China News Service, February 5th (Reporter Shangguan Yun) It is another year of Lantern Festival.
The Lantern Festival is one of the traditional Chinese festivals. In many people's minds, "the New Year is over after fifteen years." Some places directly refer to the Lantern Festival as a "small year".
How did the Lantern Festival come about?
As a seasonal delicacy, what are the differences between Tangyuan and Yuanxiao?
He Shaoya, a lecturer at the School of Sociology of Beijing Normal University, introduced that the importance of the Lantern Festival as an important part of the annual festival and the finale program of the Spring Festival is closely related to the establishment of the "year-old" on the first day of the first lunar month.
As for the Lantern Festival and glutinous rice balls that people like to eat, they are similar in shape but slightly different in making method.
There is a folk saying that "package" glutinous rice balls and "roll" Yuanxiao.
In addition, some places eat lettuce during the Lantern Festival, which means "making money".
Data map: Tai'an Daimiao Square held dragon dance, lion dance, and folk activities to celebrate the Lantern Festival.
Photo by Liu Shui
How did the Lantern Festival come about?
There are many folk theories about the origin of the Lantern Festival.
One of the more influential sayings is that the Lantern Festival originated from the fact that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty went to Ganquan Temple to light lanterns to worship Taiyi God on the first day of the first lunar month.
He Shaoya said that "Historical Records · Book of Music" contains: "The Han family often went to the Taiyi Ganquan in the Xin Temple on the first month, and used the night temple at dusk to end in the Ming Dynasty. There are often meteors passing through the altar of the temple, making boys and girls seven Ten people all sing."
She believes that the origin of the Lantern Festival involves complex historical and cultural elements, such as the traditional cycle of production and life, knowledge of astronomy and calendar, folk belief in the moon, and the time system of the "year".
Since the enactment and promulgation of the "Taichu Calendar" in the Han Dynasty, the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month has become the night of the first full moon in the new year. It is this round of full moon that entrusts people's good expectations for good agricultural weather and a happy life. .
Is it an important part of the festival?
Many traditional festivals in China come from natural timing, such as Qingming Festival and Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and Summer Solstice, Mid-Autumn Festival and Autumnal Equinox, Winter Solstice Festival and Winter Solstice, etc.
But He Shaoya said that the Lantern Festival does not correspond to a specific time sequence.
As an important part of the annual festival and the finale program of the Spring Festival, the prominence of the Lantern Festival's status is closely related to the establishment of "the first day of the year" on the first day of the first lunar month.
It is precisely because of the establishment of the first day of the first lunar month that the full moon on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month has the special meaning of "a bright moon at the beginning of a year".
Is "noisy" the theme of the Lantern Festival?
The Spring Festival is a traditional festival of the Chinese nation. Generally speaking, it includes two parts: the busy year (welcoming the new year and welcoming the new year) and the farewell year (the old year).
Data map: People celebrate the Lantern Festival with dragon dances.
Photo by Yang Huafeng
"Noisy" is the theme of the Lantern Festival, and there are various forms of "noisy", such as noisy tourists, noisy gongs and drums, and bright lights.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, common people celebrated the Lantern Festival with great excitement, with various instruments, songs and dances competing to be staged.
Gu Lu's "Qing Jialu" records that in Suzhou in the Qing Dynasty, "before and after the Lantern Festival, Bihu used gongs, drums, and cymbals to beat into writing, which is called the Lantern Festival."
In addition, there are fireworks.
Qing Yongzheng's "Shuozhou Zhi" records that the folks "set up Mount Ao, burn a fire, light up lanterns and flowers, and feast with each other", which is called "Lantern Festival".
After this "trouble", people returned to their daily life again.
"Tangyuan" is also called "floating yuanzi"?
If you want to talk about the seasonal food of the Lantern Festival, you have to mention "tangyuan".
Glutinous rice balls, also known as dumplings, glutinous rice balls and so on.
According to records: "People in Beijing use Lu bean flour as Ke Dou soup, boiled glutinous rice as balls, and sugar as gills, which are called 'yuanzi'."
The "yuanzi" here is the later glutinous rice balls, but the method and eating method are different from those of the present. The dumplings at that time had no filling and were eaten with sugar dip (that is, syrup).
Zhou Bida in the Song Dynasty wrote a poem "Lantern Cooked Floating Yuanzi, the predecessors seem to have never tasted this sitting room into four rhymes", which mentioned: "In the dark clouds, the stars float in the muddy water." Floating Yuanzi means the moon is round and people are round, happiness and happiness.
"Tangyuan" and "Yuanxiao" are silly and unclear?
Yuanxiao and glutinous rice balls are similar in shape, but they are made in different ways.
He Shaoya introduced that after the Ming Dynasty and the Song Dynasty, the festival food called Yuanzi was also called Tangyuan and Yuanxiao.
The name "Yuanxiao" is mainly popular in the northern region, and it is more commonly called "tangyuan" in the southern region.
"Qing Barnyard Banknotes" says: "Tangyuan is called Tangyuan, and the northerners call it 'Yuanxiao', and it must be eaten on the evening of Yuanxiao." As far as the production method is concerned, there is a folk saying of "packing" glutinous rice balls and "rolling" Yuanxiao. .
There are also some differences in the fillings between the two. Yuanxiao mostly has sweet fillings, such as red bean paste and black sesame, while glutinous rice balls have sweet, salty, meat and vegetarian fillings, such as fruits and meat.
Data map: The picture shows the prepared cartoon glutinous rice balls.
Photo by Li Xinran
With the development of the times, the fillings of Yuanxiao and glutinous rice balls have become more abundant. Some merchants have introduced various novel flavors of Yuanxiao, and some have also introduced low-sugar and xylitol glutinous rice balls.
What other delicacies are there?
In terms of diet, the customs of the Lantern Festival present a colorful side.
For example, in some places, noodle lamps are eaten during the Lantern Festival, also known as "lamps".
"Dengzhaner" is generally composed of two parts. The bottom is a small noodle cake made of sticky yellow rice noodles, and the top is inserted with a section of wheat straw wrapped in yellow mounting paper. The yellow paper is dipped in cooking oil for easy burning.
On the day of the Lantern Festival, people light lamps and place them on window sills, doorways, etc. at home to pray for good luck.
After the lamp is lit, there are only small cakes of yellow rice noodles, fried or cooked.
In Guangdong, it is popular to eat lettuce during the Lantern Festival. Lettuce is a homonym for "making money" in order to win a good fortune and hope for a prosperous career and a lot of money.
He Shaoya said that in the area of Yangzhou and Nantong, Jiangsu, there is a saying that "the lights are on, the dumplings are on, and the noodles are on the lights", which means that when the lights are on on the 13th night of the first lunar month, people have to eat glutinous rice balls;
In Taizhou, Zhejiang, bad soup is eaten during the Lantern Festival.
Is the Lantern Festival a "Carnival" in ancient China?
The Lantern Festival is known as the carnival in ancient China, and its carnival nature is rare in traditional festivals.
In ancient cities, there was a rule of curfew, and there were Jinwu (guard of ceremonies) on duty at night.
But during the Lantern Festival, the government gives holidays and special night tours to facilitate viewing of lanterns.
At this time, officials, civilians, nobles, men, women, old and young came out of their homes to have feasts and entertainment, and night tours while watching lanterns.
Tang Dynasty Liu Su's "New Words of the Tang Dynasty" recorded: "At the time of the gods and dragons, the first month of the capital is looking at the sun, and there is a meeting of lights and shadows. Jin Wu relaxes the ban and permits nocturnal travel. Guiyou relatives and subordinate workers and workers all travel at night."
Data map: In Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, "matchmakers" played by actors performed social fires in the community to celebrate the Lantern Festival.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Wei Liang
In addition, during the Lantern Festival in ancient times, women could take advantage of the festival to go to the market, swim and play.
It is precisely because of this carnival that young men and women can get acquainted at this time, and many literary and artistic works describe the love that occurred during the Lantern Festival.
Ouyang Xiu of the Song Dynasty wrote in "Sheng Chazi·Yuan Xi": "Last year on the night of the Yuan Dynasty, the lights of the flower market were like daytime. The willows were on the moon, and people made appointments after dusk. This year, on the night of the Yuan Dynasty, the moon and the lights remained the same. Seeing last year's people, tears Full spring shirt sleeves."
When does the Lantern Festival custom appear?
There is still debate in the academic circles about the finalization period of the Lantern Festival.
However, it is generally believed that the customs of the Lantern Festival had already appeared during the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties. After the Tang and Song Dynasties, the customs of the Lantern Festival gradually prospered with the development of urban life, and many festival customs have been passed down to this day.
For example Zhang Deng.
"Rumenglu" records the Kaifeng area in the Ming Dynasty: "The palaces of the kings and squires put lanterns on their furniture and have banquets. Each family has a total of seventy or eighty groups of Dali (Pear) Gardens, and all street temples have lamp sheds, and each furniture puts lanterns. Light the door lamps and compete to set off fireworks."
Playing with social fire is also one of the customs of the Lantern Festival.
Shehuo is a kind of activity of singing, dancing and juggling to entertain gods and people.
So far, in Hebei, Shanxi, Gansu and other places, playing social fire during the Lantern Festival is still an important activity of the festival.
Data map: During the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar, the "Jiuqu Yellow River Lantern Array" in Ganzhou District, Zhangye City, Gansu Province is lit up to celebrate the Lantern Festival.
Photo by Cheng Xuelei
As an example, He Shaoya said that Taolinping Hualian Shehuo in Jingxing County, Hebei Province belongs to the Wushu Shehuo.
Why do you want to "go away from all kinds of diseases" at this time?
In ancient times, there was also the custom of "walking all kinds of diseases" on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month (or "scattering all kinds of diseases, walking bridges, etc.), that is, on the evening of the Lantern Festival, women meet together to travel together, and they must cross bridges when they see each other, thinking that this can cure diseases and prolong life.
In Ming Dynasty Liu Tong's "Emperor Beijing Scenery" there is: "Women lead each other to walk at night to eliminate diseases. It is said to walk all kinds of diseases, and it is also called to walk on bridges."
Every Lantern Festival, some places have the custom of worshiping Zigu.
Zigu is the "girl" god worshiped by ancient women.
The custom of welcoming Zigu has existed since the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
Liang Zongmo of the Southern Dynasties "Jingchu Sui Shi Ji" said: "On the evening of the Lantern Festival, welcome Zigu, to predict the future of sericulture, and to account for all things."
How to inherit the custom of Lantern Festival?
The inheritance of festivals requires the holistic existence of various elements such as time, space, and ritual activities.
The social and public nature of the Lantern Festival fits with the public cultural services of the modern country and contains rich traditional cultural resources.
He Shaoya said that now it is possible to combine new technologies such as sound and light with the tradition of Lantern lanterns and traditional lantern production techniques, and use new techniques and new technologies to promote the design and production of lanterns. The "Light City" that combines traditions meets the cultural needs of the masses.
Another example is to take advantage of the Lantern Festival’s tradition of emphasizing community collective entertainment and member exchanges, organize street communities to carry out lantern festivals, group Lantern Festival packages, interactive games, etc., to enhance familiarity among community members and rebuild crowd connections, etc.
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