The origin of Lantern Festival

Lantern Festival, also known as Shangyuan Festival, Xiaoyuanyuan Festival, Yuanxi Festival or Lantern Festival, is the 15th day of the first lunar month and the last important festival of China Spring Festival. Lantern Festival is one of the traditional festivals in China, Chinese character cultural circle and overseas Chinese. The first month is the first month of the lunar calendar. The ancients called "night", so the fifteenth day of the first full moon in a year was called Lantern Festival.

The Origin and Legend of Lantern Festival

Yuanxiao originally meant "the night of Shangyuan Festival", because the main activities of Shangyuan Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month were to eat glutinous rice balls and enjoy the moon at night, and later the name of this festival evolved into "Lantern Festival". On the night of Lantern Festival, the streets are decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and people enjoy lanterns, solve riddles on the lanterns and eat Lantern Festival, which pushes the celebration activities started on New Year's Eve to another climax and becomes a custom handed down from generation to generation. In addition, in many places, traditional folk performances, such as playing dragon lanterns, playing lions, walking on stilts, boating, yangko dancing and playing Taiping drums, have all joined the Lantern Festival.

Yuanxiao was only called the fifteenth day of the first month, the first half of the first month or the full moon when the early festivals were formed, and it was called Yuanxiao or Yuanxiao after Sui. Influenced by Taoism in the early Tang Dynasty, it was also called Shangyuan, but it was only in the late Tang Dynasty that it was occasionally called Yuanxiao. But since the Song Dynasty, it has also been called Dengxi. In the Qing dynasty, it was also called the Lantern Festival. In foreign countries, Lantern Festival is also called Lantern Festival.

The Origin and Legend of Lantern Festival

In June 2008, the Lantern Festival was selected as the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage.

There are some legends about the origin of the Lantern Festival.

1. It is said that Emperor Wendi put down the "Zhu Lu Rebellion" on 1 month 15, so this day was designated as the Lantern Festival.

After the death of Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang, Lv Hou's son Liu Ying became Emperor Hui of Han Dynasty. Hui Di was born weak and indecisive, and power gradually fell into the hands of Lv Hou. After the death of Emperor Hui of Han Dynasty, he monopolized the state affairs and turned Liu's world into Lu's. Liu Zongshi, an old minister in the DPRK, was deeply indignant, but they were all afraid of cruelty and did not dare to say anything.

After Lv Hou's death, the Lushi family was in a state of anxiety, afraid of being hurt and excluded. So, in the general's home, they secretly assembled and plotted to make trouble in order to completely seize Liu's country.

This incident reached the ears of Liu Nang, the king of Qi in Liu's imperial clan. In order to protect Liu Jiangshan, Liu Nang decided to fight against Zhu Lu. Subsequently, Liu Nang got in touch with founding fathers Zhou Bo and Chen Ping and plotted to get rid of Lv Lu. The "Zhu Lu Rebellion" was finally completely put down.

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, which is the Lantern Festival.