Origin, meaning and customs of the Lantern Festival.

Originality:

Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Mingdi period, Emperor Mingdi advocate Buddhism, heard that the Buddhist monks on the fifteenth day of the first month to see the Buddha's relics, lighted lamps to honor the Buddha's practice, the night of the day on the order of the palace and temples to honor the Buddha's lamps, so that the scholarly people have hung lamps, which is the formation of the Lantern Festival. Later, this Buddhist ceremonial festival gradually formed a grand folk festival. The festival went through the development process from the palace to the folk, from the Central Plains to the whole country.

Significance:

The Lantern Festival in the traditional feudal society, to unmarried men and women to provide an opportunity to get acquainted, the traditional society of young girls are not allowed to go out of the free activities, but the festival can be accompanied out to play, Lantern Festival lanterns is just an opportunity for friendship, unmarried men and women to enjoy the lanterns can be used to look for their own objects in the meantime.

Customs:

Throughout the ages, in addition to touring the lantern market, there are welcome Zigu sacrifices to the God of the toilet, crossing the bridge to touch the nails to walk away from a hundred diseases and other customary practices, there are drums, rice-planting, stilt walkers, dragon dances, lion dances and other games. At the same time, but also eat some festive food: North and South Dynasty era Lantern Festival to eat companion and meat and animal oil boiled beans porridge or rice porridge, the Tang Dynasty to eat a kind of noodle called "face cocoon" pasta and burnt food chasing (i.e., baked cakes), to the Song Dynasty, there is a salt and soybean soup and mung bean powder made of Kodou soup, and appeared "round son!

Introduction:

The Lantern Festival, also known as the Shangyuan Festival, the small first month, Yuanxi or the Lantern Festival, is the first important festival after the Spring Festival, is also one of the traditional festivals in China is also the Chinese character cultural circle of the region and overseas Chinese. It is one of the traditional festivals for Chinese people in China, in the Chinese character culture circle, and overseas. The first month of the lunar calendar is the first month of the year, and the ancient people called the night "night", so the first full-moon night of the year, the 15th day of the first month, is called the Lantern Festival. In ancient Chinese custom, the Upper Lantern Festival (Lantern Festival), the Middle Lantern Festival (Bon Festival), and the Lower Lantern Festival (Shui Kuan Festival) are collectively known as the Three Elements. The Lantern Festival began more than 2,000 years ago during the Qin Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar was designated as the Lantern Festival.

Evolutionary development:

Tang Dynasty, in the unprecedented power of the Tang Dynasty, the Lantern Festival is very prosperous, whether it is the capital or the townships, everywhere hanging colored lanterns, people also make a huge lamp wheel, lamp tree, lamp post, etc., full of fire trees and silver flowers, very prosperous and lively.

Song Dynasty, the Song Dynasty Lantern Festival, in addition to "women out on the streets, since the night up to Dan, men and women confused" carnival, there are officials handing out lai see, the king and the people to enjoy the Lantern Festival; and even horror, prison institutions will use lights, images of rendition of the story of the prison inmates or display prison equipment, and so on. Lantern Festival in the Song Dynasty developed into the most lively secular carnival, Lantern Festival is more colorful, Lantern Festival lasts five days, the lamps of the style of the complex and diverse, stroll Lantern City is a very pleasing thing to the eye. The poet Xin Qiji wrote: "The east wind releases thousands of flowers at night, and even blowing down, stars like rain", said that the Song Dynasty Lantern Festival lanterns countless, fireworks like a rain of stars. At that time there was also the rise of riddles, that is, a variety of riddles written on strips of paper, pasted on the lanterns, the person who guessed can also get a small reward. This kind of entertainment and educational activities are loved by people, widely spread.

Floral lanterns:

Folk in the New Year's Eve to worship God to set up the "heaven and earth hall". People in the yard to set up a small shed, shed inside the small table stood "heaven and earth, three worlds, ten square ten thousand souls of the true ruler" of the god; god in front of the incense burner, offerings, but also hung a lantern, lantern on behalf of the seat of Jiang Taigong. It is said that Jiang Taigong when the gods, others are sealed, is to forget to seal their own, they have no seat had to sit with God.