The ancient Lantern Festival was like a carnival, and women could go out to play without any taboos.

"Wearing Hanfu and makeup, the lights on Sixth Street make the children angry." This poem by Yuan Haowen also describes the grand occasion of the old Lantern Festival. Today, watching Lantern Festival and walking on stilts are still fond memories in the minds of many people in China. On the 4th, Wang Juan, a folklore expert, was interviewed by a reporter from Zhongxin. com. Described the customs and interesting entertainment activities of the Lantern Festival. Wang Juan said that the Lantern Festival is more like a carnival. On this night, women can go out to play without taboo, and there is also the custom of "crossing the bridge and hitting a nail" in order to give gifts.

Folklore: Lantern Festival is like a carnival. In order to give children more money, women "cross the bridge and hit a nail".

Every traditional festival that spans thousands of years will always show various interesting customs in the evolution of time, and the Lantern Festival is no exception. There is a saying that the origin of the Lantern Festival is related to the Buddhist Lantern Festival, but Wang Juan denied this statement. In her view, many activities of the Lantern Festival existed long before Buddhism was introduced to China in the Han Dynasty, so this statement is not very convincing.

As far as the various folk activities of the Lantern Festival are concerned, most of the time is concentrated in the evening. Wang Juan introduced that the Lantern Festival is more inclined to "carnival" and belongs to an open festival: "Many festivals in China have many rules, but the Lantern Festival is not. Women can go out to play that night without any taboos. "

This custom did not end even in the Song Dynasty when Neo-Confucianism prevailed. Wang Juan believes that this should be related to the arrival of spring and people's desire to "have children", which lasted until the Qing Dynasty. At the same time, women who were popular at that time "touched nails across the bridge" and "gave children lanterns" also had this intention: because nails are homophonic with "Ding", "Deng" and "Ding" are homophonic, meaning "Add Ding to children" for good luck.

In many major traditional festivals in China, there are many sacrificial acts, but there is no definite sacrificial object for the Lantern Festival. On the contrary, there will be some acts of offering sacrifices to God. For example, once you made a wish in a temple, you could let the troupe sing on the fifteenth day of the first month to express your wish. "This is a process of thanking God."

"People always say that the Lunar New Year in China is from the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month to the 15th day of the first month, and the Lantern Festival actually marks the end of the Lunar New Year." Wang Juan said with a smile.

Entertainment: Take the "Dragon Gate Array" and pray for the smooth welcome of Purple Valley divination in the coming year.

Speaking of Lantern Festival, I'm afraid what most people remember most is "eating Yuanxiao". However, according to Wang Juan, there are some quite interesting entertainment activities in the Lantern Festival, but each place may be slightly different. Common ones are boating and walking on stilts, and the more interesting one is "walking in a dragon gate array": "nailing wooden stakes, lighting lights at all corners, and putting them into a maze. If you can get out smoothly, it means that next year will be more auspicious. "

Among all the games, perhaps the most special is the behavior of "Zi Ying's aunt" among women, which is popular in all parts of the North and South and recorded as early as the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Zigu is also called Gucci, and in the north she is called toilet aunt and pit aunt. The ancient folk custom is to offer sacrifices to Ce Shen's son-in-law on the 15th day of the first month. Legend has it that Zi Guyuan is a concubine and jealous of the first wife. On the fifteenth day of the first month, he was killed in the toilet and sealed in Ce Shen. Wang Juan said that on the evening of welcoming her daughter-in-law, women would invite her to divine questions about marriage and family affairs. "The ancient popular' Please ask the spirits' is roughly' Ying Zi Gu'."

"Generally speaking, the Lantern Festival is characterized by carnival and watching lanterns. Limited by the realistic conditions, it is impossible to have a holiday every holiday. But I also hope that the official can advocate and pick up the good ingredients in traditional folk customs. " Wang Juan said earnestly.