Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Traditional virtues - All the festivals and customs in China.

All the festivals and customs in China.

Spring Festival time: the first day of the first lunar month custom: forbearing being old-fashioned.

The most solemn festival in China's traditional customs. This festival is the first in a year. The ancients also called Yuanri, New Year's Day, Jacky, Spring Festival and Xinzheng. Now they are called after the Spring Festival and adopt the Gregorian calendar era. In ancient times, "Spring Festival" and "Spring" were synonymous. On the one hand, the custom of the Spring Festival is to celebrate the past year, on the other hand, it is to wish a happy New Year, a bumper harvest of crops and prosperity of people and animals, which are mostly related to farming. Welcome and dance the dragon to please the dragon god, and the weather is good; Lion dance originated from a legend, that is, the town is afraid of monsters that destroy crops and harm people and animals.

Lantern Festival Time: On the 15th day of the first lunar month, custom: watch lanterns, eat Yuanxiao, walk on stilts, and solve riddles on the lanterns on lanterns.

Traditional folk festivals in China. Also known as the first half of the first month, Shangyuan Festival and Lantern Festival. The custom of Lantern Festival includes watching lanterns, wrapping jiaozi, and playing drums in the New Year to welcome Ce Shen and solve riddles on the lanterns. The custom of eating Yuanxiao began in the Song Dynasty. Yuanxiao is a kind of jiaozi, which is a solid or stuffed jiaozi made of glutinous rice flour. You can eat soup, stir-fry it or steam it.

The 15th day of the first lunar month is the traditional Lantern Festival in China. The first month is January, and the ancients called the night "Xiao". The fifteenth day is the first full moon night in a year, so the fifteenth day of the first month is called the Lantern Festival. Also known as "Shangyuan Festival". According to the folk tradition in China, the moon is high in the sky and there are 10,000 lanterns on the ground on the festival night of Spring Festival, so people can watch lanterns, solve riddles on the lanterns, eat Yuanxiao and have family reunion.

Lantern Festival originated in the Han Dynasty, and it is said that it was set up to commemorate Pinglu during the reign of Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty. After the death of Emperor Liu Ying of the Han Dynasty, Lv Hou usurped power, and the Lushi family dominated the state affairs. After Lv Hou's death, Zhou Bo, Chen Ping and others eliminated the influence of Lv Hou and established Liu Heng as the emperor of China. Because the day to calm Zhu Lu is the fifteenth day of the first month, after that, every year on the fifteenth night of the first month, Wendi will go out of the palace in disguise and have fun with the people as a souvenir. The fifteenth day of the first month is designated as the Lantern Festival. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the sacrificial activities of "Taiyi God" were held on the 15th day of the first month. Sima Qian listed the Lantern Festival as a major festival in taichu calendar law.

Cold Food Festival Time: The custom of Tomb-Sweeping Day the day before: cooking with fire and eating cold food.

Traditional folk festivals in China. Fireworks are strictly prohibited during festivals, and only cold food can be eaten. Winter to the future 105 or 106 days, one or two days before Qingming. According to legend, during the Spring and Autumn Period, Zhong Er, the son of the Jin Dynasty, was exiled, and the minister Jiezitui cut off his shares. After Zhong Er proclaimed himself emperor, he made great contributions, but he didn't enjoy meson push. Zitui lives in seclusion in the mountains. Zhong Er was ashamed, so he let Yamakaji go and forced him to come out to be rewarded. The child was burned to death because he couldn't get out of the Woods. Therefore, Zhong Er ordered not to make a fire to cook on this day every year to commemorate Zitui and express his condemnation of his mistakes. Because cold food is close to Qingming time, later generations regard the custom of cold food as one of Qingming customs.

Tomb-Sweeping Day time: the eighth day of the third lunar month (Tomb-Sweeping Day in the 24th solar terms of the lunar calendar, around April 5th of the Gregorian calendar) Customs: sweeping graves and going for an outing.

According to the lunar calendar, it is the first half of March, and according to the solar calendar, it is April 5 or 6 every year. At this time, the weather is getting warmer and sunny. "Everything is so clean and bright", hence Tomb-Sweeping Day's name. Its customs include sweeping graves, hiking, swinging, flying kites and wearing flowers. Scholars of all ages wrote poems on the theme of Qingming.

Dragon Boat Festival time: the fifth day of the fifth lunar month: eating zongzi and racing dragon boats.

Also known as Duanyang, Chongwu and Chongwu. Dragon Boat Festival was originally held in the afternoon of the first month. Because "May" and "noon" are homophonic, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month becomes the Dragon Boat Festival. It is generally believed that this festival is related to the commemoration of Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan was loyal and drowned himself, so people ate zongzi and held dragon boat races to mourn him. The customs of the Dragon Boat Festival include drinking realgar wine, hanging sachets, eating zongzi, arranging calamus flowers, beating herbs and expelling the "five poisons". Dragon Boat Festival is an ancient traditional festival in China. On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, people will hold dragon boat races on rivers, lakes and oceans, eat zongzi, wear sachets, have an outing and collect mugwort. These activities have become an eternal custom, which has continued since ancient times.

When it comes to the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, people will first think of the patriotic poet Qu Yuan. According to legend, during the Warring States Period, King Xiang of Chu favored traitors and was dismissed from his post and exiled for being outspoken. Qin took the opportunity to attack Chu, and the territory of Chu was destroyed. Seeing the destruction of the country and the displacement of the people, Qu Yuan was determined to serve the country and was powerless to return to heaven. In a rage, Qu Yuan threw himself into Luojiang with a boulder. When the local people heard that Qu Yuan had jumped into the river, they came to the rescue. They chased down the river to Dongting Lake, but they didn't find Qu Yuan's body. The sight of a boat swimming around the lake is spectacular. This day is the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Later, on this day, people will race dragon boats on the river to commemorate Qu Yuan. People also throw zongzi into the water just to feed ichthyosaurs, shrimps and crabs to prevent Qu Yuan's body from being swallowed.

Tanabata time: the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the custom is to wear needles for cleverness.

Also known as Girls' Day or Tanabata. According to legend, after the weaver girl on the east bank of Tianhe married the cowherd in Hexi, the brocade was woven a little slowly, and the emperor was furious, so he drove the weaver girl back and only allowed them to meet on the bridge made of magpies and birds on the seventh night of the seventh lunar month every year. Or: the weaver girl in the sky married the cowherd on the ground, and the queen mother took the weaver girl back to the sky and only allowed them to meet at the annual magpie bridge. On the evening of the seventh day of July every year, when the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd reunite, women will put incense tables and thread needles to ask the Weaver Girl for advice on weaving and embroidery skills. Listening to the conversation between the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl under the grape trellis is also an interesting thing on July 7.

Valentine's Day in China, also known as Begging for Clevership Festival, is the most romantic festival among the traditional festivals in China. According to legend, the night of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month every year is the time when "Weaver Girl" and "Cowherd" meet in the sky. "Weaver Girl" is a beautiful, intelligent and ingenious fairy. That night, ordinary women begged her for wisdom and skills, and also prayed to her for a happy marriage.

Time of the Double Ninth Festival: the ninth day of September. Custom: Climb the mountain and insert dogwood.

The Book of Changes defines "nine" as yang number, and two or nine is important, so the ninth day of the ninth lunar month is "Chongyang". In the Double Ninth Festival, the air is crisp in autumn, the wind is clear and the moon is clean, so there are customs such as climbing high and looking far, appreciating chrysanthemums and making poems, drinking chrysanthemum wine and inserting dogwood. In the Tang Dynasty, there was a poem "Cornus officinalis is all over the ground, but one person is missing". Double Ninth Festival is also called Double Ninth Festival, September 9th, Rongyu Festival and Chrysanthemum Festival. Double Ninth Festival is an ancient celebration custom. In the Tang Dynasty, Chongyang was officially designated as a festival. In the Tang Dynasty, people had the custom of climbing mountains and inserting dogwood on the Double Ninth Festival.

The origin of the Double Ninth Festival can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Qu Yuan once wrote in "Travel Far": "Gather the people of Chongyang to celebrate the Emperor's Palace". In the Han Dynasty, the custom of Chongyang gradually became popular among the people. It is said that after killing Lady Qi, the beloved princess of Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang, Jia, the maid-in-waiting of Lady Qi, was also expelled from the palace and married the poor. Legend has it: In the palace, on September 9th every year, people wear dogwood, eat lotus bait and drink chrysanthemum wine to live longer. As a result, the custom of Chongyang spread from the court to the people and gradually became popular.

Mid-Autumn Festival time: August 15th of the lunar calendar custom: enjoy the moon.

Also known as the reunion festival. August of the lunar calendar is in autumn, and August 15th is in August, so it is called Mid-Autumn Festival. Autumn is crisp and the bright moon is in the sky, so there is a custom of enjoying and offering sacrifices to the moon. The reunion association brought by the full moon makes the Mid-Autumn Festival more deeply rooted in people's hearts. The Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon is more romantic after being associated with Mid-Autumn Festival in Tang Dynasty. Many poets in the past dynasties wrote poems on the theme of Mid-Autumn Festival. The main customs of Mid-Autumn Festival are appreciating the moon, offering sacrifices to the moon, watching the tide and eating moon cakes. The 15th day of the eighth lunar month is the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival in China and the second largest traditional festival in China after the Spring Festival. Also known as Mid-Autumn Festival, Reunion Festival and August Festival. It is a traditional festival of Han nationality and most ethnic minorities in China, and it is also popular in neighboring countries such as Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Because autumn (referring to the lunar calendar) is in July, August and September, August is in the middle of the year, and August 30th is in the middle of the year, it is called Mid-Autumn Festival. So at night, when the moon is bright, there are more people than family members, so it is also called the reunion festival.

The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the story of the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon. According to historical records: "Yesterday, Chang 'e took the medicine of the Queen Mother of the West to live forever, so she went to the moon with the essence of the moon. "Chang 'e paid hard labor for this move, and she can't return to the world for life. Li Bai was very sad for this, and wrote a poem: "The white rabbit pounded medicine in autumn, and came back to life in spring. Who is the female neighbor? " Although Chang 'e herself feels good about the Moon Palace, she can't bear loneliness. She returns to Earth to reunite with her husband all night on August 15 every year, but she must return to the Moon Palace before dawn. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the world not only wants to get together with Chang 'e on the moon, but also hopes that Chang 'e can come down to see her beauty. Therefore, when many people burn incense in Yue Bai, they pray that "men want to go to themoon early and climb the fairy laurel;" Women want to look like Chang 'e and round like the bright moon. "Year after year, people celebrate this day as a festival.

Laba Festival time: the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month custom: drink Laba porridge.

This is an ancient festival, offering sacrifices to ancestors, gods and harvest at the end of the year. The twelfth lunar month is usually held in the last month of each year, and it was fixed on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. There are customs such as eating red bean porridge and offering sacrifices to ancestors. Buddhist Laba porridge has also penetrated into Laba customs. The most important festival in the twelfth lunar month is the eighth day of December, which was called "La Ri" in ancient times and commonly known as "Laba Festival". Since the pre-Qin period, Laba Festival has been used to worship ancestors and gods and pray for good harvest and good luck. It is said that Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, realized enlightenment on the eighth day of December, so Laba is also a Buddhist festival, called "Buddhist Enlightenment Festival".

Laba has the custom of eating Laba porridge on this day. Laba porridge is also called "Qibao Wuwei porridge". China has a history of drinking Laba porridge for 1000 years. It first started in the Song Dynasty. On the day of Laba, whether it is the imperial court, the government, temples, or the people's homes, Laba porridge will be cooked. In the Qing Dynasty, the custom of drinking Laba porridge became more popular. At court, emperors, queens and princes give laba porridge to civil and military ministers and attendants, and distribute rice and fruit to monasteries for monks to eat. In the folk, every household should also make laba porridge to worship their ancestors; At the same time, family members get together for dinner and give gifts to relatives and friends.

The 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, also known as "off-year", is a day for people to sacrifice stoves.

It is said that every year on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, Kitchen God will tell the Jade Emperor about the good and evil of this family and let the Jade Emperor reward and punish them. Therefore, when sending stoves, people put candy, water, beans and grass on the console table in front of the kitchen god statue; Among them, the last three are the mounts of the kitchen god ascending to heaven. When offering sacrifices to the stove, you should melt the Guandong sugar with fire and put it on the mouth of the kitchen god. In this way, he can't speak ill of the jade emperor There is a folk custom that "men don't Yue Bai, women don't offer sacrifices to stoves", so the owner of offering sacrifices to stoves is limited to men.

In addition, on New Year's Eve, the Kitchen God will bring the gods to the world for the New Year, and there will be ceremonies of "receiving the kitchen" and "receiving the gods" on that day. Every family burns sedan chairs and horses, sprinkles three glasses of wine, and sends away the kitchen god, so it's their turn to worship their ancestors.

New Year's Eve is a traditional folk festival in China. On the evening of Lunar New Year1February 30th, every household is cleaning the house, putting on rich dishes and having a "New Year's Eve" with the whole family. This night, everyone stays up all night, or drinks and chats, or plays chess by guessing. This is the so-called "guarding the old age". At zero o'clock, people rushed out and gathered a fire in front of the court (called "Tingliao" in ancient times, which means prosperity). At the time of the "three yuan" of "year yuan, month yuan and time yuan", three "celestial cannons" were released in order to develop and prosper first. At this time, firecrackers and cheers were connected together, and there was a scene of "removing the old year from firecrackers".