Lantern Festival

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Lantern Festival

Applicant: Jinjiang City, Fujian Province

Item No.: 978

Project No.: Ⅹ - 71

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: folk customs

Region: Fujian Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Jinjiang City, Fujian Province

Protection unit: Jinjiang Cultural Center

Brief introduction to the Lantern Festival

Applicant: Jinjiang City, Fujian Province

Lantern Festival, also known as "Shangyuan Festival", "Yuanxi Festival" and "Lantern Festival", is a traditional Chinese festival, which is popular all over the country. In China, the first month of the lunar calendar is Yuanyue, which is called "Xiao" in ancient times. Therefore, the 15th day of the first full moon in a year is called "Yuanxiao Festival".

Since the Han Dynasty, China has been lighting lanterns on the Lantern Festival, which has gradually developed into a custom. In the Tang Dynasty, this custom became more popular. The sentence "fire trees and silver flowers, star bridges and iron locks open" describes the grand occasion of the Lantern Festival in Chang'an. In the Ming Dynasty, the Lantern Festival has become an important part of people's life, and it will enjoy lanterns continuously for 10 days. In the Qing Dynasty, the Lantern Festival is a folk festival enjoyed by all the people, Fireworks and firecrackers will be set off during the lantern watching activities.

There are also some traditional activities in the Lantern Festival: one is "guessing lantern riddles", also known as "playing lantern riddles", which first appeared in the Song Dynasty. The riddles are to be guessed and the winner will be awarded; the other is to eat yuanxiao, which was originally known as "fuyuanzi", also known as "tangtuan" or "Tangyuan", a spherical food made of glutinous rice flour. It is filled with stuffing and eaten after being cooked in water, Eating Lantern Festival symbolizes the family reunion, harmony and happiness. The Lantern Festival in some places also has the custom of "walking through all kinds of diseases", also known as "baking all kinds of diseases" and "dispersing all kinds of diseases". People walk together on the Lantern Festival, or cross the bridge with each other, or go to the suburbs, symbolizing the elimination of diseases and disasters, peace and prosperity. Since modern times, traditional performances such as playing dragon lantern, playing lion, walking on stilts, rowing dry boat, twisting Yangko, playing Taiping drum and so on have been added to the Lantern Festival activities, which makes the Lantern Festival have a new development in the inheritance.

The Lantern Festival, which has a history of more than 2000 years, is not only popular on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, but also highly valued in overseas Chinese communities. In addition to the Han nationality, Manchu, Korean, Hezhe, Mongolian, Daur, Ewenki, Oroqen, Hui, Xibo, Tibetan, Bai, Naxi, Miao, Yao, she, Zhuang, Buyi, Li, Gelao and other ethnic minorities also celebrate the Lantern Festival, with their own characteristics.

There are two coastal villages with the same name of Dongshi on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. One is in Jinjiang, Fujian Province, and the other is in Jiayi, Taiwan. There is a unique lantern custom in China, which is known as "two Dongshi in Fujian and Taiwan, counting one palace lantern".

Before the Ming Dynasty, Dongshi people in Jinjiang came to Taiwan to make a living. During the Jiajing period, the number of people who went to Taiwan increased. They set up mountains and seas, cultivated new areas, and named their hometown villages as settlements. They formed Dongshi, budaozui and other villages in Taiwan. They also divided the "three gongs" of Jiaying temple in Dongshi across the sea and built temples in Dongshi township. Now there are more than 20 Jiaying temples in Taiwan.

Dongshi palace lantern counting activity starts on the 13th day of the first lunar month and lasts for three days. The newly married bridegroom of Fujian and Taiwan Dongshi last year has to hang the palace lantern of the bride's dowry in Sangong palace. At midnight of the Lantern Festival, the bridegroom gathered in Sangong palace. A public red Hydrangea lamp was hung in the middle. The principal reported the number of palace lanterns in Taiwan and the local area, celebrating the prosperity of people on both sides of the Strait. Then, the key play of counting palace lanterns was held. The bridegroom threw the water bamboo cup in front of the third Duke's seat. The person who threw the most cups set off firecrackers to welcome the red Hydrangea lamp home. Other people also welcome their own palace lanterns home and hang them in their new houses, praying for the blessing of the third Duke for a happy marriage and early birth of a noble son.

When the palace lanterns were hung in Dongshi, Jinjiang, the people of Dongshi in Taiwan sent people back to their hometown on the 13th of the first month in advance to offer sacrifices to "sangongye". At the same time, they brought the number of palace lanterns in line with the number of newlyweds of Taiwan people in the past year, and then brought the number of palace lanterns back to their hometown. The two places reported the number of palace lanterns to each other and wished their descendants prosperity. This custom of counting lanterns on the Lantern Festival reflects the earnest expectation of Dongshi people on both sides of the strait for the prosperity of their families and their children and grandchildren, and is a vivid embodiment of the cultural cohesion of the Chinese nation.

Chinese PinYin : Yuan Xiao Jie Min Tai Dong Shi Deng Su