What are the customs of Lantern Festival?

Eating Yuanxiao on the fifteenth day of the first month, as a kind of food, has a long history in China. In the Song Dynasty, a novel Lantern Festival food was popular among the people. This kind of food was originally called "Floating Zi Yuan", later called "Yuanxiao", and merchants also called it "Yuanbao". Yuanxiao, or sweet dumplings, is made of white sugar, rose, sesame, red bean paste, cinnamon bark, walnut kernel, nuts and jujube paste, wrapped in glutinous rice flour into a round shape, which can be vegetarian and has different flavors. It can be boiled, fried and steamed, which means happy reunion. Shaanxi jiaozi is not wrapped, but rolled with glutinous rice flour, or boiled or fried, warm and round.

As a kind of food, Yuanxiao has a long history in China. In the Song Dynasty, a novel Lantern Festival food was popular among the people. This kind of food was originally called "Floating Zi Yuan", later called "Yuanxiao", and merchants also called it "Yuanbao". In ancient times, "Yuanxiao" was more expensive, and a poem said: "Guests look at the Imperial Street with a hook curtain, and the treasures in the city come for a while. There is no way to go before the curtain, and the money can't be returned. "

Yuanxiao is rolled in the north and Tangyuan is wrapped in the south, which are two foods with different practices and tastes.

2. lanterns

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival, also known as the Lantern Festival, because there are customs such as hanging lanterns, lighting lanterns and watching lanterns.

Lantern Festival is a traditional festival custom, which began in the Western Han Dynasty and flourished in Sui and Tang Dynasties. After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, lantern style prevailed in all previous dynasties and spread to future generations. The fifteenth day of the first month is the climax of the annual lantern fireworks. Therefore, the Lantern Festival is also called "Lantern Festival". In Shanxi's county-level city walls and even towns and villages, these residents are concentrated in busy and lively areas. Before the fifteenth day of the first month, the streets were covered with lanterns, flowers were everywhere and lights were swaying, which reached its climax on the fifteenth night of the first month. On the fifteenth day of the first month, "watching lanterns" has become a spontaneous activity among Shanxi people. On the fifteenth night of the first month, red lights are hung high in the streets, including palace lanterns, animal lanterns, lanterns, lanterns and bird lanterns, which attract people who look at the lights. In Taiyuan area, the lights in Taigu County are very famous. Taikoo lamp is famous for its variety, exquisite production and beautiful appearance.

Step 3 solve the riddle on the lantern

Solve riddles on the lanterns, also known as playing riddles, is a unique form of traditional folk entertainment with rich national style in China. It is a characteristic activity of the Lantern Festival that has been circulated since ancient times. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, traditional folks hang lanterns and set off fireworks. Later, some busybodies wrote riddles on paper and posted them on colorful lanterns for people to guess. Because solve riddles on the lanterns can enlighten wisdom and cater to the festive atmosphere, many people responded. Later, solve riddles on the lanterns gradually became an indispensable program for the Lantern Festival. Lantern riddles add to the festive atmosphere, showing the intelligence and wisdom of ancient working people and their yearning for a better life.

Step 4 play with dragon lanterns

Playing dragon lanterns, also known as dragon lanterns or dragon dancing. 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 Sui Shu Le, Huanglongbian, which is similar to the dragon dance performance in Yang Di's hundred operas, is also very wonderful, and dragon dance is popular in many places in China. China worships dragons, and thinks that dragons are auspicious symbols.

Step 5 walk on stilts

Walking on stilts is a popular folk performance. Stilts, originally one of the hundred plays in ancient China, appeared as early as the Spring and Autumn Period. China first introduced stilts in Liezi Fu Shuo: "There were orchids in the Song Dynasty, and they used their own skills to dry the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Summoned in the Song and Yuan Dynasties to see their skills.

6, lion dance

Lion dance is an excellent folk art in China. Whenever the Lantern Festival or the celebration of the General Assembly, people always come to the lion dance to entertain. This custom originated in the Three Kingdoms period and was popular in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, with a history of 1000 years.

"Lion Dance" began in Wei and Jin Dynasties and flourished in Tang Dynasty. Also known as "lion dance" and "peace music". It is usually done by three people. Two people dressed as lions, one as the lion's head, one as the lion's body and hind feet, and one as the lion's head. Dance is divided into civilian and military. Dance shows the gentleness of the lion, shaking its hair and rolling around. The military lion shows the ferocity of the lion. 7. Row a dry boat

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 China.

8, 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.

9. A mouse.

Chasing rats is a traditional folk activity of Lantern Festival, which began in Wei and Jin Dynasties. Mainly for 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.

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, let your silkworms have a good harvest. Later, a custom was formed.

10, send children's lights

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, one or two pairs of small lanterns should be sent to wish her a safe pregnancy.

1 1, 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. 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 turned into Ce Shen. 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. This custom is popular in the north and south, and it was recorded as early as the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

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.