it's the first full moon night in the new year. There are many stories about the formation of the Lantern Festival custom in history, but it is generally believed that it took shape in the Han Dynasty. According to legend, after the death of Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu, Lv Hou was in power. Later, the heroes sought peace and wiped out the forces of Lu. Liu Heng, the Emperor of Han Dynasty, decided to take the 15th day of the first month, the day when he won the throne every year, as the day when he left the palace to celebrate with the people, and called the night trip Yuanxiao. Another emperor of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Hanming, ordered Lantern Festival to be lit. Since then, this custom has spread to the people, and every year on the night of the Yuan Dynasty, lanterns are decorated and colorful, staying up all night, which is the origin of the Lantern Festival, also known as the Lantern Festival.
During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the contents of offering sacrifices to the portal, the silkworm god and welcoming Zigu were added to the Lantern Festival in Fuzhou. However, the Lantern Festival began to prevail in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. During the reign of Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty (581-61 AD), whenever the Lantern Festival came, people were bustling in the streets, some holding torches, some beating drums, some wearing animal masks and some men wearing women's clothes. By the Tang Dynasty, almost all emperors had issued letters about watching lanterns. At that time, Ben had a strict curfew system, but he was particularly tolerant of the Lantern Festival, allowing people to put on lanterns for three nights. In Chang 'an at that time, "Chikage Tree of the Lantern Wheel in the Western Regions and Jinquewan in Donghua reopened". In Luoyang at that time, "there were many rides under the moon, people around in front of the lights, endless joy, singing and dancing until tomorrow morning." The Lantern Festival in the Song Dynasty is a grand festival, and the celebration lasts from the 15th to the 18th of the first month. The Kaifeng House in Beijing is full of lights for the Lantern Festival. The most spectacular thing is that countless lanterns are tied into a mountain forest-shaped "Dengshan" with fairy tales and Buddhist stories painted on them. The most attractive thing is all kinds of bodhisattva lamps. Bodhisattva's arms move freely, with five fingers coming out of the water like a waterfall, which may be the earliest artificial fountain in China. Xin Qiji, a poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, wrote in his poem "The Jade Case of Yuan Xi": "Thousands of trees are blooming in the east wind at night, and the stars are like rain. The BMW carving car is full of incense, the phoenix flute is moving, the jade pot is turning, and the fish and dragon dance all night. " It can be seen that the scene of enjoying the lights at that time was magnificent! Most of these customs in the Song Dynasty spread to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and from the Ming and Qing Dynasties to today.
Fuzhou Lantern Festival is lively and full of poetry. In urban and rural areas throughout the country, people held mass entertainment activities such as playing dragon lanterns, dancing lions and solve riddles on the lanterns on the Lantern Festival with joy, which brought the whole festival to a climax. The custom of enjoying and playing with lanterns varies from place to place. In rural areas, lantern races, floor-beating flower drums and other forms of entertainment are often used to have fun, while in towns, lantern festivals, yangko dances, solve riddles on the lanterns and other recreational activities are held. In the northeast of China, ice lanterns are also held to watch and appreciate. There are also special customs circulating in some places. For example, in some places in the Central Plains, new wives are forbidden to watch the lanterns during the Lantern Festival. In other places, the new daughter-in-law must go back to her parents' home on Lantern Festival, saying that she is "hiding from the lights".
Eating Yuanxiao on the 15th day of the first month is said to have a history of more than 12 years. At first, Yuanxiao was a kind of "rice congee Pan-paste" form, and later it was made of glutinous rice flour with stuffing, which was like a full moon and had a sweet taste. Therefore, eating Yuanxiao during Yuanxiao Festival not only means reunion but also tastes sweet and sweet, and it is popular all over the country. Jiang Kui, a famous poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, gave a vivid description of the Lantern Festival more than 7 years ago: "The Lantern Festival competes to see the lotus boat, and BMW cars pick up the cymbals; In the stormy night, people are exhausted, and the lonely lamp still calls for selling glutinous rice balls. " Interestingly, there are also some places where Yuanxiao is eaten: bean dough is popular in some places in Yunnan, and jujube cake is emphasized in some places in Henan. People in Shaanxi like to eat Yuanxiao tea on this day, which is full of flavor by adding various vegetables and fruits to noodle soup.
Lantern riddles are a unique literary and artistic form in Fuzhou Art Garden. Every major festival, especially during the Lantern Festival, is the most prosperous time in solve riddles on the lanterns. Garden parties, cultural palaces and clubs all over the country are indispensable to solve riddles on the lanterns, a recreational project. "At that time the joy at that time the sorrow, think of a thousand wrong. If you want to come up with a thousand good things, you can solve your worries from yourself. " This poem is a riddle, and its answer is the word "guessing".
solve riddles on the lanterns has a long tradition in Fuzhou. It originated from folk oral riddles, and later it became a riddle after being processed by literati. Generally, it takes something or a word, idiom, proverb or text as the answer, and uses metaphor, similarity and suggestion to make a riddle for people to guess.
During the Southern Song Dynasty, every time the lanterns were lit in Fuzhou during the Lantern Festival, some good people tied riddles to colorful lanterns for people to guess. At this time, the literary riddles became "lantern riddles". Solve riddles on the lanterns first rose in the bureaucratic class, and then gradually spread to the people. During the Lantern Festival, there are an unusually large number of riddlers, and the content is quite lively. It has been popular for more than 7 years from the Southern Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty.
After the founding of New China, the forms of riddles in Fuzhou became more extensive, and the masses also actively participated in making riddles. Producers use their brains and make great innovations to make it more vital. Every major festival, there are generally guessing activities. Riddle has become a unique literary form with national color and style in China.
it has become a custom to watch the lanterns and enjoy the moon at midnight snack. Fuzhou citizens usually have some meaningful games on this night. For example, there is a lion dance competition in the south to "grab the color". Nowadays, many places hold lantern exhibitions and lantern festivals during the Lantern Festival. In addition, people have summed up many proverbs, such as "lanterns are watered by rain, and early rice is a bunch of poles", "Yun Zheyue on August 15th, and lights are lit in the snow on the 15th day of the first month". Overseas, many Chinese communities still retain the ancient tradition of playing dragon lanterns.