The Lantern Festival, also known as Shangyuan Festival, Yuan Ye and Lantern Festival, falls on the fifteenth day of every year’s first lunar month. “Yuan” is the first month of the lunar calendar. The ancients called the night “Xiao”, so the fifteenth day of the first month was called YuanXiaoJie. The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the first full moon night in the year, and it is also the night when the climate gets warm in China. People celebrate this day as it is also a continuation of the celebration of the Chinese new year.
Eat “Yuanxiao”
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, people will eat “Yuanxiao”, and the food of “Yuanxiao” has a long history in our country. In the Song Dynasty, a novel food for the Lantern Festival was popular. This kind of food was first called “Fu Yuanzi” and later called “Yuanxiao”, and businessmen also called it “Yuanbao”, which means fortune. “Yuanxiao” is a sweet rice ball filled with sugar, rose, sesame, bean paste, cinnamon, walnut, nut, etc., and wrapped in glutinous rice flour into a round shape. It can be boiled in soup, fried or steamed, and eating “Yuanxiao” means reunion and happiness.
Light lantern
There are folk customs of hanging lanterns, lighting lanterns, and viewing lanterns during the Lantern Festival.
Lighting lanterns is a traditional festival custom of the Lantern Festival, which began in the Western Han Dynasty and flourished in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. After the Sui and Tang dynasties, the style of lights in all dynasties prevailed and was passed down to later generations. And the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the climax of the annual lanterns and fireworks. Therefore, the Lantern Festival is also called the “Festival of Lights”. On the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, red lanterns hang high on the streets and alleys, including palace lanterns, animal head shape lanterns, revolving lanterns, flower lanterns, etc., attracting a large number of people.
Guess lantern riddles
Guessing lantern riddles is a form of traditional folk entertainment unique in China. It is a particular Lantern Festival activity circulating since ancient times. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, people would hang up colorful lanterns and set off fireworks. Later, some people wrote riddles on the papers and pasted them on colorful lanterns for people to guess. Many people responded because guessing riddles can inspire people and cater to the festive atmosphere. Then guessing riddles became an indispensable program for the Lantern Festival. Guessing lantern riddles creates a festive atmosphere and shows the ingenuity of the ancient working people and their yearning for a better life.
Dragon lantern dance
Playing with dragon lanterns is also called dragon lantern dance or dragon dance. Its origins can be traced back to ancient times. As early as in the song and dance dramas of the Huang Emperor period, the image of a dragon’s head and a bird’s body played by people appeared, and then a dance scene with six dragons interspersed with each other was choreographed. The dragon dance found in the written records is Zhang Heng’s Xijing Fu in the Han Dynasty. The author vividly described the dragon dance in the book. According to Sui Shu, Music Records, the Yellow Dragon Transformation performed by Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was also very exciting. The dragon dance was popular in many parts of China. The Chinese nation respects the dragon and regards the dragon as a symbol of auspiciousness.
Lion dance
The lion dance is an incredible folk art in China. Every Lantern Festival or gathering celebration, people celebrate with a lion dance. This custom originated in the Three Kingdoms period, became popular in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and has a history of more than a thousand years. This performance needs three people to complete. Two people dressed as lions, one acted as the lion’s head, and the other served as the lion’s body and hind feet. And another person is teasing the lion.
Walk on stilts
It is a famous folk art performance. Stilts are one of the ancient Chinese operas, which appeared as early as the Spring and Autumn Period. The earliest introduction to stilts in China was in the article Lie Zi Shuo Fu, “A person called Lanzi in Song dynasty… has two limbs as long as his body. Two limbs were attached to his shin, they walked together. ”
Boating on ground
It’s said that this activity is to commemorate the great Yu who made significant achievements in flood control. Boating on the ground imitates the movements of boating on land, and it’s not a real boat. It is mainly made of two thin plates, sawed into a boat shape, made of bamboo and wood, and then covered with colored cloth. Female performers would sit in the middle of the fake boat, holding an oar in hand, in a rowing posture, dance and sing some local tunes. Sometimes another man plays as a boat passenger, partners in the performance, and makes various antics for amusing the audience.
How many customs above have you heard before? These customs have a long history and have witnessed the evolution of the folk. Wish you all a happy Lantern Festival. Don’t forget to eat “Yuanxiao” at the Lantern Festival and to reunite with your family.
