The origin of all traditional Chinese festivals

All traditional Chinese festivals are:

Spring Festival

Lantern Festival

February 2nd Dragon Heads Up

Ching Ming Festival

Dragon Boat Festival

Tanabata Festival

Mid-Autumn Festival

Chrysanthemum Festival

Winter Solstice

The Chinese New Year is the first day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, and is also known as the Lunar New Year, which is commonly referred to as "New Year". ". It is one of the grandest and most lively traditional festivals in China's folklore. The Spring Festival has a long history, which originated in the Yin Shang period at the end of the year to sacrifice to the gods and ancestors.

Origin

The Spring Festival refers to the traditional Chinese New Year in the Chinese character culture circle, traditionally known as New Year, Dainian, Xinyao, but also known verbally as Dusui, Qing Xinyao, New Year. In ancient times, the Spring Festival used to refer exclusively to the Lunar New Year, which was also regarded as the beginning of the year, but later it was changed to the first day of the first month of the Lunar New Year, and it is generally believed that the New Year does not end until at least the fifteenth day of the first month of the Lunar New Year (Shangyuan Festival). The concept of Spring Festival and New Year's Day originally came from agriculture. In ancient times, people called the growth cycle of grains "Nian" (年), which means "year" in Shuowen (说文). The ancient people called the growth cycle of grain "Nian" (年), which means "year" (年). It's hard to say when the Spring Festival (Summer New Year) originated, but it's generally believed to have originated in the Yin and Shang dynasties in China, where sacrifices were made to the gods and ancestors at the end of the year (the La Sacrifice).

The Xia calendar, which was created during the Xia and Shang dynasties, takes the cycle of the moon's waxing and waning (now known as the lunar month, or "yin month") as the month, and divides the year into twelve months, with the day when the moon is not visible (the solstice) as the first day of the month, as well as the cycle of the return movement to the winter solstice (now known as the return year or the solar year, or "yang year"). "The year was divided into twelve months, with the day of the missing moon (the solstice) as the head of the month, and the cycle of the return movement of the solstice (now called the return year or solar year, which is described later) as the year, with intercalary months to adjust the yin and yang years. Taking the first day of the first month of the first day of the Zi Shi (midnight) as the first day of the year, i.e., the beginning of the year, the end of the year and the beginning of the year to carry out the celebration of the old year's harvest and the prayer for a good harvest in the new year, so a series of offerings to the gods, ancestor sacrifices, celebrations, and prayers, and other activities.

The name "year" began in the Zhou Dynasty. As for the first (the beginning of the year) to determine the time (in other words, the arrangement of the lunar calendar) is also related to the astronomical calendar (as mentioned above), the legend of the summer in the month of Yin (now the first month of the lunar calendar), the Shang in the month of ugly (now the twelfth month of the lunar calendar), Zhou in the month of Zi (now the eleventh month of the lunar calendar, that is, the winter solstice is located in the month), the Qin in the month of Ohi (now the tenth month of the lunar calendar), the Western Han Dynasty only to restore the summer is set in the month of Yin (now the first month of the lunar calendar) as the first of the year, and have been in use since then.

But it's not the same thing.

But the first day of the first month in ancient times was called New Year's Day, New Year's Day, New Year's Day, and so on, until after the victory of the Xinhai Revolution in modern China, the Nanjing Provisional Government, in order to comply with the agricultural season and facilitate statistics (in fact, the guide to the agricultural season is the solar part of the summer calendar - the twenty-four seasons), the provisions of the summer calendar in the civil use of the summer calendar (the lunar calendar) in the government agencies, factories, mines, schools, and organizations in the implementation of the calendar (the calendar is not used to use the AD dating method, but the Republic of China). (instead of the AD calendar, the Republic of China (ROC) calendar was used). To the eve of the founding of the new China, September 27, 1949, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on the summer calendar (lunar calendar) New Year officially designated as the "Spring Festival", and therefore there are still many people will be the Spring Festival called New Year.

The Lantern Festival Lantern Festival has the custom of opening and watching the lanterns, which is also known as the "Festival of Lights". In addition, there are also eating Lantern Festival, stilt walking, riddles, dragon dance, lanterns, lion dance and other customs.

Dragon Carrying Heads (February 2), also known as the "Spring Plowing Festival", "Agricultural Festival", "Spring Dragon Festival", is a traditional Han Chinese folk festival. Dragon head is the second day of the second month of the lunar calendar every year, commonly known as the Green Dragon Festival, legend has it that it is the day when the dragons raise their heads, and it is a traditional festival in both urban and rural areas of China. People celebrate the "Dragon Head Festival" to honor the dragon and pray for rain, so that the old heavenly blessings to ensure a good harvest.

The Qingming Festival, also known as the Treading Green Festival, is celebrated on the 108th day after the winter solstice, at the intersection of mid-spring and late spring. Is a traditional Chinese festival, but also one of the most important festival, is the ancestor and tomb sweeping days, the origin of the Qingming Festival, according to legend, began in ancient times, the emperor and generals "tomb sacrifice" of the ceremony, and then the folk also follow suit in this day ancestor sweeping tombs, and has been inherited over the generations and become a fixed custom of the Chinese nation.

Duanwu Festival, the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar for the "Dragon Boat Festival", is an ancient traditional Chinese festival. "Dragon Boat Festival" is originally known as "Duanwu", the end is the beginning of the meaning. Because people think "May" is a bad month, "the fifth" is a bad day, so avoid "five", changed to "Dragon Boat Festival Duanwu". The Dragon Boat Festival was recorded as early as the early Western Zhou Dynasty, and was not set up in honor of Qu Yuan, but some of the customs after the Dragon Boat Festival were influenced by Qu Yuan.

The Tanabata Festival, time: the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar

Source: The evening of the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar is called "Tanabata". Chinese folklore tells us that the Cowherd and the Weaving Maiden meet on this night at the Bridge of Magpies in the River of Heaven. Tanabata Festival is called Begging for coincidence, the so-called begging for coincidence, that is, in the moonlight against the Weaving Maiden star with colored thread through the needle, such as through the seven different sizes of the eye of the needle, even if it is very "tricky". Farmer's proverbs say "the seventh day of the seventh month, clear and bright, grinding sickle cut good rice." This is the time to sharpen the sickle for the early rice harvest.

Mid-Autumn Festival time: the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar Source: the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, this day is in the middle of the fall, so called "Mid-Autumn Festival". In the evening, the moon is full and cinnamon, the old custom people see it as a symbol of reunion, to prepare a variety of fruits and cooked food, is a good festival to enjoy the moon. Mid-Autumn Festival also eat moon cakes. According to legend, at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, in order to overthrow the brutal Yuan Dynasty, the people wrote the date of the riot on a note and put it in the mooncake filling, so as to pass it to each other secretly, calling for an uprising on August 15th. Finally, a nationwide peasant uprising broke out on that day, overthrowing the corrupt Yuan Dynasty. Since then, the custom of eating mooncakes at mid-autumn has spread even more widely.

Chongyang Festival time: the ninth day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar, Chongyang Festival has been formed as early as the Warring States period, to the Tang Dynasty, Chongyang was officially designated as a folk festival, and since then it has been inherited by successive dynasties to the present day. Chrysanthemum, also known as "Treading Autumn" and March 3 "Treading Spring" are all the family out of the room, Chrysanthemum day all the relatives have to climb together to "avoid disaster", insert dogwood, chrysanthemum. Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the atmosphere of the Chung Yeung has become increasingly rich, for generations of writers and writers to sing the most one of the several traditional festivals.

Winter Solstice Time: December 21 or 22 of the solar calendar

In ancient China, the winter solstice is very important, the winter solstice is treated as a large festival, there was "winter solstice is as big as the year", and there is a custom of celebrating the winter solstice. The book of han said: "winter solstice yang qi up, juntao long, so congratulations." People think: after the winter solstice, the day is longer than one day, Yang Qi rise, is the beginning of a cycle of festivals, is also an auspicious day, should be celebrated. The Book of Jin" on the record "Wei Jin winter solstice day by all the countries and bureaucrats to congratulate ...... its instrument subdivided into the first day." Explain the importance of the winter solstice in ancient times.