The Lantern Festival of Chaoshan people

Chaoshan, one of the three major cultures in Guangdong, as the remains of ancient Central Plains culture, has many traditional festivals and humanistic customs. Because various commemorative activities and holiday customs on New Year's Eve have been passed down from generation to generation, it has become a practice. There is a widely circulated saying in Chaoshan hometown: Live, don't forget the eighth day of the New Year.

? Yuanxiao was called Yuan Ye in ancient times, and "night" was called "night" in ancient times. Lantern Festival, also known as Happy Festival and Lantern Festival, is an important traditional festival for everyone in China, especially in Chaoshan area. It is rare that the whole China pays as much attention to it as all kinds of words and deeds such as ancestor worship and welcoming the Lord.

? Lantern Festival began in the Western Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty decorated lanterns in his palace every January to make the New Year prosperous and peaceful. Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, stipulated that the lights were turned off on the eighth day of the first month and on the seventeenth, which was the longest Lantern Festival and evolved into today's Lantern Festival. As a native of Chaoshan, the happiness of Lantern Festival is nothing more than memories of colorful lanterns in childhood. Walking down the street with a small lantern in one hand, the streets are full of excitement.

? Chaozhou has always been famous for lanterns at home and abroad and has a long history. There is a story about Wuniang in Chaozhou Opera, which is based on Chaoshan folklore. It is said that Chen San, an Amin, is going to visit relatives in Guangnan, passing by Chaozhou, which coincides with the Lantern Festival, so he stopped to have a look and didn't want to meet the famous beauty Huang Wuniang. They fell in love at first sight, taking the Lantern Festival as the medium, and finally made this married couple. According to the background of this era, the Chaoshan Lantern Festival has a history of hundreds of years, and the legend that lovers get married adds a bit of romance.