Chinese Traditional Festivals Spring Festival Customs

The Spring Festival is the grandest of all traditional Chinese festivals. This festival is the first of the year. Ancient people also known as the first day of the year, New Year's Day, New Year's Day, New Year's Day, New Year's Day, New Year's Day, etc., and today's people called the Spring Festival, is in the adoption of the Gregorian calendar after the first year. In ancient times, "Spring Festival" and "Spring" were synonymous. Spring Festival customs on the one hand is to celebrate the past year, on the one hand and pray for a happy new year, a good harvest, people and animals, mostly related to agriculture. Welcome the dragon dance to please the dragon god blessing, wind and rain; lion dance from the deterrence of crop spoilage, cruelty to animals and monsters of the legend. With the development of society, to receive the gods, respect for the sky and other activities have been gradually eliminated, burning firecrackers, posting Spring Festival couplets, hanging New Year's paintings, playing dragon lanterns, lion dance, New Year's greetings and other customs are still widely prevalent. Spring Festival, is the traditional festival of all ethnic groups in China. more than 100 years ago, folk artist "Hundred Ben Zhang" wrote in his book: "In the first month of the year, every family celebrates the New Year, the Lantern Festival puts the lamps to see, the moon is full, the flower box is everywhere to see, the firecracker bursts of clamor, causing people to travel the streets and alleys. " This is a vivid portrayal of the Spring Festival at the beginning of the year in history. Legend has it that this festival existed in China during the Yao and Shun Dynasties. In the oracle bone inscriptions of the Yin and Shang dynasties, there were also records about the Spring Festival and the custom of celebrating the Spring Festival on the first day of the year. However, the calendar at that time relied on "observing the signs and granting time", and it is difficult to determine whether it was accurate or not. In 104 BC, in the first year of Emperor Wu's reign, the Chinese people created the "Taichu Calendar", which clearly stipulated that the first month of the Lunar Calendar was the first day of the year. Since then, the custom of Lunar New Year has been passed down for more than 2,000 years. It was not until the founding of New China and the switch to the AD that the festival was changed to the Spring Festival.

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The Lantern Festival is a traditional folk festival in China. Also known as the first half of the first month, on the Yuan Festival, Festival of Lights. Lanterns custom have ornamental lanterns, dumplings, alarm drums, welcome toilet God, guess riddles and so on. The custom of eating Lantern Festival began in Song Dynasty. Lanterns that is, round, made of glutinous rice flour into a solid or filled round, can be eaten with soup, can also be fried, steamed. The 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar is the traditional Chinese festival of the Lantern Festival. The first month is the first month, the ancients called the night for "night", and the fifteenth day is the first full moon night of the year, so the fifteenth day of the first month for the Lantern Festival. It is also known as the "Festival of the New Year". According to Chinese folk tradition, in the beginning of the year, the earth back to spring festival night, the sky bright moon hanging high, on the ground colorful lamps and lanterns people watching, guessing lantern riddles, eating Lantern Festival family reunion, a happy and joyful. The Lantern Festival originated in the Han Dynasty, and is said to have been set up by Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty to commemorate the "Ping Lu". After the death of Liu Ying, Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty, Empress Lu usurped power and the Lu clan took control of the dynasty. After the death of Empress Lu, Zhou Bo, Chen Ping and others pacified her power and installed Liu Heng as Emperor Wen of Han. Since the day of the quelling of Lu was the fifteenth day of the first month, every year thereafter, Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty went out of the palace in a small dress on the night of the fifteenth day of the first month, and had fun with the people to commemorate the occasion. And the 15th day of the first month was designated as the Lantern Festival. When Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, the sacrifice of "Taiyi God" was held on the 15th day of the first month. Sima Qian in the "Taichu calendar" in the Lantern Festival as a major festival.