Lantern Festival customs

If the Spring Festival is a lively and festive drama, then the Lantern Festival is undoubtedly the finale of this performance. In this lively and extraordinary day, there are the romantic feelings of Ouyang Xiu in the Song Dynasty that "the willow shoots are on the moon, and people meet after dusk", and there are also the lively scenes of Su Weidao, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, that "the fire trees and silver flowers are combined, and the stars and bridges are locked". So many customs have been handed down. I have carefully arranged five customs below. Let's have a look.

Custom 1: Sacrifice to God and ancestors.

The Lantern Festival in Jacky is also called Shangyuan Festival. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the "Taiyi God" was sacrificed on the fifteenth day of the first month. There is a story in "Purple Tongzhi Bamboo Slips": it is bright in the sky, or the clouds are faint from Taiyi in the Han Temple to the sky. People also think that Shangyuan Festival is a day when God bless the people, so lanterns should be held at 15 o'clock in the first month to pray for good luck. In addition, according to the folk custom, the first and fifteenth days of the first lunar month are to worship the heavens, and "burn incense to worship the ancestors". For example, after the Lantern Festival is completed, ancestors are worshipped, incense is burned, kowtows are made, blessings are prayed, and then the whole family is reunited to enjoy family happiness.

Custom 2: Eat Yuanxiao.

Eating Yuanxiao on the fifteenth day of the first month is an important folk custom. Yuanxiao was originally called "Floating Zi Yuan". In ancient times, "Yuan" refers to the first month of the New Year. Yuan is homophonic with Yuan, which means reunion, so eating Yuanxiao means eating a good omen. Northerners like to eat fried dumplings, while southerners like to eat boiled dumplings. Whether it is Yuanxiao or Tangyuan, it is full of the beautiful meaning of family reunion and happiness. Lantern Festival, with beautiful scenery, a bowl of sweet and soft Yuanxiao is essential.

Custom 3: Go across the bridge and touch the nail.

In ancient times, the court lifted the curfew on the Lantern Festival. Usually, due to ethical reasons, women who can't go out can also go out to see the lights. At this time, the women in the boudoir are all dressed up, wearing pearls and colorful clothes, carrying lanterns in groups of three or five, and strolling on the river bridge with elegant steps, which creates the opportunity to "meet" the right person. In the TV series Poems of Daming Palace, Princess Taiping met Xue Shao at the Lantern Festival, which shows that the Lantern Festival is an ancient "Valentine's Day".

For unmarried women, they will "cross the bridge" on this day, and married women will also go out to "cross the bridge" when they meet the right person. Their purpose is not courtship, but "seeking children." When crossing the bridge, we also pay attention to "hitting a nail", and "nail" leads to "ding". It is said that touching nails can give birth to boys, indicating that people are prosperous.

Ancient map 1

? Modern graphics ii

Custom 4: Send children's lanterns.

Lantern Festival is not only about enjoying lanterns, but also sending lanterns. Because the pronunciation of "Lantern" is similar to that of "Ding", lanterns are often used to pray for children in ancient times. "Sending lanterns to children" is a special folk activity, that is, before the Lantern Festival, parents will send colorful lanterns to their newly-married daughters, and some relatives and friends will also send lanterns to their newly-married homes that have not yet given birth, to show the good meaning of our children's good luck and early birth. If you are pregnant, your family will also send a pair of small lanterns to wish your child all the best during pregnancy, and each pair of lanterns should be equipped with candles. Be careful to send one pair instead of one.

Custom 5: Build a social fire.

Social fire originated in the farming era. "She" is the land god, and "fire" stands for Vulcan. It was originally used as a ritual to worship the agricultural god. In ancient times, working people would gather by the fire on the fifteenth day of the first month to worship the gods and pray for blessings in the form of songs and dances, with the aim of hoping that the weather would be good and the country and the people would be safe in the coming year.

With the development of society, "social fire" has gradually become a kind of entertainment carnival activities for people in the Lantern Festival, such as walking on stilts, dancing dragons and lions, changing faces and so on. Especially in the northern region, every year on the fifteenth day of the first month, every village has a lively social fire performance, which means that everyone's life will be very prosperous in the coming year.

Lantern Festival has a long history. In this grand traditional festival, some celebrations will be held everywhere. Although some folk traditions have no scientific basis, for these traditional cultures, people mostly express their congratulations and good wishes for festivals in this way and look forward to a better life. The Lantern Festival is here. I hope everyone will be round and round, happy and safe.