Best wishes for Lantern Festival
The Lantern Festival is one of the traditional festivals between China and the Chinese character cultural circle and overseas Chinese. Lantern Festival mainly includes a series of traditional folk activities such as viewing lanterns, eating dumplings, guessing lantern riddles, and setting off fireworks. In addition, many local Lantern Festivals also added traditional folk performances such as dragon lanterns, lion dances, walking on stilts, paddling boats, twisting yangko, and playing Taiping drums.
The 15th day of the first lunar month of the summer calendar is the Lantern Festival, a traditional Chinese festival. The first month is the first month, and the predecessors called the night "Xiao", and the fifteenth is the first full moon night of the year, so the fifteenth of the first month is called the Lantern Festival. Also known as "Shangyuanjie". According to Chinese folk traditions, on the festive night of the renewal of the first yuan and the rejuvenation of the whole year, the sky is bright and the moon is high, and there are thousands of colored lanterns on the ground. People are indecent lanterns, guessing lantern riddles, eating Lantern Festival and reuniting with hundreds of people.
The Lantern Festival originated in the Han Dynasty, and it is said that it was set up to commemorate the "Ping Lu" when Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty. After the death of Han Hui Emperor Liu Ying, Queen Lu usurped power, and the Lu family monopolized the government. Zhou Bo and Chen Ping-ping were behind Lu Hou, eliminating the forces of Lu Hou and supporting Liu Heng as the Chinese Emperor. Because the day when Zhu Lu was put to rest is the fifteenth of the first lunar month, thereafter every year on the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the three times together with the statues of supporting Xi and Jiang Ying are more intelligent. , The Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty went out of the palace in microservices, and shared the joy with the people to commemorate. And set the 15th of the first month as the Lantern Festival. In the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the memorial activity of the "Taiyi God" was on the fifteenth of the first lunar month. Sima Qian listed the Lantern Festival as a major festival in the "Taishi Calendar".
There is a custom of eating Lantern Festival during the Lantern Festival in our country. According to folk legend, the Lantern Festival originated from King Chu Zhao during the Spring and Autumn Period. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, King Chu Zhao passed through the Yangtze River and saw floating objects on the surface of the river. It was a sweet delicacy with white outside and red inside. King Chu Zhao taught Confucius, and Confucius said, "This duckweed fruit is also a sign of ZTE." The rice cakes for the Lantern Festival and the Spring Festival. , Like the zongzi in the Dragon Boat Festival, they are all festive food. Eating Lantern Festival symbolizes family reunion like a full moon, and it relies on people's exaggerated wishes for their future lives. Lantern Festival is called "Tangyuan", "Yuanzi", "Floating Yuanzi" and "Shuiyuan" in the south. It is made of glutinous rice, either solid or filled. The stuffing includes red bean paste, sugar, hawthorn, etc., which can be boiled, fried, steamed or fried.
The custom of burning lanterns during the Lantern Festival originated from the Taoist "Sanyuan"; the 15th of the first lunar month is the Shangyuan Festival, the 15th of July is the Zhongyuan Festival, and the 15th of October is the Xiayuan Festival. In charge of the upper, middle, and lower ternary divisions are three officials: "Heaven", "Earth", and "Human". The heavenly officials are happy, so the lamp should be lighted during the Shangyuan Festival. Lighting the lanterns on the Lantern Festival has been a habit since the Han Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, the Lantern Festival was treated more squarely; lighting the lanterns on the Lantern Festival became a custom. Lu Zhaolin, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, once described the grand occasion of Lantern Festival lighting in "Fifteen Nights Watching Lanterns" in this way, "The star falls in the Han Dynasty, and the building looks like the moon hangs." The custom of lighting lanterns during the Lantern Festival, inherited from the last dynasties, festivals There are more and more lamp styles, and there are more and more lamp titles and contents, such as mirror lamps, phoenix lamps, glazed lamps and so on. In addition to burning lanterns, the Lantern Festival also displays fireworks.
Chinese Valentine's Day
The Lantern Festival is also a romantic festival in traditional Chinese festivals. The Lantern Festival provides an opportunity for unmarried men and women to meet in a traditional feudal society. Young girls in traditional society are not allowed to go out for free activities, but they can go out together during the festival. The festival lantern is just a chance to socialize, unmarried men and women can also find objects for themselves through the lantern. During the Lantern Festival, it is another time for young men and women to meet their lovers. Therefore, the Lantern Festival can be said to be an authentic Chinese Valentine's Day, not the Qixi Festival as some people have superficially imagined.
In Taiwan, there is a traditional custom that unmarried women steal green onions or vegetables on the Lantern Festival night and marry a good husband, commonly known as: "stealing the green onions and marrying a good man", "stealing the vegetables and marrying a good son-in-law", hoping for a happy marriage The girl who wants to steal green onions or green vegetables in the vegetable garden on the night of the Lantern Festival, looking forward to the future happiness of the family, there are also music and dance performances in the Lantern Market of the Tang Dynasty. Thousands of court ladies and folk girls sing and dance in the lights, called Xing. Song, step song.
There are several interesting folk legends about the origin of the Lantern Festival:
The legend about the lamp
Legend has it that a long time ago, there were many ferocious birds and beasts that hurt people and livestock everywhere. People organized to beat them. A divine bird landed in the world because of being lost, but was accidentally shot to death by an unsuspecting hunter. The emperor was very angry when he knew it, and immediately delivered an order, ordering the heavenly soldiers to set fire to the earth on the 15th of the first lunar month, and burn all the human and animal property in the earth to death. The daughter of the Emperor of Heaven was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see the people suffer innocently, so she risked her life and secretly drove auspicious clouds to the world, telling people the news. When everyone heard the news, it was like a Jiao Lei ringing above their heads. I was so scared that I didn’t know what to do. After a long time, an old man came up with a way. He said, “On the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth of the first lunar month, every household will put up lights and lights at home. Firecrackers and fireworks are set off. In this way, the emperor will think that people are all burned to death."
Everyone nodded and said yes, they split up and prepared to go. On the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Emperor of Heaven looked down and found that the world was a red light, and the sound rang into the sky. This was the case for three consecutive nights. In this way, people saved their lives and property. In order to commemorate this success, from now on to the fifteenth of the first lunar month, every household will hang lanterns and set off fireworks to commemorate this day.
Set up to commemorate "Ping Lu" when Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty
Another legend is that the Lantern Festival was set up to commemorate "Ping Lu" during Emperor Wen's time. After the death of Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, Liu Ying, the son of Hou Lv, became the Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty. Emperor Hui was cowardly and indecisive by nature, and power gradually fell into the hands of Empress Lu. After Emperor Huidi of the Han Dynasty died of illness, Hou Lv took over government affairs and turned the world of Liu into Lv's world. The veteran of the court and the Liu family were deeply indignant, but they were afraid of Lv's cruelty and dared not speak.
After Lu Hou died of illness, Zhu Lu was anxious and afraid of being hurt and excluded. Therefore, they secretly gathered in the house of General Lu Lu and conspired to cause chaos in order to completely seize the Liu family.
This incident spread to the ears of Liu Nang, the king of the Qi clan of the Liu family. Liu Nang decided to fight against Zhu Lu and then contacted the founding officials Zhou Bo and Chen Ping to protect the Liu family. The design eliminated Lu Lu, "Zhu Lu’s Rebellion." It was finally calmed down.
After the suppression of the chaos, the officials supported Liu Bang's second son, Liu Heng, to ascend the throne and call him Emperor of Han Wen. Emperor Wen deeply felt that the peaceful and prosperous age was hard to come by, so he set the fifteenth day of the first lunar month when the "Zhulu Rebellion" was quelled as the Day of Fun with the People. Every family in the capital celebrated with lanterns and festoons. Since then, the fifteenth of the first lunar month has become a folk festival that celebrates the whole world-the "Lantern Festival".
Dongfang Shuo and Lantern Festival Girl
This legend is related to the custom of eating Yuanxiao: According to legend, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had a favorite named Dongfang Shuo, who was kind and funny. One winter, after a few days of heavy snowfall, Dongfang Shuo went to the Imperial Garden to fold plum blossoms for Emperor Wu. As soon as I entered the garden gate, I found that a lady of the palace was in tears and was about to plunge into the well. Dongfang Shuo hurriedly stepped forward to rescue her and asked why she wanted to commit suicide. It turned out that the lady's name was Yuanxiao, and there were parents and a younger sister in the family. Since she entered the palace, she has never seen her family again. Every year when Lajun Spring comes, I miss my family more than usual. I feel that I can't do my filial piety in front of my parents, it's better to die. After hearing her experience, Dongfang Shuo felt deeply sympathetic and assured her that she would try to reunite her with her family.
One day, Dongfang Shuozou Palace set up a divination booth on Chang'an Avenue. Many people are vying to ask him for divination. Unexpectedly, what everyone asks for is the signature of "burning oneself on the 16th of the first lunar month." Suddenly, there was a lot of panic in Chang'an. People are asking for solutions to the disaster. Dongfang Shuo said: "On the evening of the 13th of the first lunar month, Vulcan Sovereign will send a red-clothed goddess to visit. She is the messenger who is ordered to burn Chang'an. I will give you the transcript of the verse, so that today can think of a solution." After that, he threw down a red post and walked away. The people picked up the red post and hurriedly sent it to the palace to report to the emperor.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took a look and saw that it read: "Changan is robbery, Emperor Huo is quelled, fifteen days of fire, flame red supper", he was shocked, and he quickly invited the resourceful Dongfang Shuo. Dongfang Shuo thought for a while and said, "I heard that Vulcan Monarch loves glutinous rice balls. Don’t the Lantern Festival in the palace often make glutinous rice balls for you? On the fifteenth night, I can make glutinous rice balls for Lantern Festival. Every family makes glutinous rice balls and worships the god of fire together. Then tell the subjects to hang up lights on the night of the fifteenth, and set off firecrackers and fireworks all over the city, like a big fire in the city, so that you can hide from the Jade Emperor. In addition, notify the outside of the city. People, go to the city to watch the lights at night on the 15th, mixed in the crowd to eliminate disasters and solve problems." After hearing this, Emperor Wu was very happy, so he told the decree to follow Dongfang Shuo's method.
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the city of Chang'an was decorated with lights and festoons, and tourists were bustling with each other and it was very lively. The parents of the palace lady Lantern Festival also took her sister into the city to watch the lanterns. When they saw the big palace lantern with the words "Lanxiao", they shouted in surprise: "Lanxiao! Lantern!", when they heard the shout, they finally reunited with their relatives at home.
After such a lively night, Chang'an City was really safe. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was overjoyed and ordered to make glutinous rice balls for Vulcan Monarch on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, lights and fireworks would be hung up throughout the city. Because the dumplings made in Yuanxiao are the best, people call the dumplings Yuanxiao, and this day is called the Lantern Festival.