According to legend, the Lantern Festival was set up to commemorate Pinglu during the reign of Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty. After the death of Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang, Lv Hou's son Liu Ying became Emperor Hui of Han Dynasty. Hui Di was born weak and indecisive, and power gradually fell into the hands of Lv Hou. After the death of Emperor Hui of Han Dynasty, he monopolized the state affairs and turned Liu's world into Lu's. Senior officials in the DPRK and Liu Zongshi were deeply indignant at this, but they were afraid of cruelty and dared not tell anyone.
After Lv Hou's death, Zhu Lu has been in a state of anxiety, afraid of being hurt and excluded. So, they secretly assembled in the home of the generals in the world and plotted to make trouble in order to completely seize Liu's country. This incident reached the ears of Liu Nang, the king of the Liu clan. In order to protect Liu Jiangshan, Liu Nang decided to attack Zhu Lu, and got in touch with the founding fathers to make a plot. The "Zhu-Lu Rebellion" was finally completely put down.
After the rebellion, the ministers made Liu Heng, the second son of Liu Bang, the Chinese Emperor. Deeply impressed by the hard-won peace and prosperity, Emperor Wen designated the 15th day of the first month of the first month, when the "Zhu Lu Rebellion" was put down, as a day to have fun with the people, and every household in Beijing celebrated with lanterns and colorful decorations. Since then, the fifteenth day of the first month has become a popular folk festival "Lantern Festival".
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.
The Development History of Lantern Festival
Lantern Festival is a traditional festival in China, and the formation of Lantern Festival custom has a long process, which is rooted in the folk custom of turning on lights to pray. Generally, turning on the light for blessing begins on the 14th night of the first month, and the 15th night is "positive light". People light lanterns, also known as "sending lanterns", and carry out activities of offering sacrifices to gods and praying for blessings.
The introduction of Buddhist culture in the Eastern Han Dynasty also played an important role in promoting the formation of Lantern Festival customs. During the Yongping period of Emperor Hanming, in order to promote Buddhism, Emperor Hanming ordered "burning lamps to show Buddha" in palaces and temples on the fifteenth night of the first month. Therefore, the custom of burning lanterns on the 15th night of the first month was gradually spread in China with the expansion of the influence of Buddhist culture and the addition of Taoist culture.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Lantern Festival gradually became a trend. Liang Wudi believed in Buddhism, and the palace was brightly lit on the fifteenth day of the first month. During the Tang Dynasty, cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries became closer, Buddhism flourished, and officials and ordinary people generally "burned lanterns to worship Buddha" on the fifteenth day of the first month, so Buddha lanterns spread all over the people. It has been legal to set off lanterns on the Lantern Festival since the Tang Dynasty.
The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival, also known as Shangyuan Festival, Lantern Festival and Lantern Festival. The first month is the first month of the lunar calendar. The ancients called night "night", so they called the fifteenth day of the first month "Lantern Festival".
With the changes of society and times, the custom of Lantern Festival has changed greatly, but it is still a traditional folk festival in China. Yuanxiao was only called the fifteenth day of the first month, the first half of the first month or the full moon when the early festivals were formed, and it was called Yuanxiao or Yuanxiao after Sui. Influenced by Taoism in the early Tang Dynasty, it was also called Shangyuan, but it was only in the late Tang Dynasty that it was occasionally called Yuanxiao. But since the Song Dynasty, it has also been called Dengxi. In the Qing dynasty, it was also called the Lantern Festival.
Refer to the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia-Lu Ping said