What are the other traditional customs of the Lantern Festival?

The 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar is the Lantern Festival, a traditional Chinese festival. The first month of the lunar calendar is the first month of the year, which the ancients called "night", and the 15th is the first full moon of the year, so the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar is called the "Lantern Festival". It is also known as the Small New Year's Day, the Lantern Festival, or the Lantern Festival, and is the first major festival after the Spring Festival.

One, eat dumplings

In the Lantern Festival, must eat food is dumplings, because dumplings are also known as Yuanbao, eat dumplings in the Lantern Festival, not only in the new year, the family "reunion", but also means that in the new year, "fortune rolling". "So on the 15th day of the first month of the Lantern Festival, cook a pot of dumplings for your family at night, which can make the family more smooth in the New Year.

At first, people called this food "floating rounds", and later called "soup dumplings" or "soup dumplings", these names "reunion", "the word sound similar," the name "reunion".

Two, Lantern

Lantern is the Lantern Festival traditional customary activities of one of the most important content, began in the Western Han Dynasty, flourished in the Sui and Tang dynasties. After the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Lantern Festival Lantern wind prevailed, has been passed on to future generations to the present. Lantern Festival is also known as the "Festival of Lights". At that time, the government and folk are hanging all kinds of shapes, beautifully crafted lanterns, especially along the streets of residential and commercial hanging lanterns is more competitive, colorful, attracting many visitors to stop and watch.

Anciently, lanterns were associated with the gods, so they were also given the symbolic significance of driving away demons and praying for light. Until today, haunting lanterns on the Lantern Festival is still one of the customs.

Three, guess the lantern riddle

"Guess the lantern riddle", also known as "playing lantern riddles", is the Lantern Festival after the increase of an activity, appeared in the Song Dynasty. In the Southern Song Dynasty, the capital city of Lin'an had a large number of people guessing riddles during the Lantern Festival. In the beginning, the riddles were written on strips of paper and pasted on colorful lanterns for people to guess. Because the riddles can enlighten wisdom and interest, so the process of circulation of popularity of all social classes, and then gradually become an indispensable program of the Lantern Festival riddle guessing.

Four, Lion Dance

Lion Dance, also known as the "Peaceful Music". Generally completed by three people, one person as the lion head, one person as the lion body and back feet, another person to lead the lion, is China's outstanding folk art. Ancient people believe that the lion dance has the effect of driving away evil spirits and suppressing demons, and with the progress of the times, many places now also dance lions in the hope that the lion can drive away the bad luck in the world, and hope that in the new year, families can be safe and happy for the whole year.

Every Lantern Festival or assembly celebration, the folk are lion dance to come to cheer. This custom originated in the Three Kingdoms period and became popular during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and has a history of more than a thousand years.

Fifth, welcome the toilet god

Welcome the toilet god is also a traditional custom of the Lantern Festival. The god of toilet is named Zigu, an ancient concubine, because of her beauty, was jealous of his wife, arranged for her to clean the toilet, do all kinds of dirty work. The concubine was so angry and sad that she passed away with a grudge on the 15th day of the first month, the Lantern Festival. Later generations honored her by naming her the God of Toilet. It is said that the God of Toilet can ask about the fate of the people, and she can tell the people in advance about farming, giving birth to children, etc. So people welcome the God of Toilet at the Lantern Festival. Therefore, the purpose of welcoming the Purple Nun and sacrificing to the Toilet God on the Lantern Festival is to ask the Purple Nun for more blessings.

In folklore, before welcoming Zigu, the god of the toilet, you must clean the pigsties and toilets. After that, straw men are tied up to pretend to be the image of Zigu, and horse dung is used as an offering to welcome Zigu with songs and dances.

The Lantern Festival is a traditional festival, and the customs in most places are similar, but each place still has its own characteristics at different times. This traditional festival has been passed down for more than 2,000 years and is celebrated year after year in overseas Chinese settlements.