After the owner of Ding Zhai finished telling the story of the Lantern Festival girl in one breath, he asked Liang Yulian with a smile: "Is the story of the Lantern Festival girl good?" ”

Liang Yulian nodded: "Hmm." ”

"It's very good, and it's also very touching After the master of Ding Zhai made his opening remarks, Ruju's eyes glanced at Liang Yulian and Huineng.

"There are several interesting folk legends about the origin of the Lantern Festival. Would you like to hear it again? "The owner of Ding Zhai is a little unfinished.

"Yes." Liang Yulian and Huineng said in unison.

"Good!" After adjusting a posture, the master of Ding Zhai recounted several other legends about the Lantern Festival:

The first kind of legend. A long time ago, on the 14th day of the first lunar month, a mythical bird landed on the earth because it got lost, and was accidentally shot to death by an unwitting hunter.

When the Emperor learned of this, he was furious and ordered the heavenly soldiers to set fire to the world on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and burn all the human beings 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 people the news.

When everyone heard the news, they were all frightened and didn't know what to do.

It took most of the day before an old man came up with a plan. He said: "On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, every household hangs red lanterns, lights firecrackers, and sets off fireworks at home. In this way, the Emperor of Heaven will think that the people of the world have been burned to death. ”

When they heard this, they all nodded yes, and then they divided up and prepared to go. On the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the heavenly soldiers looked down and found a red light in the world, thinking that it was the flames of the fire, so they told the emperor that there was no need to go down to earth to set fire.

In this way, people were able to save their lives and property. Since then, every fifteenth day of the first lunar month, every household hangs lanterns and sets off fireworks to commemorate this day.

After the first legend was told, the second legend was told.

The lord of Ding Zhai said: Next, the legend I want to talk about is related to the custom of eating Lantern Festival.

Legend has it that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had a favorite courtier named Dongfang Shuo, whose personality was both kind and funny. If anyone in the palace offended Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he always asked Dongfang Shuo to intercede.

One winter, it snowed heavily for a few days, and Emperor Wu of Han felt a little bored, so Dongfang Shuo went to the Imperial Garden to fold plum blossoms for Emperor Wu of Han.

As soon as I entered the garden gate, I found that there was a palace maid who was ready to throw herself into the well with tears streaming down her face. Dongfang Shuo hurriedly stepped forward to rescue her and asked her why she wanted to commit suicide.

It turned out that this palace maid's name was Lantern Xiao, and she also had two parents and a younger sister at home. Since she entered the palace, she has not seen her family again. Every year when the spring comes, I miss my family more than usual. She thought that since she couldn't fulfill her filial piety in front of her parents, it was better to die, so she came to throw herself into the well.

Dongfang Shuo heard what happened to her, sympathized with her very much, and promised her that he would try to reunite her with her family.

On this day, after Dongfang Shuo left the palace, he set up a divination stall on Chang'an Street. Many people were vying to ask him for divination. Unexpectedly, what everyone wants is the sign of "burning on the sixteenth day of the first month". All of a sudden, there was a big panic in Chang'an. People are asking for a solution to the disaster.

Dongfang Shuo said: "On the evening of the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, the Fire God Monarch will send a red-clothed goddess to visit him. She is the messenger who was ordered to burn Chang'an, and if you see a girl in red riding a pink and silver donkey, you will immediately kneel and beseech. The girl will say, I have come to burn Chang'an, and the Jade Emperor will stand on the Nantian Gate to watch. Since I have accepted the intercession of my father, I will give you the transcribed verses, so that the son of today can think of a way. After saying that, he threw down a red post and walked away.

The common people picked up the red post and hurried to the palace to report to the emperor. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took it and took a look, only to see that it was written: Chang'an is robbing, burning the emperor's que, sixteen days of fire, and red supper.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was shocked when he saw it, and hurriedly invited the resourceful Dongfang Shuo.

Dongfang Shuo thought about it for a while, and said: "I heard that Huoshenjun likes to eat rice balls the most, doesn't the Lantern Festival in the palace often make rice balls for you?" On the fifteenth night, you can let the Lantern Festival make rice balls. Long live the incense offerings, and order every family in Kyoto to make rice balls, and worship the god of fire together. Then he instructed his subjects to hang lamps on the sixteenth night, light firecrackers and set off fireworks all over the city, as if the city was on fire, so that he could hide from the Jade Emperor. In addition, the people outside the city were informed that they would enter the city on the night of the 16th to watch the lanterns and mingle with the crowd to eliminate disasters and solve problems."

After hearing this, Emperor Wu was very happy, and he sent a decree to do what Dongfang Shuo did. On the sixteenth day of the first month, Chang'an City is full of lights, and visitors are bustling with people, and it is very lively. Lantern Festival's parents also took their sister into the city to watch the lanterns.

When they saw the big palace lantern with the word "Lantern Festival" written on it, they shouted in surprise: "Lantern Festival!" Lantern Festival! ”

Lantern Xiao heard the shouts and finally reunited with her parents and sister. After such a lively night, Chang'an City was really safe. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was overjoyed, so he ordered that every fifteenth day of the first lunar month in the future make dumplings for the god of fire, and on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, the whole city will hang lanterns and set off fireworks. Because the rice balls made during the Lantern Festival are the best, people call the rice balls the Lantern Festival, and this day is called the Lantern Festival.

The third kind of legend. According to legend, in order to dominate the world, the Jade Emperor sent the Stove God Bodhisattva to stay in the world for a long time to understand the people's feelings, and return to heaven every Wednesday every month.

On the 23rd day of the winter month of the summer calendar one year, the Bodhisattva God of the Stove replied to the Jade Emperor: "The people of the world eat coarse tea and light rice for 365 days a year. If I work hard every day and never rest, I am worried that the common people will be exhausted by excessive fatigue and will not be able to produce, which will inevitably affect their contributions. ”

When the Jade Emperor heard this, he ordered his ministers to discuss good strategies. Tai Bai Xing played: "The emperor can order the ancestor of the Emperor to go down to earth and give the people some medicine, so that they can slowly start to get sick, and they will naturally rest." ”

The Jade Emperor is allowed to play, and the mission of the ancestor of the Buddha is to do so.

On the morning of the eighth day of the first month of the summer calendar, the patriarch of the Buddha secretly threw the madman medicine in the rice pot of the people, and the medicine turned into soybeans, peas, garlic sprouts, tofu and meat grains. After eating it, the people really slowly became "crazy": the women sewed new clothes and embroidered shoes, and the men killed pigs and sheep, and they didn't want to work in the fields. After the twenty-fourth day of the lunar month, the madman had a great deal of medicine. The people invited the east to dinner, and the west to drink.

At noon on the thirtieth day of the lunar month, the people took out all kinds of delicious food, gathered around the table, and the whole family ate and drank. From the beginning of the first month, men, women and children not only eat well, but also wear red and green to play everywhere all day long. Some painted flower faces, beating gongs and drums to parade around the streets; Some invitations bring gifts and visit from all directions.

On the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, the Bodhisattva of the Stove God went to heaven and said: "Oh no, the people are all crazy!" Just eat and play, don't do the same work, how can you get it if it goes on like this?! ”

When the Jade Emperor heard this, he was very surprised, and immediately ordered the ministers to discuss a good policy. Tai Bai Xing played again: "If you want to cure the people's madness, you can make the Medicine King Bodhisattva try." ”

The Jade Emperor quasi-played, that is, ordered the Medicine King Bodhisattva to go down to govern.

On the evening of the 14th day of the first lunar month, the medicine king Bodhisattva turned the people's night meal into glutinous rice balls, which put some sesame seeds, walnuts, sugar and other sobering agents, and the people ate them, and the next morning the madness was all cured, and the family continued to farm and weave as usual, and resumed their usual labor.

And so on and so on, and the habit is formed.

After Ding Zhai told the legend of the three Lantern Festivals, he then changed the conversation, "There are still many legends that cannot be told during the Lantern Festival, but I have to talk about the lantern riddles about the Lantern Festival." The old man will list one or two interesting lantern riddles today to help Yaxing. ”

"As far as the old man knows, the riddle of one of the earliest lantern riddles so far is: the riddle of the grandson of the young woman of Huang Juan: a wonderful word."

"What a mystery!" Huineng couldn't help but clap his hands and praise.

When Ding Zhai saw that someone liked it, he suddenly became a little excited.

I saw him stand up from sitting on the stone slab, put his hands on his waist, raised his head, and said in a straight and round tone, "Another riddle: there is no word (play the name of a Chinese herbal medicine)." Mystery: Angelica dahurica (paper).

After the master of Ding Zhai finished speaking, he said intriguingly: "Lantern riddles, really have a special taste, is an original text art, evolved from the hidden language, because riddles can enlighten wisdom and are interested, so it is very popular in the process of circulation."