Tomorrow is the 15th day of the first month. It's our Lantern Festival. It's the first full moon night after the Spring Festival. It has the meaning of happy reunion. Besides eating dumplings, watching lanterns and guessing riddles, the Lantern Festival also has the custom of praying for dolls and listening to incense.
The custom of the 15th day of the first month
1, stealing vegetables
It's said that "stealing green" will bring good luck, especially in the process of stealing, it's even more lucky to be found. On the night of the 14th or 15th of the first month, villagers will go to each other's vegetable fields to steal vegetables to let others find out. It is said that the more people scold them, the better luck they will have next year. In ancient times, "stealing green vegetables" had to eat the vegetables stolen that night. Now they are usually eaten the next day. Eating these stolen vegetables is said to dispel pathogenic factors and diseases, and people will become smart, generous and kind-hearted.
2. Pray for dolls
On the Lantern Festival, people can see pious pilgrims kneeling and worshipping incense before sending their children to their mothers, bringing home clay dolls of different shapes and lively and handsome. This is the custom of praying for dolls in Heluo area. The time of praying for dolls is not fixed, but mostly on the 15th day of the first month. In fact, the custom of praying for dolls is that parents expect new people to have children early, and the family is prosperous. At the same time, it is also a kind of urging and reminding to their sons and daughters in law.
3. Old age worship
As the old saying goes: 'on the 15th day of the first month, I pray for my old age'. In the traditional folk custom, "new year" generally refers to the period from the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month to the 15th of the first lunar month, during which visiting relatives and friends are collectively referred to as "New Year's greetings". Therefore, the 15th day of the first month is the last 'deadline' for new year's greetings. As long as the visit time is less than the 15th day, it is regarded as new year's greetings. Many people are too busy to come back because of many things during the festival, so the time of new year's Eve will be postponed later, but at the latest, they should pay a visit and send a new year's Eve on the 15th day of the first month, commonly known as "New Year's Eve on the 15th day of the first month". So on the 15th day of the first month, many people came to visit their relatives and friends with big bags and small gifts, which became a scene in the streets of old Beijing.
4, travel lights
On the 15th day of the first month, the people of Lecheng carried the City God out of the temple and carried him around in sedans to check the people's situation. Everywhere the City God went, there were firecrackers, and every family presented fat chickens, hoping that everything would go well in the coming year. In addition, the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month is also a great event in Qionghai.
5. Look at the Lantern
On the 15th night of the first month, the main activity is to watch lanterns. In the early years, people started to do it from the 10th day of the first month. Almost everyone started to do it, and every family tied lanterns. On the night of the Lantern Festival, people hold up candles to light the lights and play together. Especially in Ming and Qing Dynasties, there are many kinds of lanterns, such as lotus lanterns, eight treasure lanterns, octagonal lanterns, high angle lanterns and dragon lanterns. In today's Dengshikou, Gulou and Dashilan areas, there are many kinds of lanterns, such as flower lanterns and ornamental lanterns. The place name of Dengshikou comes from the bright lights.
6, listen to incense
On the 15th day of the first month, there is a custom of listening to incense. In ancient times, young girls who want to get a good couple first burn incense in front of the gods at home to worship, tell their minds, and pray for the gods to indicate the direction of listening to incense. Then, the first words that they overhear on the road accidentally or secretly according to the direction are remembered in their hearts, and then they throw wild rice sticks at home to judge the auspiciousness and badness of the divination. For example, when a person hears that he or she is going to have a sweet cake or a blooming flower or a full moon, it means auspicious omen and the wedding is near. However, nowadays, the custom of listening to incense is rare.
7. High fire
In the region of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia, there is the custom of "burning the fire" in the first month. As for the flourishing fire, some areas burn bamboo, some areas burn pine, and some areas burn coal. According to the old people, the purpose of burning the fire is mainly to exorcise evil spirits and pray for blessings. Of course, it has another meaning of greeting the gods and receiving blessings. In Daning County, Jixian County and Yan'an Prefecture of Shanxi Province in the area of Shanxi Shaanxi Grand Canyon, there is a custom of burning a fire in one's yard in the countryside on the 15th night of the first month.
8. Guessing lantern riddles
Guessing lantern riddles, also known as playing lantern riddles, is an activity added after the Lantern Festival. Lantern riddles originated from riddles in the spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period. It is a kind of literary game full of ridicule, discipline, humor and banter. Riddles hang on the lamp for people to guess and shoot. It began in the Southern Song Dynasty. Now every Lantern Festival, all places play riddles, I hope this year can be happy, safe.
9. Light gun
In Hainan, the 15th day of the first month is not the end of the year. In Wenchang, it's very interesting to rob the light Qiu on the 15th day of the first month. Deng, in Hainan dialect, is homonymous with "Ding". In Wenchang, on the night of the 15th day of the first month, when people hold up their lanterns and circle the village and hang them in the public Temple of the village, the unborn couple will go to grab the lanterns made by the parents who have given birth to their children so that they can have children next year. After the next year's wish to have a child, I will also put up lanterns and hang them in the village's temple to fulfill my wish. At this time, other couples who have no children can carry out the activity of "robbing light and fur".