Knowledge about traditional festivals

Central Plains Festival

July 15th is the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is mainly to worship ancestors, so it is also called Ghost Festival. Watermelon is indispensable in the offering, so it is also called melon festival. According to Buddhist legend, Manglietia's mother (Manglietia is a Buddhist figure and one of the top ten disciples of Sakyamuni) fell into the hungry ghost road, and her food intake turned into a fire. Mulian asked the Buddha for help. The Buddha read the Orchid Sutra for him and told him to make a pot for his mother on July 15th. In modern times, offering melons and fruits and Chen Hippo as sacrifices to ancestors certainly means tasting new things, and it is also a legacy of basin sacrifices. In the old days, the Mid-Autumn Festival was a bonsai for Manglietia to save her mother. Later, it gradually evolved into a river lantern, offering sacrifices to orphans and people who died unexpectedly. The Central Plains River Lantern in Texas is spectacular. People use melon peels, bowls and paper to make lamps, and use streets and lanes as units to make oversized paper boats. Paper stood on the boat, holding a nine-ring mord in his hand. On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, people put lights and paper boats into Hanoi and went down the river. Suddenly, the river was brightly lit, swaying like the stars in the sky. In the coastal area of Jiaodong, Taoist priests put lights in the sea by boat and played bamboo music. People on both sides of the Texas Canal flocked to the river to see the lights. Tengzhou also has the custom of putting river lanterns, which is roughly the same as that in Texas. The difference is that before putting on the river lights, we put on the incense table and recite the scriptures. When the monk recited the scriptures, he scattered the steamed buns under the stage, and the children rushed to eat. It is said that eating it can eliminate disasters. In order to pay homage to their relatives who drowned in the sea, fishermen on Long Island made boats out of wooden boards and straws to place memorial tablets and sacrifices of the drowning people, such as candy and cakes, and some even put on cotton-padded clothes, shoes and hats and daily necessities that the deceased loved before his death, then lit candles, and married men of the same age threw the boats into the sea.

The custom of ancestor worship in Mid-Autumn Festival is quite common in Shandong. They usually go to the grave to worship their ancestors in the afternoon. Sacrifices in Shan County are particularly rich, including a bamboo basin, a paper coat and a vegetarian table. Zichuan invited ancestors to sacrifice at home, and every household planted spikes on the door. It is said that this grain is used as a horse so that ancestors can ride it back after the sacrifice.

The diet of Mid-Autumn Festival is usually steamed buns, jiaozi and steamed bread, and seasonal fruits such as apples and pears are eaten after meals. Lingxian County is the only place that makes an exception and calls the Mid-Autumn Festival the Drunk Festival.

About the custom of Tomb-Sweeping Day: the folk culture of planting trees

Before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day, the spring was bright and the spring rain was falling, and the survival rate of planted seedlings was high and the growth was fast. Therefore, China has the habit of planting trees in Qingming since ancient times. Some people even call Tomb-Sweeping Day Arbor Day. The custom of planting trees has been passed down to this day. 1979, the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) stipulated March 12 every year as China's Arbor Day. This is of great significance to mobilize people of all ethnic groups in China to actively carry out activities to green the motherland.

Folk culture of outing.

Also called spring outing. It was called Tanchun and Xunchun in ancient times. Qingming in April, spring returns to the earth, and nature presents a vibrant scene everywhere, which is a good time for an outing. People in our country have always maintained the habit of going for an outing in Qingming.

About Tomb-Sweeping Day's Custom: Cuju Folk Culture

Bow is a rubber ball, the skin of which is made of leather, and the ball is stuffed with wool. Cuju is kicking the ball with your feet. This is a popular game in ancient Tomb-Sweeping Day. According to legend, it was invented by the Yellow Emperor with the original purpose of training warriors.

About the custom of Tomb-Sweeping Day: the folk culture of swinging.

This is the custom of ancient Tomb-Sweeping Day in China. Swing, that is, lift the rope, move. It has a very long history. It was originally called Qian Qiu, but later it was changed into a swing to avoid taboos. In ancient times, swings were made of branches and tied with ribbons. Later, it gradually developed into two ropes, a pedal swing. Playing swing can not only improve health, but also cultivate courage, which is deeply loved by people, especially children.

The Origin of Lantern Festival and Folk Culture

Lantern Festival is a traditional festival in China, which existed in the Western Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago.

It is said that it was set up to commemorate Pinglu when Emperor Wendi was in power. After the death of Emperor Liu Ying of the Han Dynasty, Lv Hou usurped power, and the Lushi family dominated the state affairs. After Lv Hou's death, Zhou Bo, Chen Ping and others eliminated the influence of Lv Hou and established Liu Heng as the emperor of China. Because the day to quell Zhu Lu is the fifteenth day of the first month, after that, every year on the fifteenth night of the first month, Emperor Wen of Han will go out of the palace to celebrate with the people incognito and set the fifteenth day of the first month as the Lantern Festival.

During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the sacrificial activities of "Taiyi God" were scheduled for the 15th day of the first month. Taiyi: the God who rules the universe. When Sima Qian created the taichu calendar Law, he had already identified the Lantern Festival as a major festival.

The custom of burning lanterns in the Lantern Festival originated from Taoism. The fifteenth day of the first month is Shangyuan Festival, the fifteenth day of July is Zhongyuan Festival, and the fifteenth day of October is Xiayuan Festival. The three officials in charge of the upper, middle and lower elements are heaven, earth and man, respectively. Heaven officials are happy, and lanterns are lit on the Lantern Festival.

Another way of saying it is that the Lantern Festival began in the East with Emperor Han Ming. Ming Di advocates Buddhism. He heard that on the fifteenth day of the first month, monks observed Buddhist relics and lit lamps to worship Buddha. He ordered that lights should be lit in palaces and temples to worship Buddha that night, so that all the gentry and ordinary people could hang lights. Later, this Buddhist ceremonial festival gradually formed a grand folk festival. This festival has experienced the development process from the court to the people, and from the Central Plains to the whole country.

The festivals and customs of Lantern Festival have been extended and expanded with the development of history. As far as the length of festivals is concerned, there is only one day in Han Dynasty, three days in Tang Dynasty and five days in Song Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, lights were lit from the eighth day of August until the seventeenth night of the first month, a total of ten days. Connected with the Spring Festival, it is a city during the day, full of excitement, and brightly lit at night, which is spectacular. Especially the exquisite and colorful lights make it the climax of entertainment activities during the Spring Festival. In the Qing Dynasty, there were more "hundred operas" such as dragon dancing, lion dancing, dry boating, walking on stilts and yangko dancing, but the festival period was shortened to four to five days.

;