Eating Yuanxiao on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is a common custom in all parts of the country. Almost every family eats Yuanxiao, that is, glutinous rice balls.
Folklore experts believe that when cooking jiaozi, it floats on the water after boiling, which is very beautiful and reminiscent of a bright moon hanging in the clouds. There is a bright moon in the sky, glutinous rice balls in the bowl, and every household is round and round, which means reunion and good luck. Therefore, eating dumplings expresses people's love for family reunion. The survey also shows China people's inheritance and love for traditional festivals and their love for China culture. Eating Yuanxiao should have a different taste.
Moreover, the name of glutinous rice balls is similar to the pronunciation of "reunion", which means reunion and symbolizes family reunion, harmony and happiness. At the same time, people also miss their departed relatives and hope for their future life.
The origin of Lantern Festival
Lantern Festival, also known as Shangyuan Festival, Xiaoyuanyuan Festival, Yuanxi Festival or Lantern Festival, is the first important festival after the Spring Festival and one of the traditional festivals in China and overseas Chinese. The first month is the first month of the lunar calendar. The ancients called the night "night", so the fifteenth day of the first full moon in a year was called the Lantern Festival. According to records, the Lantern Festival appeared around the Han Dynasty, and the Ming and Qing Dynasties, together with the Spring Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, were called the three traditional folk festivals in China, with a history of more than 2,000 years.
In June 2008, the Lantern Festival was selected as the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage.
The custom of eating glutinous rice balls on the Lantern Festival was formed in the Song Dynasty. According to records, in the Tang Dynasty, people ate "cocoons" and "circles don't fall into corners" on the Lantern Festival. "Lactose dumplings" appeared in the Southern Song Dynasty, which should be the predecessor of glutinous rice balls. In the Song Dynasty, Zhou Bida wrote the poem "The Lantern Festival cooks a floating Zi Yuan", which reads "The stars are in the dark clouds and the pearls are floating in the turbid water". By the Ming Dynasty, "Yuanxiao" had more names.