Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty ordered the 15th day of the first month to be designated as the Lantern Festival. When was Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty? Taiyi God? Sacrificial activities are arranged on the fifteenth day of the first month. Taiyi: the God who rules the universe. Sima Qian founded it? Tai chi calendar? At that time, the Lantern Festival had been identified as a major festival.
How do Lantern Festival lanterns appear in people's lives? What is the historical background? Let me show you today.
Lanterns in China are also called lanterns. Originated in the Western Han Dynasty more than 1800 years ago, red 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. Lanterns in China are made of bamboo, wood, rattan, straw, animal horn, metal, silk and other materials produced in various regions, combining painting art, paper cutting, paper binding, acupuncture and other technologies.
Palace lanterns and gauze lanterns are the most famous lanterns in ancient China.
Lanterns are closely related to people's lives in China. There are lanterns everywhere in temples and living rooms. After careful calculation, China had lanterns after the Qin and Han Dynasties, and paper lanterns probably after the invention of paper in the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Lanterns in China are not only used for lighting, but also a symbol. Wu Dunhou said that he used to make bridal lanterns (that is, palace lanterns) to represent wedding celebrations; Bamboo lanterns announce that this is a funeral occasion; Umbrella lamp (word surname lamp), because? Lights? With what? Ding? Homophony means that people are prosperous. Therefore, in the past, every household had a surname lamp hanging under the eaves and in the living room. Today, there are still two big lanterns in front of God's head, which is a continuation of this custom.
However, Yuanxiao is probably the most reverie and expectation of Lantern Festival. The custom of watching lanterns on the Lantern Festival originated in the early Han Dynasty. During the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, in order to celebrate the safety of the country and people, lanterns were tied and symbolized by flashing lights. Cai Xiang, Guoqiang The custom of lanterns is very popular. When Zhu Yuanzhang established Nanjing as his capital, he burned 10,000 water lanterns on the Qinhuai River. Yongle dynasty set up a lamppost at the meridian gate, outside huamen? Lamp market? Does Peiping still exist? Dengshikou? Streets. After the Republic of China, the practice of lanterns still existed, but it was much more prosaic. Fortunately, nowadays lanterns gradually occupy an important position in home decoration because of their popularity in China. However, some materials of lanterns have changed from paper and bamboo to cloth, plastic and iron wire, and their shapes and colors are very different from traditional ones.
Traditionally, temples are mainly yellow, and the size and color of lanterns are changed according to personal preferences, which has no symbolic significance.
Lanterns have other meanings besides lighting. Private school (ancient school) in the first month of each year.
At the beginning of school, parents will prepare a lantern for their children, which will be lit by the teacher to symbolize the bright future of the students. Turn on the light? . Later, it evolved into the custom of carrying lanterns on the Lantern Festival. Because pronunciation and? Tianding? Similarly, lanterns are also used to pray for children. In the Japanese occupation era, patriots painted folk stories on lanterns to teach their children and grandchildren to know their own culture, so it has the significance of being passed down from generation to generation.
There are many theories about the origin of playing lanterns. A widely circulated saying is that the custom of playing lanterns on the Lantern Festival began in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Emperor Liu Zhuang of the Eastern Han Dynasty advocated Buddhism. He heard that on the fifteenth day of the first month, a Buddhist monk watched the Buddhist relics and lit lanterns to worship the Buddha, so all the gentry and ordinary people hung lanterns that night. Later, this Buddhist ceremonial festival gradually formed a grand folk festival. This festival has experienced the development process from the court to the people, and from the Central Plains to the whole country. During the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, people tied lanterns to celebrate the safety of the country and people, symbolizing them with flashing lights. Cai Xiang, Guoqiang Since then, the custom of lanterns has been widely circulated.
Red lanterns have always been a symbol of traditional culture in people's hearts. Although the pace of modernization is getting faster and faster, people should not forget the essence handed down by these ancestors and carry it forward in combination with the times.