What is the meaning of the lion dance during the Lantern Festival?

The lion dance during the Lantern Festival has a festive meaning.

Lion dance is an excellent folk art in my country. During the Lantern Festival or gatherings and celebrations, people come to celebrate with lion dance. This custom originated during the Three Kingdoms period and became popular during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It has a history of more than a thousand years.

The lion dance mainly focuses on the performance of "Martial Lion", which is the "auspicious lion" of the Northern Wei Dynasty designated by Emperor Wu of Wei Dynasty. The small lion is danced by one person, and the big lion is danced by two people. One person stands and dances the lion's head, and the other bends down and dances the lion's body and tail. The lion dancer wears a lion quilt all over his body, and wears green lion pants and gold-clawed boots with the same coat color as the lion's body. People can't identify the shape of the lion dancer. Its appearance is very similar to a real lion.

The lion guide is dressed as an ancient warrior, holding a rotating hydrangea, accompanied by gongs, drums and cymbals to lure the auspicious lion. Under the guidance of the "Lion Man", the lions perform tricks such as flipping, falling, jumping, climbing, and worshiping. They also perform difficult actions such as walking on plum blossom piles, jumping around tables, and stepping on rolling balls. The Southern Lion Dance mainly focuses on "literary lion" performances. The performance pays attention to expressions, including tickling, hair shaking, licking and other movements, which are lifelike and cute. It also has more difficult skills such as spitting balls.

The custom of making lanterns during the Lantern Festival:

The traditional custom of making lanterns during the Lantern Festival began in the Western Han Dynasty and flourished in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the style of lighting became popular in all dynasties and was passed down to later generations. The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the climax of the annual lantern and fireworks display.

That’s why the Lantern Festival is also called the “Festival of Lanterns.” In Shanxi’s county-level cities and even townships and towns, these are the places where residents are concentrated and prosperous areas. Before the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the streets are filled with hanging lanterns. There are lanterns everywhere, flowers everywhere, and lights swaying, reaching its climax on the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

"Lantern viewing" on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month has become a spontaneous activity for Shanxi folk. On the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, red lanterns are hung high in the streets and alleys, including palace lanterns, animal head lanterns, revolving lanterns, flower lanterns, and bird lanterns. Bird lanterns, etc., attract people watching the lanterns. In the Taiyuan area, Taigu County's lanterns are very famous. Taigu's lamps are famous for their wide variety, exquisite production and attractive appearance.