Chinese Lantern Festival Legend 7
Some experts believe that the source of the festival of Lights, but also back to the ancient worship of fire.
The Lantern Festival lights, although mainly for viewing, but also used to ward off epidemics and pray for harvest and children, vaguely visible ancient worship of the shadow of fire. There are still some folk relics of this method, such as the custom of "Liaotianpeng" in the countryside along the Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province. Every year on Lunar New Year's Eve, each family will grow in the Gobi desert Xiangpeng grass, commonly known as "Xiangcai", pile in the yard or outside the gate, along the cattle standing in the barn to burn incense kowtow, and lit Xiangpeng hay pile, the whole family around the fire left three times, three times right, and then prepared grain scattered into the fire, listening to the sound of the patter, When the fire died down, the family's children and old people jumped on the fire. It is said that this will burn away bad luck for a year. "The town's legacy calendar" said: "the year of the New Year's Eve, the farm product fragrant Peng grass in the house, fire singeing day, that singeing day peng. Every time every fire rushed out of the hospital, from far up, little, still sky fire burning, autumn Tong frost dye, strong and beautiful zai.
Another example: In some places in the south of China, people run in the fields on the night of the Lantern Festival to express their sincerity in praying for a good harvest. The Lantern Festival in Ningxiang, Hunan Province, is called "burning Yuanxiao". Farmers shouted: "the fifteenth day of the Lantern Festival, insect pests ants mountain rest", "burning insects, ants up in the sky ah ah ho!" In the middle of the night, incense sticks dipped in tea oil are also lit and placed in the corners of houses to ward off rats and mice. This may be a relic of the primitive times when people worshipped gods at night, asked for a good harvest, and set fire to drive away evil spirits. Such customs can also be found in ethnic minorities. For example, in the Torch Festival of the Yi nationality every year, the Yi people will burn torches and jump in the fields to drive away pests and seek happiness and harvest. They will also kneel on the moon and dance, which is similar to the Lantern Festival.
In addition, there was once popular in most areas of the country Liao, also known as "court liao" custom. On New Year's Eve, every family sweeps the courtyard and burns atractylodes, cypress leaves or bamboo poles in front of the court, which means to burn last year's Tourette gas. It has the effect of pay attention to health and eliminate disease. "The Book of Songs" has "Court Singeing" article, and there is a court singeing light "description. In ancient times, Court singeing used bamboo poles as torches. Bamboo burning bamboo joints in the air is heated expansion bamboo cavity burst crackling to dispel evil spirits. After the combustion has evolved, such as the quasi river basin is "burnt attrition", Beijing and other places is "burning cypress leaves", northeast Heilongjiang and other places is "burning charcoal fire".
