Brief introduction to the origin of Lantern Festival

Lantern Festival is one of the traditional festivals in China. It is also called Shangyuan Festival, Xiaoyuan Festival, Yuanxi Festival or Lantern Festival. It falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month every year. The following is a brief introduction about the origin of the Lantern Festival, which I compiled, hoping to help everyone.

Introduction to the Origin of Lantern Festival 1 Lantern Festival is the main traditional festival in China, also known as Yuanxi and Yuanye, also known as Shangyuan Festival, because it is the first full moon night of the New Year. Because this festival has the custom of enjoying lanterns in past dynasties, it is also called Lantern Festival. The formation of Lantern Festival custom has a long process. According to general data and folklore, the fifteenth day of the first month was paid attention to in the Western Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sacrificed "Taiyi" in Ganquan Palace on the fifteenth night of the first month, which was regarded by later generations as the first time to sacrifice to heaven on the fifteenth day of the first month. However, the fifteenth day of the first month is indeed a folk festival after the Han and Wei Dynasties. The introduction of Buddhist culture in the Eastern Han Dynasty is of great significance to the formation of Lantern Festival customs. There are different opinions about the origin of the Lantern Festival, and there are three kinds of widely circulated opinions.

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 Anshi Rebellion, all officials made Liu Heng, the second son of Liu Bang, the Chinese Emperor. Impressed by the hard-won peace and prosperity, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty designated the 15th day of the first month of the first month to quell the "Rebellion" 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, and the celestial officials are happy, so the Lantern Festival should be lit. The custom of burning 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 make torches from reeds or branches on the 15th day of the first month, hold them high in groups and dance in fields or grain drying fields. It has been in full swing since the Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties. Tens of thousands of people took part in the song and dance performances, 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. In most places, the customs of Lantern Festival include eating Yuanxiao, watching lanterns and solve riddles on the lanterns, drumming, dragon dancing and lion dancing, but there are also unique customs in the north and south.

In some places, the Lantern Festival also has the custom of "walking away from all diseases", also known as "baking all diseases" and "dispersing all diseases". Most of the participants are women. They walk together or against the wall, or across the bridge in the suburbs, in order to drive away diseases and eliminate disasters.

The Origin of the Lantern Festival 2 The Lantern Festival is one of the traditional festivals in China, which existed as early as two thousand years ago in the Western Han Dynasty, and the Lantern Festival viewing began in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Advocating Buddhism, I heard that on the fifteenth day of the first month, monks watched the Buddhist relics and lit lamps to worship Buddha, so they ordered all the gentry and ordinary people to hang lights in palaces and temples that night. Later, this Buddhist ceremonial festival gradually formed a grand folk festival. The festival has experienced the development process from the court to the people, from the Central Plains to all parts of the country. During the reign of Emperor Wendi, the fifteenth day of the first month was named Lantern Festival. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the sacrificial activities of "Taiyi God" were scheduled for the 15th day of the first month. Taiyi: the God who rules the universe. When Sima Qian founded the "taichu calendar Law", he had identified the Lantern Festival as an important food of the Lantern Festival-Yuanxiao.

A grand festival. Another way of saying this is that the custom of burning lanterns in the Lantern Festival originated from 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, and the celestial officials are happy, so the Lantern Festival should be lit. The festivals and customs of Lantern Festival have been extended and expanded with the development of history. As far as the length of festivals is concerned, there is only one day in Han Dynasty, three days in Tang Dynasty and five days in Song Dynasty. In the Ming dynasty, the lights were on from the eighth day of August to the seventeenth night of the first month, lasting for ten days. Connected with the Spring Festival, it is a city during the day, which is very lively. The burning lights at night, especially the exquisite and colorful lights, make it the climax of entertainment activities during the Spring Festival. In the Qing Dynasty, there were more "hundred operas", such as dragon dancing, lion dancing, boating, walking on stilts and yangko dancing, but the festival period was shortened to four to five days. Shangyuan means the first full moon night of the New Year. The origin of Shangyuan Festival is recorded in Miscellanies of Years Old, which is a Taoist stereotype. Taoism once called the fifteenth day of the first month Shangyuan Festival, the fifteenth day of July Zhongyuan Festival and the fifteenth day of October Xiayuan Festival, which were collectively called "Sanyuan".

The gods worshipped by Wudou Midao, an important school of Taoism at the end of Han Dynasty, included celestial officials, local officials and water officials. It is said that local officials forgave their sins, water conservancy officials relieved Eritrea, and three officials were given three yuan. According to legend, ShangYuan TianGuan was born on the 15th of the first month, Zhongyuan GuanGuan was born on the 15th of July, and Xia Yuanshui GuanGuan was born on the 15th of October. In this way, the fifteenth day of the first month is called Shangyuan Festival. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Wu said in Dream: "The fifteenth day of the first month is Shangyuan Festival." It is said that local officials will forgive sins. The real motive of Lantern Festival custom is that it is at a new time, and people make full use of this special time stage to express their wishes for life.