What is the origin and significance of the Flower Festival?

1, China is a country of flowers. It has a long history, which was first recorded in Tao Zhugong in the Spring and Autumn Period. As for the "flower god", it is said that it refers to Nu Wa, the female disciple of Mrs. Northern Wei. It is said that she is good at planting flowers, and is honored as the "Flower God" by later generations, and attached a flower festival as her festival.

2. The book "Local Customs" written by Jin people at the beginning of the week: "The custom in Zhejiang says that spring is in the air and flowers are in full bloom. It is the time to enjoy the tour, and it is spent in the morning and evening. The world often says. " In the middle of the spring sequence is the fifteenth day of the second lunar month. There is a poem in "Flower Dynasty" by Emperor Liang Yuan of the Southern Song Dynasty: "Who can endure lovesickness and never meet each other?" Zhang saw a poem in "Flower Dynasty": "Three spring dawns, new rain blooms"; Fang Gan, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, said: "There is fog among the flowers, and the lake is reflected on a snowy night." . Ancient poets wrote many songs about Flower Festival. Flower dynasty customs vary from place to place. The northeast is to set up a god position for the flower god and sacrifice with vegetarian food. Kaifeng is a folk butterfly-catching party, and the winner can get a grand prize. Zhai Cheng's Poems says: "February 12th is a butterfly-catching party". In Luoyang, both dignitaries and ordinary people will visit Longmen Grottoes and other places at the Flower Festival to pick wild vegetables and taste fresh. Shangqiu people pay more attention to the relationship between astronomical phenomena and harvest, and use the sunny days of flowers to predict the harvest of wheat and fruits and vegetables all year round. In Suzhou, people will slaughter livestock in front of the Tiger Hill Flower Temple, offer sacrifices to the flower gods and wish them a birthday. On festivals, there are usually drinks, food and entertainment to add fun. In Beijing during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, flower farmers generally lived in Caoqiao and Fengtai areas south of You 'anmen. According to Dong Liu's "A Brief Introduction to the Imperial Capital" in the Ming Dynasty, "South Shili Bridge outside You 'anmen and Shili in Fiona Fang are all springs, which are suitable for flowers. Therefore, we have been friends all our lives. Everyone sells flower poles, which cost thousands of dollars every morning. They are scattered in Doumen, which is beautiful in spring, while camellias, daffodils and spring. Peach, plum and spring, only begonia. Spring is an old peony, but peony, but a twin branch. " Feng Xun's "Six Streets Flower Market" in the early Qing Dynasty also said that "Fengtai flower farmers are gardeners.

3. On the 3rd, 13th and 23rd of every month, take the flowers to the car and go to Huaishuxie Market. These descriptions record some situations of flower planting and flower business in Beijing in the old days. On the day of the Flower Festival, "ladies and gentlemen" in Beijing sang poems and went out to enjoy flowers in the famous gardens in the suburbs. It is said that the "Flower Banquet" in Qing Dynasty was the most exquisite. Eunuchs decorate peony flowers with red and yellow silk in the Summer Palace, and let all love and Xia Guang fly. Empress Dowager Cixi watched the comedy "Flower God's Birthday" and tasted snacks made of flowers. There is also a flower temple in Fengtai District, Beijing, which is located in the north of Jijiamiao Village in Fengtai Town. It is a place where flowers are sacrificed in spring, and it is also a meeting place for various flower associations in Fengtai District. It is said that this flower bed was built in the Ming Dynasty. There is a plaque of "Ancient Flower Temple" above the temple gate. In the front hall of the temple, there are tablets of Kao Hua and various flower gods. Legend has it that Luoyang Peony and other twelve flower gods offended the Jade Emperor and were thrown into the mortal world. The flower gods came to the southern suburbs of Beijing and made Fengtai area full of all kinds of flowers. In order to thank the flower god for his gift to the world, flower shops in Kyoto raised funds to build this flower temple. Among flowers, peony and peony are known as the kings of flowers. Historically, peony in Beijing is also very famous, and the peony in Fengtai, Hu Axiang is the best in Beijing. There are dozens of excellent famous products such as "official brocade red", "pear blossom snow" and "white jade belt".

4. The Flower Festival was formed at the latest in the Tang Dynasty, because it is very common to record the flower dynasty in the poems and history books of the Tang Dynasty, such as Si Kongtu's "Mourning at the same place, spitting at the flower dynasty" and Lu Lun's "Void to smell the night, clean the rain flower dynasty". There is also a written record in the story in Old Tang Book, which was written two years after Emperor Wu left Jin. "Every time Wei went to Yueming, he was very affectionate with Bin." According to folklore, Emperor Taizong personally presided over the "picking vegetables" in the imperial garden at the Flower Festival. Wu Zetian, who loves flowers like a life, always lets the ladies-in-waiting pick flowers, mash them with rice, steam them into flower cakes and give them to ministers at the Flower Festival. At that time, people regarded the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month, the flower show on February 15th and the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th as equally important festivals. The festival period of "Flower Festival" is different from February 15, 12 and 2 due to different time and region. For example, the book summary says: "February 15th is the Flower Festival in the Tang Dynasty." Wu in the Southern Song Dynasty also said in "Dreaming and Looking at February": "The fifteenth day of mid-spring is the flower festival, and Zhejiang customs believe that when spring is in full bloom, the tour is the most enjoyable." Wang Hao, a poet in A Qing, quoted Yang Wanli's poem about Chengzhai in "Guang Qun Fang Pu Tian Shi Pu Er": "The Tokyo Flower Show on February 12th is a butterfly-catching party." As for the record of taking the second day of February as the flower festival, it can also be found in the book Guang Fang Qun Pu, in which the second chapter of Shi Tian Pu quotes the Mohanji cloud: "Luoyang custom takes February as the flower festival. The scholars are playing, and it is also the' Picking Vegetables Festival'. " In addition, in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province and Guangshan, Henan Province, there are folk customs that February is the small flower festival and February 15th is the big flower festival. For example, the Records of Guangxu County in Qing Dynasty said, "On February 2nd, the popular cloud' Little Flower Dynasty' and on February 15th, the cloud' Big Flower Dynasty'."