Traditional Chinese festivals and customs
Spring Festival:
At the beginning of the year, everything is renewed. The main activities are eating New Year’s Eve dinner, offering sacrifices and staying up late on New Year’s Eve. , In addition, the first, second and third day of the first lunar month are the three days of the New Year, and sacrifices and offerings must also be made. During these three days, you generally don't do any work except cooking, you are taboo to say unlucky words, and you have to visit close relatives and distinguished relatives. From the first to the fifteenth day of the Spring Festival, various temple fairs, social fires, rural operas and other activities are held in various places. It is the most lively and extravagant festival among traditional festivals.
Lantern Festival:
The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival, also known as the Lantern Festival, Lantern Festival and Lantern Festival. During the festival, there are customs such as eating Lantern Festival, watching lanterns, playing social fire, and guessing lantern riddles. In addition to eating Yuanxiao, there are many different dietary customs in various places. People in Shaanxi eat "Yuanxiao tea", which is made by putting various vegetables and fruits into the noodle soup; people in Luoyang and Lingbao in Henan eat jujube cake; people in Kunming, Yunnan eat more bean dough.
February 2:
Commonly known as "Dragon Heads Up", also called Qinglong Festival, it marks the beginning of agricultural production in a year. Activities include spreading ashes to attract dragons, fumigating insects, picking vegetables, avoiding needlework (to prevent "piercing the longan"), etc. There are records about the customs of this festival in the Tang Dynasty. As for what to eat and drink on February 2nd, instead of eating greasy food during the Spring Festival, we will adopt a vegetarian diet.
Cold Food Festival and Qingming Festival:
Visit ancestral graves, go out for spring outings, and avoid fireworks.
April 8:
According to legend, it is the birthday of Sakyamuni, and there are many temple fairs and pilgrimage activities.
Dragon Boat Festival:
Also called the Duanyang Festival, it is said to commemorate Qu Yuan. The main activities include eating rice dumplings and dragon boat racing. In some places, such as Qinghai, there are also customs such as lansuo (thin rope twisted with five-color silk thread, tied to the hands and ankles), planting willows, and wearing sachets to repel insects. and pray for good fortune and peace.
June 6:
Also known as the "Insect Sun Festival", there is a folk proverb of "June 6, silk sun drying". At noon on this day, silk, silk, leather, wool and other clothes that are not often worn are dried to prevent insects. There are also "Bible Interpretation Meeting" and "robe-showing party". In Shaanxi, there are also activities such as fishing out river lanterns and collecting water to make wine. Some areas also hold "June Festival" activities, where young men and women sing antiphonally, catch up with watches, and throw In the form of flower bags, you are looking for a love partner. June 6th is also a major festival for the Buyi and Yao people.
Qiqiao Festival:
Also called the Qiqiao Festival, it is said to be the day when the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet on the Magpie Bridge. Folks usually set up an offering table that night, and women beg for gifts in order to give good women workers. There are also young men and women falling in love, which is also called the Chinese Love Festival.
Mid-Autumn Festival:
Also known as Moon Eve, Autumn Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, August Festival, August Meeting, Moon Chasing Festival, Moon Playing Festival, Moon Worshiping Festival, and Girls’ Festival Or the Reunion Festival. On this day, the whole family reunites to enjoy the moon and eat moon cakes. It turns out that there are also "burning incense", "walking on the moon", "releasing sky lanterns", "tree Mid-Autumn Festival", "lighting tower lanterns", "dancing the fire dragon", Festival activities such as "Trailing Stones" and "Selling Rabbits". This festival is taken more seriously by overseas travelers, and many ethnic minorities also celebrate this festival.
Double Ninth Festival:
Taking the meaning of Double Ninth Festival. The main activities are climbing, chrysanthemum viewing, drinking, etc. It is very popular among the elderly, so it is also called "Senior Citizen's Day".
October 1st:
Commonly known as "Ghost Festival" and "Hanyi Festival", it is also an ancestor worship festival. As the saying goes, "October 1st brings cold clothes." On this evening, every family will visit their graves to worship their ancestors. For those who cannot visit the grave or live far away from home for some reason, they draw a circle in the center or at the intersection and burn paper money.
Winter Solstice Festival:
Winter Solstice is a very important solar term in the Chinese lunar calendar and a traditional festival. Winter Solstice is commonly known as "Winter Festival", "Long Solstice Festival", "Yasui", etc. In northern areas, there is a custom of slaughtering sheep and eating dumplings and wontons during the Winter Solstice. In southern areas, there is a custom of eating winter solstice rice dumplings and winter solstice noodles on this day. Various regions also have the custom of worshiping heaven and ancestors on the winter solstice.
Laba Festival:
People customarily call the twelfth month of the lunar calendar the twelfth lunar month, and the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month as the Laba day or Laba Festival, and regard it as a traditional festival That is to say, treat it during the Laba Festival. Many customs related to the twelfth lunar month or the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month are often labeled with the word "twelfth lunar month". According to legend, this day is the day when Sakyamuni became a Buddha. Laba porridge is eaten in many places. Laba porridge is actually the beginning of preparations for the Spring Festival.
In addition, there are also traditional festivals with different folk customs in various places.
The ancestors of our country created many folk festivals during thousands of years of living and reproduction, including both production and life aspects, including food culture, etiquette culture, and simple and magical scientific thoughts, leaving us with It has a precious spiritual heritage that is worthy of our carrying forward and passing on