In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the festive food of Lantern Festival was rice porridge or bean porridge with gravy, but this kind of food was mainly used for sacrifice, not holiday food.
Until the Tang Dynasty, Zheng's Record of Chefs recorded: "Go on a diet in the middle of the year and get rid of the oil hammer." The method of making oil hammer, according to the records of the Order of Sorrow for the Past cited in Taiping Guangji and Lu Miscellaneous Notes, is similar to the fried Yuanxiao in later generations. In the Tang Dynasty and Lantern Festival, silkworms were eaten. Wang Renyu's "Kaiyuan Tianbao Legacy" records that the custom of making artificial silkworms every year still exists in the Song Dynasty, but the festival food is more abundant than that in the Tang Dynasty.
In the Southern Song Dynasty, the so-called "lactose dumplings" appeared, which should be the predecessor of glutinous rice balls. In the Ming Dynasty, people called this glutinous rice dumpling "Yuanxiao". Liu Ruoyu's "Random Thoughts" records the practice of Yuanxiao: "Its preparation method is to use glutinous rice flour, with walnuts, sugar and roses as stuffing, and roll it into the water, which is as big as walnuts, that is, the dumplings called in Jiangnan." During the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, the "Babao Lantern Festival" specially made by the royal chef was a famous food in the ruling and opposition parties. Ma Siyuan was a master of Yuanxiao in Beijing at that time, and his "Difen Yuanxiao" was well known. Fu Zeng's Poems of Shangyuan Zhi Zhu says: "Osmanthus fragrans is full of walnuts, and rice is like a pearl well. Watch Ma Jiahao drop powder and try to sell Yuanxiao in the wind. " The poem is about the famous Majia Lantern Festival.
In the past thousand years, the production of Yuanxiao has become increasingly sophisticated. As far as dough is concerned, there are rice flour, sorghum flour, yellow wheat flour and corn flour. The content of the stuffing is sweet and salty vegetarian. The production methods in the north and the south are also different. In the north, most people roll reeds with their hands, while in the south, jiaozi rolls them into balls with his hands. Yuanxiao can be as big as walnuts or as small as soybeans. Cooking methods include taking soup, frying, frying, steaming and so on. With or without stuffing, it's just as delicious. At present, Yuanxiao has become a snack all year round. You can have a bowl at any time to relieve your craving.
Lantern Festival customs all over the country
During the Lantern Festival in Yongping Prefecture, Hebei Province, sick women gathered under the kiln and called it "pottery moxibustion". Children crossing the bridge are called "Du Bai Goose". Some people cut the paper into nine paper ropes and tied them with their hands to make up for their mistakes. This is called "knotting sheep intestines". Use twelve cups to store oil, put it in a pot and steam it. According to the amount of water in the cups, predict the sunny and rainy days this month. The Shangyuan Festival in Jinghai County takes big steamed bread as its diet. Qingyun County, Lantern Festival, the man asked five ancestors to teach boxing sticks, and the woman asked Zi Gubu to take the blame.
In Zichuan County, Shandong Province, people near the water put more river lanterns on the Lantern Festival. Ningyang county sends lanterns to ancestral graves during the Lantern Festival. Boxing township has the custom of lighting lanterns on the Lantern Festival. The boy walked around the jujube tree six times with a lamp and said "Du Lao Du Lao, flowers and dates" six times, which can make the jujube tree harvest. Men, women and children in Juxian county go for an outing in the wild on the 16th day of the first month, which is called "walking old". It is said that walking once a year can keep them young forever.
[Henan Province] Eating wonton during the Lantern Festival in Xiangcheng County is called "reunion tea". The bride's family took her married daughter home for the New Year, and when Yixian celebrated the Lantern Festival, the old, the weak and the sick all used fire to moxibustion stone turtles. If there is a river bridge in the area, cross it at the same speed. If there is no bridge, build an "overpass" with wooden boards several feet high, which is called "walking all diseases"
Fengxiang County [Shaanxi Province] fetes his daughter and son-in-law at the Lantern Festival, which is called "Eating Fifteen". And sending lights to send oil is called "adding oil". In Wujin County, Jiangsu Province, on the first day of last week, people tied a reed into a torch of Zhang Xu and planted it in the ground, which was called "Zhao Tiancai" to predict the morning and evening. White fire is water, and Rise of the Legend is drought. On the Lantern Festival in Yixing, children wear ghost masks, bend their feet and jump around with their shoulders shaking, which is called "jumping ghosts".
[Zhejiang Province] In Hangzhou, it is said that the 15th day of the first month is the day when Shangyuan God blessed the people. He spent a lot of time on vegetarian chanting and prostrated himself in Wu Shan. The most famous Lantern Festival in Haining is the exquisite chrysanthemum lantern. Shangyu County will compete in martial arts on the platform before the Lantern Festival. In Jiande County, if someone has a new wife, a wine sacrifice bed will be set on the Lantern Festival.
Jiangxi province: people in Xinjian county sweep graves and put bamboo as lanterns during the Lantern Festival. Every town in wanan county worships Shenzhou on the Lantern Festival.
In Yunmeng County, Hubei Province (now Jianghan), the old farmer took a torch to illuminate Pu Tian at midnight snack, which is called "illuminating the Jedi silkworm". Children greet God with drums and fields and predict the future. Wuchang's "dragon making" will last for three days. All the men, women and children in the village follow the dragon lantern to the neighboring village for dinner, which is called "Dragon for Wine".
In Shangyuan County, Changde, Hunan Province, Chili peppers are used as soup, and leeks and fruits are added to entertain guests, which is called "time soup". After swimming in the dragon lantern in Xintian County, the dragon lantern was lit, which is called "sending disaster".
[Sichuan Province] Sichuan Lantern Festival has the custom of "four steals": "one steals jiaozi, the other steals green, the third steals eaves lamp and the fourth steals red." Except for stealing youth and strengthening the body, the rest are customs of seeking children. There is a custom of "cursing" in Kaixian County. On the Lantern Festival, people move the benches outdoors and scold all the grievances at ordinary times. Those who are scolded are not allowed to scold them back.
[Fujian Province] Quanzhou lanterns are unique, including incense lanterns, paper-folded lotus lanterns, silk palace lanterns and eight-knot lanterns. Temples in Shaowu County welcome incense around the border at midnight snack, which is called "Clean Street". In southern Fujian, there is a custom that children in two villages throw stones at each other for fun during the Lantern Festival. It is said that there will be a plague in that village if stones are not thrown.
[Guangdong Province] Last year, boys were born in Xin 'an County, and they all celebrated with lanterns after midnight. When Nanxiong lit the lamp, parents took down the dragon beard thread from the dragon lantern and tied it for the children. It is said that children can be protected from diseases. He still took the candle left in the dragon lantern and shone it under the bed. It is said that he can give birth to your son. When people steal midnight snacks in Wenchang county, it is a good omen for the thief to be scolded, and for those who can't steal, it is a good omen not to be scolded.
Yunlong County, Yunnan Province greeted three worshippers before the Lantern Festival and set up a shed along the street to offer sacrifices. Burning incense on the bridge on the second day of the Maitreya Lantern Festival, throwing stones into the water, and then washing your eyes with water, it is said that you can get rid of the disease.