What are the activities of the Lantern Festival

Summary: the first month of the 15th Lantern Festival, Lantern Festival activities can be counted quite a lot, in addition to the common eating dumplings, riddles, lanterns, etc., many areas are also popular temple fair, rowing dry boat, dance dragon lanterns, fireworks, etc., in recent years some areas will also be held in the Lantern Festival matchmaking activities. In addition to our country, other countries of the Chinese diaspora will also be in the Lantern Festival day to celebrate the festival, such as Japan in the Chinese street to enjoy the lanterns, South Korea does not eat the Lantern Festival to eat grains and so on. Here to learn about the Lantern Festival have what activities! First, what are the activities of the Lantern Festival

1, guess the riddle

Lantern Festival riddle is an ancient folk custom, since the Southern Song Dynasty began to popularize the riddle is the Lantern Festival derived from a word game, also known as the lantern tiger. In modern times, some scenic spots or cultural squares will also organize some Lantern Festival riddle-guessing activities to add some festive atmosphere. Guessing riddles is mainly the riddle pasted on the lanterns for people to guess shot, riddles more focus on the meaning of the words, and riddle frame 24 kinds of commonly used in the curtain, swing, phoenix, etc. frame, has formed a unique folk culture. Nowadays, every Lantern Festival, every place plays lantern riddles, hoping to be joyful and peaceful.

2, see lanterns

Lanterns are a product of traditional Chinese culture in ancient times, both the function of life and artistic features. Lanterns are the Chinese people for thousands of years important entertainment culture, it rewards God entertainment, both "Nuo opera" rewards God's function, but also the value of entertainment entertainment. In modern times, we often hang lanterns at the Lantern Festival, for the festivities of the day to add color, pray for peace. Lantern Festival is a traditional Chinese festival of lights. At this time, all kinds of lanterns hanging high on the street colorful. Shengfang lanterns are mostly made with the theme of pavilion, birds, fish, insects and flowers. Dyed paper decorated with colorful thin strips made of bright and colorful. Lanterns are held all over the country for everyone to enjoy.

3, temple fair

The temple fair is China's unique set of food, drink and fun in one of the traditional folk cultural activities. During the Lantern Festival, many scenic spots and temples will organize temple fair activities, temple fair, agriculture and industry are regularly going to the meeting, to participate in trade, but also held related cultural performances, such as dance, opera, flower show. Most of the people who visit the temple fair have the clear purpose of worshiping the gods to seek blessings and avoid calamities, and it is different according to the different deities enshrined in the famous temples. For example, Buddhist temples bless themselves and their families with happiness and good fortune. Lantern Festival temple fair has prayed for a good harvest, the wind and rain, the people's well-being of the good meaning.

4, blind date

If the above three activities are more traditional, then blind date is a combination of traditional and modern society. At the same time, the Lantern Festival is also a romantic festival, the Lantern Festival in the traditional feudal society, but also to the unmarried men and women to provide an opportunity to meet. During the Lantern Festival, it is also a time for young men and women to meet their lovers. Therefore, the Lantern Festival is also known as Chinese Valentine's Day. Nowadays, especially in the last few years, many regions will organize blind dates on the day of the Lantern Festival to help provide some singles with some more opportunities to get to know the opposite sex, which attracts a lot of people to participate.

5, rowing a dry boat

Rowing a dry boat, folklore is to commemorate the great Yu's success in water control. Rowing dry boat, also known as running dry boat, is on land to imitate the boat line work, the performance of running dry boat is mostly girls. Dry boat is not a real boat, more than two thin boards, sawed into a boat shape, bamboo and wood tied into, and then masked with colorful cloth, set of ties in the girl's waist, as sitting in the boat, as in the hands of the same paddle, to do the rowing position, one side running, one side singing some local ditties, singing and dancing, which is the rowing of dry boat. Sometimes there is another man dressed as a boat passenger, partnering with the show, is mostly dressed as a clown, with a variety of comical actions to amuse the audience joy. Rowing dry boat is popular in many parts of China.

6, dragon dance

Also known as the dragon dance. Its origin can be traced back to ancient times. Legend has it that as early as in the period of the Yellow Emperor, in a kind of large-scale song and dance of "Qingjiao", there was an image of a dragon head and a bird body played by a person, and then choreographed six auger dragons interspersed with each other in the dance scene. See in the written records of the dragon dance, is the Han Dynasty Zhang Heng's "Xijing Fu", the author of the hundred plays in the narrative of the dragon dance made a vivid depiction. According to the "sui book - music" records, sui yang emperor, similar to the dragon dance performance in the hundred theater "yellow dragon change" is also very wonderful, dragon dance is popular in many parts of our country. The Chinese nation reveres the dragon as a symbol of good luck.

7, fireworks

Fireworks are essential to celebrate the festivals in China's exciting activities, the Lantern Festival is no exception. When the colorful fireworks shot high into the sky, the night sky is embroidered, bright and dazzling, on the ground, heaven and earth constitute a beautiful picture, which is exactly the 15th of the first month of the Lantern Festival is one of the most popular programs.

8, eat dumplings

Lunar New Year's Eve to eat "Lantern Festival" is a traditional custom in China. Lantern Festival, also known as dumplings, "Lantern Festival" as a food, in China for a long time. Song Dynasty, the folk over the Lantern Festival is popular to eat a novelty food. This food, the earliest called "floating yuanzi" and then called "Lantern", the businessman also beautifully called "Yuanbao". Lanterns to sugar, rose, sesame, bean paste, yellow cinnamon, walnuts, nuts, jujube paste, etc. for the filling, wrapped in glutinous rice flour into a round, meat or vegetarian, different flavors. Can be boiled in soup, fried, steamed, with the meaning of reunion. Whenever the first month of the fifteenth, people all over the world have to make the Lantern Festival to celebrate the festivities.

9, stilt walkers

Some areas of the Lantern Festival customs will have stilt walkers stilt walkers, stilt walkers will generally be organized by the masses of spontaneous string. The first month of the eleventh and twelfth began to step on the street, meaning to inform people in the many folk flowers, this year, hang a number. The first month of the fifteenth officially on the street, until the end of the eighteenth party. I remember this program is generally lined up with the dance of dragon lanterns, of course, there are different customs around, some places are replaced by the form of twisting rice-planting songs, but in today's society, in order to be more lively, generally during the Spring Festival will also have stilt-walking.

Two, other countries how to celebrate the Lantern Festival

1, Japan: China Street to enjoy the lanterns

Japan to the calendar month of January called the first month, January 15 is called the small first month, the small first month of Japan has a lot of folklore activities, and the first fifteenth of the first month of the Lunar New Year Lantern Festival is relatively unknown to most of the Japanese people, because the Japanese people do not have the custom of the Lantern Festival, however, the first fifteenth of the first lunar month, the day, Japan's China Street is very busy, but the first day of the first month, the first day of the first month, the first day of the first month. On this day, Japan's China Street is very lively, such as Yokohama China Street will be held every year Lantern Festival Lantern Appreciation activities, some of the local Chinese overseas Chinese will go to get together.

2, South Korea: do not eat the Lantern Festival to eat grains

South Korea does not have the Lantern Festival, the first month of the fifteenth day called "the first month of the day of the great hope", meaning "look full moon". And China is different, they do not eat on this day, but eat a mixture of glutinous rice, sorghum rice, red beans, yellow rice, black beans and other grains made of rice, eat a variety of nuts, peanuts, walnuts, pine nuts, chestnuts, ginkgo and so on, it is said to make the teeth stronger, but also to prevent boils and other skin diseases. In addition, they also drink "clear ear wine" to pray that the New Year will be free of ear infections and that they will hear good news throughout the year. Some of the traditional celebrations of the 15th day of the first lunar month are still practiced in Korean villages. For example, "burning the moon house," a conical frame made of tree trunks or bamboo is hung with paper slips with New Year's wishes, and after the full moon rises, people light up the "moon house" with torches in their hands and sing and dance around the fire.

3, North Korea: the first 15 days of the first month to welcome the moon

In North Korea, the Lantern Festival is known as the "first 15 days of the first month". On this day, every family makes "five-grain rice," a mixture of rice, yellow rice, millet, beans and barley. This "five-grain rice" not only symbolizes "a bountiful harvest," but also symbolizes "five blessings" of longevity, wealth, health, many children, and peace. In addition, there is an essential dish for every family on this day, which is "Nine kinds of vegetables" made of nine kinds of dried vegetables, such as dried radish leaves, dried ferns, dried chili leaves, dried orange stalks, dried sweet potato vines, and dried gourds, which are commonly seen in winter. The most exciting part of the festival is the "Moon Festival" at night. It is said that the first to see the "big fifteen" moon, within a year will be a good thing, unmarried young man saw, this year will marry a "full moon" beautiful girl; married man saw, this year will give birth to a healthy doll.

4, Southeast Asian countries: lion dance parade play Nanyin

Southeast Asia many countries have a large proportion of Chinese, so how do they celebrate the Lantern Festival? In the Lantern Festival, a traditional Chinese festival, the local Chinese customs in maintaining their own traditions at the same time through the integration and development of local culture, the formation of a characteristic Lantern Festival activities. The Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan has been organizing a lively "Street Stomping" event on the Lantern Festival for a few years now, featuring martial arts, lion dances and Nanyin performances. The Lantern Festival is one of the major traditional festivals for Malaysian Chinese, and the custom of "throwing mandarin oranges and catching bananas" is lively, romantic and unique. In Yamaguchi, West Kalimantan, Indonesia, an annual traditional Chinese cultural event is held. The Lantern Festival Parade is an important part of the series of Chinese New Year celebrations in Sankou Yang, and it is also the culmination of the event.