Write down some myths and legends you know about Chinese Yi traditional festivals

Legends of China’s Ten Traditional Festivals

1. Spring Festival

The Spring Festival represents the arrival of the New Year in the lunar calendar. On this day, every household pastes red couplets praying for blessings on their doors and sets off firecrackers, hoping for success in the coming year.

According to legend, a long time ago, there was a ferocious monster named "Nian" who kept causing panic. The gods imprisoned it inside the mountains and only let it out once every twelve months. Twelve months later, Nian was released and began to do evil.

People discuss ways to deal with the Nian beast. Some people say that Nian is afraid of red, fire and noise. People put up red couplets with auspicious words, set off firecrackers, and beat gongs and drums. The monster was trembling with fear.

As night falls, all the houses light up their lanterns.

The monster was frightened and hid in the mountains, never daring to come out again. The Nian beast was defeated, but the custom of celebrating the New Year continues to this day.

2. Lantern Festival

The Lantern Festival falls on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. This custom goes back two thousand years. Legend has it that in heaven, the emperor lived a boring and boring life.

When he heard that people on the ground lived happily, he was very angry.

So he sent a crane whose body was burning with flames to the human world and burned it down on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

A kind-hearted fairy came down to inform people of this incident.

A wise man proposed that everyone should light a lantern immediately. The fairy then said that the crane should be locked in a cage and the fire should be extinguished.

When the crane came to earth, it was captured and placed in a cage that could not light a fire.

People lit lanterns, set off firecrackers and fireworks. The Emperor of Heaven was very happy when he saw the fire on earth. He believed that the crane had succeeded in destroying the human world.

In fact, people paraded with lanterns to celebrate their victory. To commemorate this day, people hang up lanterns or take lanterns for walks on the streets. This is the Lantern Festival.

3. Spring Dragon Festival

"On February 2nd, the dragon raises its head." Traditional custom stipulates that the day when the dragon raises its head is the "Spring Dragon Festival", the legend goes like this.

Once upon a time, there was a severe drought in the Yellow River Basin for three years. People live in misery. On the bank of the Yellow River stands Longxu Mountain, and at the foot of the mountain lives a young couple. The man is called Qiang Wa and the woman is called Long Hua. They decided to set out to find water, and an old man told them that water could only be found at the bottom of Jinlongtan. With courage, Qiang Wa and Long Hua reached the bottom of the Golden Dragon Pool.

They dug for 49 days and finally found a white stone egg. The egg spun rapidly and suddenly transformed into a flying white dove.

Then it turned into an old man and said to them: "Dear children, come quickly to the Dragon Ax Mountain, where you

will find an ax to split With the ax on the cliff, the water will flow out of the mountain." After saying that, the old man disappeared into the white smoke. Qiang Wa and Long Hua worked hard over the mountains and arrived at a small temple. In the temple, they found an ax and brought it to a deep pool.

Qiangwa split the mountain peak, and after a loud noise, water flowed out, a golden dragon flew into the air, and it rained heavily.

To commemorate this "dragon rain", people celebrate the Spring Dragon Festival on February 2 of the lunar calendar.

Four. Qingming Festival

April 1st every year is Qingming Festival. On this day, people take walks in the countryside, place offerings in front of graves, and wear flowers or tender willow sticks.

The story goes back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period before the Christian era. Prince Chong'er of the Jin Kingdom returned to his motherland after being exiled by the principality for 19 years.

He rewarded and knighted those who remained loyal during his exile according to their merits.

Among them, there was a man named Jie Zitui who was forgotten by Chong'er. He carried his mother on his back and lived in seclusion in Mianshan. One of Chong'er's disciples told him about this.

Chong'er took his attendants to look for Jie Zitui, but Mianshan was too big for them to find him. Another disciple suggested to Chong'er: "Set the mountain on fire, and Jie Zhitui will come out." Chong'er then ordered the mountain to be burned. A fire burned the mountain, but Jie Zitui and his mother persisted until death.

Chong'er was very sad, and he stipulated that no fire was allowed on this day every year. Everyone must eat cold food.

The custom of not lighting fires during Qingming Festival no longer exists. But planting willows and cleaning the tombs of ancestors still continue to this day.

5. Dragon Boat Festival

The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the Dragon Boat Festival. On this day, every household in the countryside will eat glutinous rice dumplings, wear sachets and plant mugwort.

Why do people eat zongzi? Some people say this is to commemorate Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan held important responsibilities in the Chu State and was praised for his achievements during the Chu War. The perfidious king slandered him for his wrongdoing, and he was removed from office. Soon after he was exiled and lived a wandering life. He was sad and angry at the misfortune of the country and its people. On the 15th day of the fifth lunar month, he committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River to arouse the enthusiasm of the people. The people of Chu State threw rice grains into the river as a sacrifice to Qu Yuan.

Concerned that the grains would be eaten by fish and shrimps, people wrapped the rice in reed leaves and tied them with silk threads.

People also wear sachets and children wear colorful ropes on their hands. People put mugwort leaves on the door to symbolize the sword used to repel the enemy.

6. Qiqiao Festival

The Qiqiao Festival falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month every year. The girls competed in threading needlework to commemorate the Weaver Girl.

The Weaver Girl does weaving work for the Queen Mother every day. There is a Cowherd who lives a poor life with only an old scalper to accompany him.

The Weaver Girl fell in love with the poor Cowherd. She descended to earth to marry him. She gave birth to a pair of children for him and lived a happy life.

The Queen Mother was very angry. She ordered the heavenly soldiers and generals to take Zhinu back to heaven. A heavenly general took the Weaver Girl back, and the Cowherd followed him with his children on an old scalper.

The Queen Mother pulled off a golden hairpin from her head and drew a line in the sky, so a rushing river blocked the Cowherd's path and separated the couple.

Every year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, magpies build a magpie bridge across the Milky Way to allow the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl to meet.

On this day, girls like to learn weaving next to Vega. It is also to celebrate the reunion of Cowherd and Weaver Girl.

Seven. Mid-Autumn Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar. People eat moon cakes, and children buy clay "rabbits." There are many legends about the Mid-Autumn Festival. This is one. A Taoist priest said to Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty: "I can make you ascend to the Moon Palace." Then he threw his walking stick into the sky.

The cane turned into a bridge. The emperor boarded the bridge and followed the Taoist priest to the Moon Palace.

There, the emperor saw the jade rabbit making medicine and the fairies playing music and dancing. He memorized these beautiful pieces of music.

After returning to the human world, he composed a piece of music and nominated it as "Tang Ming Emperor's Travels to the Moon Palace".

8. Double Ninth Festival

The Double Ninth Festival falls on September 9th of the lunar calendar. The custom that has been passed down during this festival is to go hiking or climbing. In the Han Dynasty, there was a wizard named Fei Changfang who was good at hunting monsters.

One day, Fei Changfang told his disciple Huan Jing that a great disaster would occur on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, and he would take him to prevent the disaster from happening.

He took out a bundle of dogwood and a small bottle of chrysanthemum wine and told him to bring these to the world.

Riding on the crane, Huan Jing went to the human world. He led the people to the top of the mountain, gave each person a piece of dogwood and drank a sip of chrysanthemum wine. This way the monsters won't dare to get close.

The monster is coming, and it rushes to the empty village. Seeing that people had gathered on the mountain, it rushed towards them.

But the smell of chrysanthemum wine and the fragrance of dogwood deterred him. So Huan Jing killed him with his sword. From then on, on the 9th day of the ninth lunar month, people brought dogwood and chrysanthemum wine to climb mountains or go for an outing.

Nine. Laba Festival

Laba Festival is on February 8th in the lunar calendar. On this day, every household will drink Laba porridge. Once upon a time there was a family, an old couple and a young couple, who lived in poverty. The old couple did not let the young couple do any work for fear of tiring them.

The young couple had food, clothing, and no work at all. In the end, they could do nothing. The old couple passed away. The young couple ate up all their food and sold their house. They owned nothing but a thatched hut.

Winter has arrived, and they are wrapped in thatch and shivering from hunger and cold.

On the eighth day of the second lunar month, they were exhausted. They picked some winter wheat stalks beside the hut and made a pot of clear soup.

But a strong wind blew and blew down the hut. Two young men were crushed to death.

In order to let children remember this tragic story, people cook whole grains on the 8th day of the second lunar month. People chat about the enlightenment brought by this story and stop being picky about food.

10. Kitchen God Festival

On the 23rd day of the second lunar month, children eat rice cakes and adults worship the Kitchen God. Legend has it that there once was a gluttonous prince. He looked for good food everywhere. One day he went out of the palace to see if there was anything delicious to eat in each house.

He entered a home and asked for food. He greedily devoured all the cookies the hostess gave him. Then he asked the hostess to go back to the palace with him and help him make delicious cookies every day. When she didn't agree, the prince wanted to take her back by force.

This time she was angry and pushed him against the wall behind the stove. She shouted at him: "Since you are so greedy, just hang here and watch others enjoy the feast." The prince just kept hanging there. Later, he became the Kitchen God.

Afraid that the Stove Lord would say some evil words, every year, before the Spring Festival, people put up a new portrait of him and provide him with rice cakes. People no longer post his pictures, but children still eat rice cakes.