Is the Lantern Festival in winter?
Is the Lantern Festival in winter?
Lantern Festival is the first traditional festival in China after the Spring Festival. Although it is still cold in winter, judging from the 24 solar terms, after beginning of spring, beginning of spring should be considered as spring.
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, just after the Spring Festival, the traditional festival Lantern Festival in China was ushered in. The first month is the first month of the lunar calendar. The ancients called the night "Xiao", 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.
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 officials in charge of the upper, middle and lower elements are heaven, earth and man respectively. The celestial officials are happy and the Lantern Festival should be lit.
Lantern burning
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.
Why is it called "Lantern Festival"?
As the saying goes, Lantern Festival always embodies the word "Lantern Festival", especially at night. On this bright night, people light thousands of lanterns, light lanterns, light flames, celebrate solve riddles on the lanterns, celebrate the Lantern Festival, get together with their families and celebrate festivals together.
The fifteenth day of the first month is Lantern Festival.
There are two interesting anecdotes about the origin of the word "noisy". Legend has it that the ancient Lantern Festival was called "the golden dragon stays up all night, and the star bridge is locked". This night, the emperor "enjoyed the people", and the people could make a scene without scruple, for the first three days, the last four days and seven nights. So it is called "Lantern Festival".
There is also a legend that the Lantern Festival originated in the Han Dynasty, when people held torches in rural fields to drive away insects and wild animals, hoping to reduce pests and pray for a bumper harvest. 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. Because this carnival of the masses clearly embodies the word "noisy" and conveys the people's beautiful expectations and ardent expectations for the coming year, the saying of "noisy" Lantern Festival has been passed down to this day.