Lantern Festival (Shengfang Lantern Festival)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Lantern Festival (Shengfang Lantern Festival)

Applicant: Bazhou City, Hebei Province

Item No.: 988

Project No.: Ⅹ - 81

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: folk customs

Region: Hebei Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Bazhou City, Hebei Province

Protection unit: Bazhou Cultural Center

Brief introduction of Shengfang Lantern Festival:

Applicant: Bazhou City, Hebei Province

Lantern Festival is a traditional mass festival in China. It is popular all over the country and in overseas Chinese communities. Lantern Festival often occurs during the Lantern Festival, and some places hold Lantern Festival on the 15th of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. The characteristics of Lantern Festival are different in different regions.

"Lantern Festival" is also known as "Lantern Festival". The custom of lighting lantern festival began in Han Dynasty, further developed in Tang and Song Dynasties, and reached its peak in Ming and Qing Dynasties. According to the traditional custom, on the night of the full moon on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, people should hang and light all kinds of colored lights, and hold lantern watching, lantern watching, lantern racing and other celebration activities to pray for family reunion and longevity. Taking the Lantern Festival as the center, a series of distinctive Lantern Festival customs, such as guessing lantern riddles, eating Lantern Festival and walking through all kinds of diseases, have been formed all over the country.

With the passage of time, lantern festival activities become more and more abundant. In many places, traditional folk performances such as playing dragon lantern, playing lion, walking on stilts, rowing dry boat, twisting Yangko, playing Taiping drum and raising pavilion are added to Lantern Festival, which makes Lantern Festival more prosperous.

Shengfang lantern has a long history and is well-known in Beijing, Tianjin and North China in the early Ming Dynasty. It consists of three parts: the Yulan basin Lantern Festival, the Lantern Festival ice lantern and the Lantern Festival flower lantern. It is mainly spread in Bazhou Area of Hebei Province.

"Yulan basin Lantern Festival", also known as "Zhongyuan Lantern Festival", is held every year on the evening of July 15 of the lunar calendar. At that time, fishermen will put "river lanterns" in the water to mourn the dead and recommend the dead. Both the Lantern Festival and the Lantern Festival are held during the Lantern Festival. The Lantern Festival lasts for five days, from January 13 to January 18. The Lantern Festival was first held in the central square in front of the master's temple in the middle of the street. A 2-meter-high lantern stand with an area of about 60 square meters, commonly known as "Aoshan", was set up. Hundreds of homemade lanterns were hung on the lantern stand. During the Lantern Festival, there are more than 70 ancient folk Flower Fairs on the street during the day, and all day charity performances in theaters, bookstores, restaurants and teahouses. At night, people gather around Aoshan to watch the lanterns and listen to the singing. Folk artists perform in turn. There is a lot of noise and excitement everywhere. Since the reform and opening up, with the changes of regional environment and urban construction, Shengfang Lantern Festival has added some new performance forms.

There are more than 2000 kinds of traditional lanterns in Shengfang, mainly focusing on animals, plants, figures, utensils, architecture, deities and Buddhas. These lanterns are produced in the specific regional environment, production and lifestyle, and folk customs. They are rigorous in technology, fine in production, beautiful in appearance, and have their own style. Some of the lanterns are unique to Shengfang, such as zhubajie lantern, which has dozens of mouths and can be opened and closed at the same time. The annual Lantern Festival fully demonstrates the wisdom and creative spirit of Shengfang people, enriches and enlivens the cultural life of local people during the Spring Festival, and makes great contributions to social stability and harmony as well as the inheritance and development of traditional folk culture.