What are the stories of traditional festivalsWhat are the stories of traditional festivals?

The Chinese New Year represents the arrival of the New Year in the lunar calendar, and on this day, every family puts big red couplets on their doors and sets off firecrackers in the hope that the coming year will be a good one.

According to legend, a long time ago, there was a ferocious monster called "Nian" that kept causing panic. The gods imprisoned it inside a mountain and only let it out once every twelve months. Twelve months passed, and Nian was released and began to commit crimes.

The people discussed ways to deal with the beast, some saying that it feared the color red, fire and noise. People put up red couplets with auspicious sayings, set off firecrackers and beat gongs and drums.

The monster trembled with fear. When night fell, all the houses lit up their lanterns. The monster was so frightened that he hid himself in the mountains and never dared to come out again. The beast was defeated, but the custom of celebrating the New Year continues to this day.

2, Lantern Festival

The 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar is the Lantern Festival, a custom that dates back 2,000 years. Legend has it that in the Heavenly Court, the Heavenly Emperor lived a boring and uninteresting life. When he heard that people on the ground were living happily, he was very angry. So he sent a crane with flames all over it to the earth to burn it down on the 15th day of the first month.

A kindly fairy went down to inform the people of this. A wise man suggested that everyone should light a lantern at once. The fairy added that the cranes should be put in a cage and the fire extinguished. When the crane came down to earth, it was caught and put in a cage where the fire could not be lit.

People lit lanterns and set off firecrackers and fireworks. The emperor was very happy to see the fire on earth. He thought the cranes had succeeded in destroying the earth.

In fact, people celebrated their victory by parading around with lanterns. In honor of this day, people hung lanterns or carried lanterns on the streets. This is the Lantern Festival.

3. Qingming Festival

The Qingming Festival is celebrated at the beginning of April every year. On this day, people walk in the countryside, put offerings on graves, and wear flowers or young willows. The story goes back a long way, to the Spring and Autumn period, when Prince Chong Er of Jin returned to his homeland after 19 years of exile by his principality. He rewarded and ennobled those who remained loyal to him during his exile based on their merits.

Among them, there was a man named Jie Zhi Tui who was forgotten by Chong Er. He lived in seclusion in the Mian Mountains, carrying his old mother on his back. One of Chong'er's disciples told him about this. Chong Er took his retainers and went to look for Jie Zhi Tui, but the Mian Mountain was so big that they could not find him.

Another disciple suggested to Chong Er: "Set the mountain on fire, and Jie Zhi Tui will come out". "

So Chong Er ordered the mountain to be burned. A fire destroyed the mountain, and Jie Zhitui and his mother died.

So grieved was Chong Er that he forbade the building of fires. All the families had to eat cold food. The custom of not allowing fire on the Qingming Festival no longer exists. However, the practice of planting willows and cleaning the graves of ancestors continues to this day.

4. Mid-Autumn Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. People eat mooncakes, and children buy "rabbit masters" made of clay. There are many legends about the Mid-Autumn Festival. This is one. A Taoist priest said to Emperor Tang Ming Huang: "I can make you ascend to the Moon Palace." He then threw his cane into the sky.

The cane turned into a bridge. The emperor boarded the bridge and, along with the Taoist priest, traveled to the Moon Palace. There, the emperor saw the Jade Rabbit pounding medicine, and the fairies playing music and dancing. When he returned to earth, he made a piece of music and named it "The Travels of Emperor Tang Minghuang in the Moon Palace".

5. Dragon Boat Festival

The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the Dragon Boat Festival. On this day, every family in the countryside will eat dumplings wrapped in glutinous rice, wear scented buns and insert wormwood. People eat zongzi, which some say is in honor of Qu Yuan.

Qu Yuan played an important role in the state of Chu, and was praised for his achievements during the Chu War. The treacherous king slandered him for his faults and he was removed from his post. Soon afterward he was exiled and lived a wandering life.

He was grieved by the misfortunes of his country and people. When the Qin general Bai Qi marched south and attacked Ying, Qu Yuan, in despair and grief, threw himself into the Miluo River with a big stone and died. Legend has it that the local people threw down the dumplings to feed the fish to prevent Qu Yuan's remains from being eaten by the fish, and later gradually formed a ritual. Since then, every year on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar for the Dragon Boat Festival, people eat zongzi, rowing dragon boats to commemorate the great patriotic poet.

On the 15th day of the 5th lunar month, he aroused the enthusiasm of the people. The people of Chu threw rice grains into the river to offer sacrifices to Qu Yuan. Worried that the grains would be eaten by fish and shrimp, the people wrapped the rice in reed leaves and tied them up with silk thread. People also wore incense buns and children wore colorful ropes on their hands. People also put ai leaves on their doors to symbolize the repulsion of the enemy's swords.