What festival and folk custom is lion dance?

Whenever the Spring Festival comes, almost all places are full of lively and festive scenes, and various customs with rich meanings are also staged in turn. From before the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival, whether it is to paste Spring Festival couplets or sweep the floor, whether it is to worship the kitchen gods or meet the gods, this kind of lively and festive is reflected.

Lion dancing is one of the most striking customs. During the busy New Year, lion dance is regarded as an indispensable activity in many areas, which not only adds to the festive atmosphere, but also contains people's wishes for the New Year, hoping that the coming year will be auspicious and smooth. After all, when a lion dances, evil spirits everywhere will stay away.

The origin of this custom can be traced back to a long time, and there are many legends. In some places, it is said that before ancient times, people were deeply hurt by lions in the mountains. After learning martial arts, the people got rid of the lion and have been learning the shape and movement of the lion since then, so the lion dance has been handed down; Some myths associate lion dance with Buddhism, and some say that lion dance is to drive away the Nian beast that appears in the New Year.

Of course, many myths and legends have been added to these statements, but it is undeniable that in the beginning, lions, like dragons, only existed in myths. For example, the lion is the mount of the Bodhisattva. It was not until the Han Dynasty that China introduced the lion from the western regions, and the lion had already been introduced.

People were interested in this beast at that time, but only lions were trained at that time. During the Three Kingdoms period, people began to imitate the lion's demeanor and movements, forming a lion dance, which has continued until now.

Because the lion has always been regarded as an auspicious thing to ward off evil spirits, the lion dance has also developed in various places, with regional characteristics, as well as the north and south. Southern lions are vigorous and fierce, and pay more attention to the combination of martial arts. Lion dance not only imitates the lion's shape and movements, but also adds many extremely difficult skills and movements, which makes people excited.

Lions in the north look like lions, but they are clumsy. It's very interesting to pounce, bite, flick the tail, shake the hair and roll. Apart from the north and the south, there are great regional differences in lion dance.

Now, in addition to the lion dance on New Year's Eve and some large-scale activities, there are lion dance teams in some places, usually around New Year's Day. In people's minds, lions can exorcise evil spirits. As long as you bounce around the house, your children will be kicked out.

The history of lion dance:

China society has always been dominated by agriculture. With the changes of solar terms and farming life, various festivals or ceremonies to greet the gods came into being. In these festivals, in order to seek peace and tranquility in life, lion dancers dress up as lions under the music of gongs and drums and make various forms of lion movements. In order to exorcise ghosts and entertain gods, this form has gradually gained the significance of entertaining the people.

Therefore, whenever people miss their relatives more, such as the New Zhang Celebration and the Spring Festival Tournament, people like beating gongs and drums and dancing lions.