Lantern Festival, one of the traditional festivals in China, also known as Shangyuan Festival, Xiaozheng Moon, New Year's Eve or Lantern Festival, is held on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month of the lunar calendar every year. The Lantern Festival is one of the traditional festivals in China. The Lantern Festival mainly includes a series of traditional folk activities such as viewing flower lanterns, eating tangyuan, guessing lantern riddles, and setting off fireworks. In addition, many local Lantern Festivals have also added traditional folk performances such as dragon lanterns, lion dances, stilt walking, rowing dry boats, twisting rice songs, and playing Taiping drums. In June 2008, the Lantern Festival was selected into the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage.
The first month is the first month of the lunar calendar, the ancients called "night" as "supper", and the fifteenth day of the first month is the first full moon night of the year, so the fifteenth day of the first month is called "Lantern Festival". According to the Taoist "Three Yuan", the fifteenth day of the first month is also called the "Shangyuan Festival". Since ancient times, the lantern festival customs have been dominated by the warm and festive lantern viewing customs.
The origin of the Lantern Festival
Lantern Festival
The formation of the Lantern Festival custom has a long process, which is rooted in the ancient custom of turning on the lanterns and praying for blessings. Turning on the lamp to pray for blessings usually begins on the fourteenth night of the first month, and the fifteenth day and night is the "main lamp", and the folk point lamp, also known as the "sending lamp lamp", is used to carry out the blessing activity of worshiping the gods.
The introduction of Buddhist culture in the Eastern Han Dynasty also has an important significance in promoting the formation of Lantern Festival customs, and during the Yongping period of the Han Ming Emperor, in order to promote Buddhism, the Han Ming Emperor ordered the fifteenth night of the first month to "burn the lamp to watch the Buddha" in the palace and the temple. Therefore, the custom of lighting the lamp on the fifteenth night of the first month gradually spread in China with the expansion of the influence of Buddhist culture and the later addition of Taoist culture.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, lanterns gradually became popular. Emperor Wu of Liang was a firm believer in Buddhism, and the fifteenth day of the first month of his palace was illuminated.
During the Tang Dynasty, cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries were closer, Buddhism was flourishing, and the people of Shiguan generally "lit lamps for Buddhas" on the fifteenth day of the first month, and Buddhist lights were all over the people. Since the Tang Dynasty, the Lantern Festival has become a legal matter.
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Commemoration of "Hiraru"
Legend has it that the Lantern Festival was set up to commemorate "Pinglu" during the reign of Emperor Wen of Han. After the death of Liu Bang, the son of Empress Lü, ascended the throne as Emperor Hui of Han. After Emperor Hui of Han's death, Lü Hou's monopoly on the government turned Liu's world into Lü's world, and the old ministers of the court and the Liu clan were deeply indignant, but they were afraid of Lü Hou's cruelty and dared not speak out.
After Lü Hou's death, Zhu Lü was afraid of being hurt and excluded. Therefore, he secretly assembled at the home of the general Lü Lu and conspired to commit a rebellion in order to completely seize Liu's Jiangshan. The matter reached the ears of Liu Xiang, the King of Qi of the Liu clan, and Liu Xiang, in order to protect Liu's Jiangshan, decided to raise an army against Zhu Lü and then contacted the founding ministers Zhou Bo and Chen Ping, and designed to lift Lü Lu, and the "Rebellion of Zhu Lü" was finally completely put down.
During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the sacrifice of the "Taiyi God" was scheduled for the fifteenth day of the first month. (Taiyi: The god who rules over everything in the universe). It is said that when Sima Qian created the "Taichu Calendar", he had already identified the Lantern Festival as a major festival.
2
Torch Festival
The Lantern Festival is a traditional festival in China since ancient times, it is said that the Lantern Festival began in ancient times when the ancient people held torches in the countryside to drive away insects and beasts, hoping to alleviate insect pests and pray for a good harvest.
To this day, people in some areas of southwest China still make torches from reeds or branches on the fifteenth day of the first month, and dance in groups holding torches high in fields or barns. Since the Sui, Tang and Song dynasties, it has been even more prosperous. Tens of thousands of people participated in the song and dance, from dusk to obscurity. With the changes of society and the times, the customs and habits of the Lantern Festival have long changed greatly, but it is still a traditional Chinese folk festival.
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The original intention has not changed
The custom of lantern burning is also believed to have originated in Taoism's "Three Yuan Theory"; Shangyuan, which means the first full moon night of the new year. The origin of the Shangyuan Festival, the Miscellaneous Records of the Years, records that this is in accordance with the Taoist stereotype.
At the end of the Han Dynasty, the important faction of Taoism, Wudou Mi Dao, worshipped the gods as heavenly officials, earth officials, and water officials, saying that heavenly officials blessed, earth officials pardoning sins, and water officials dissolving evil, and matching three yuan with three officials, saying that Shangyuan Tianguan was born on the fifteenth day of the first month, Zhongyuan Diguan was born on July fifteenth, and Xiayuan Water Official was born on October fifteenth. The Wei and Jin Daoists matched the "three officials" with the seasons of time, and set the fifteenth day of the first month as "Shangyuan", July 15 as "Zhongyuan", and October 15 as "Xiayuan", collectively known as "Three Yuan". In this way, the fifteenth day of the first month is called the Upper Yuan Festival. Wu Zimu of the Southern Song Dynasty said in the "Record of Dreams": "The fifteenth yuan festival of the first month is the birthday of the blessing of the Shangyuan Heavenly Officials. "Therefore, the first day of the yuan will be lit."
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The east wind blooms thousands of trees at night, and the stars are like rain. BMW carved car fragrant road. The sound of the phoenix vibrates, the jade pot turns, and the fish and dragon dance all night.
Moth snow willow golden wisps. Laughter filled the dark incense. The multitudes looked for him a thousand times. Suddenly looking back, the man was in the middle of the light.