The origin and implication of the Lantern Festival, when the customs and habits of the Lantern Festival have changed greatly with the changes of society and times, the Lantern Festival is still a traditional folk festival in China, and the Lantern Festival has pushed the celebration from New Year's Eve to another climax. Let's share the origin and significance of the Lantern Festival.
The origin and implication of the Lantern Festival 1 the origin of the Lantern Festival
Legend has it that a long time ago, there were many fierce birds and beasts that hurt people and livestock everywhere, so people organized to beat them. A god bird was trapped and landed on the earth, but was accidentally shot by an unsuspecting hunter. The Emperor of Heaven was very angry when he learned that. He immediately issued a decree and ordered the heavenly soldiers to set fire to the ground on the fifteenth day of the first month, burning up all human and animal property.
The daughter of Emperor Tiandi was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to watch innocent people suffer, so she risked her life and secretly drove Xiangyun to the world to tell the news to mankind. When people heard the news, it was like a blow to the head.
At that time, humans were scared and didn't know what to do. After a long time, an old man came up with an idea. He said: "On the 14th, 15th and 16th day of the first month, every household decorated with lanterns, set off firecrackers and set off fireworks. In this way, the emperor will think that people have been burned to death. "
Everyone nodded yes, and then they were ready to go separately. On the night of the fifteenth day of the first month, the emperor looked down and found that for three consecutive nights, the world was red and the noise was deafening. He thought it was the flame of the fire, and he was very happy. In this way, people saved their lives and property. To commemorate this success, every household hangs lanterns and sets off fireworks on the fifteenth day of the first month to commemorate this special day.
The moral of Lantern Festival
Lantern Festival, also known as Lantern Festival, Lantern Festival and Shangyuan Festival, is on the fifteenth day of the first full moon in a year. It originated in the period of Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty and has a history of more than 2,000 years. Judging from the traditional Spring Festival culture in China, the Lantern Festival is only one of the important parts of the Spring Festival. The custom of Spring Festival in ancient China lasted for one and a half months. The long Spring Festival has to go through three stages: preparing for the New Year, celebrating the New Year and celebrating the New Year. It was the Spring Festival from the 23rd lunar month to the 15th Lantern Festival in the first month. If we compare the trilogy movement, the climax of China Spring Festival trilogy is the Lantern Festival at the end of the Spring Festival. Lantern Festival is regarded as the last climax of the Spring Festival, because after this day, people really enter the new year's work, so people all over the country celebrate the Lantern Festival and pray for God to bless the good weather in the coming year.
Lantern Festival can be handed down because of the cultural significance of this festival: reunion, harmony and the pursuit of freedom. These are what we yearn for and our beautiful expectations. Every festival can be handed down because it contains people's wishes and yearning for a better life. Lantern Festival is rich in cultural connotation, and its culture has a long history, which is unique in the world folk culture. At present, the world competition for folk festivals is getting worse and worse, so it must be protected.
Ten customs of Lantern Festival
First, eat "Yuanxiao"
Eating Yuanxiao on the fifteenth day of the first month is a long-standing custom in China. Yuanxiao is called "Tangyuan". Its ingredients and taste are different, but the meaning of eating Yuanxiao is the same. Represents reunion and beauty, and the days are getting more and more prosperous. As the saying goes, harmony is more precious. Family harmony and family reunion are important factors of a complete family. Therefore, we must eat "Yuanxiao" with our families during the Lantern Festival.
Second, "send lanterns"
"Sending lanterns" is short for "sending lanterns", and its essential meaning is sending lanterns to children. That is, before the Lantern Festival, the bride's family sends lanterns to the newly-married daughter's family, or ordinary relatives and friends send them to the newly-married infertile family. In order to increase good luck, because "lamp" is homophonic with "Ding". Expressing the hope that her daughter will be lucky after marriage and have a son as soon as possible; If the daughter is pregnant, in addition to the big palace lantern, one or two pairs of small lanterns should be sent to wish her a safe pregnancy.
Third, play with dragon lanterns.
The dragon is the totem of China, and the Chinese nation advocates the dragon and regards it as a symbol of good luck. On the fifteenth day of the first month, the festive atmosphere of singing and dancing spread in many places.
Fourth, lion dance.
Lion dance, also known as "lion dance", "lion dance lantern" and "lion dance", is often performed in festivals and festive activities. Lions are regarded as auspicious animals in China, symbolizing good luck and good luck. Therefore, in the lion dance activities, people are entrusted with the good wishes of eliminating disasters and seeking good luck.
Verb (abbreviation for verb) solves the riddle on the lantern.
Every Lantern Festival, playing riddles is everywhere. I hope this year is festive and safe. Because riddles are enlightening and interesting, they are welcomed by all walks of life in the process of communication. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, various acrobatic skills began to appear in the lantern market. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, besides riddles and hundreds of operas, there were also opera performances.
Six, walking on stilts
Stilts clubs are generally organized by the masses spontaneously in series. On the 11th and 12th day of the first month, people began to take to the streets, which means to tell people that many folk flowers will be hung up this year. On the fifteenth day of the first month, I officially went to the streets until the end of the 18th National Congress.
Seven, offering doors, offering households
There were "seven sacrifices" in ancient times, which were two of them. The method of sacrifice is to insert poplar branches above the door, insert a pair of chopsticks in a bowl filled with bean porridge, or put wine and meat directly in front of the door.
Eight, stay away from all diseases
"Walk through all the diseases" is also called swimming through all the diseases, dispelling all the diseases, baking all the diseases, crossing the bridge and so on. It is an activity to eliminate disasters and pray for blessings. On the Lantern Festival night, women meet and go out together. When they see the bridge, they will cross it, thinking that this can cure diseases and prolong life.
Nine, Eiko Valley
Zigu is also called Gucci, and in the north she is called toilet aunt and pit aunt. The ancient folk custom is to offer sacrifices to Ce Shen Zigu on the 15th day of the first month, and to offer sacrifices to silkworm and mulberry, which shows many things. On the night of welcoming the daughter-in-law, people tie the portrait of the daughter-in-law with straw and cloth, and greet her in the toilet with pigsty at night. It truly reflects the thoughts and feelings of kind, loyal and sympathetic working people.
Ten, one mouse after another
The rat chasing festival is held on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Silkworm farmers cook a big pot of sticky porridge on the fifteenth day of the first month, some cover it with a layer of meat, put the porridge in a bowl, put it on the ceiling, corner and mouth where mice haunt, and curse the mice for eating silkworm babies again. Legend has it that by doing so, this year's mice will not eat silkworm babies.
The origin and implication of Lantern Festival 2. Why do you want to eat Yuanxiao?
Symbolic reunion
Eating Yuanxiao is an ancient traditional custom. Yuanxiao is round in shape, so eating Yuanxiao also means reunion, peace and happiness. Therefore, eating Yuanxiao on the Lantern Festival places people's wishes for a better life.
Nourish the body
Yuanxiao is made by grinding glutinous rice into powder. Glutinous rice is flat and sweet, and has the functions of invigorating spleen, stimulating appetite, tonifying deficiency, regulating blood, invigorating qi, stopping diarrhea, promoting fluid production and moistening dryness. At the same time, glutinous rice is rich in protein, iron, calcium, phosphorus and other mineral components, which can nourish the body after eating.
Are Yuanxiao and Tangyuan the same thing?
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Yuanxiao and Tangyuan are not the same thing. On the Lantern Festival, the north eats Yuanxiao and the south eats glutinous rice balls. Although Yuanxiao and Tangyuan are similar in appearance, there are also differences, and their making methods and tastes are different.
The difference between Yuanxiao and Tangyuan
Practical differences
Yuanxiao: Yuanxiao is mainly filled with stuffing. First make the stuffing, then cut it into small pieces, then put the stuffing in a basket full of glutinous rice flour and shake it back and forth, and roll a thick glutinous rice coat on the outside of the stuffing.
Tangyuan: The making process of tangyuan is more like wrapping jiaozi. First, the glutinous rice flour should be fully proofed, and then the stuffing should be made, wrapped in the proofed dough and kneaded.
Taste difference
Yuanxiao: The skin of Yuanxiao is slippery, so it tastes more delicate, and the stuffing of Yuanxiao will contain more water, so it will flow out easily after a bite.
Tangyuan: In contrast, the skin of tangyuan will be stronger, so it will be more chewy, and the soup cooked with tangyuan will be more sticky.
Differences in cooking methods
Yuanxiao: The cooking method of Yuanxiao is not only boiling, but also frying, so the taste will be richer.
Tangyuan: Tangyuan can only be boiled in water, but it is easier to cook than Yuanxiao, and it can be cooked in about 3-5 minutes.
Why do you hang lanterns on the Lantern Festival?
Increase the festive atmosphere.
Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month, there is a folk custom of hanging lanterns, so the fifteenth day of the first month is also called "Lantern Festival". Before the fifteenth day of the first month, the streets will be covered with lanterns, flowers everywhere and lights swaying, which can create a festive atmosphere and add a lively atmosphere to the festival. And most lanterns are red, which is also a symbol of good luck.
The Origin and Implication of Lantern Festival 3. The Origin of Lantern Festival
Legend of the origin of Lantern Festival 1
Lantern Festival is to commemorate the Pinglu of Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty. According to legend, after his death, a ministry in Lv Hou will be afraid of the complete works and plot to rebel. Liu Nang, the imperial clan, and Zhou Bo, the founding elder, put down the "chaos of all roads" together. After the rebellion, the ministers made Liu Heng, the second son of Liu Bang, the Chinese Emperor. Deeply impressed by the hard-won peace and prosperity, Emperor Wen designated the 15th day of the first month of the first month, when the "Zhu Lu Rebellion" was put down, as a day to have fun with the people, and every household in Beijing celebrated with lanterns and colorful decorations. Since then, the fifteenth day of the first month has become a popular folk festival-"Lantern Festival".
Legend of the origin of Lantern Festival II
Lantern Festival, also known as Shangyuan Festival, is the first full moon night celebrated by people in a year. According to the "ternary theory" of Taoism, the fifteenth day of the first month is Shangyuan Festival, the fifteenth day of July is Zhongyuan Festival, and the fifteenth day of October is Xiayuan Festival. The officials in charge of the upper, middle and lower elements are heaven, earth and man respectively. The celestial officials are happy and the Lantern Festival should be lit. The custom of lighting lanterns and setting off fireworks on the Lantern Festival comes from this saying.
Legend of the origin of Lantern Festival III
Lantern Festival originated from Torch Festival. In the Han dynasty, people held torches in rural fields to drive away insects and wild animals, hoping to reduce pests and pray for a bumper harvest. To this day, people in some areas in southwest China still use reeds or branches as torches on the 15th day of the first month, and hold high in groups to dance in fields or grain drying fields. Since the Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties, it has been in full swing. Tens of thousands of people took part in singing and dancing, from faint to dark. With the changes of society and times, the customs and habits of Lantern Festival have changed greatly, but it is still a traditional folk festival in China, and torches have gradually turned into colored lights.
Since the middle Tang Dynasty, the Lantern Festival has developed into a national carnival in China, so it is the most thorough and typical traditional festival.
Legend of the lantern festival
The origin of lighting lamps
Legend has it that a long time ago, there were many fierce birds and beasts everywhere, which hurt people and livestock, so people organized to beat them. A god bird landed on the earth because it got lost, but was accidentally shot by an unsuspecting hunter.
The Emperor of Heaven was very angry when he learned that. He immediately issued a decree, ordering the heavenly soldiers to set fire to the land on the fifteenth day of the first month, burning all the people, livestock and property. The daughter of the Emperor of Heaven is kind-hearted. She couldn't bear to see the innocent suffering of the people, so she risked her life and secretly rushed Xiangyun to the world to tell people the news. When people heard the news, they were like a thunderbolt overhead, and they were so scared that they didn't know what to do.
After a long time, an old man came up with an idea. He said: "On the 14th, 15th and 16th of the first month, every family decorated their houses, set off firecrackers and set off fireworks. In this way, the emperor will think that people have been burned to death. "
Everyone nodded and said yes, and they were ready to go separately. On the night of the fifteenth day of the first month, the emperor looked down and found that for three consecutive nights, the world was red and the noise was deafening. He thought it was the flame of the fire, and he was overjoyed. In this way, people saved their lives and property. In order to commemorate this success, every household hangs lanterns and sets off fireworks on the fifteenth day of the first month to commemorate this day.
Dong Fangshuo and Yuanxiao Girl
This legend is related to the custom of eating Yuanxiao: According to legend, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had a favorite named Dong Fangshuo, who was kind and funny. One winter it snowed for several days.
Dong Fangshuo went to the Imperial Garden to fold plum blossoms for Liang Wudi. As soon as I entered the garden gate, I found a maid-in-waiting in tears ready to throw herself into the well. Dong Fangshuo rushed forward to help and asked her why she committed suicide. It turns out that this maid-in-waiting named Yuanxiao has parents and a sister at home. She has never seen her family since she entered the palace. Every spring comes, she misses her family more than usual. I think in front of my parents, I would rather die than be filial. Dong Fangshuo expressed deep sympathy for her suffering and assured her that she would try her best to reunite with her family.
One day, Dong Fangshuo left the palace and set up a divination pavilion on Chang 'an Avenue. Many people are scrambling to find him for divination. Unexpectedly, what everyone wants is the signature of "burning us on the 16th day of the first month". Suddenly, there was a panic in Chang 'an. People are looking for a solution to the disaster. Dong Fangshuo said, "On the night of the 15th day of the first month, Vulcan will send a goddess in red to visit the earth. She is the messenger who ordered the burning of Chang 'an. I'll give you the copied poem and let today's emperor do something. " Say that finish, then dropped a red pillar and roared off. The people picked up the red post and quickly sent it to the palace to report to the emperor.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took it and read: "Chang 'an is robbing, and the imperial palace is being burned. It has been burning for fifteen days, and the midnight snack is red." He was so scared that he hurriedly invited resourceful Dong Fangshuo. Dong Fangshuo thought for a moment and said, "I heard that Vulcan likes to eat dumplings. Don't Yuanxiao in the palace often make dumplings for you? Let Yuanxiao package jiaozi on 15th night. Long live the incense and offerings, and order every family in Kyoto to pack jiaozi and worship Vulcan together. Then tell the subjects to hang lights together on the fifteenth night and set off firecrackers and fireworks all over the city, as if the whole city were on fire, so that the jade emperor could be fooled. In addition, the people outside the city were informed that they would go to the city to watch the lights on the fifteenth night, and they would eliminate disasters and solve problems in the crowd. Liang Wudi was very happy after hearing this, so he ordered him to do it according to Dong Fangshuo's method.
On the fifteenth day of the first month, Chang 'an City was decorated with colorful lights, crowded with tourists and very lively. The parents of the maid-in-waiting Yuanxiao also took their sister to the city to see the lights. When they saw the big palace lantern with the words "Yuanxiao" written on it, they shouted in surprise: "Yuanxiao! Lantern Festival! " ,
When Yuanxiao heard the shouts, she was finally reunited with her relatives at home.
After such a busy night, Chang 'an was safe. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was overjoyed and ordered that glutinous rice balls should be made for Vulcan every year on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the fifteenth day of the first month, the whole city was decorated with lanterns and set off fireworks. Because jiaozi cooked by Yuanxiao is the best, this day is called Lantern Festival.