The origin, customs and ancient and modern poems of Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Double Ninth Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival.

The origin of the Mid-Autumn festival

Mid-Autumn Festival is a relic of ancient celestial worship-the custom of respecting the moon. According to Zhou Li Chun Guan, in the Zhou Dynasty, there were activities such as "welcoming the cold in the mid-autumn night", "offering good clothes in the mid-autumn" and "Yue Bai at the end of the autumn equinox". In the Han Dynasty, on the Mid-Autumn Festival or in beginning of autumn, the elderly were respected and provided with male coarse cakes. Mid-Autumn Festival also existed in Jin Dynasty, but it was not very common. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that the Mid-Autumn Festival was combined with fairy tales such as Chu 'e flying to the moon, Wu Gang cutting laurel, jade rabbit smashing medicine, Yang Guifei changing into a moon god, and Tang Dynasty visiting the moon palace, which was full of romance and the wind of playing the moon prevailed.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, August 15th was officially designated as the Mid-Autumn Festival, and seasonal foods such as "small cakes are like chewing the moon, with crisp and stuffing inside" appeared. Meng Yuanlao's Dream of Tokyo said: "On the Mid-Autumn Festival night, your home decorates the terrace, and people compete for restaurants to play the moon"; And "string full of enthusiasm, close to the residents. At night, it is like a cloud. Children in the room, even the wedding drama at night; As for the night market, as for familiarity. " Wu Meng said, "At this moment, golden phoenix is refreshing, the jade dew is cool, the sweet-scented osmanthus is fragrant, and the silver toad is full of light. The son of Taizi, a rich man with a huge room, climbs dangerous buildings all the time, plays the moon in the porch, or opens a wide pavilion, puts on a big banquet and sings loudly with harps to predict the joy of the evening. Even in a cushioned house, you can board a small platform, arrange family dinners, gather around your children and reward festivals. Although the poor in the backcountry knew how to drink at the farmers' market, he reluctantly welcomed the joy and refused to waste it. This night, the street was sold until five drums, tourists were played on the moon, and the mother-in-law was in the city until the fire was endless. " More interestingly, the newly edited Notes of the Drunken Man describes the custom: "Children of Qingcheng family can grow up to twelve or thirteen years old by themselves, regardless of wealth, they are decorated with the eyes of adults, and burn incense upstairs or in the atrium, each with his own direction; Men are willing to go to themoon early and climb the fairy laurel. ... women want to look like Chang 'e and be as round as the bright moon. "

Moon viewing was very popular in Ming and Qing Dynasties. "Its fruitcake must be round"; Every family should set up a "moonlight position" and "Yue Bai" in the direction of the moon. Lu's "Year of Jinghua" contains: "On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone has a symbol of the Moon Palace, which symbolizes freedom as a person; Chen melon and fruit are in court, and the moon palace is painted on the cake surface. Men and women worship incense and burn it. " Tian Rucheng's Travel Notes on the West Lake says: "At dusk, people feast to enjoy the moon, or swim along the river with the white lake. Above Su Causeway, singing hand in hand is no different from daytime "; People invite each other with moon cakes to show their reunion. Fu Cha Dunchong's "Yanjing Chronicle" said: "The Mid-Autumn Moon Cake is the first in Kyoto, but there is not enough food elsewhere. There are moon cakes everywhere. It is more than a foot big, and it is painted with the shape of the moon palace wax rabbit. " "Every Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhumen, the mansion, presents moon cakes and fruits. On the full moon in May, Chen Guaguo was in court for the month, offering sacrifices to edamame and cockscomb flowers. It's just the right time, the clouds are scattered and the children are noisy. This is really called a festival. Only when the moon is offered, men will not worship. " At the same time, in the past 500 years, festivals such as burning incense, walking on the moon, lighting lanterns, planting Mid-Autumn Festival, lighting tower lanterns, dancing dragons, dragging stones and selling male prostitutes have been launched one after another. Among them, the custom of enjoying the moon, eating moon cakes and having a reunion dinner has been passed down to this day.

The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival

According to the historian Biography of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng, Qu Yuan was a minister of Chu Huaiwang in the Spring and Autumn Period. He advocated the use of talents, empowerment, and prosperity, and advocated joint resistance to Qin, which was strongly opposed by others. Qu Yuan was forced to leave his post, was driven out of the capital and exiled to the Yuan and Xiang river basins. During his exile, he wrote immortal poems such as Li Sao, Tian Wen and Tian Wen, which have a unique style and far-reaching influence (therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival is also called the Poet's Day). In 278 BC, Qin Jun conquered Kyoto of Chu. Seeing that his motherland was invaded, Qu Yuan was heartbroken, but he was always reluctant to give up his motherland. On May 5th, after writing his masterpiece Huai Sha, he died in Miluo River and wrote a magnificent patriotic movement with his own life.

Legend has it that after Qu Yuan's death, the people of Chu were so sad that they flocked to the Miluo River to pay homage to Qu Yuan. The fisherman paddled the boat and fished for his real body back and forth on the river. A fisherman took out rice balls, eggs and other foods prepared for Qu Yuan and threw them into the river, saying that ichthyosaurs, shrimps and crabs were full and would not bite the doctor. People followed suit after seeing it. An old doctor took an altar of realgar wine and poured it into the river, saying that he would stun the dragon water beast with medicine so as not to hurt Dr. Qu. Later, people were afraid that rice balls would be eaten by dragons, so they came up with the idea of wrapping rice with neem leaves and then wrapping it with colored silk to make it develop into brown seeds.

After that, on the fifth day of May every year, there is the custom of dragon boat racing, eating zongzi and drinking realgar wine. In memory of the patriotic poet Qu Yuan.

Commemorating Wu Zixu.

The second legend of the Dragon Boat Festival, which spread in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, commemorates Wu Zixu in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). Wu Zixu, a famous Chu national, and his father and brother were all killed by the King of Chu. Later, Zixu abandoned the dark and went to Wu to help Wu to attack Chu, and entered the capital city of Chu in the Five Wars. At that time, King Chu Ping was already dead. Zixu dug a grave and whipped 300 bodies to avenge his father's murder. After the death of He Lu, the king of Wu, his son Fu Cha succeeded to the throne. Wu Jun's morale was high and he was defeated by Yue. Gou Jian, the King of Yue, made peace, and Fu Cha agreed. Zi Xu suggested the complete elimination of Yue, but Fu Cha didn't listen. Wu was massacred and bought by the state of Yue. He was framed by slanderers. Fu Cha believed him and gave him a sword. Zi Xu died. Zixu, a loyal minister, feels like death. Before he died, he said to his neighbors, "After I die, I will gouge out my eyes and hang them on the east gate of Jason Wu, watching the Vietnamese army enter the city and destroy Wu." Then he killed himself. Fu Cha was furious after hearing this. On May 5th, he wrapped Zixu's body in leather and threw it into the river. Therefore, it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival is also a day to commemorate Wu Zixu.

In memory of the dutiful daughter Cao E.

The third legend of Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate the filial daughter Cao E who saved her drowning father in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 23-220). Cao E was a native of Shangyu in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Her father drowned in the river, and her body was not seen for several days. At that time, Cao E, the filial daughter, was only fourteen years old and cried day and night by the river. 17 days later, he also threw himself into the river on May 5, and fished out his father's body five days later. This was passed down as a myth, and then to the governor of the county government, who made it a monument for disciple Han Danchun to make a eulogy.

The tomb of the filial daughter is in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province today, and there is a monument made by Jin. Later, in order to commemorate Cao E's filial piety, Cao E Temple was built where Cao E threw himself into the river. The village where she lived was renamed Cao E Town, and the place where Cao E died was named Cao E River.

Totem sacrifice originated from the ancient Yue nationality.

A large number of cultural relics unearthed in modern times and archaeological studies have confirmed that in the Neolithic age, there was a cultural relic with geometric prints and pottery ruins in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. According to experts' inference, the remaining clan is Baiyue clan, a clan that worships dragon totem in history. The decorative patterns and historical legends on unearthed pottery show that they have the custom of tattooing constantly, live in a water town and compare themselves to the descendants of dragons. Among its production tools, there are a large number of stone tools, as well as small bronzes such as shovels and chisels. As daily necessities, the printed pottery ding used for cooking food is unique to them and is one of the symbols of their ethnic group. Until the Qin and Han Dynasties, there were still more than 100 Vietnamese people, and the Dragon Boat Festival was a festival for their ancestors. During thousands of years of historical development, most Baiyue people have integrated into the Han nationality, and the rest have evolved into many ethnic minorities in the south. Therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival has become a festival for the whole Chinese nation.

The origin of Double Ninth Festival

The Double Ninth Festival was mentioned in Chu Ci during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Qu Yuan's Journey wrote: "Set Chongyang into the Emperor's Palace and see the capital of Qing Dynasty ten days later." The "Double Ninth Festival" here refers to the sky, not just festivals. In Nine Days Zhong You written by Cao Pi, Emperor Wen of Wei in the Three Kingdoms period, it was clearly written that Chongyang kept the festival: "From the year to the month, I suddenly returned to September 9. Nine is the number of yang, and the sun and the moon coincide. It is well known and considered suitable for a long time, so it is a feast. "

Tao Yuanming, a scholar in Jin Dynasty, said in the preface to the poem "Idle for Nine Days": "I am idle and love the name of Nine. Autumn chrysanthemums are full of gardens, but they are sad, empty for Jiuhua, and precious words are like gold. " Chrysanthemum and wine are mentioned here at the same time. Probably in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, there was a custom of drinking and enjoying chrysanthemums on the Double Ninth Festival. In the Tang Dynasty, Chongyang was officially designated as a folk festival.

In the Ming Dynasty, on the Double Ninth Festival in September, the palace would eat flower cakes together to celebrate, and the emperor would personally climb the Long Live Mountain to celebrate his autumn ambition. This custom has been passed down to the Qing Dynasty.

Legend of Double Ninth Festival

Like most traditional festivals, the Double Ninth Festival has ancient legends.

According to legend, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a plague demon in Ruhe. As soon as it appeared, people in every household fell ill and died every day, and people in this area were ravaged by plague demons.

A plague killed the parents of the teenager Hengjing, and he almost died of illness himself. After he recovered from his illness, he bid farewell to his beloved wife and fellow villagers and decided to go abroad to study fairy arts to rid the people of the plague. Heng Jing visited teachers everywhere and famous scholars all over the world. Finally, he found an oldest mountain in the east. There is a miraculous fairy on the mountain. Under the guidance of the crane, Hengjing finally found the mountain and the immortal with magical power. The immortal was moved by his spirit, and finally took in Heng Jing, taught him the sword to subdue the demon, and gave him a sword to subdue the demon. Hengjing forgot to eat, sleep and practice hard, and finally became an extraordinary martial art.

On this day, the immortal called Heng Jing to his side and said, "Tomorrow is the ninth day of September, and the plague god will come out to do evil again. When you learn the skill, you should go back and kill the people. " Xianchang gave Hengjing a pack of dogwood leaves and a cup of chrysanthemum wine, and secretly taught him how to ward off evil spirits and let Hengjing ride a crane home.

Hengjing returned to his hometown. On the morning of the ninth day of September, according to the fairy's instructions, he led the villagers to a nearby mountain and gave everyone a dogwood leaf and a cup of chrysanthemum wine to prepare for subduing the evil spirits. At noon, with several strange calls, Mo Wen rushed out of the Ruhe River, but just as Mo Wen jumped down the mountain, he suddenly smelled the strange fragrance of Cornus officinalis and the alcohol smell of Chrysanthemum, and his face suddenly changed. At this time, Heng Jing chased Mo Wen down the mountain with a demon sword in his hand, and stabbed him to death in a few rounds. Since then, the custom of climbing mountains on the ninth day of September to avoid epidemics has been handed down year after year. Wu Yun, a native of A Liang, recorded this point in his book Qi and He Xu.

Later, people regarded the custom of climbing on the Double Ninth Festival as an activity to avoid disasters. In addition, in the traditional concept of people in the Central Plains, the Double Ninth Festival still means longevity, health and longevity, so the Double Ninth Festival was later established as the festival for the elderly.

Two origins of the Spring Festival

One way of saying this is:

According to legend, there was a monster named Nian in ancient China, with long tentacles and a ferocious face. Nian lived on the seabed for many years, and climbed ashore every New Year's Eve, devouring livestock and killing people.

Therefore, every New Year's Eve, people in the village fled to the deep mountains to avoid the harm of the "Nian" beast.

On New Year's Eve this year, people in Taohua Village were taking refuge in the mountains when an old beggar came from outside the village. He was leaning on crutches, carrying a bag on his arm, with elegant silver whiskers and staring at Matthew.

Some villagers sealed windows and locked doors, some packed their bags, some herded cattle and drove sheep, and people shouted boo everywhere, which was a scene of panic. At this time, who still has the mind to take care of this begging old man?

Only an old woman in the east of the village gave the old man some food and suggested that he go up the mountain quickly to avoid Nian beast. The old man smiled and said, "If my mother-in-law lets me stay at home for one night, I will definitely drive Nian beast away.

The old woman looked at him carefully in surprise and found that he was handsome, energetic and different. But she continued to persuade and begged the old man to laugh without saying a word. My mother-in-law had no choice but to leave home and take refuge in the mountains.

At midnight, Nian beast broke into the village. It found that the atmosphere in the village was different from previous years: the old woman's house at the east end of the village had red paper on the door and a fire lit in the house. The beast Nian trembled and let out a long whistle.

Nian stared at her mother-in-law's house for a while, then screamed and rushed over. As we approached the door, there was a sudden explosion in the yard, and Nian trembled and dared not go any further. It turns out that Nian was most afraid of red, fire and explosion. At this time, my mother-in-law's door was wide open, and I saw an old man in a red robe laughing in the hospital. "Nian" was frightened to disgrace and fled in confusion.

The next day was the first day of the first month, and the people who came back from refuge were very surprised to see that the village was safe and sound. At this time, the old woman suddenly realized and quickly told the villagers the promise of begging for the elderly.

The villagers flocked to the old woman's house together, only to find red paper on her mother-in-law's door, a pile of unburned bamboo still exploding in the yard, and several red candles still glowing in the house. ...

In order to celebrate the arrival of Youxiang, ecstatic villagers put on new clothes and hats one after another and went to their relatives and friends' homes to congratulate and say hello. The story soon spread in the surrounding villages, and people all knew the way to drive away the "Nian" beast.

Since then, every year on New Year's Eve, every family has posted red couplets and set off firecrackers. Every household has a bright candlelight, so it is better to wait for the New Year. In the early morning of the first day, I want to say hello to my relatives and friends.

This custom has spread more and more widely, and has become the most solemn traditional festival among the people in China.

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Another way of saying it is:

In ancient China calligraphy, the word "Nian" was placed in the Grain Department, indicating that the weather was favorable and the crops were plentiful. Because cereal crops are usually harvested once a year. "Year" is extended to the name of the year.

Although there was a custom of Spring Festival in ancient China, it was not called Spring Festival at that time. Because the Spring Festival referred to at that time refers to the "beginning of spring" among the 24 solar terms.

The Northern and Southern Dynasties generally referred to the Spring Festival as the whole spring. It is said that the Lunar New Year was officially named Spring Festival after the Revolution of 1911. Because the solar calendar was used at that time, the first day of the first lunar month had to be renamed as "Spring Festival" in order to distinguish between farmers and farmers.

The origin of Lantern Festival

Lantern Festival is a traditional festival in China, which began in the Western Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago. Lantern Festival viewing began in the period of Emperor Han Ming in the East. Ming Di advocates Buddhism. He heard that on the fifteenth day of the first month, monks watched the Buddhist relics and lit lanterns to worship the Buddha, so that all the gentry and ordinary people hung lanterns. Later, this Buddhist ceremonial festival gradually formed a grand folk festival. This festival has experienced the development process from the court to the people, and from the Central Plains to the whole country.

Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty ordered the 15th day of the first month to be designated as the Lantern Festival. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the sacrificial activities of "Taiyi God" were scheduled for the 15th day of the first month. Taiyi: the God who rules the universe. When Sima Qian created the taichu calendar Law, he had already identified the Lantern Festival as a major festival.

Another way of saying it is that the custom of burning lanterns in Lantern Festival originated from the "ternary theory" of Taoism; The fifteenth day of the first month is Shangyuan Festival, the fifteenth day of July is Zhongyuan Festival, and the fifteenth day of October is Xiayuan Festival. The officials in charge of the upper, middle and lower elements are heaven, earth and man respectively. The celestial officials are happy and the Lantern Festival should be lit.

The festivals and customs of Lantern Festival have been extended and expanded with the development of history. As far as the length of festivals is concerned, there is only one day in Han Dynasty, three days in Tang Dynasty and five days in Song Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, lights were lit from the eighth day of August until the seventeenth night of the first month, a total of ten days. Connected with the Spring Festival, it is a city during the day, full of excitement, and brightly lit at night, which is spectacular. Especially the exquisite and colorful lights make it the climax of entertainment activities during the Spring Festival. In the Qing Dynasty, there were more "hundred operas" such as dragon dancing, lion dancing, dry boating, walking on stilts and yangko dancing, but the festival period was shortened to four to five days.

There are several interesting legends about the origin of the Lantern Festival:

Legend of lamp

Legend has it that a long time ago, there were many fierce birds and beasts everywhere that hurt people and livestock, so people organized to defeat them. A god bird was trapped and landed on the earth, but was accidentally shot by an unsuspecting hunter. The Emperor of Heaven was very angry when he learned that. He immediately issued a decree, ordering the heavenly soldiers to set fire to the land on the fifteenth day of the first month, burning all the people, livestock and property. The daughter of the Emperor of Heaven is kind-hearted. She couldn't bear to see the innocent suffering of the people, so she risked her life and secretly rushed Xiangyun to the world to tell people the news. When people heard the news, it was like a blow to the head. I'm so scared that I don't know what to do. After a long time, an old man came up with an idea. He said: "On the 14th, 15th and 16th of the first month, every family decorated their houses, set off firecrackers and set off fireworks. In this way, the emperor will think that people have been burned to death. "

Everyone nodded and said yes, and they were ready to go separately. On the night of the fifteenth day of the first month, the emperor looked down and found that for three consecutive nights, the world was red and the noise was deafening. He thought it was the flame of a big fire, and soon. In this way, people saved their lives and property. In order to commemorate this success, every household hangs lanterns and sets off fireworks on the fifteenth day of the first month to commemorate this day.

Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty set it up to commemorate Pinglu.

Another legend is that the Lantern Festival was established by Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty to commemorate Pinglu. After the death of Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang, Lv Hou's son Liu Ying became Emperor Hui of Han Dynasty. Hui Di was born weak and indecisive, and power gradually fell into the hands of Lv Hou. After Hui Di's death, he monopolized state affairs and turned Liu's world into Lu's. The old courtiers and Liu's imperial clan were deeply indignant, but they were afraid of cruelty and dared not speak out.

After Lv Hou's death, Zhu Lu has been in a state of anxiety, afraid of being hurt and excluded. So, in the general's home, they secretly assembled and plotted to make trouble in order to completely seize Liu's country.

This incident reached the ears of Liu Nang, the king of Qi in the Liu clan. In order to protect Liu's country, Liu Nang decided to fight Zhu Lu. Then, he contacted the founding fathers Zhou Bo and Chen Ping, and planned to get rid of Lv Lu. Finally, the "Zhu Lu Rebellion" was completely put down.

After the rebellion, the ministers made Liu Heng, the second son of Liu Bang, emperor and called him Emperor Wen. Impressed by the hard-won peace and prosperity, Emperor Wen designated the 15th day of the first month of the first month to quell the "Zhu-Lu Rebellion" as a day to have fun with the people, and every household in Beijing celebrated with lanterns and colorful decorations. Since then, the fifteenth day of the first month has become a popular folk festival-"Lantern Festival".

Dong Fangshuo and Yuanxiao Girl

This legend is related to the custom of eating Yuanxiao: According to legend, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had a favorite named Dong Fangshuo, who was kind and funny. One winter, it snowed heavily for several days, and Dong Fangshuo went to the Imperial Garden to fold plum blossoms for Emperor Wu. As soon as I entered the garden gate, I found a maid-in-waiting in tears ready to throw herself into the well. Dong Fangshuo rushed forward to help and asked her why she committed suicide. It turns out that this maid-in-waiting is named Yuanxiao, and there are parents and a sister at home. She has never seen her family since she entered the palace. Every spring comes, I miss my family more than usual. I think in front of my parents, I would rather die than be filial. Dong Fangshuo expressed deep sympathy for her suffering and assured her that she would try her best to reunite with her family.

One day, Dong Fangshuo left the palace and set up a divination pavilion on Chang 'an Avenue. Many people are scrambling to find him for divination. Unexpectedly, what everyone wants is the signature of "burning us on the 16th day of the first month". Suddenly, there was a panic in Chang 'an. People are looking for a solution to the disaster. Dong Fangshuo said, "On the 13th night of the first month, Vulcan will send a goddess in red to visit the earth. She is the messenger who ordered the burning of Chang 'an. I'll give you the copied poem and let the emperor do something. " Say that finish, then dropped a red pillar and roared off. The people picked up the red post and quickly sent it to the palace to report to the emperor.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took it and read: "Chang 'an is robbing, and the imperial palace is being burned. It has been burning for fifteen days, and the midnight snack is red." He was so scared that he hurriedly invited resourceful Dong Fangshuo. Dong Fangshuo thought for a moment and said, "I heard that Vulcan likes to eat dumplings. Don't Yuanxiao in the palace often make dumplings for you? Let Yuanxiao package jiaozi on 15th night. Long live the incense and offerings, and order every family in Kyoto to pack jiaozi and worship Vulcan together. Then tell the subjects to hang lights together on the fifteenth night and set off firecrackers and fireworks all over the city, as if the whole city were on fire, so that the jade emperor could be fooled. In addition, the people outside the city were informed that they would go to the city to watch the lights on the fifteenth night, and they would eliminate disasters and solve problems in the crowd. Liang Wudi was very happy after hearing this, so he ordered him to do it according to Dong Fangshuo's method.

On the fifteenth day of the first month, Chang 'an City was decorated with colorful lights, crowded with tourists and very lively. The parents of the maid-in-waiting Yuanxiao also took their sister to the city to see the lights. When they saw the big palace lantern with the words "Yuanxiao" written on it, they shouted in surprise: "Yuanxiao! Lantern Festival! " When Yuanxiao heard the shouts, she was finally reunited with her relatives at home.

After such a busy night, Chang 'an was safe. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was overjoyed and ordered that glutinous rice balls should be made for Vulcan every year on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the fifteenth day of the first month, the whole city was decorated with lanterns and set off fireworks. Because jiaozi cooked by Yuanxiao is the best, people call it Yuanxiao.