Most of the important traditional festivals in China are related to the calendar system. Ms. Li Lulu, a researcher at the National Museum of China, has written a new book, "Chinese Festivals - Traditional Folk Festivals with Illustrations" (Fujian People's Publishing House, 2005 month), the statistics of China's more important traditional festivals are summarized into 20, of which 16 come from the intersection of the sun and the moon, or are related to it: Spring Festival, Beginning of Spring, Lantern Festival, Zhonghe Festival (February 2) , Shangji Festival (March 3), Qingming Festival, Kuang Festival (June 6), Summer Solstice Festival, Chinese Valentine's Day, Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival, and Winter Solstice Festival are all closely related to the rhythm of the time. ; A few seemingly unrelated to the weather, such as the Dragon Boat Festival, Laba Festival (eighth day of December), Stove Festival (December 23rd), and New Year's Eve. If you look closely at the ancient system, there are also seasonal considerations. Folk belief believes that the fifth month is a poisonous month, and the fifth day of the lunar month is also a poisonous day. There are five poisons, namely snakes, centipedes, scorpions, lizards, and toads. This month is full of disasters, and even children may die in infancy. Therefore, various methods must be taken to prevent it. Avoiding the five poisons is the original intention of celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival. Laba Festival, Stove Worship Festival and New Year's Eve are all "companion festivals" of the Spring Festival, and are naturally related to the weather. The other four festivals are the "Human Victory Festival" on the seventh day of the first lunar month, and the "Buddha Bathing Festival" on the eighth day of April. Muni's birthday) "Hungry Ghost Festival (Ghost Festival)" on July 15th and "Xiayuan Festival (birthday of Emperor Shuigong)" on October 15th are derived from legends, deifications and religions. Spring Festival, Beginning of Spring, Lantern Festival Festival, Zhonghe Festival (February 2), Shangji Festival (March 3), Qingming Festival, Kuang Festival (June 6), Summer Solstice Festival, Chinese Valentine's Day, Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival, Winter Solstice Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Laba Festival (eighth day of December), Kitchen Festival (December 23rd), New Year's Eve. Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Chinese Valentine's Day, Hungry Ghost Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival, Laba Festival, New Year's Eve.
1. Spring Festival: The concepts of Spring Festival and Nian originally came from agriculture. In ancient times, people called the growth cycle of grains "Nian", "Shuowen". "Hebu": "The year means that the grain is ripe:. In the Xia and Shang dynasties, the lunar calendar was produced. The period of the moon's waxing and waning was used as the month. The year was divided into twelve months. The day when the moon was not visible was the new day of each month. The first day of the first lunar month was the new day. Zushi is called the beginning of the year, which is the beginning of the year, also called the year. The name of the year began in the Zhou Dynasty, and was officially fixed in the Western Han Dynasty, and continues to this day. However, in ancient times, the first day of the first lunar month was called. It was regarded as "New Year's Day" until the victory of the Revolution of 1911 in modern China. In order to adapt to the farming season and facilitate statistics, the Nanjing Provisional Government stipulated the use of the lunar calendar among the people, and implemented the Gregorian calendar in government agencies, factories, mines, schools and groups, with the first day of the first month of the Gregorian calendar as the day. New Year's Day, the first day of the first lunar month is called the Spring Festival.
On September 27, 1949, the People's Republic of China was founded. At the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the use of the Gregorian calendar that was common in the world was adopted. , the first day of the first lunar month of the Gregorian calendar is designated as New Year's Day, commonly known as the Gregorian calendar year; the first day of the first lunar month is usually around the beginning of spring, so the first day of the first lunar month must be the "Spring Festival", commonly known as the lunar calendar year.
Traditional meaning. The Spring Festival on the twelfth lunar month refers to the period from the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month or the twelfth lunar month to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, with New Year's Eve and the first day of the first lunar month as the climax. Ethnic groups hold various celebration activities, most of which focus on offering sacrifices to gods and Buddhas, paying homage to ancestors, bringing in good fortune, and praying for a good harvest. The activities are rich in variety and have strong national characteristics.
2. Lantern Festival: The Lantern Festival is a traditional festival in China. It existed as early as more than 2,000 years ago in the Western Han Dynasty. Lantern viewing began in the period of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Emperor Ming advocated Buddhism. I heard that Buddhism has monks observing the festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month. The practice of lighting lamps to worship Buddha was ordered to light lamps in palaces and temples to worship Buddha on this night, so that nobles and common people hung lamps. Later, this Buddhist ritual festival gradually became a grand folk festival. The development process from the Central Plains to the whole country.
In the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month was designated as the Lantern Festival. (Taiyi: the god who dominates everything in the universe). When Sima Qian created the "Taichu Calendar", he had identified the Lantern Festival as a major festival.
There is also a theory that the custom of lighting lanterns on the Lantern Festival originated from the "Three Years" of Taoism. "Yuan Theory"; the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Shangyuan Festival, the fifteenth day of July is the Zhongyuan Festival, and the fifteenth day of October is the Xiayuan Festival. Those in charge of the upper, middle and lower three yuan are respectively heaven, earth and man. Officials, Heavenly Officials are happy, so lanterns must be lit on the Lantern Festival.
3. Dragon Boat Festival: The Dragon Boat Festival is an ancient traditional festival that began in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period in China and has a history of more than 2,000 years. There are many origins and legends of the festival. Here we only introduce the following four: originating from commemorating Qu Yuan; originating from commemorating Wu Zixu; originating from commemorating the filial daughter Cao E; originating from the ancient Yue national totem festival
4. Qixi Festival: Qixi Festival: Qiao Qiao , this festival originated in the Han Dynasty. Ge Hong's "Xijing Miscellaneous Notes" of the Eastern Jin Dynasty recorded that "Han Cainu often pierced a seven-hole needle in the Kaijin Building on July 7th, and everyone practiced it." This is what we know in ancient documents The earliest record of begging for skill seen in the book.
5. Zhongyuan Festival: The name of Zhongyuan Festival originated from the Northern Wei Dynasty. The Zhongyuan Festival is also called "Ghost Festival" or "Ollambana Festival". On this day, Buddhism also holds the Transcendence Dharma Assembly, also known as the Bon Festival. The meaning of Obon is to hang upside down. The pain in life is like a bat hanging upside down on a tree, hanging upside down and miserable.
In order to save all sentient beings from the pain of hanging upside down, it is necessary to chant sutras and distribute food to lonely souls and ghosts. This move coincided with the worship of the Ghost Moon in China, so the Ghost Festival and the Bon Festival were passed down at the same time.
6. Mid-Autumn Festival: The Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history. Like other traditional festivals, it also developed slowly. Ancient emperors had the ritual system of worshiping the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. As early as "The Rites of Zhou" "In the book "Mid-Autumn Festival", the word "Mid-Autumn Festival" has been recorded. Later, nobles and literati also followed suit. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, they would look at the bright and round moon in the sky, watch and worship, and express their feelings. This custom was spread to the people and became a traditional activity until the Tang Dynasty. After that, people paid more attention to the custom of worshiping the moon, and the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival. "Book of Tang·Taizong Ji" records the "Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th". This festival was popular in the Song Dynasty. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it had become It is as famous as New Year's Day and has become one of the major festivals in our country.
The legends of the Mid-Autumn Festival are very rich. Mythical stories such as Chang'e flying to the moon, Wu Gang conquering Gui, and the Jade Rabbit making medicine are widely circulated.
7. Double Ninth Festival: The Double Ninth Festival was first seen in the "Book of Changes". The "Book of Changes" lists nine as a Yang number. On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, the two Yang yang coincide, so it is called the Double Ninth Festival. Qu Yuan once wrote a poem about "Coming to the Imperial Palace on the Double Ninth Festival", which shows that the custom was formed in the Warring States Period more than 2,000 years ago.
There is an interesting legend about climbing on the Double Ninth Festival. According to "Xu Qi Xie Ji" written by Wu Jun of the Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties: During the Eastern Han Dynasty, plague demons were infested in Runan and Ruhe areas, and epidemic diseases were prevalent. There was a man named Huan Jing who became a disciple of Taoist priest Fei Changfang and learned the magic of eliminating disasters and rescuing people. One day, Fei Changfang told Huan Jing that on the ninth day of September, the plague will harm people again. You should go back quickly to rescue your fellow villagers. He was also told that if he left home and climbed high on the ninth day, put the dogwood in a red cloth bag, tie it on his arm, and drink chrysanthemum wine, he would be able to defeat the plague. Huan Jing went home and told his fellow villagers. On September 9th, the Ru River was turbulent and filled with clouds and mist. The plague demon came to the mountain, but it was difficult to approach because the chrysanthemum wine was pungent to the nose and the fragrance of dogwood was piercing the heart. Huan Jing wielded his sword and killed the plague demon at the foot of the mountain. In the evening, people returned to their homes and saw "roosters, dogs, cattle, and sheep all suddenly dead." However, people were spared the disaster because they went out to climb. Since then, the custom of climbing high to avoid disasters during the Double Ninth Festival has been passed down to this day.
8. Laba: The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month is the day when the Buddha became enlightened. On this day, temples will hold commemorative gatherings, called Enlightenment Meeting and Laba Meeting, and "Laba porridge" will be served to the Buddha.
Why did the Buddha offer Laba porridge on the day he became enlightened? The reason can be traced back to Prince Siddhartha before the Buddha became enlightened. He practiced asceticism in an ascetic forest for six years, eating one hemp and one wheat a day, and was indifferent to material things to sharpen his desire to seek enlightenment. Gradually, the prince realized that it is difficult for people in the world to pursue material desires and indulge in excessive pleasures, such as the pleasures of dogs and horses, to achieve liberation. If they insist on asceticism, causing physical and mental suffering, like dead trees and ashes, they will not be able to realize Bodhi. It is best to Only by abandoning the two sides of pain and pleasure and living a middle-of-the-road life with neither pain nor pleasure can we advance towards the road to liberation.
With this realization, the prince understood the incompleteness of asceticism. He immediately stood up from his seat of asceticism and walked down the Nairanja River, letting the pure water for many years wash away the dirt on his body. . However, because of the thin body of the prince, he collapsed on the bank of the Nairanjan River exhausted. After a while, the prince stood up with his hands on the hanging branches on the bank. After walking a few steps, he collapsed again on the bank.
At this time, there was a shepherd named Nandapala by the river, grazing herds on the grassland by the river. She suddenly saw a thin young ascetic lying on the bank of the river, as if there was no trace of anything. As if she had strength, she immediately felt sympathy and came to offer the prince some milk in her hands.
The prince accepted a glass of milk from the shepherd girl, and the deliciousness in it was indescribable. After drinking, my body felt smooth and my strength gradually recovered. So he waded across the river and walked to the Vajra Seat under a lush Bodhi tree in Gaya Mountain. He sat upright and meditated. Finally, on the night of December 8th, he saw the stars and became enlightened, achieving perfect enlightenment.
Because of the allusion of the shepherdess offering milk, Chinese Buddhists later followed suit and cooked porridge with grains and fruits as offerings to the Buddha on the 8th day of the twelfth lunar month every year, which was called "Laba porridge". ". Since then, this custom has gradually spread to the people, and most people also cook Laba porridge on this day, which has become one of the folk customs.
9. New Year’s Eve: New Year’s Eve refers to the night of the last day of the twelfth lunar month every year, which is connected with the Spring Festival (the first day of the first lunar month). The word "Chu" in "New Year's Eve" means "to go; to change; to change". The meaning of New Year's Eve is "the end of the month and the end of the year." People have to get rid of the old and replace the old with the new. means, it is the last night of the whole year in the lunar calendar. Therefore, activities during this period are centered on eliminating the old and replacing the old with the new, eliminating disasters and praying for blessings.
During the Zhou and Qin dynasties, at the end of each year, a "Nuo" ceremony would be held in the palace to beat the drums to drive away the ghosts of plague and disaster. One day is the Little New Year's Eve, that is, the Little New Year's Eve; New Year's Eve is the Great New Year's Eve, that is, the New Year's Eve.
New Year’s Eve is the most nostalgic night of the year. New Year's Eve is the most lively and noisy night. As soon as it gets dark, children or young men have already taken incense and set off firecrackers in the east and west. They boldly set off the firecrackers, with one hand of the young Covering their ears and leaning forward from a distance, other children covered their ears with their hands, waiting nervously and anxiously... This situation will never be forgotten until my hair turns gray.
China’s traditional festivals include: New Year’s Day, Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival, Chinese Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Eve, Laba Festival, Beginning of Spring, National Day, Qingming Festival, Labor Day, Arbor Day, Leifeng Day, and Army Day , Women's Day, Teachers' Day and other common traditional festivals. The legal holidays in China include:
New Year (January 1); Spring Festival (Lunar New Year); International Women’s Day (March 8); Arbor Day (March 12); International Labor Day ( May 1st); Chinese Youth Day (May 4th); International Nurses Day (May 12th); Children’s Day (June 1st); Anniversary of the Birth of the Communist Party of China (July 1st) ; Chinese People's Liberation Army Army Day (August 1); Teachers' Day (September 10); National Day (October 1); Journalists' Day (November 8).