brief introduction
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, just after the Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival, one of the traditional festivals of Han nationality in China, was ushered in. The first month is the first month of the lunar calendar. The ancients called night "night", so they called the fifteenth day of the first month the Lantern Festival. The fifteenth day of the first month is the night of the first full moon in a year and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty. On the night of Spring Festival, people celebrate this festival and the continuation of the Spring Festival. Lantern Festival is also called "Shangyuan Festival".
According to the folk tradition in China, on this bright night, people light thousands of lanterns to celebrate. Going out to enjoy the moon, lighting and setting fires, enjoying lantern riddles, eating Yuanxiao, family reunion and celebrating festivals are all enjoyment.
Shangyuan means the first full moon night of the New Year. The origin of Shangyuan Festival is recorded as years old in Miscellaneous Notes, which is a Taoist stereotype. Taoism once called the 15th day of the first month the Shangyuan Festival, the 15th day of July the Zhongyuan Festival and the 15th day of October the Xiayuan Festival, which were collectively called the "Sanyuan Festival". The gods worshipped by Wudou Midao, an important school of Taoism in the late Han Dynasty, were celestial officials, local officials and water officials. They said that God bless the people, the local officials forgive sins, and the water officials relieve Eritrea. They used three yuan to match the three officials, saying that Shangyuan Tianguan was born on the fifteenth day of the first month, Zhongyuan was born on the fifteenth day of July, and Xiayuan Shuiguan was born on the fifteenth day of October. In this way, the fifteenth day of the first month is called Shangyuan Festival. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Wu said in a dream: "The fifteenth day of the first month is the day when God bless the people." It is said that God bless the people and local officials make atonement, but the real motivation of the Lantern Festival custom is that it is at a new time point, and people make full use of this special time stage to express their wishes for life.
origin
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 three officials in charge of the upper, middle and lower elements are heaven, earth and man respectively, and the heaven official is happy, so the delicious Yuanxiao in Shangyuan should be lit.
It is also said that the Lantern Festival originated from the Torch Festival. In the Han dynasty, people held torches in rural fields to drive away insects and wild animals, hoping to reduce pests and pray for a bumper harvest. To this day, people in some areas in southwest China still use reeds or branches as torches on the 15th day of the first month, and hold high in groups to dance in fields or grain drying fields. Since the Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties, it has been in full swing. Tens of thousands of people took part in singing and dancing, from faint to dark. With the changes of society and times, the custom of Lantern Festival has changed greatly, but it is still a traditional folk festival in China.
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.
Denglong accommodation
People should set up a "heaven and earth hall" when offering sacrifices to God on New Year's Eve. People set up a small shed in the yard, and on the small table in the shed stood the throne of God "Heaven, Earth, Three Realms and All Spirits"; There are incense burners and offerings in front of the shrine, and a lantern is hung to represent Jiang Taigong's seat. It is said that when Jiang Taigong was a god, everyone else was sealed, but he forgot to seal himself, so he had no seat and could only sit with God.
Lanterns are related to gods, so they are also endowed with many symbolic meanings.
In ancient times, in order to dispel the fear of darkness, lanterns were derived with the meaning of exorcising evil spirits and praying for light.
In Minnan dialect, the pronunciation of "Deng" is similar to "Ding", so lanterns are also used to pray for children to add Ding, seek fame and avoid evil spirits.
There is a kind of lamp. At the end of the year and the beginning of the year, lanterns will be placed in temples to make the year safe and smooth by the magic of Buddha.
There are also farmers who hang a lamp on a long bamboo pole in the field and observe the color of the fire to predict the drought and flood in a year in order to have a bumper year.
The reason for "flying sky lanterns" is that people used to fly sky lanterns as a signal of mutual peace after fleeing bandits. Since the day of refuge and going home is the Lantern Festival, people have celebrated it every year with the ceremony of putting up lanterns, so it is also called "blessing lamp" or "safety lamp". Later, it gradually evolved into a folk activity of praying to heaven. The sky lantern is filled with all kinds of wishes in my heart, hoping that the sky lantern can go to heaven and bring infinite hope and light to people.
Legend has it that Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong, encouraged reading, and all the people sent their children to school. The first program of admission is called "Turn on the light", which is to bring lanterns made in advance to the school and ask a learned old gentleman to light them to symbolize a bright future. In the past, most private schools started school on the fifteenth day of the first month, so the opening lanterns became decorations for the "Shangyuan Festival".
There are many kinds of Lantern Festival lanterns, or image lanterns made by imitating the image of things, such as dragon lanterns, tiger lanterns and rabbit lanterns. Or lanterns adapted from folk stories, such as Cowherd and Weaver Girl, Twenty-four Filial Pieties, etc. It shows the national spirit of loyalty, filial piety and righteousness. Various lanterns are skillfully made, which shows the wisdom and skill of craftsmen.
With the development of the times, the Lantern Festival has become more and more grand, with more and more national characteristics and longer time. The Lantern Festival in the Tang Dynasty is one day and three days before and after Shangyuan. In the Song Dynasty, two days were added after the 16th National Congress, making it five days. The Ming dynasty extended from the eighth day to the eighteenth day to ten days. Because of the different lighting periods, the first day of lighting is called "trial lighting", the fifteenth day is called "positive lighting", and the last day is called "residual lighting" and "stop lighting". Also known as "magic lamp", "human lamp" and "ghost lamp". Fourteen nights is a "magic lamp", which is placed in front of shrines and ancestral halls at home to worship the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty. It is called "people's lamp" at the fifteenth night and placed on doors and windows, bedspreads, several cases and so on. Avoid scorpions and insects; Sixteen nights are "ghost lights", which are placed in the tombs of Qiu and Yuan Nights to remove ghosts.
Pray for God's will, protect the whole life and spare no effort.
Lantern Festival poems
"A song of Haruka is like the sea, and thousands of lights are like night." There are countless poems praising Lantern Festival lanterns by literati in past dynasties, which are still interesting to read today.
By the Tang Dynasty, the Lantern Festival had developed into an unprecedented lantern market. The capital "made lanterns 20 feet high, resplendent in clothes, decorated with gold and silver, burning 50,000 lanterns and clustering them into flower trees". Su Weidao, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote the poem "The fifteenth night of the first month", saying, "The fire trees and silver flowers are combined, and the star bridges are locked. The dark dust goes with the horse and the bright moon comes. " It depicts a scene of colorful lights, bright moonlight, tourists weaving and excitement. Zack Zhang, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, once praised that "the door of the calyx building is full of rain and dew, and Chang 'an is peaceful. The dragon holds a thousand lights in the fire tree and the chicken steps on the lotus. " Describe the scene of enjoying the Lantern Festival to the fullest. Li Shangyin used the poem "The Imperial City is full of moonlight lights, and the treasures of horses and chariots overflow the thoroughfare" to describe the grand scale of watching the lights at that time. It is worth mentioning that the first one to be recommended should be the poem "The Last Yuan Night" by Cui Ye, a poet in Tang Dynasty. Who can sit on the moon and smell the lights? Although there is no positive description of the Lantern Festival, it contains a very happy and lively scene.
The Lantern Festival in the Song Dynasty is even more grand, and the Lantern Festival is even more spectacular. Su Dongpo has a poem: "Lights are everywhere, songs are everywhere." Fan Chengda also wrote in a poem, "Wutai was a prosperous place and preferred the Lantern Festival." The "shadow lamp" in the poem is the "running lantern". Xin Qiji, a great poet, once wrote a poem praising the grand occasion of the Lantern Festival. "Thousands of trees bloom in the east wind night, and flowers are raining." BMW carved cars are full of incense. The bagpipes sounded, the jade pots lit, and the fish and dragons danced all night. "
The Ming dynasty was even more extravagant, changing the Lantern Festival from three nights to ten nights. Tang Bohu once wrote poems praising the Lantern Festival, bringing people into the charming Lantern Festival night. The poem says: "No moon without lights, no spring without lights. When spring comes to the world, people are like jade, and the lamp burns silver next month. The streets are full of girls wandering in the spring, singing and competing with social gods. How can you get rid of this great time without smiling? "
In addition to all kinds of lanterns, the lively scenes of the Lantern Festival in the Qing Dynasty also include dancing torches, fireballs, fire rain and playing with dragons and lions. In Ruan Yuan, there is a poem about the Yangcheng Lantern Festival: "The sea claw clouds are exquisitely carved, and Demen is clearly listed in color screens. The city fire is overwhelming, and Yangde has recovered for many years. Full moon and spring can be a night, and people are like flowers. It means that there are two guests in Yingzhou, and the book window is more colorful. " The poem "Ode to the Lantern Festival" by Yao, a poet in the Qing Dynasty, "There are bees and butterflies in the flowers, and the night of the BMW is long. The headlights on the twelfth floor are like fire, and the moon outside Siping Street is like frost. " It is more vivid, wonderful and unique.
The poetic and romantic Lantern Festival is usually associated with love. Among the poems of past dynasties, there are many poems expressing love through Yuanxiao. Ouyang Xiu in the Northern Song Dynasty wrote, "On the first night of this year, the moon lights remained unchanged; I didn't see it last year and cried Man Chun's shirt sleeve. " Expressed the pain of missing your lover.
Lantern Festival is also a romantic festival. In the feudal traditional society, Lantern Festival also provides unmarried men and women with opportunities to get to know each other. In traditional society, young girls are not allowed to go out freely, but they can go out to play together on holidays. Lantern Festival lanterns are just an opportunity to make friends, and unmarried men and women can also find their own partners by the way. During the Lantern Festival, it is also the time for young men and women to meet their lovers.
Ouyang Xiu (health inspector) said: "Last year's Lantern Festival, the flower market was full of lights; The willow shoots are on the moon, and people are about after dusk. " Xin Qiji (jade case) wrote: "Many people searched for it for thousands of times, and suddenly looked back, and that person was in the dim light." It is a scene describing midnight snack, while the traditional opera Chen San and Wu Niang met at the Lantern Festival and fell in love at first sight. In the second episode of "Nightingale", Lechang official and Xu Deyan made love at the Lantern Festival, and in "Spring Lantern Enigma", they made love with ying niang at the Lantern Festival. So the Lantern Festival is also China's "Valentine's Day".
Lantern Festival in traditional society is a folk festival that both urban and rural areas attach importance to. It is particularly lively in the city, which embodies the unique carnival spirit of China people. The traditional Lantern Festival's function of festival customs has been dispelled by daily life, and people have gradually lost their spiritual interest. The complicated holiday custom is simplified to the eating custom of "eating Yuanxiao".
the Lantern Festival
Lantern Festival is a traditional custom of our people. Throughout the ages, there are not only a large number of popular Yuanxiao poems, but also countless interesting Yuanxiao couplets.
Lantern Festival is not only an entertainment activity, but also contains profound cultural connotations, forming a unique cultural activity. At that time, the monarch, subjects and people will go to see the lanterns and solve riddles on the lanterns, while the literati will drink, compose poems and answer correctly. There are many interesting stories.
In the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a man named Jia Sidao who was guarding Huaiyin (now Yangzhou). One year, the Lantern Festival was decorated with lanterns, and a guest picked a Tang poem as a lantern. "There is a moonlit night on earth, and there is a small red building in Yangzhou." It is said that this couplet is the earliest lantern couplet in China. Since then, people all over the world have followed suit. Hanging wall lamp couplets and door lamp couplets on the gates or conspicuous pillars not only adds festive interest to the Lantern Festival, but also increases the appreciation content for the people who enjoy the lanterns.
In the Qing Dynasty, people from Tongcheng, Anhui Province and Zhang were known as "Bachelor of Father and Son, Second Prime Minister", and both of them were good at poetry. One year during the Lantern Festival, Zhang Fu decorated lanterns and set off firecrackers as usual. The old prime minister issued a joint survey, "The high fever red candle reflects the sky, bright, and light is everywhere." When Xiao Ting was imagining things, she heard the sound of fireworks outside the door, and suddenly realized, saying, "The low fireworks shook the earth with a loud voice and went up to the sky in one breath." The antithesis is neat and seamless, which is wonderful.
Perhaps the most fascinating story is the story of Wang Anshi's wonderful alliance in the Northern Song Dynasty. When Wang Anshi was 20 years old, he went to Beijing to take the exam. He passed by a place during the Lantern Festival, enjoying the lights while walking. He saw a large family hanging lanterns and a pair of couplets hanging under the lights to attract relatives. Lian Yue said: "Run with a lantern, the lantern will move and the lantern will stop." When Wang Anshi saw it, he couldn't answer it at the moment, so he kept it in his heart. When I arrived in Beijing, the examiner showed the flying tiger flag fluttering in the wind to "flying tiger flag, flying tiger flag, rolling tiger flag." Wang Anshi responded, recruited relatives and was taken as a Jinshi. I passed by that house when I returned home. I heard that there was still no one to match my relatives, so I contacted the examiner and recruited me as my husband. A pair of coincidental couplets actually made Wang Anshi's two happy events.
According to legend, Judy, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, traveled incognito during the Lantern Festival one year and met a scholar. They had a rather speculative talk. Judy went out to take the exam, and Li Anyun said, "Lights are bright, lights are bright, and Daming is unified." The scholar immediately wrote a couplet, "Junle folk music, Junle folk music, Yongle for thousands of years." "Yongle" is the title of Ming Chengzu. Judy was overjoyed, so he was awarded the title of champion.
Yuanxiao solve riddles on the lanterns