Folk activities of Lantern Festival
First, the flower viewing lamp
Watching lanterns is a pleasure for ordinary people to celebrate the Lantern Festival, and it is also an activity that is still widely circulated. There are many sayings about the origin of the Lantern Festival, and one of the myths and legends is very interesting.
Legend has it that a long time ago, a god bird got lost and landed on the earth, but was accidentally shot by an unsuspecting hunter. Emperor Tiandi was very angry when he learned that, so he ordered the heavenly soldiers to set fire to the world on the fifteenth day of the first month and burn all mankind to death. The daughter of the Emperor of Heaven was kind-hearted and could not bear to see the innocent suffering of the people, so she risked her life to tell the news to the people. When they heard the news, it was like a bolt from the blue on their heads. They were scared and didn't know what to do. After a long time, an old man thought of a way. He said: "On the 14th, 15th and 16th of the first month, every family hangs red lanterns, lights firecrackers and sets off fireworks. In this way, the emperor will think that people have been burned to death. " Everyone nodded and said yes, and they were ready to go separately. On the fifteenth night of the first month, the mountain soldiers looked down and found that there was red light in the world, thinking it was the flame of a big fire, and told the Emperor not to set fire to the ground. People thus saved their lives and property. In order to commemorate this success, every household hangs lanterns and sets off fireworks on the fifteenth day of the first month to commemorate this day.
Today, viewing lanterns is still an important activity of the Lantern Festival. On the fifteenth day of the first month, temple fairs and parks all over the country launched lantern viewing activities in succession. At that time, the sky was full of stars, the ground was full of fire trees and silver flowers, and the world was a happy and peaceful scene.
Second, solve the riddle on the lantern.
Solve riddles on the lanterns is one of the classic folk activities of Lantern Festival, and it is also a unique way of holiday entertainment in China. Lantern riddles originated from court scholars in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. In order to show their talents and entertain themselves, they made a "literary riddle". They are pushing wine and reciting poems and riddles over and over again, which is very interesting.
Now every Lantern Festival, playing riddles is everywhere. I hope this year is festive and safe. Because riddles are enlightening and interesting, they are welcomed by all walks of life and have been passed down to this day.
Third, eat "Yuanxiao"
Eating "Yuanxiao" on Lantern Festival is a traditional custom in China. Yuanxiao, also known as Tangyuan, has a long history as a food in China. In the Song Dynasty, people would eat a novel food after the Lantern Festival. This kind of food was originally called "Floating Zi Yuan", later called "Yuanxiao", and merchants also called it "Yuanbao".
Yuanxiao is filled with white sugar, rose, sesame, red bean paste, osmanthus fragrans, walnut kernel, nuts and jujube paste, and wrapped in glutinous rice flour into a round shape, which can be both meat and vegetarian with different flavors. It can be boiled, fried and steamed, which means happy reunion. On the fifteenth day of the first month, people all over the country will make Yuanxiao to celebrate this festival.
Fourth, set off fireworks.
In China, setting off fireworks is an indispensable activity to celebrate festivals, and the Lantern Festival is no exception. When colorful fireworks shoot into the sky, the night sky suddenly becomes dazzling, and the ground and the ground of the fire tree and silver flowers form a beautiful picture, which is one of the favorite programs for people to watch during the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month.
Five, dragon and lion dance
Dragon dance lantern, also known as dragon dance. Its origin can be traced back to ancient times. Legend has it that as early as the Yellow Emperor, in a large-scale song and dance in the suburbs of Qing Dynasty, there was a leading bird image played by a man, and then a dance scene with six dragons interspersed with each other was arranged. The dragon dance recorded in writing is Zhang Heng's Xijing Fu in Han Dynasty. The author vividly described the dragon dance in the descriptions of hundreds of plays. According to Sui Shu? According to music records, Huanglongbian, similar to the dragon dance performance in hundreds of plays during the reign of Yang Di, is also very wonderful. Dragon dance is popular in many places in China. The Chinese nation advocates dragons and regards them as auspicious symbols.
Lion dance is an excellent folk art in China. Whenever the Lantern Festival or the celebration of the General Assembly, people always come to the lion dance to entertain. This custom originated in the Three Kingdoms period and was popular in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It has a history of 1000 years.
Six, row a dry boat
Rowing a dry boat, folklore is to commemorate Dayu who has made great contributions to water control. Rowing a dry boat, also known as running a dry boat, is an imitation of a boat on land, and the performers are mostly girls. Dry boat is not a real boat. It is made of two thin wooden boards, sawed into a boat shape, tied with bamboo and wood, covered with colored cloth and tied around the girl's waist, just like sitting on a boat, rowing with paddles in hand, singing and jumping while running. This is a dry ship. Sometimes, another man dressed as a boatman performs with his partners, mostly dressed as a clown, and amuses the audience with all kinds of funny actions. Dry boats are very popular in many areas of our country.
Seven, lovers meet
Lantern Festival is also a romantic festival. In the feudal traditional society, Lantern Festival also provides unmarried men and women with opportunities to get to know each other. In traditional society, young girls are not allowed to go out freely, but they can go out to play together on holidays. Lantern Festival lanterns are just an opportunity to make friends, and unmarried men and women can also find their own partners by the way. During the Lantern Festival, it is also the time for young men and women to meet their lovers.
What health food do you eat on Lantern Festival?
1, eat dumplings
On the Lantern Festival, southerners eat glutinous rice balls mainly to pray for the whole family to be round and round. The glutinous rice used to make glutinous rice balls is flat in nature and sweet in taste, and has the functions of tonifying deficiency, regulating blood, invigorating spleen and appetizing, benefiting qi and stopping diarrhea, warming middle warmer, promoting fluid production and moistening dryness. In addition, the conventional fillings of various glutinous rice balls are mainly fruits and dried fruits, including sesame seeds, walnuts and peanuts, and vegetable oil has a "higher" nutritional value. Boiling jiaozi in water is the easiest way and the healthiest way to eat it.
Step 2 Eat jiaozi
On the Lantern Festival, southerners like to eat jiaozi, while northerners have the habit of eating jiaozi, such as Henan. So jiaozi is also a kind of food that Yuanxiao often eats. Jiaozi is a folk food with a long history in China, which is deeply loved by ordinary people. Of course, jiaozi is not the only food for the Lantern Festival.
Step 3 eat jujube cake
People in western Henan like to eat jujube cakes on the Lantern Festival, which means good luck. Jujube cake was originally the imperial cake of Qing Dynasty. It is sweet and fragrant, and contains vitamin C, protein, calcium, iron, vitamins and other nutrients, which can not only replenish the spleen and stomach, but also benefit qi and promote fluid production. It also has the functions of protecting the liver, increasing muscle strength, beautifying and preventing aging.
In the collocation of glutinous rice products, we can consider more ingredients with high nutritional value, low energy and low fat, especially glutinous rice products with miscellaneous grains as the main component are often more suitable for modern people.
Take Yuanxiao as an example, because it contains glutinous rice flour, it can be eaten as a staple food; Its various fillings are rich, such as jujube paste stuffing, nut stuffing, bean paste stuffing, fresh meat stuffing and so on. Therefore, when buying Yuanxiao, we should try our best to choose different tastes and complement each other in nutrition, so as to really and effectively improve the nutritional value of food.
When making food with glutinous rice as the main raw material, in addition to the traditional eating method, you can also add fruit and vegetable juice to glutinous rice flour to make colorful Yuanxiao, which is not only attractive in color, but also more nutritious.
Dietotherapy benefits of eating glutinous rice balls in Lantern Festival
1. Eating glutinous rice balls in Lantern Festival not only means celebrating family reunion, but also has the health-preserving effects of keeping out the cold, nourishing the spleen and stomach and benefiting the lungs.
2. The material of Yuanxiao Tangyuan is mainly glutinous rice. "Compendium of Materia Medica" points out that glutinous rice is a valley for nourishing the spleen and stomach and benefiting the lungs. Glutinous rice is sweet and warm, which can nourish human blood and spleen and stomach after eating. The coldest winter is March 9, although it has passed now, the weather is warm and cold, and stomach gas is most likely to be lost in cold days.
3. The ancients wrapped zongzi on the fifteenth day of the first month during the Lantern Festival. Tangyuan is not only sticky glutinous rice, but also easy to cook and will not spread out, and because glutinous rice has the characteristics of keeping out the cold.
4. Eating zongzi on the Lantern Festival will warm the spleen and stomach, and people's breath will become quite smooth, which will make the whole body warm and play a role in keeping out the cold, especially suitable for those with spleen and stomach deficiency.
5. In addition, glutinous rice is rich in nutrients such as protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron and nicotinic acid. It can be said that glutinous rice balls are just a kind of warm food.