Meizhou Wuhua Xikeng Lantern Festival Custom

On the fifteenth day of the first month, Hedong Xiaba greeted the lights to commemorate Zhou Xuan. On the 19th day of the first month, Anliu Bandung, the family name of Chen in Lantian, commemorated the birthday of Chen Fayilang.

Xiaba Lantern Festival is a traditional folk activity of Han nationality which originated in Chenghua period of Ming Dynasty. This is a folk custom handed down by Xiaba villagers to commemorate the seventh ancestor Zhou Xian's construction of water conservancy for the benefit of the people. The Lantern Festival is scheduled to be held in Shuizhai Lao Xu (now Hedong Town) on the 15th day of the first month every year, which has a history of 573 years.

The customs of Lantern Festival and China folk festivals are different all over the country, among which eating glutinous rice balls, watching lanterns and dancing dragons and lions are several important folk customs. Lantern Festival is a traditional festival in China, so it is celebrated all over the country. The customs in most areas are similar, but each area still has its own characteristics.

The first month is the first month of the lunar calendar. The ancients called "night", so the fifteenth day of the first full moon in a year was called Lantern Festival. Since ancient times, the Lantern Festival has become a favorite theme of literati because of its important cultural connotation, and the folk culture about the Lantern Festival can also be seen in various excellent works.