the next Yuan Festival, commonly known as the October Dynasty'.

origin of Xiayuan Festival

Xiayuan Festival is a traditional Chinese folk festival. It is also called "Xiayuan day" and "Xiayuan" on October 15 of the lunar calendar.

On the 15th of the first month, China calls it the Shangyuan Festival, which celebrates the Lantern Festival, which has existed since ancient times; July 15, China called the Zhongyuan Festival, offering sacrifices to ancestors; On October 15, China called Xiayuan festival to offer sacrifices to ancestors.

The origin of Xiayuan Festival is related to Taoism. There are three Taoist officials, heaven officials, earth officials and water officials. They say that heaven officials bless, earth officials forgive sins and water officials solve misfortune. The birth dates of the three officials are the 15th of the first month, the 15th of July and the 15th of October of the lunar calendar. These three days are called "Shangyuan Festival", "Zhongyuan Festival" and "Xiayuan Festival". The next Yuan Festival is the day when the water officials solve the problem and the valley emperors solve the problem. It is commonly known as the day.

October 15 of the lunar calendar is the ancient 'Xiayuan Festival'. At this time, it was the harvest season in the countryside. Almost every family in Wujin area used Xingu ground glutinous rice flour to make small dumplings, wrapped vegetable stuffing hearts, and steamed outside the gate. In addition, as the old saying goes, 'in October half, three officials will lead the rice husk Tuanzi Zhai'. It turned out that Taoism said that the day was the birthday of the "three officials" (heaven officials, earth officials and water officials). Tianpoles were erected outside the Taoist family, and yellow flags were hung on the poles. In the evening, three sky lamps are hung on the top of the pole. It takes three officials to make a ball. After the Republic of China, this custom was gradually abolished, but folk ceremonies such as sacrificing the dead and burning the Treasury were held ahead of the "Zhongyuan Festival" on the 15th day of July of the lunar calendar.

October 15 of the lunar calendar is a traditional Chinese Folk Festival, the next Yuan Festival, also known as "next yuan day" and "next yuan". The origin of Xiayuan Festival is related to Taoism. There are three Taoist officials, heaven officials, earth officials and water officials. They say that heaven officials bless, earth officials forgive sins and water officials solve misfortune. The next Yuan Festival is the time when the water official solved the problem. It is commonly known as the day. According to the investigation, the water official recorded and played the heavenly court to solve the problem. " On this day, the Taoist temple became a Taoist arena, and the people offered sacrifices to the dead and prayed to the water officials of the lower Yuan Dynasty to solve their problems. In ancient times, the imperial court also stipulated that Japan banned slaughtering and postponed the execution date of the death penalty.

In addition, on the next Yuan Festival, there is also the custom of folk craftsmen offering sacrifices to the furnace God. The furnace God is the supreme old gentleman, probably derived from Taoist alchemy with a furnace!