How did the traditional festivals in China come into being?

The traditional festivals in China are diverse in form and rich in content, and they are an integral part of the long history and culture of the Chinese nation. The formation process of traditional festivals is the long-term accumulation and cohesion of a nation or country's history and culture. All the traditional festivals in China are developed from ancient times. From these festival customs that have been passed down to this day, we can clearly see the wonderful pictures of ancient people's social life. It will show a side of the social life of the Chinese nation through the emergence, evolution and development of festival culture.

Origin of the Spring Festival

People first welcomed spring, which was on the solstice of winter. Primitive man's astronomical knowledge is richer than ours. According to the sundial, winter solstice has the longest night and the shortest day, so it is regarded as the dividing line of a year. There is also a record in Oracle Bone Inscriptions that "the sun rises and the sun rises, and three cows are three years old". This means that at the critical moment of entering and leaving the winter solstice, three cows will be slaughtered as sacrifices. The "Zhu Niu Festival" of Miao nationality in western Hunan still retains this ancient ceremony. In Oracle Bone Inscriptions, there is a bull's head on the right and a spear on the left, which marks the heart of the cow from top to bottom. Primitive people believed that cattle were animals with divinity, and divinity depended on blood. At the critical point of "coming and going days" from the winter solstice, it is necessary to cultivate cattle slowly and let the blood with divinity flow into the earth slowly, so that this year's grain harvest can be achieved.

The origin of Lantern Festival

Lantern Festival is a traditional festival in China, which existed more than 2,000 years ago in the Western Han Dynasty. According to data and folklore, the fifteenth day of the first month was paid attention to in the Western Han Dynasty. On the first night of the first month of the first month, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty offered sacrifices to "Taiyi" (Taiyi: the God who rules everything in the universe) in Ganquan Palace, which was regarded by later generations as the forerunner of offering sacrifices to the gods on the fifteenth day of the first month.

The origin of Tomb-Sweeping Day

It is said that the origin of Tomb-Sweeping Day began with the "grave-sweeping" ceremony of ancient emperors and generals. Later, people followed suit, and it became a fixed custom of the Chinese nation to worship ancestors and sweep graves on this day.

The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon Boat Festival originated in China. Originally, it was a totem festival for the tribes who worshipped dragon totem in Baiyue area (the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the south area). Before the Spring and Autumn Period in Baiyue area, it was customary to hold totem festivals in the form of dragon boat races on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Later, because Qu Yuan, a poet of the State of Chu (now Hubei) in the Warring States period, threw a huge stone into the Miluo River that day, the ruler took the Dragon Boat Festival as a festival to commemorate Qu Yuan in order to establish the label of loyalty to the monarch and patriotism. In some areas, Wu Zixu and Cao E are also commemorated.

The Origin of Valentine's Day in China

Qixi Qiqiao originated in the Han Dynasty. Ge Hong's Miscellaneous Notes on Xijing in the Eastern Jin Dynasty records that "women in the Han Dynasty often wear seven-hole needles on July 7 in the building, and everyone wears them", which is the earliest record of begging for cleverness in ancient literature we have seen.

The origin of the Mid-Autumn festival

There are many theories about the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival. The word Mid-Autumn Festival was first seen in Zhou Li. The Book of Rites and the Moon Order said: "Mid-autumn moon nurtures aging and implements the Mid-Autumn porridge diet." It is said that it originated from the sacrificial activities of ancient emperors. It is recorded in the Book of Rites that "the sun rises in spring and the moon sets in autumn", and the moon is a sacrifice to the moon, indicating that as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, emperors began to offer sacrifices to the moon and Yue Bai. Later, aristocratic officials and scholars followed suit and gradually spread to the people.

The origin of Double Ninth Festival

The origin of Chongyang can be traced back to before the pre-Qin period. "Lu Chunqiu Qiu Ji Ji" says: "In September, I ordered the family to slaughter, plow the fields and prepare for harvest, and cited five important things. The Tibetan emperor's book is collected in the holy warehouse, and I only respect it. " "It's the day, Great Emperor. I'll taste the sacrifice and tell the son of heaven." It can be seen that there were activities of offering sacrifices to the emperor and ancestors to thank them for their kindness when the crops were harvested in autumn and September.

The origin of Laba Festival

Since ancient times, Laba has been used to worship ancestors and gods (including door gods, household gods, house gods, kitchen gods and well gods) in order to pray for good harvest and good luck. According to the Book of Rites, La Worship was "the year of December, when everything gathered and everything wanted something." The Xia dynasty called Lari "Jiaping", the Shang dynasty called it "moss" and the Zhou dynasty called it "big wax". Because it is held in December, it is called the twelfth lunar month, and La Worship is called the twelfth lunar month. The twelfth lunar month in the pre-Qin period was the third day after the winter solstice, and then Buddhism was introduced. In order to expand its influence in the local area, traditional culture attaches Laba Festival as the Buddhist calendar enlightenment day. Later, with the prevalence of Buddhism, the Buddha's enlightenment day merged with the twelfth day, which was called the "magic weapon festival" in Buddhism. The Northern and Southern Dynasties began to be fixed on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.