The Origin and Customs of 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. On the night of the first month of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wudi offered sacrifices to "Taiyi" (Taiyi: the God who rules the universe) in Ganquan Palace, which was regarded by later generations as the precursor of offering sacrifices to the gods 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.

During the period of Yongping, Emperor Hanming of the Lantern Festival (58-75 AD), when Ming Taizu advocated Buddhism, it coincided with Cai Cheng's refuge from India, saying that on the fifteenth day of the first month, monks from Mohato, India, gathered to pay tribute to the relics, which was an auspicious day to participate in Buddhism. In order to carry forward Buddhism, Emperor Han Ming ordered "burning lamps to show Buddha" in the palace temple on the 15th night of the first month. Therefore, the custom of burning lanterns on the fifteenth night of the first month, with the expansion of the influence of Buddhist culture and the addition of Taoist culture, gradually spread in China.

It is also said that the Lantern Festival originated from the 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 them high in groups and 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 custom of Lantern Festival has changed greatly, but it is still a traditional folk festival in China.

Lantern Festival customs

Since the custom of decorating lanterns on the Lantern Festival came into being, it is a great event to watch lanterns on the fifteenth day of the first month in all dynasties. Emperor Wen of Liang Jian once wrote a poem "Li Edeng Fu": "The south is full of oil, and the west is full of paint. Su Zheng is resting in peace, and the wax comes out of Longchuan. " Oblique light sets each other off, and the reflection is clear. "It depicts the grand occasion of the court decorating lanterns during the Lantern Festival. During the reign of Yang Di, a grand banquet was held every year on the 15th day of the first month to entertain guests and envoys from all over the world. According to the Records of Music in Sui Shu, the Lantern Festival is very grand, with lanterns and colorful decorations everywhere, singing and dancing day and night, with more than 30,000 performers and more than 0.8 million musicians. The stage is eight miles long, and countless people are watching lanterns, staying up all night, enjoying themselves and being very lively. In the Tang dynasty, it developed into an unprecedented lantern market, and after the middle Tang dynasty, it has developed into a national carnival. In the prosperous period of the Tang Xuanzong Kaiyuan (685-762 AD), the lantern market in Chang 'an was very large, with 50,000 lanterns and all kinds of lanterns. The emperor ordered 20 giant lantern buildings with a height of 150 feet, resplendent and magnificent. In the Tang dynasty, a curfew was imposed, and it was forbidden to travel when drums were banned at night. Those who committed crimes at night were punished. Only on the Lantern Festival did the emperor grant a three-day ban, which was called "letting the night go". In the Song Dynasty, lanterns were extended from three nights to five nights. In addition to lanterns, fireworks were set off, and various juggling performances were held, making the scene more lively. "Tokyo Dream" records that during the Lantern Festival, on the Imperial Street in Kaifeng, 10,000 lanterns piled up into a lantern mountain, and the lanterns were fireworks, resplendent and magnificent. The girls in Kyoto are singing and dancing, and people are watching. "Tourists gathered under the two colonnades of the Imperial Street, with unique skills, singing and dancing, tangent scales and noisy music, stretching for more than ten miles." Streets and alleys, teahouses and restaurants, lights and candles are burning together, gongs and drums are loud, firecrackers are ringing, and hundreds of miles of lights are on.

In the Ming Dynasty, after Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne in Jinling, in order to make the capital prosperous and lively, he also stipulated that the lights should be turned off on the eighth day of the first month and on the seventeenth day for ten consecutive nights. All kinds of figures are depicted on lanterns, dancing, birds flying, dragons dancing, lanterns and fireworks shining all night, drums and music ringing, which is the longest Lantern Festival in China. In the Qing Dynasty, Manchu entered the Central Plains. The date was shortened to five days and continues to this day.

Solve riddles; solve lantern riddles; guess riddles on hanging lanterns

"Lantern riddle", also known as "playing riddles", is an added activity after the Lantern Festival. Lantern riddles first developed from riddles and originated in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. This is a literary game full of ridicule, discipline, humor and banter. Lantern riddles hung on lanterns for people to guess and shoot began in the Southern Song Dynasty. "Old Things in Wulin: Lights" records: "People make poems with silk lanterns, laugh at them, draw characters, hide their heads and slang, and tease pedestrians." Lantern Festival, the imperial city stays up all night, and the Lantern Festival is enjoyed in spring. People are mixed. Poems and riddles are written on lanterns, reflected on candles and listed on the road, so people can guess, so they are called "riddles". Now 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.

In addition to visiting the lantern market, people in the past dynasties also had customs such as welcoming children to visit Ce Shen, crossing the bridge and touching nails to walk away from all diseases, and playing games such as Taiping Drum, Yangko, stilts, dragon dance and lion dance.

Lantern Festival in traditional society is a folk festival that both urban and rural areas attach importance to. It is particularly lively in the city, which embodies the unique carnival spirit of China people. The traditional Lantern Festival's function of festival customs has been dispelled by daily life, and people have gradually lost their spiritual interest. The complicated holiday custom is simplified to the eating custom of "eating Yuanxiao". Dance dragon lantern

Play with dragon lanterns

Playing dragon lanterns, also known as dragon lanterns or dragon dancing. Its origin can be traced back to ancient times. Legend has it that as early as the Yellow Emperor period, in a large-scale song and dance in the suburbs of Qing Dynasty, there was an image of a leading bird played by a man, and then a dance scene with six dragons interspersed with each other was arranged. The dragon dance recorded in writing is Zhang Heng's Xijing Fu in Han Dynasty. The author vividly described the dragon dance in the descriptions of hundreds of plays. According to the records in Sui Shu Le, Huanglongbian, which was similar to the dragon dance performance in one hundred plays in Yang Di period, was also very wonderful, and dragon dance was very popular in many places in China. The Chinese nation advocates dragons and regards them as auspicious symbols. Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica said: "The dragon has nine shapes: the body is like a snake, the face is like a horse, the horns are like deer, the eyes are like rabbits, the ears are like cows, the abdomen is like storks, the scales are like carp, the claws are like eagles, and the palms are like tigers." In the eyes of the ancients, dragons have the functions of calling for rain and eliminating disasters and epidemics. China has been founded by agriculture since ancient times, and good weather is of great significance to production and life. Therefore, the ancients strongly hoped for the protection of dragons, thus forming the custom of offering sacrifices to dragons and lanterns during the Lantern Festival. In the Song Dynasty, Wu's Dream recorded that on the night of the Lantern Festival, "the grass was tied into a dragon, covered with a green curtain, and thousands of candles were densely placed, looking like a double dragon flying away." In the long-term development and evolution, dragon dance has also formed many different styles, mainly dragon lanterns and cloth dragons. Dragon lantern, also known as "dragon", is the most popular dragon dance. This kind of dragon is made of bamboo and tied into a dragon head, a dragon body and a dragon tail, wrapped in paper and painted with color. There are many knots in the dragon body, and the number of knots can be more or less; But it must be singular. Candles per node; In some places, candles are not lit, but "oil twists" made of tung oil, cotton yarn or rushes. The burning power of this kind of oil twist is very lasting. When the dragon lantern dances, it is colorful and never goes out. There is a wooden handle below for dancers to hold. There is also a person holding a red silk bead to direct the dragon dance in front of the dragon. For example, in Yangjiang, Guangdong Province, the "carp and fish dragon" is flexible, skillful and good at change. Dragon dancers wear retractable carp skin. At first, the audience saw the fish swimming in the water, but with the cheerful music, the fish suddenly turned into a dragon, and then a fire-breathing carp jumped over the dragon, symbolizing the meaning of "carp yue longmen". Bulong, also known as the "colorful dragon", mainly performs during the day, and no candles are lit during the festival, so the performance is flying and jubilant, as if the sea and the sea are choppy, with extraordinary momentum, grandeur and uniqueness. When dancing the dragon, it shows that the dragon is hovering and jubilant, and the action is very complicated. In some places, the Lantern Festival is very lively, with more than 100 dragon lanterns and a team of two or three miles long. Each dragon lantern is equipped with ten gongs and drums, which is very spectacular. Overseas, many Chinese communities still retain the ancient tradition of playing dragon lanterns and often perform for local festivals.

Walking on stilts and dancing lions.

Walking on stilts is a popular folk performance. Stilts originally belonged to one of the hundred ancient operas in China, which appeared as early as the Spring and Autumn Period. In China, stilts first appeared in Liezi Fu Shuo: "Those who had orchids in the Song Dynasty used their skills to dry the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Summoned in the Song and Yuan Dynasties to see their skills. There are two branches twice as long as its body, belonging to its shin, which go hand in hand, making the seven swords overlap and jump. The five swords were always in the air, and Yuan Jun was frightened and gave them gold and silk. " As can be seen from the article, stilts have been popular as early as 500 BC. Performers can not only walk with long wood tied to their feet, but also jump and dance swords. Stilts are divided into three types: stilts, middle stilts and running stilts, with the highest being more than ten feet. According to ancient records, ancient stilts were all made of wood. Make a support point in the middle of the planed wooden stick to put your feet, and then tie it to your legs with a rope. Performers can dance swords, splits, stools, cross tables and yangko when walking on stilts. In the northern stilt yangko, there are fishermen, matchmakers, silly sons, second brothers, Taoist priests and monks. The performer's funny performance can arouse the audience's great interest. In the south, stilts play the role of traditional operas, including Guan Gong, Zhang Fei, Lv Dongbin, He Xiangu, Zhang Sheng, matchmaker, Jigong, immortal and clown. They sang while performing, making fun and entertaining themselves. It is said that this form of walking on stilts was originally developed by ancient people in order to collect wild fruits from trees for food and tie two long sticks to their legs.

Lion dance is an excellent folk art in China. Every Lantern Festival or assembly celebration, people will come to the lion dance to entertain. This custom originated in the Three Kingdoms period and was popular in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It has a history of 1000 years. According to legend, it was first introduced from the western regions, and the lion was the mount of Manjusri Bodhisattva. As Buddhism was introduced into China, lion dance was also introduced into China. The lion is a tribute brought back with the peacock after Emperor Wu of Han sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions. However, the skill of lion dance originated from Xiliang's "masked play". Some people think that lion dance originated from the army in the fifth century and was later introduced to the people. Both statements have their own basis, and it is difficult to judge whether they are right or wrong today. However, in the Tang Dynasty, lion dance has become a popular activity in the court, the army and the people. Tang Duanan Festival "Yuefu Miscellaneous Search" said: "There are five lions in the play, more than ten feet high, each with five colors. Each lion has 12 people, wearing red stripes, wearing clothes and painting clothes, and holding red pens. They are called lion lang and dance Taiping music. " The poet Bai Juyi described it vividly in his poem "West Cool Geisha": "West Cool Geisha, West Cool Geisha, Masked Hu Ren, False Lion. Wood carvings at the head and tail, gold-plated eyes and silver teeth. Fenxun sweaters have ears, such as coming to Wan Li from quicksand. " This poem describes the scene of lion dance at that time.

In the development of 1000 years, lion dance has formed two performance styles, north and south. The lion dance of the Northern School mainly performed the "Wushi", that is, the "Ruishi" appointed by Wei Wudi in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Little lions dance alone, while big lions dance in pairs. One stood and danced the lion's head, and the other bent down to dance the lion's body and tail. The lion dancer is covered with a lion quilt, wearing green lion pants and golden claw boots of the same color as the lion's body. People can't recognize the lion dancer's body, and its shape is very similar to that of a real lion. The lion guide dressed as an ancient warrior, holding a spinning hydrangea with Beijing gongs, drums and cymbals to tease the lion. Under the guidance of "Lion Lang", lions perform somersaults, jumps, climbs, bows down and other techniques, as well as some difficult movements such as walking plum blossom piles, jumping on tables and stepping on bowling balls. Shi Wen is the main performance of the Southern Lion Dance. When performing, it pays attention to expressions, such as scratching, shaking hair, licking hair and so on. Vivid and lovely, but also have difficult skills such as spitting the ball. South Lion is centered in Guangdong, and is popular in Hong Kong, Macao and the hometown of overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia. Although the Southern Lion is also a duet, the lion dancers are all dressed in knickerbockers, and only a colorful lion is danced. Different from the lions in the north, "Lion Lang" wears a big head Buddha mask, a cassock, a ribbon around his waist and a sunflower fan in his hand to tease the lions, thus dancing all kinds of beautiful movements, which is ridiculous. There are many schools of southern lions, such as the lion with the head of a dog in Qingyuan and Yingde, the lion with a big head in Guangzhou and Foshan, the duck-billed lion in Gaohe and Zhongshan, and the unicorn lion in Dongguan. In addition to their different shapes, heather also has different personalities. The white beard lion dance method is not wide, and there are not many varieties of colors, but it is calm and powerful, and it is called "Liu Beishi" by the people. Known as the "Guan Gong Lion", the black-bearded red-faced lion dances bravely and fearlessly. Gray bearded lion, rough and belligerent, commonly known as "Zhang". The lion is the statue of all animals, and its image is majestic and martial, giving people a sense of majesty and bravery. The ancients regarded it as a symbol of courage and strength, and thought it could ward off evil spirits and keep people and animals safe. Therefore, people gradually formed the custom of dancing lions during the Lantern Festival and other major events, hoping for good luck and peace of life.

Dry boating

Rowing a dry boat, folklore is to commemorate Dayu who has made great contributions to water control. Rowing a dry boat, also known as running a dry boat, is an imitation of a boat on land, and the performers are mostly girls. Dry boat is not a real boat. It is made of two thin wooden boards, sawed into a boat shape, tied with bamboo and wood, covered with colored cloth and tied around the girl's waist, just like sitting on a boat, rowing with paddles in hand, singing and jumping while running. This is a dry ship. Sometimes, another man dressed as a boatman performs with his partners, mostly dressed as a clown, and amuses the audience with all kinds of funny actions. Dry boats are very popular in many areas of our country.

Sacrifice the door and family

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.

Mouse chase

This activity is mainly aimed at sericulture families. Because mice often eat silkworms in large areas at night, it is said that they can stop eating silkworms by feeding them rice porridge on the fifteenth day of the first month. As a result, these people cooked a large pot of sticky porridge on the fifteenth day of the first month, and some even covered it with a layer of meat. They put porridge in a bowl and put it on the ceiling, corner and mouth where mice haunt, cursing that mice will not die a natural death if they eat silkworm babies again.

According to the Chronicle of Jingchu, on the fifteenth day of the first month, a fairy descended to a family named Chen and said to them, If you can sacrifice to me, your sericulture will be harvested this year. Later, a custom was formed.

Another way of saying it is that there is a man named Zhang Cheng in Wuxian. When he got up at night, he saw a beautiful woman standing in the southeast corner of his house and raised his hand to call him. When Zhang Cheng stepped forward, the woman said to him, "I am the god of this place in your home. On the fifteenth day of the first month of next year, you make porridge and cover the meat for sacrifice to me. Your silkworm can be harvested. " Say that finish, the woman disappeared. Zhang Cheng has done this every year since then, and sure enough, there is a bumper harvest every year.

Therefore, in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, when the silk industry gradually flourished, this custom spread. People make porridge, pray and say, "climb the mountain." Holding the mouse's brain. Do you want to come? Treat me like an old silkworm. "

Send a children's lamp.

Short for "sending lanterns", it is also called "sending lanterns", that is, before the Lantern Festival, the bride's family sends lanterns to the newly married daughter's house, or ordinary relatives and friends give them to the newly married infertile family to add auspiciousness, because "lamp" is homophonic with "Ding". This custom exists in many places. In Xi city, Shaanxi province, lanterns are put on from the eighth to the fifteenth day of the first month. In the first year, a pair of palace lanterns and a pair of stained glass lamps were presented. I hope my daughter will be lucky after marriage and have children early. If the daughter is pregnant, in addition to the big palace lantern, she should also send one or two small lanterns to wish her a safe pregnancy.

Yingzigu

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. Legend has it that Zi Guyuan was a concubine and was envied by her eldest daughter. On the fifteenth day of the first month, he was killed in the toilet and became Ce Shen. So most people make their daughter-in-law into the shape of a woman and greet her in the pigsty in the toilet at night. This custom is popular in the north and south, and it was recorded as early as the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

The ancient prayer is: "Zi Xu is not there. Yun is her husband. Mrs. Cao is ready. Cloud is his wife. My sister-in-law can go out. " After reading this text, I took Zigu's human figure to the toilet, pigsty and kitchen. If you think that people are deformed and heavy, that is the spirit of zi gu.

There is also a saying that Zigu is the daughter of the emperor. Before she died, she said that she usually liked to play and told people around her to welcome her soul with clothes on the fifteenth day of the first month, so as to continue to enjoy the excitement of the Lantern Festival.

Later, Zi Gu became Ce Shen. It is said that Tao Kan once saw a man who claimed to be the first emperor in the toilet and said to him, "It's expensive not to talk for three years." This means that Tao Kan will develop in three years, and it does. On the Lantern Festival, "walk through all diseases" to seek happiness.

Valentine's Day in Ancient China

Lantern Festival is also a romantic festival. In the feudal traditional society, Lantern Festival also provides unmarried men and women with opportunities to get to know each other. In traditional society, young girls are not allowed to go out freely, but they can go out to play together on holidays. Lantern Festival lanterns are just an opportunity to make friends, and unmarried men and women can also find their own partners by the way. During the Lantern Festival, it is also the time for young men and women to meet their lovers.

In Taiwan Province Province, there is also a traditional custom that unmarried women who steal onions or vegetables at midnight will marry a good husband, commonly known as "stealing onions and marrying a good wife" and "stealing vegetables and marrying a good husband". I hope that a girl with a happy marriage will steal onions or vegetables in the garden at midnight snack, hoping to have a happy family in the future. There are hundreds of dances and performances in the Lantern Festival in the Tang Dynasty, and there are thousands of maids.

Walking sickness

"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.

Walking away from all diseases has been a custom in the north since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, some of which were carried out in the fifteenth, but most of them were carried out in the sixteenth. On this day, women dressed in festive costumes went out of their homes in droves, crossed the bridge for danger, went into the city, and knelt down to beg for their children until midnight.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, on the fifteenth day of the first month in Beijing and other places, women went out for a walk at night, holding incense alone and getting on the bridge. Most of the participants are women. They walk together, or walk against the wall, or cross the bridge through the suburbs, in order to drive away diseases and disasters. 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. Also known as "walking the bridge". Suzhou in the south of the Yangtze River is called the "Three Bridges".

Dong and Yu Yizheng's "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Jingshi": "From the 8th to the 18th ... women wear white silk shirts and walk in teams at night, saying that they have no waist or legs and walk on the bridge." The following week, I used "Walking with All Diseases": "The capital is full of spring, and everyone is in the same season. Aunt always leads her sister-in-law and encourages her to dress well and stay away from all diseases. As the saying goes, a ghost hole is a night sky, and all diseases return to dust. Otherwise, I will get sick this year, with dry arms and black eyes. It is better to drink the doctor's water for two minutes than to wear embroidered shoes to the streets. Whose old woman doesn't go out and stumbles in her room. This year's health is as good as last year's, and next year's is even more demanding. An inch of fire on qi zhou's wormwood leaves only burns on his human flesh. " Qing Gulu's "Ting Anne Road, First Month, Walking Three Bridges": "At dusk in January, women walk at night to avoid illness. You have to cross three bridges, which is called walking three bridges.

In today's Tianjin, there is still the custom of "walking away from all diseases". Because it is held on the 16th day of the first lunar month, it is called "Liu Festival" locally. However, due to the change of conditions, most women now take their husbands and children back to their parents' home for a meal on this day.

Stealing vegetables festival

The Miao People's Vegetable Stealing Festival, which is popular in Ping Huang, Guizhou, is also held on the 15th day of the first lunar month. On this day of the festival, girls will steal other people's food in droves. It is forbidden to steal from one's own family or friends of the same sex, because stealing vegetables is related to one's marriage. So his food is limited to cabbage, and the quantity is enough for everyone to eat a meal. Stealing vegetables is not afraid of being discovered, and people who are divided are not strange. Everyone put together the stolen dishes and made a cabbage feast. It is said that whoever eats more will get the right person early. At the same time, the silkworms they raise are also the strongest and the silks they spit out are the best.

Bawu Festival

Bawu Festival is a traditional festival of Yi people, which falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month. "Eighth Five-Year Plan" means "coming back from hunting". Found in Heihu residential area, a branch of Yi nationality in Heqing, Yunnan. At that time, this festival was originally a custom to celebrate the return from hunting, and there was no fixed festival. In the past, when people came back from hunting to clean up their prey, the animal's head was given to the hunting commander, the skin was given to the hunter and the meat was barbecued. In the meantime, the hunting action is reproduced around the fire. When the meat is cooked, share it with everyone. Later it gradually evolved into a fixed festival. During the festival, Bawu Dance is accompanied by a band consisting of twelve wooden drums, twelve thallium gongs and twelve suona (thirteen in leap years). Thirty-six young women were dressed in furs of tigers, leopards, bears, deer, tigers, rabbits and foxes, or with golden pheasants and feathers of various birds in their heads. Dressed as birds and beasts, they pushed around the fire and danced, showing the gestures of various animals and imitating the sounds of various animals. The hunter holds a crossbow or a steel fork to surround the "prey" and carries out various hideous hunting actions in the opposite direction of the "prey" rotation. During the festival, there will be dragon lanterns, lion lanterns and crane lanterns.

The customs of Lantern Festival are different all over the country.