What are the traditional Chinese festivals? What are their origins?

China's traditional festivals have basically been set in stone since the Han Dynasty, with some additions and subtractions. After the Republic of China (R.O.C.), they have changed considerably due to formal westernization, but the people still hold on to some of the few that the government has not made legal. Until the Cultural Revolution, the government cut back on the promotion of traditional festivals other than the Spring Festival, and even for the Spring Festival, it was publicized as a "revolutionary Spring Festival". After the reform and opening up of China, people began to celebrate some traditional festivals, which were publicized in the press accordingly. At present, traditional festivals celebrated by the private sector account for about one-third of all traditional festivals, including those that are not legal holidays. Traditional festivals contain a lot of folk culture and traditional humanistic concepts, as well as religious factors, for the study of culture, history and social life of ancient societies, there is a certain significance, the following is the origin of traditional festivals:

Chinese New Year (the first month of the year to pay homage to the new year):

The first month to pay homage to the new year in the first month, also known as New Year's Day, or the first day of the first month. The first day of the first month is the day when the year, the four seasons, and the twelve months begin. In the Spring and Autumn Annals, the first month is called the month of the end. The rooster crows and rises, and first pops firecrackers in front of the court to ward off the evil spirits of the mountain. Therefore, the first month is a festival that has existed since ancient times since the beginning of the calendar. There are many customs in the first month of the lunar calendar, such as the young and the old are all correctly dressed, in order to worship and congratulate, this custom is still maintained today, drinking pepper wine, that is, made of pepper flowers, or cypress wine. However, some specific activities have been abandoned, including during the Han and Jin dynasties, such as the Zhou Dynasty (周处) which states: "On the first day of the month, when a chicken is swallowed raw, it is called practicing the shape of the chicken." Tokyo Dreaming Records, the government of the Northern Song Dynasty in the first month to hold a great dynasty, the emperor and the hundred officials to hold a large-scale reunion, and banquets for envoys from various countries, with special emphasis on the Liao, Goryeo mission to the feast treatment. This activity has been preserved to this day. After the Xinhai Revolution, the Republic of China government legally retained only the traditional holidays in the first month of the year, but renamed the "Spring Festival", and New Year's Day on the first day of January in the Western calendar, only the government and the private sector are more important to the Spring Festival, the People's **** and the national government legal Spring Festival holiday of four days, but now many private enterprises have varying degrees of Spring Festival to do the appropriate extension, some even including weekends, extended to the Spring Festival, and even to the end of the year. Including the weekend counted, extended to the 15th of January.

Lichun Festival:

Lichun Festival of Agricultural SacrificeLichun is held between the first and fifteenth day of the first month of the new year, which is an ancient traditional festival for the sacrifice of agriculture, according to the East Han Ying Shao, "Customs and Customs", the sacrifice of agriculture was carried out in the month of April, and the Emperor of the Han Wendi changed the festival to the month of February, and then to Lichun at the time of the Jin Dynasty. On the day of the first spring, officials should personally dress to celebrate and sit on small spring cows to show their support and attention to the agricultural work after the beginning of spring, and folk celebrations accordingly, this festival is actually the true welcome to spring. Western Jin Fu Xian "Yan Fu" said: "four times to, respect against its beginning. He should be lucky in the East, is set up to welcome to the Yan. The light wings of the different, as will fly and not yet up. Mrs. Ho's skillful work, the style of the instrumental form is similar. The royal book praises the time, and writes of the good fortune of spring." Few people today know that Spring is a traditional festival.

Lantern Festival:

Lantern Festival Lantern Festival is held on the fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar calendar, and it is the liveliest day of the year, because after this day, most people have to go to work. The Lantern Festival is a grand event with lanterns and fireworks. Dragon and lion dances and social performances are held from daytime until late at night. In order to maintain with the people with the gesture of fun, this day Jingo can not help, Jingo is the Executive Jingo, is to guard the palace of the close guards, Jingo can not help refers to the palace in front of the Jinshuiqiao area does not prohibit the ordinary people to visit the play. Fireworks are located near the Jinshuiqiao cast, so that the emperor and concubines in the Imperial City Gate Tower to appreciate. Fireworks in the old days were made of various kinds of firecrackers tied to the pyrotechnic frame burned one by one to create the effect, I saw it when I was a child, more brilliant than the Western-style fireworks, but the danger is great. Tang Su flavor poem "fire trees and silver flowers, the golden bridge and iron rope open, dark dust with the horse to go, flowing fireflies by people. This vividly summarizes the scene of the New Year's Eve. On the arrival of Yuan Xi, many young women confined to their concubines and the families of officials and eunuchs were exceptionally allowed to come out to watch the lanterns, which created a rare opportunity for young men and women to come into contact with each other, and many love stories of love and grudges were performed, which were described in the vernacular novels of the Ming Dynasty. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Ouyang Xiu's poem "Shengcha Zi. Last year, on New Year's Eve, the lights in the flower market were like paintings, the moon was on the top of the willow, and people were about after dusk. This year's New Year's Eve, the moon and lights are still the same, but I don't see last year's people, and my sleeves are full of tears." The words of Xin Qiji "Suddenly, I saw the man of last year, my tears filled the sleeves of my spring shirt. Xin Qiji's words "looking back, that person is in the place where the lights are out! The sweetheart even fell from the sky, the excitement can be known. Yuansi celebrations so far in the northern rural areas to maintain, the South has also been restored, most of them are limited to watching the song and dance programs on television.

March 3 Festival:

March 3 this day, the festival originated so early that Emperor Wu of Jin did not know its meaning, Zhi Yu answered his question that it was the time of the Duke of Zhou, the original is the wine cups filled with wine, floated in the river. Wang Xizhi "Lanting set of preface" in the "water flow goblet" is the meaning of this, the first reading of the ancient text without reading the commentary is very easy to be confused by the meaning of the water flow goblet.

Cold Food Festival:

Banning fire? Cold Food is two days before the Qingming Festival and one hundred and five days after the Winter Solstice, a day when fire is banned from top? To the next only eat fruit snacks a class of cold food. Cold food originated from the story of Duke Wen of Jin burning Jie Zi Tui,? The story goes:? The Duke of Jin, Mr. Chong Er and Mr. Jie Zi Pui fled abroad together, and when the Duke of Jin passed through Wei, he was hungry and lacked food. His attendant, Jie Zi Pui, cut off the flesh of his thigh and gave it to Duke Wen to eat. When the Duke of Wen returned to his country and became the king of Wei, he was rewarded for his achievements. After he returned to his country and became the king of Wei, Jie Zi Pui was the only one who did not receive any reward. Zi Tui was the only one who did not receive any reward. He composed the Song of the Dragon and the Serpent and lived in seclusion. Duke Wen of Jin visited Zi Tui, but Zi Tui did not want to come out. So Duke Wen set fire to trees in front and behind the mountain where Zi Pui lived in seclusion, hoping to force Zi Pui to come out,? Tzu-tui hugged the withered willow and let the fire burn him to death. The Duke of Wen mourned him and ordered the people not to build fires on May 5th. to build fires, and later the 5th of May was changed to the time written above during the two Han dynasties.

Chingming Festival:

To visit the graves? The Qingming Festival, which honors ancestors and deceased relatives, emerged after about the Northern and Southern Dynasties, as ? The Southern Dynasty Zong懔's "Jing Chu Yearly Record" has not been recorded. In the Northern Song Dynasty, willow branches were inserted in the gates of every house, and the official government held the so-called "Willow Festival". The government should hold the so-called "drill flint to change the fire" ceremony, is to use elm wood to drill wood for fire, but also? Dragon boat races, lively and extraordinary, not simply sweeping activities, so-called: "Qingming Festival rain has been, the road pedestrians want to break their souls," so sad Cang. Qingming activities are still maintained up and down.

Duanwu Festival:

Dragon boat? May 5 is the annual Dragon Boat Festival, very lively, folk to organize their own dragon boat? Competition, eat zongzi, drink xionghuang wine, hanging mugwort in the door. This festival is rumored to commemorate the Chu? Dr. Qu Yuan worried about the people and the country, throwing himself into the Miluo River story, the people to glutinous rice to palm leaf package? into rice balls into the river as bait, so that the fish and turtles do not eat their respected Dr. Qu. The Dragon Boat Festival celebrations in China are still very enthusiastic, but not like before the 1960s when thousands of people went to see the dragon boat show, and primary and secondary school students couldn't sit still in class. Overseas Chinese only? Only when they see stores selling dumplings do they remember it.

The Tanabata Beggar's Day(Valentine's Day):

The Tanabata words Beggar's Day? Yesterday was the seventh day of the seventh month of the old calendar, the past legend, the night of July 7, the heavenly cowherd weaving girl to be separated from the ? s Milky Way to meet across a bridge made of magpies. This, of course, is not true. The distance between the two sides of the Milky Way is measured in millions of light-years. The distance across both sides of the Milky Way is measured in millions of light-years, and it would be absolutely impossible to travel across the Milky Way in a vehicle that is as fast as light. galaxy could never be achieved overnight.?

Ghost Festival:

Midwinter Ghost Festival Midwinter Ghost Festival Midwinter Ghost Festival is held on the 15th day of the 7th month, commonly known as the "Festival of the Underworld", and it is said that on this day, we have to burn money to pay for the souls of the dead, and monasteries have to try to make a meeting to do a Taoist ceremony in order to surpass the souls of the dead. This festival originated from the Buddhist scripture "Meilian save mother", so the Song Dynasty was very enthusiastic, to set up a stage in the market to sing a variety of opera "Meilian save mother", according to the Buddhist scripture, the story said: Meilian in the underworld to see his dead mother in the hungry ghosts in the group, and immediately served a bowl of rice to his mother to eat, the rice did not eat into the mouth, and then the rice is not eaten, and the mother is not able to eat the rice, and the mother is not able to eat the rice. According to the Buddhist scriptures, the story says: "Seeing his dead mother among the hungry ghosts in the underworld, Meglian immediately gave his mother a bowl of rice to eat, and the rice was not eaten in the mouth, but was turned into charcoal, so that Meglian's mother could not get any food. The Buddha said: "Your mother's sins are so deep that you can't deal with them alone, and you need the power of all the monks in the ten directions. On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, you should prepare all kinds of delicacies and fruits for the seven generations of your parents who are suffering in hell, and put them in a basin and offer them to the monks and goddesses of the ten directions. I will tell all the monks to wish the seven generations of parents of the benefactor to enter 'meditation' and then go and receive the food." Meilian did as the Buddha told him, and his mother was relieved of all the suffering of the Russian ghosts. Meilian then told the Buddha, "In the future, Buddhist disciples who are filial to their parents should also make offerings to the monks and goddesses of the ten directions." The Buddha said, "Well said!" Therefore, this story actually combines Confucian filial piety with Buddhist teachings to facilitate the popularization and propagation of Buddhism. Therefore, the Mid-Yuan Festival is also known as the "Bon Festival", and there are many references to the Bon Festival in Liaozhai Zhiyi (聊斋志异). When I was a child, I heard many old people say, "On the half of the seventh month, ghosts run amok", but I did not know what it was all about. Nowadays, most students in the United States only know about Halloween, which falls on the 31st day of the 10th month of the Chinese calendar, but not about the Chinese Bon Festival, which is much more solemn and serious than Halloween's playfulness. The bon may have appeared in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, but now it's probably only revived in monasteries, which is too feudalistic and superstitious.

Mid-Autumn Festival:

Mid-Autumn Moon AppreciationOn the night of Mid-Autumn on the 15th day of the 8th month, when the moon looks unusually bright and large, the commemoration of Mid-Autumn Festival begins. The celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival begins with sitting around and eating mooncakes, then stepping outside to enjoy the moon, and the idea of family reunion, which may be derived from Su Shi's words "When is the bright moon? When will the bright moon come? Ask the blue sky with a glass of wine. Wish for a long time, a thousand miles of **** Chan Juan." This is Su Dongpo misses his brother Su Ziyu in the field to write down the words. But the origin of the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is not in this sense, is clearly enjoying the moon, but from the beautiful story of the Tang Emperor in the famous Taoist priest Ye Fashan's help to travel to the Moon Palace, but also carries a fairy song "Neishang Yuyi song" myths and legends, my humble post to illustrate, not to mention. As for the custom of eating mooncakes on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, it is not recorded in the Southern Song Dynasty notebooks, and the legend says that it was the peasant Red Turbans who rose up at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and used the round cake as a number. Mid-Autumn Festival in the two Song Dynasty is very lively, according to the "Old Wulin", the Southern Song Dynasty Mid-Autumn Festival night, all the people have to burn 100,000 parchment lamps, so that they drift along the Qiantang River, is the night stars on the surface of the Qiantang River, like a starry night, a lot of fun.

Chongyang Festival:

September 9 is the traditional Chongyang Festival, which coincides with the autumn high tide, is a picnic to climb high and look? Wang Wei wrote in "September 9, climbed high and remembered the Shandong brothers": "Alone in a different? I am a stranger in a different country, and I miss my relatives twice as much at festivals. I know that my brothers are climbing up to the top of the mountain, and there are fewer dogwoods to be found." ? He expressed his true feelings of nostalgia for his loved ones. On September 9, the dogwood grass, in the wind and sunny ? day, climb to the top of the high slope, drink chrysanthemum wine, make people think of life and nature as one, ? So it is a thought of longevity. Chongyang Festival is no longer celebrated after liberation.

La Bao Festival:

December 8 is the day of sacrifice to the God of the stove, "Zhouli" said "Zhuanxu's son said Lai, for? Zhuan Xu's son said Lai, for? So the origin of the sacrifice of the god of the stove may be before the Western Zhou. Liu Zhen and other writers of the Eastern Han Dynasty, "Dong Guan Han Ji" said that in the sacrifice of the God of the stove to the yellow sheep as a sacrifice. During the Song Dynasty, the sacrifices to the God of the Harbor were performed in the form of a yellow goat. In the Song Dynasty, the activities of sacrificing to the God of the Stove included eating the so-called "Lapa rice", which is a congee made of a variety of fruits and ingredients. A variety of fruit and miscellaneous materials to cook porridge and eat, this custom may come from Buddhism on the Chinese folk witch god activities? This custom may come from Buddhism's infiltration and transformation of Chinese folk witchcraft activities. On this day, the monks saw that everyone was worshipping traditional witchcraft deities and feared that it would be detrimental to the propagation of their doctrine. On this day, the monks saw that everyone was worshipping the traditional Wiccan gods and goddesses, and feared that it would be unfavorable for them to propagate their doctrines. Eat, in order to offset the influence of the "cult", but the people do not care so much, as usual, to bring,? Anyway, it is a different way to eat is, so the invention of the "Laha congee". Buddhism has been very successful in counteracting the "evil cults", and has completely eliminated such activities as jumping to the gods in the past. East Han Zhang Heng's "Tokyo Fu" also said: "Every year-end to hold a grand exorcism, to drive away all? kinds of evil spirits. Fang Xiang Shen with weapons, wizards with brooms, tens of thousands of children wearing red scarves head body? wearing black clothes, holding peach bows and spiny arrows, firing aimlessly in all directions." In the "Jing Chu Years and Seasons? Records of the Years and Times of Jing Chu, but by the time of the Tokyo Dreaming Book, it was no longer possible to see such a joyous celebration. But in Tokyo Meng Hua Lu, there are no more scenes of such joyful celebrations. On the contrary, "Laha congee" has been passed down, and many families still have this custom, and some of the present-day clever daughters-in-law still make very good congee. Some of the current generation of clever daughter-in-laws are still doing it very well.

New Year's Eve Festival:

New Year's Eve is the last day of the year, this day, ordinary people try to reunite, the whole family gathered around the fireplace, drinking and eating food in order to say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new year of the meaning of the outdoors is the sound of firecrackers. Families spend a cozy last night of the year together, and to this day in Shenzhou? Earth is still strongly maintained, only the wonderful program of the Spring Festival Gala spoils the cozy atmosphere? atmosphere. In the "Jing Chu Yearly Record", it is recorded that: ? Families prepare delicious food and go to the place where they keep the New Year to welcome the arrival of the New Year, and the family? s drinking together. On October 12 of the New Year, some rice was left behind, and then it was scattered on the side of the road or street. It is believed to have the meaning of spitting out the old and bringing in the new.? It seems that people at that time and now people reunion year is similar, but also to keep the New Year's Eve.