When was the Lantern Festival in ancient China? Is it an ancient Valentine's Day?

Lead: Lantern Festival is coming. Many people may only know this traditional festival, such as eating Yuanxiao, visiting Yuanxiao and solving riddles on lanterns, but they don't know that Lantern Festival has other meanings in ancient times. There are also special customs. Then, do you know when the Lantern Festival is also a traditional festival in ancient China? Some people say that today is Valentine's Day. Is Lantern Festival an ancient Valentine's Day? Let's get to know each other.

When was the Lantern Festival in ancient China?

Valentine's day. In ancient China, Lantern Festival was a romantic festival. Women who stay indoors on weekdays can go out to enjoy the lanterns on this day, which also provides opportunities for young men and women to meet. It can be seen that the Lantern Festival has created a good opportunity for people to express their feelings, and it is also the "Valentine's Day" in ancient China.

"Men and women play" is a unique cultural landscape of the Lantern Festival. There is a short story about Sima Guang, who is a famous country of etiquette. His wife dressed up to go out and watch the midnight snack lights. Sima Guang said, "Why go out and watch the lights at home?" The lady replied, "I want to see tourists, too." Sima Guang said, "Who is a ghost?" It can be seen that in feudal society, women go out not only to see the lights, but also to see people.

It is not difficult to see the romance and warmth of Lantern Festival from China's poems and songs. Xin Qiji wrote in "Jade Case": "People looked for him for thousands of Baidu, and suddenly looked back, people were there, and the lights were dim." It describes the scene of men and women dating at midnight snack, which is implicit and euphemistic. Wang Guowei said in Shi Shuo Xin Yu that the great cause of ancient and modern times and the questioner of the university must pass through three realms: "Last night, the west wind withered the green trees. Being alone in a tall building, looking at the horizon. " This first scene is also; "The belt is getting wider and wider, and I don't regret it. I am thin for Iraq. " This second environment is also; And "looking for him in the crowd for thousands of Baidu, suddenly looking back, that person is there, and the lights are dim." So is this third place.

For another example, Ouyang Xiu wrote, "On the willow tip, people meet after dusk. On the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month of this year, the moonlight and lights are still the same as last year. I didn't see it last year, tears wet the sleeves of the spring shirt. " I wrote the scene of lovers' dependence in the moonlight willow shadow, and the suffering of lovesickness on the night of the Yuan Dynasty.

There are similar descriptions in some costume TV dramas, such as Poem of Daming Palace, which shows Princess Taiping meeting her first lover on Lantern Festival night. People in two of a kind pray for long-term love under scattered lights.

With the development of the times, young people nowadays don't need festivals like Lantern Festival to get married. As Valentine's Day in China, the Lantern Festival has faded, and the romantic stories of ancient people in China remain in the poems that have been passed down through the ages.

The origin and development of Lantern Festival;

During the period of Emperor Han Ming, Ming Di advocated Buddhism. I heard that on the fifteenth day of the first month, a Buddhist monk watched the Buddhist relics and lit lamps to worship Buddha, so he ordered the palace and temple to light lamps to worship Buddha that night, so that the cremation and the common people hung lamps, thus forming the Lantern Festival. 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.

During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Lantern Festival lighting became a climate, and it was the Sui and Tang Dynasties that really carried forward the custom of Lantern Festival lighting. In the Sui Dynasty, the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month was unprecedented. "The Biography of Sui Shu Liu Mi" records: "On the first month, at night, the streets are crowded with strangers, and friends get together to play. The drums are ringing in the sky and the torches are shining on the ground. " At that time, Chang 'an residents will come out to watch the lights, and street performances will be rich and interesting. "The human face is beast-hearted, men wear women's clothes, and they worship the sages and are bizarre."

Lantern Festival has been very popular since Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties. "Sui Shu Music Record" Day: "Every January, all countries come to the DPRK and live outside the gate to build the country. Until the 15th, it stretches for 80 miles, and it is a play." Tens of thousands of people took part in singing and dancing, from faint to dark. The Lantern Festival in the Tang Dynasty is more lively than that in the Sui Dynasty. Su's "Da Tang Xin Yu" records: "Jingshi looks at the sun in the first month, and lights are shining. Jin Wu is forbidden and allowed to travel at night. Your ministers and relatives belong to the lower class and travel at night. " In the Tang Dynasty, when the national strength was unprecedented, the Lantern Festival was very prosperous. Whether in the capital or in towns and villages, lanterns are hung everywhere, and people also make huge lanterns, trees and poles. The city is full of fire trees and silver flowers, which is very lively.

In the Yuan Dynasty, most festivals were cancelled. The rulers of the Yuan Dynasty thought that life was exercise and work was rest, and the annual holiday was only 16 days.

The Lantern Festival in the Ming Dynasty lasted longer, from the eighth day of the first month to the seventeenth, lasting for ten days to show joy.

In the Qing Dynasty, when foreigners entered the Central Plains, the imperial court no longer held lantern festivals, but the folk lantern festivals were still spectacular. The Lantern Festival in the Qing Dynasty lasted only three days, but the folk lights were brilliant and the lights were more exquisite and fantastic, which was still very attractive.

In modern times, the date has been shortened to five days, which continues to this day. On 20 15, the deputies suggested that the Lantern Festival be a holiday. The festival customs of Lantern Festival are very distinctive. Developing, enjoying lanterns and lighting fireworks are still one of the main customs of the Lantern Festival.