The Origin and Customs of Lantern Festival

February 17 is the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and it is also a good day for family reunion. Lantern Festival, also known as the first lunar month, Lantern Festival and Shangyuan Festival, is the first important festival in China after the Spring Festival. Next, let's learn about the origin and customs of the Lantern Festival.

The first month is the first month of the lunar calendar. The ancients called the night "Xiao", so they called the fifteenth day of the first month the Lantern Festival. The night of the fifteenth day of the first month is the night of the first full moon in a year, and it is also the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty. When the spring returns, people celebrate this festival and celebrate the continuation of the Spring Festival.

Lantern Festival is also called Lantern Festival. According to folk tradition, people light lanterns on this bright night to celebrate. Or go out to enjoy the moon, light a lamp and set off flames, or enjoy solve riddles on the lanterns on lanterns, * * * eat Yuanxiao and have a family reunion.

Interview: Zhang Beijing, vice president of the Historical Geography Folklore Society (Lantern Festival) is a traditional festival with a history of more than 2,000 years. China has had the Lantern Festival since the Han Dynasty. This theme has been developed and enriched in the future. Therefore, we attach great importance to this festival now, because it is a festival of joy, unity and harmony, which is an idea specially advocated by China people. )

There is a folk custom of eating Yuanxiao on the Lantern Festival. Yuanxiao is made of glutinous rice, which can be solid or stuffed. You can cook, stir-fry, steam and fry when eating. At first, people called this kind of food "Fuyuanzi", and later they called it "Tangtuan" or "Tangyuan". These names are similar to the word "reunion", which means reunion and symbolizes family reunion, harmony and happiness.

Interview: Zhang Beijing, Vice President of Historical Geography Folklore Society (eating Yuanxiao has a history of 1000 years). No matter whether the Lantern Festival is rich or poor, every household must find a way to celebrate it. For example, in our original Haidian town, many candy shops in Haidian town are operating Yuanxiao, and some people in the street are shouting to sell Yuanxiao. )

"Lantern riddles", also known as "playing riddles", originated in the Song Dynasty and was an added activity after the Lantern Festival. People write riddles on paper and stick them on colorful lanterns for people to guess. Because riddles are enlightening and interesting, they are very popular in the process of communication.

Interview: Zhang Beijing, Vice President of Historical Geography Folklore Society (as Haidian District, there was a famous Mijia Lantern in the Ming Dynasty. For example, Mijia lanterns are displayed in dengshikou, Qianmen and Houmen. Many poets wrote many poems about Mijia lanterns: Xigou Bridge rises at the beginning of the month and the water is clear. The strange stone cloisters are all gone, and tourists still ask about the M lights. )

With the passage of time, the activities of the Lantern Festival have become more and more abundant, and many local festivals have also added traditional folk performances such as playing dragon lanterns, playing lions, walking on stilts, rowing dry boats, dancing yangko and playing Taiping drums. This traditional festival, which has been passed down for more than two thousand years, is not only popular on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, but also celebrated every year in areas where overseas Chinese live in concentrated communities.