Every year at the end of the New Year, followed by the Lantern Festival, Chinese the importance of the Lantern Festival, no less than the Spring Festival, so there are also a lot of legends about the Lantern Festival, poetry, etc., so that people are more fascinated by the Lantern Festival, on the Day of the Lantern Festival, people eat the Lantern Festival's unique food Tangyuan (Lantern), enjoy the colorful lanterns, and relatives, friends, partners happy to play, not to mention how comfortable.
With the integration of world culture, China has also begun to live a foreign festival, the most exaggerated time is almost every foreign festival, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Halloween, Carnival, Christmas, etc., and China's traditional festivals are snubbed, so the state introduced policies to revive traditional festivals, and arrange holidays, so that the people can feel the festive atmosphere of traditional festivals, and the folk also launched a discussion, discussing the correspondence between foreign festivals and domestic festivals, and the widely concerned Valentine's Day is the most star example.
Lantern Festival is China's Valentine's Day?
Because the ancient Chinese feudal society is more subtle, the women's door in the Ming and Qing dynasties is not out of the second door, can not show their faces, let alone meet with men, many women are married to see the real appearance of their husbands, it can be said that everything is gambling, but this is no way, feudal etiquette on women's restraint is outrageous, men and women can not meet, let alone fall in love, and will not develop such a festival as Valentine's Day.
But China does have festivals like Valentine's Day, one is Tanabata, the other is the Lantern Festival, first of all, Tanabata is the day when the cowherd weaver girl meets, which is more appropriate for China's Valentine's Day, but there are also problems, one of which is that the cowherd and the weaver girl only meet once a year, which is not in line with the frequency of daily couples dating, more like a long-distance relationship, secondly, the cowherd and the weaver girl are husband and wife, and there are children, saying that it is a lover is not bad, but it is not suitable for unmarried couples.
Speaking of the Lantern Festival, many people are a little confused about this definition, the Lantern Festival is a flower viewing lantern, how did it become Valentine's Day? This has to be said from the form of the Lantern Festival, also known as the "Shangyuan Festival", which originated in the Han Dynasty. At that time, Taoism began to prevail, and Taoism called the fifteenth day of the first month "Shangyuan Festival," the fifteenth day of July the "Zhongyuan Festival," and the fifteenth day of October the "Lower Yuan Festival," collectively known as the "Three Yuans." In ancient times, the night was called supper, so the "Shangyuan Festival" was also called the "Lantern Festival". From dusk onwards, the all-night festival was sacrificed with grand lights, and then later developed into a variety of lanterns hanging, and the emperor also attached great importance to this form, so gradually formed the custom of fifteen lights on the first month.
In order to facilitate management, many dynasties have implemented curfews, that is, they cannot go out at night, but the Lantern Festival is an exception, because all dynasties stipulate that this day can be "relaxed", allowing people to step on the moon to watch the lights, and also allowing women to go out to watch the lights, which gives many young men and women the opportunity to date, especially in the Tang and Song Dynasties, the folk customs are relatively open, and it is also very normal for men and women to meet together to watch the lanterns, and the famous poet Ouyang Xiu's "Sheng Cha Zi" recorded such a subtle psychology: "Last year's New Year's Eve , the flower market lights up like day; the moon on the willow tip, people about after dusk. On New Year's Eve this year, the flowers and lights are still the same, I don't see last year's people, and the tears wet the sleeves of the spring shirt.", last year's Lantern Festival with the man he liked met to see the lights, this year's Lantern Festival flower lights are still the same, but can not find last year's lover, and Xin Abandoned Disease also once had "the crowd looked for him for a thousand hundred degrees, and suddenly looked back, but the man was in the middle of the lights." The poem is enough to show that the Lantern Festival is a good time for young men and women to date in ancient times, and it is not too much to say that it is Valentine's Day.
But the Lantern Festival of young men and women dating is also limited, only in the Tang and Song Dynasties will appear such a scene, and in the Ming and Qing Dynasties even if women in the Lantern Festival to enjoy the lanterns, but also have a family to accompany and can not show their faces, said that the Lantern Festival is the Chinese Valentine's Day is somewhat arbitrary, it can be said that the ancient Chinese Tang and Song Dynasty Valentine's Day.
Lantern Festival is a carnival in China?
Carnival in Europe and the United States originated from religious activities, and later religious activities were cancelled, but carnival was retained, generally speaking, carnival is known for uncontrolled indulgence and drinking, masquerade balls, float parades, masks and banquets are several major features of carnival, lasting a long time, equivalent to giving everyone a relaxing time, so it is widely liked by Europeans and Americans. And China's Lantern Festival is also quite a bit of carnival meaning, the Sui and Tang Dynasty Lantern Festival is a full-night carnival, and can last for a week, the Sui Emperor in order to show off their own merits, once summoned folk artists into the capital to perform during the Lantern Festival, participated in as many as 10,000 artists, this performance lasted for a month, it can be said that it is a complete carnival.
During the Song Dynasty, although the military was relatively weak, but the culture was prosperous, and the Song Emperor was also relatively tolerant of the common people, creating a unique Song Dynasty Lantern Festival culture, the Song Dynasty Lantern Festival in addition to traveling together to enjoy the lanterns, there are also "riddles" and acrobatic performances, as well as all kinds of firecrackers, fireworks, but also dragon lantern dances, stilts, twisting songs, playing Taiping drums, playing flower boats, running donkeys, dancing lion dances and other activities, the sound of the streets and alleys, lively, which makes the usually more depressed people can be said to be carnival. Although China's Lantern Festival also has the meaning of carnival, it is not a level compared to Europe and the United States, so it is unreasonable to say that the Lantern Festival is a Chinese carnival, at least the Lantern Festival is not for carnival.
China's Lantern Festival has its own meaning, it is not Valentine's Day nor Carnival, the Lantern Festival in addition to men and women dating, carnival has other deep meanings, eating Tangyuan has the expectation of reunion, watching the lanterns to satisfy their spiritual enjoyment, as well as prayer activities, are the expectations and yearning for a better life in the future, the Lantern Festival as our traditional festival, has a different meaning, we have to have our own cultural self-confidence, these festivals are our treasures, At least we rarely hear Europeans and Americans say that carnival is the Lantern Festival in Europe and the United States.