Traditional festivals since the Tang and Song dynasties and their origins

The origin of the Spring Festival:

The earliest recorded history According to historical records, the annual ceremony to celebrate the harvest originated in the Zhou Dynasty (1121-771 B.C.), and although the ceremony was held in the eleventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar, it is believed to be the origin of the New Year's customs.

Chinese New Year food:

Salted rice cake: rice cake is also known as "fish cage". In the old days, steaming rice cakes for Chinese New Year was very popular in Shilong. Eating rice cakes in the New Year signifies the beauty of "winning over the old and getting better every step of the way". In the past, the size of the rice cake is a symbol of wealth, the bigger and thicker the rice cake is made, it means the more wealth the family has, so the rice cake of big families often need to be steamed for more than ten hours to cook.

Shilong people make rice cakes in two flavors: salty and sweet. Salted and sweet rice cakes are made in the same way, with only a difference in the ingredients used. Wash rice and glutinous rice, soak them in water and grind and flatten them into dry rice paste, and put them in a basin for reserve. Add a small amount of brown sugar into the salt water has been blended and stirred well, rushed into the dry rice paste, while rushing and stirring, to prevent clumping pulp, and then add peanut oil, bacon particles, preserved sausage particles, and so on and stir well. Wash the rattan basket, with banana leaves evenly spread inside the basket, and then pour the just adjusted pulp, steamed with boiling water.

After the rice cakes are steamed, they are soft and glutinous, and it is difficult to cut them into pieces, so they should be left to cool down and harden before they can be sliced into chunks. To eat, steam the sliced rice cakes or fry them in oil until both sides are golden brown. The rice cakes are orange in color, flat in shape, soft, smooth, sticky, salty and sweet, and slightly yellow on both sides after frying, making them even more sweet and tasty to eat.

Sugar ring: In ancient times, it was known as "Giant Lady", and was originally a snack that moved south from the Central Plains. Sugar ring in Dongguan by its Shilong has changed the flour for glutinous rice flour. The traditional sugar ring, without cake printing, only rolled into long strips, pinched as a ring, hard enough to eat. Sugar ring shape, by the big ring set of small ring, interlocking, meaning continuous, never extinguish, sugar ring can be said to be the most artistic feeling of the Spring Festival festival food.

Oil horn: I've heard that it means "smiley mouth". Although it is called "oil horn", it is similar to fried dumplings. However, the filling is sweet and mixed with shredded coconut, fried peanuts, sesame seeds and other aromatic fruits, and wrapped in a dumpling skin. Unlike dumplings, they are not pleated, but folded and glued together, then lightly pinched with a fingernail along the edges to form a twisted rope, and then fried to perfection before serving. The first is that you don't put eggs in the dough, and the second is that you put not only eggs but also lard in the dough.

Soup dumplings: Soup dumplings are one of Ningbo's famous snacks and one of China's representative snacks with a long history. According to legend, soup dumplings originated in the Song Dynasty. At that time, the rise of eating a novelty food, that is, with a variety of fruit bait as a filling, the outside with glutinous rice flour rolled into a ball, cooked, eat up sweet and savory, interesting. Because this glutinous rice ball cooked in the pot and floating and sinking, so it was first called "floating Yuanzi", and later some areas of the "floating Yuanzi" renamed Lantern. Unlike northern people, Ningbo people in the morning of the Spring Festival have the traditional custom of sitting together with the family **** into the dumplings.

Mid-Autumn Festival

Origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival:

There are a variety of sayings, folklore is widely spread Chang'e jealous of her husband Houyi's thin love, stealing to eat him from the Queen Mother to ask for the immortality of the drug, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar to fly to the sky, in the month of the building room for the Palace, so the God of the Moon Palace; Houyi regretted it, every year, the night of the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the year, look at the moon to set up offerings, and prayed that his wife returned to the earth and his children to reunite. The human body and his children reunion, and thus derived from the later generations of folk moon worship and pray for reunion of cultural practices.

Folklorists believe that the original foundation of the Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the worship of the moon by the ancestors. By the Zhou Dynasty, the pilgrimage ceremony to the moon began to age, "mid-spring day ...... to welcome the heat, mid-autumn night to welcome the cold." Before the Han Dynasty, the moon worship on the autumn eve had been included in the imperial court canon. By the time of the Tang and Song dynasties, the Mid-Autumn Festival had received universal attention.

The record of eating mooncakes at the Mid-Autumn Festival is hard to find in the canonical books before the Northern Song Dynasty. It was not until the Southern Song Dynasty that Zhou Mi's "Old Story of Wulin," Volume 6, mentioned "mooncakes" among the steamed cakes. It is not known whether it was a special festival item for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Mooncakes clearly as the Mid-Autumn Festival as a special thing, and was given "reunion", "and beauty" of the beautiful meaning, is in the Yuan Dynasty, "the folk to mooncakes left each other, to take the meaning of reunion". The history of the Ming dynasty, the first day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar every year, "that is, there are selling moon cakes, to the fifteenth day, every family for moon cakes, fruits and melons."

Mid-Autumn Food:

Eating mooncakes ：

Mid-Autumn Eating mooncakes is a traditional custom that has been passed down in China for a long time. The wind is clear, the moon is bright, the fragrance of osmanthus is refreshing, the family tastes the moon cake, enjoy the moon, celebrate the reunion, a unique flavor. Mooncakes, as a kind of food shaped like a full moon and containing good fillings, appeared in the Northern Song Dynasty. The poet and gourmet Su Dongpo wrote the following poem: "A small cake is like chewing the moon, with crispy and syrupy filling". The name "moon cake" as a food was first mentioned in the Southern Song Dynasty in the book "The Old Story of Wulin". Steamed food". At that time, the Hangzhou folk "and moon cakes to feed each other, to take the mid-autumn reunion meaning". By the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the moon cake has become the Mid-Autumn Festival beauty spot.

Eating ducks:

The Mulao people in Yunnan Province of China will buy cakes and kill ducks on August 15 to celebrate this traditional festival. In order to commemorate the three members of the Mulao family who mobilized the townspeople to kill the Fanguilao by selling candies in the village, every Mulao family buys cakes and kills ducks on the 15th day of the 8th month every year, so as to educate the future generations not to forget the struggle against the invasion.

Eating taro:

Mid-Autumn Festival food taro, it means to ward off evil spirits and eliminate disasters, and there is the expression of disbelief in the meaning of evil. Qing Qianlong "Chaozhou Province" said: "Mid-Autumn Festival to play the moon, peeling taro food, called peeling the ghost skin". Peeling ghosts and eat, great Zhong Kui to drive away the ghosts of the air, respectable.

Eat snails:

As for the mid-autumn food snails, in the Qing Dynasty Xianfeng years of "Shunde County Records" has recorded: "August hope day, still taro food snails." Folk believe that the mid-autumn snail, can be bright eyes. According to analysis, snail meat is rich in nutrients, and the vitamin A contained in the eyes is an important substance of the optic pigment. Eating snails can improve eyesight, it makes sense. But why must be in the Mid-Autumn Festival is particularly keen to eat eat. It has been pointed out that before and after the Mid-Autumn Festival, the snail is empty, no small snails in the abdomen, therefore, the meat is particularly fat. It is the best time to eat snails. Now in Guangzhou folk, many families in the Mid-Autumn Festival, have the habit of fried snails.

Eating Pumpkin:

The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated all over the south of the Yangtze River, and the custom of eating old pumpkin with burnt glutinous rice on the half of August has been passed down in every household.

Drinking osmanthus wine ：

Every Mid-Autumn Festival night, people look up to the bright moon, smell the fragrance of osmanthus, think of Wu Gang cut osmanthus, drink a cup of osmanthus honey wine, celebrate the sweetness of the family, and get together, has become the enjoyment of the festival. Osmanthus flowers are not only ornamental, but also have food value. Osmanthus flowers are not only ornamental, but also have food value. Qu Yuan's "Nine Songs", there are "aid steed bucket Ruizhi cinnamon pulp", "Dien Gui Ruizhi pepper pulp" poem. It can be seen that our country drink cinnamon winemaking years, has been quite a long time.

Eating lotus root box:

Mid-Autumn Festival eating lotus root, is also sent to the meaning of reunion, especially eating "lotus root box". People in Jiangsu and Zhejiang will be more sliced lotus root, every two slices connected to the lower end of the middle of the sandwich meat, clams and other modifications made from the filling, outside the tow surface fried to golden, this is also known as the lotus root cake, and the moon cake has the same flavor. Currently there are two main varieties of lotus root on the market, namely, seven-hole lotus root and nine-hole lotus root. Jiangsu and Zhejiang more cultivated seven holes of lotus root, the varieties of good texture, tender flesh, crisp and sweet, white and flawless. According to Chinese medicine, after the lotus root has been cooked, the nature of the cool to warm, beneficial to the spleen and stomach, stomach nourishing yin, blood effect.

Lantern Festival

Lantern Festival origin:

The 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar is the Lantern Festival, a traditional Chinese festival. The first month is the first month, the ancients called the night "night", and the fifteenth day is the first full moon night of the year, so the first month of the fifteenth for the Lantern Festival. It is also known as the "Festival of the New Year". According to Chinese folk tradition, in the beginning of the year, the earth back to spring festival night, the sky bright moon hanging high, on the ground colorful lanterns people watch the lanterns, riddles, eat Lantern Festival family reunion, a happy ending. Since the Han Dynasty, the folk that there is the custom of the night of the Lantern, so people also called this day "Lantern Festival".

During the Yongping period of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty (58-75 A.D.), when Emperor Ming advocated Buddhism, Cai Chuan returned from India and said that on the 15th day of the first lunar month in the country of Magadha, monks gathered to venerate the Buddha's relics, which was an auspicious time to participate in the Buddha's teachings. Han Mingdi in order to promote Buddhism, ordered the night of the 15th of the first month in the palace and the temple "lighted table Buddha". Therefore, the custom of burning lanterns on the night of the 15th day of the first lunar month gradually expanded in China with the expansion of the influence of Buddhist culture and the addition of Taoist culture. The real impetus for the Lantern Festival is that it is at a new point in time, and people take full advantage of this special time period to express their wishes for life.

Lunar New Year's Eve food:

Eating Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month, "Lantern Festival" as a food, has a long history in China. Song Dynasty, the folk that is popular to eat a Lantern Festival novelty food. This kind of food, the earliest called "floating yuanzi" later called "Lantern", the businessman also beautifully called "Yuanbao". Lantern that is "dumplings" to sugar, rose, sesame, bean paste, yellow cinnamon, walnuts, nuts, jujube paste, etc. for the filling, wrapped in glutinous rice flour into a round shape, can be meat or vegetarian, with a variety of flavors. It can be boiled in soup, deep-fried or steamed, and has the meaning of reunion. Shaanxi's dumplings are not wrapped, but in the glutinous rice flour "rolled" into, or boiled or fried, hot fire, reunion.

Duanwu Festival

Duanwu Festival origin:

Duanwu Festival is an ancient traditional festival, which began in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods in China, and has a history of more than 2,000 years. The first commemoration of Qu Yuan came from the records of Wu Jun's "Renewal of Qi Harmony Records" of the Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties and "Jing Chu Years and Seasons Records" of the Zong Security Service of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. It is said that Qu Yuan threw himself into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth month, and after his death, he was trapped by a dragon, and the world mourned his death and threw five-colored silk dumplings into the water to drive away mosquitoes and dragons. And rumor has it that, Qu Yuan cast Miluo River, the local people heard immediately rowing boats to rescue, thousands of straight line to Dongting Lake, the end of the Qu Yuan's body is not seen. At that time, coinciding with the rainy day, the lake boat together gathered at the shore of the pavilion. When people learned that is to salvage the wise minister Qu Daifu, once again out of the rain, scrambling to row into the vast Dongting Lake. In order to send their condolences, people swung their boats on top of the river, and only thereafter gradually developed into dragon boat races. 'It seems that the Dragon Boat Festival to eat zongzi, dragon boat races and commemorate Qu Yuan related to the Tang Dynasty Wenxiu 'Dragon Boat Festival' poem as evidence: "Festival points Dragon Boat Festival since who said, the rumors of the ages for Qu Yuan. I can laugh at the empty Chu River, can not be washed straight minister injustice."

Duanwu Festival food:

Duanwu Festival to eat zongzi, which is another traditional custom of the Chinese people. Zongzi, also known as "corn", "tube dumplings". It has a long history, a variety of patterns.

According to records, as early as in the Spring and Autumn period, with Zizania leaves (wild rice leaves) wrapped in millet into a horn-shaped, called "corner of millet"; bamboo tube with rice sealed and baked, called "tube dumplings". The end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, to grass ash water soaked in millet, because the water contains alkali, with Mushroom leaves wrapped in millet into a quadrangular shape, cooked, became the Guangdong alkaline water dumplings.

Jin Dynasty, dumplings were officially designated as Dragon Boat Festival food. At this time, the package of raw materials in addition to glutinous rice, but also add the Chinese medicine Yi Zhi Ren, cooked zongzi called "Yi Zhi Zong". Zhou Zhou, "Yueyang customs and local records" recorded: "Commonly wrapped in millet with Aizome leaves, ...... cooked, and rotten, in the fifth of May to the summer solstice to eat, a zong, a millet." North and South Dynasty period, the emergence of mixed rice dumplings. Rice mixed with animal and poultry meat, chestnuts, jujubes, adzuki beans, etc., more varieties. Zongzi also used as a gift for interaction.

The Tang Dynasty, rice dumplings, has been "white as jade", the shape of the cone, diamond-shaped. Japanese literature recorded in the "Tang dumplings". Song Dynasty, there has been "candied rice dumplings", that is, fruit into the dumplings. Poet Su Dongpo has "in the dumplings see prunes" poem. At this time also appeared with zongzi piled up into buildings, pavilions, wooden cars, cows and horses for the advertisement, indicating that the Song Dynasty to eat zongzi has been very fashionable. Yuan, Ming period, zongzi parcel material has changed from zongmu leaf for Ruo leaf, and later appeared with reed leaf package zongzi, additional material has appeared bean paste, pork, pine nuts, jujube, walnuts and so on, varieties are more colorful.

The morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, families eat zongzi to commemorate the Qu Yuan, generally the day before the zongzi package, cooked at night, the morning to eat. Packing dumplings are mainly used by the river and pond side of the abundance of young reed leaves, there are also bamboo leaves, collectively referred to as dumplings. Zongzi traditional form for the triangle, generally named according to the flesh, wrapped glutinous rice called rice zongzi, rice mixed with small beans called small beans zongzi, mixed with red dates called jujube zongzi; jujube zongzi harmonic for "early", so eat the most jujube zongzi, intended to study the children ate can be early in the Scholar. In the past, the readers to participate in the day of the imperial examinations, the morning to eat jujube rice dumplings, to date, secondary school, university entrance exams in the morning, parents also want to do jujube rice dumplings to the candidates to eat.

Cooking rice dumplings in the pot must be boiled eggs, conditions and then cook some duck eggs, goose eggs, eat sweet rice dumplings dipped in sugar, and then eat eggs dipped in salt "pressure top". It is said to eat May end of the boiled eggs in the rice dumplings pot the main summer does not have sores; the rice dumplings pot boiled duck eggs, goose eggs in the sun at noon and then eat, the whole summer does not have a headache.

Ching Ming Festival

Ching Ming Festival origin:

China's traditional Qingming Festival began around the Zhou Dynasty, has a history of more than 2,500 years. Qingming is a very important festival in the beginning, Qingming, the temperature rises, it is a good time for spring plowing and planting, so there is "before and after Qingming, planting melons and beans". "Tree planting, not over the Qingming" proverbs. Later, due to the days of Qingming and cold food close to the day, and cold food is a folk ban on fire sweeping the day, gradually, cold food and Qingming into one, and cold food has become an alias for Qingming, but also into a custom for the Qingming Festival, Qingming day does not move fireworks, only eat cold food.