Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Traditional virtues - Why can ancient festivals last until now?

Why can ancient festivals last until now?

The formation process of festivals is the long-term accumulation and cohesion of a nation or country's history and culture. All the traditional festivals in China are developed from ancient times.

The origin and development of festivals is a process of gradual formation, subtle influence and gradual infiltration into social life. Like the development of society, it is the product of the development of human society to a certain stage. These festivals in ancient China were all related to the astronomy, calendar, mathematics and the solar terms divided later. This can be traced back to Zheng Xiao and Shangshu in Xia Dynasty at least in literature. By the Warring States period, the 24 solar terms in a year were basically complete, and later traditional festivals were also closely related to these solar terms.

Solar terms provide a prerequisite for the emergence of festivals. Most festivals began to appear in the pre-Qin period, but the enrichment and popularization of customs still need a long development process. The earliest custom activities were related to primitive worship, superstition and taboo; Myths and legends add a bit of romance to the festival; There is also the impact and influence of religion on festivals; Some historical figures have been endowed with eternal remembrance, infiltrated into festivals, and all of them have been integrated into the content of condensed festivals, giving China festivals a profound sense of history.