What are the customs of the Lantern Festival? Introduction

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival is also known as the Lantern Festival, the Spring Lantern Festival, the Little New Year Festival, and the Lantern Festival. The Lantern Festival is the first important festival after the Spring Festival. Because China has a vast territory and a long history, the customs of the Lantern Festival vary across the country. Below I have compiled 5 Lantern Festival customs, let’s take a look.

1. Eating "Yuanxiao"

Eating Yuanxiao on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is a long-standing custom in China. Yuanxiao is "tangyuan". Its preparation, ingredients and flavors are different, but the meaning of eating Yuanxiao is the same. It represents reunion, harmony and beauty, and the days are getting more and more prosperous. There is a saying that harmony brings wealth. Family harmony and family reunion are so important factors for a complete family. Therefore, you must eat "Yuanxiao" with your family during the Lantern Festival.

2. "Send lanterns"

"Send lanterns" is simply called "send lanterns", and its essence is to send lanterns to children. That is, before the Lantern Festival, the natal family sends lanterns to the newly married daughter's family, or ordinary relatives and friends send them to the newly married infertile family, in order to bring good luck to the family, because "Leng" and "Ding" are homophonic. It expresses the hope that the daughter will have good luck after marriage and give birth to a son soon; if the daughter is pregnant, in addition to the big palace lanterns, one or two pairs of small lanterns will also be given to wish the daughter a safe pregnancy.

3． Playing with dragon lanterns

The dragon is the totem of China. The Chinese nation respects the dragon and regards it as a symbol of auspiciousness. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the dragon lantern dance and the festive atmosphere of singing and dancing are spread in many places.

Dragon lantern playing, also known as dragon dance and dragon lantern dance, is a unique traditional folk entertainment activity in China. From the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival, the custom of playing dragon lanterns is common in vast areas of urban and rural areas in China. After thousands of years of inheritance and development, dragon lantern dancing has become a traditional dance with lively form, beautiful performance and romantic color.

4. Chasing rats

This activity is mainly for those who raise silkworms. Because mice often eat large tracts of silkworms at night, people heard that if you feed the mouse rice porridge on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, it will stop eating silkworms. So on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, these people cooked a big pot of sticky porridge, and some even covered it with a layer of meat. They served the porridge in a bowl and put it on the ceiling, corner, or in their mouth where rats were infested. While muttering something, cursing the rat that it would lose its life if it ate the silkworm babies.

5. Guessing lantern riddles

Every Lantern Festival, lantern riddles are played in various places. I hope this year will be joyful and safe. Because riddles can enlighten wisdom and are interesting, they are very popular among all walks of life in the process of spreading. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, various juggling skills began to appear in the lantern market. In the lantern markets of the Ming and Qing dynasties, in addition to lantern riddles and opera songs and dances, opera performances were also added.

One Yuan begins again, and the earth returns to spring. The vegetation is sprouting and spring mountains are in sight.

May you and I follow the footsteps of spring and live up to time and ourselves. I wish my friends a happy Lantern Festival!