What lanterns should be hung at home during the Spring Festival?
1, hang lanterns during the Spring Festival
Spring Festival lanterns in China are also called lanterns. Originated in the Western Han Dynasty more than 1800 years ago, China New Year lanterns symbolizing reunion are hung around the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month every year to create a festive atmosphere.
Later, lanterns became a symbol of happiness for the people of China. Through the inheritance and development of lantern artists in past dynasties, colorful varieties and exquisite craftsmanship have been formed. There are palace lanterns, gauze lanterns, chandeliers and so on. From the modeling point of view, there are figures, landscapes, flowers and birds, dragons and phoenixes, fish and insects, etc. Besides, there are lanterns for people to enjoy.
2. Hanging lanterns on Lantern Festival
In the Song Dynasty, Lantern Festival was emphasized, and the activities of watching lanterns were lively. The lantern viewing activity lasted for five days, and the styles of lanterns were more abundant. In the Ming Dynasty, the Lantern Festival will last 10 days, which is the longest Lantern Festival in China. Although there were only three days to enjoy the lanterns in the Qing Dynasty, the scale of the lantern viewing activities was unprecedented. Besides burning lanterns, fireworks are also set off for entertainment.
"Lantern riddle", also known as "playing riddles", is an activity added after the Lantern Festival, which appeared in the Song Dynasty. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Lin 'an, the capital, made riddles every Lantern Festival, and there were many people in solve riddles on the lanterns. At the beginning, it was a busybody who wrote riddles on paper and posted them on colorful lanterns for people to guess. Because riddles are enlightening and interesting, they are welcomed by all walks of life in the process of communication.
With the passage of time, there are more and more activities in the Lantern Festival, and many local festivals have added traditional folk performances such as playing dragon lanterns, playing lions, walking on stilts, rowing dry boats, dancing yangko and playing Taiping drums. This traditional festival, which has been passed down for more than two thousand years, is not only popular on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, but also celebrated every year in areas where overseas Chinese live in concentrated communities.