What festivals are there? What are the traditional festivals in China?

Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Chinese Valentine's Day, Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival, Laba, New Year's Eve.

1, Spring Festival: The concepts of Spring Festival and New Year originally came from agriculture. In ancient times, people called the growth cycle of the valley "year". Hebe: "in the year, the grain is ripe." . During the Xia and Shang Dynasties, the Xia calendar came into being, with the full and short moon as the month, and a year was divided into twelve months. Every month, the day when the moon can't be seen is the new moon, and the first day of the first month is called the beginning of a year, also known as the year. The title of the year began in the Zhou Dynasty and was officially set in the Western Han Dynasty, which continues to this day. However, in ancient times, the first day of the first month was called "New Year's Day". Until the victory of the Revolution of 1911 in modern China, in order to conform to the farming season and facilitate statistics, the Nanjing Provisional Government stipulated that the people would use the summer calendar, and institutions, factories, mines, schools and organizations would adopt the solar calendar, with the Gregorian calendar 1 month 1 day as New Year's Day and the first lunar month 1 day as the Spring Festival.

1949 On September 27th, New China was founded. At the first plenary session of the China People's Political Consultative Conference, the international use of the Gregorian calendar era was adopted, and the Gregorian calendar 1 month 1 day was designated as New Year's Day, commonly known as the Gregorian calendar year. The first day of the first lunar month is usually around beginning of spring, so the first day of the first lunar month is designated as the Spring Festival, commonly known as the Lunar New Year.

In the traditional sense, the Spring Festival refers to the La Worship sacrificial ceremony from the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month or the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month to the 15th day of the first lunar month, with New Year's Eve and the first day of the first lunar month as the climax. During the Spring Festival, a traditional festival, the Han nationality and most ethnic minorities in China will hold various celebrations. Most of these activities are mainly about offering sacrifices to gods and buddhas, paying homage to ancestors, saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, and praying for the new. The forms of activities are rich and colorful, with strong national characteristics.

2. Lantern Festival: Lantern Festival is a traditional festival in China, which began in the Western Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago. Lantern Festival viewing began in the period of Emperor Han Ming in the East. Ming Di advocates Buddhism. It is said that there are Buddhist monks who observe the Buddhist relics and light lanterns to worship Buddha on the fifteenth day of the first month. He ordered lanterns to be lit in palaces and temples that night, so that all the gentry and the people could hang lanterns. Later, this Buddhist ceremonial festival gradually formed a grand folk festival. This festival has experienced the development process from the court to the people, and from the Central Plains to the whole country.

Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty ordered the 15th day of the first month to be designated as the 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 created the taichu calendar Law, he had already identified the Lantern Festival as a major festival.

Another way of saying it is that the custom of burning lanterns in 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. The celestial officials are happy and the Lantern Festival should be lit.

3. Dragon Boat Festival: Dragon Boat Festival is an ancient traditional festival, which started in China during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period and has a history of more than 2,000 years. Dragon Boat Festival has many origins and legends. The following are just four examples: in memory of Qu Yuan; From commemorating Wu Zixu; From commemorating the filial daughter Cao E; Totem sacrifice originated from the ancient Yue nationality.

4, Tanabata: Tanabata Qiqiao, this festival originated in the Han Dynasty. In the "Miscellanies of Xijing" by Ge Hong of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it was recorded that "women in the Han Dynasty often put seven-hole needles in the building on July 7, and everyone took them", which is the earliest record of begging in ancient literature we have seen.

5. Mid-Autumn Festival: The name of the Mid-Autumn Festival originated in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and it is also called "Ghost Festival" or "Orchard Club". On this day, Buddhism also held a meeting to transcend the Dharma, that is, the Magnolia Meeting. The meaning of the basin is hanging upside down. The pain of life is like a bat hanging upside down from a tree, which is very miserable. In order to save all living beings from the suffering of hanging upside down, it is necessary to recite the scriptures and give food to ghosts. This coincides with the worship of ghost moon in China, so the Mid-Autumn Festival and Orchid Festival are handed down at the same time.

6. Mid-Autumn Festival: Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history. Like other traditional festivals, it is also slowly developed. The ancient emperors had a system of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. As early as Zhou Li, the word "Mid-Autumn Festival" has been recorded. Later, aristocratic scholars followed suit. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, they watch and worship the bright and round moon in the sky to express their feelings. This custom spread to the people and formed a traditional activity. Until the Tang Dynasty, people paid more attention to this custom of offering sacrifices to the moon, and the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival. Emperor Taizong recorded the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15, which was very popular in the Song Dynasty.

The legend of Mid-Autumn Festival is very rich, and fairy tales such as the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon, Wu Gang cutting Guangxi and Jade Rabbit smashing medicine are widely circulated.

7. Chung Yeung Festival: Chung Yeung Festival was first seen in the Book of Changes, and nine were listed as Yang numbers. On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, both yang are heavy, hence the name Double Ninth Festival. Qu Yuan once wrote the poem "Gathering in the Palace Que on the Double Ninth Festival", which shows that this custom was formed in the Warring States period more than 2,000 years ago.

There is an interesting legend about climbing mountains on the Double Ninth Festival. According to Wu Jun's "Continuation of Qi and Harmony" in the Southern Dynasty, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, plague demons harmed Runan and Ruhe, and epidemics prevailed. There was a man named Huan Jing who took Fei Changfang, a Taoist priest, as his teacher and learned the magic of eliminating disasters and saving people. One day, Fei Changfang told Huan Jing that on the ninth day of September, the god of plague killed again, and you should go back and save your hometown. Tell him to leave home on the 9th, put Cornus officinalis in a red cloth bag, tie it to his arm and drink chrysanthemum wine, which can defeat the plague demon. Huan Jing went home and told all the villagers. On September 9, the Ruhe River was blustery and foggy, and the plague demon came to the front of the mountain. But because of the pungent chrysanthemum wine, Cornus officinalis is very fragrant and difficult to get close to. Huan Jing wielded a sword to cut the plague at the foot of the mountain. At night, people came home and found that "chickens, dogs, cattle and sheep died suddenly", and people survived because they went out to climb mountains. Since then, Chongyang has been climbing to avoid disasters.

8. Laba: December 8 of the lunar calendar is the Buddha's enlightenment day. On this day, the temple will hold a memorial ceremony, called Daocheng Meeting and Laba Meeting, and offer "Laba porridge" to the Buddha.

Why did the Buddha offer Laba porridge on the day of enlightenment? The reason can be traced back to Prince Siddhartha before the Buddha became a monk. He spent six years in the ascetic forest, eclipsed by a hemp and a wheat, and honed his desire for Taoism with indifferent substances. Gradually, the prince realized that it is not easy for the world to pursue material desires, indulge in debauchery and excessive enjoyment. If they persist in asceticism, they will only suffer physically and mentally, like dead wood ashes, and they will not be able to realize Bodhi. It's best to abandon both sides of bitterness and joy and live a moderate life without bitterness and joy.

With this understanding, the prince understood the truth of asceticism and immediately got up from the seat of the ascetic monk and walked down the Nellian Zen River to let the clean running water wash away the filth on his body. However, due to the thin figure of the prince, he fell on the Zen River of the Nile. After a while, the prince climbed the branch hanging on the shore and stood up. After a few steps, he collapsed on the shore.

At this time, there was a herdsman named Nandopolo by the river, who was grazing on the grass by the river. Suddenly, she saw a thin young shaman lying on the river bank, as if he had no strength. She immediately became sympathetic and came to support the prince with milk in her hand.

The prince received a glass of milk from the shepherdess, which was really delicious. After drinking, the five bodies were unobstructed and gradually recovered their physical strength. So I waded across the river and walked to the King Kong throne under a lush bodhi tree in Kaya Mountain, where I sat in meditation. Finally, I saw the stars on the night of1February 8, and I realized that my achievements were just like enlightenment.

Because of the story of a shepherdess dedicating chyle, it became effective for Buddhists in China. On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, they cook porridge for the Buddha with whole grains and fruits, which is called "Laba porridge". Today, this trend has gradually spread to the people, and the people also cook Laba porridge on this day, which has become one of the folk customs.

9. New Year's Eve: New Year's Eve refers to the night on the last day of the twelfth lunar month, which is connected with the Spring Festival (the first day of the first month). The word "except" in "New Year's Eve" is "go; Easy; "Alternating" means that New Year's Eve means "the month is poor and the old year is exhausted". People want to get rid of the old department and the old year, and the coming year means getting a new year. This is the last night of the Lunar New Year. Therefore, the activities during this period are all around changing the old for the new, eliminating disasters and praying for blessings.

During the Zhou and Qin Dynasties, a "big Nuo" ceremony was held in the palace at the end of each year to beat drums to drive away the ghosts of plague, which was called "banishment", and later called the day before New Year's Eve, that is, Little New Year's Eve; New Year's Eve is New Year's Eve, that is, New Year's Eve.

New Year's Eve is the most unforgettable night of the year. New Year's Eve is the most lively and noisy night. As soon as it was smeared, children or young men had already set off firecrackers with incense, ringing in the east and ringing in the west, boldly amplifying firecrackers. The young one put his hand over his ear and leaned out from a distance, while the other children put their hands over their ears and waited nervously and anxiously. I can't forget this scene when my hair is white.