The religion practiced by the Han people is mainly Buddhism and Taoism. Folk worship of the gods has shifted from entertaining the gods to self-entertainment, and religion has played a catalytic role to a certain extent. Taoist folk worship godsTaoism was originally developed on the basis of folk beliefs. Although Taoist thinkers integrated Confucian etiquette ideas into their own theoretical system, and performed three kneels and nine bows to the gods, after all, they were from a low background, so the focus was still on the people, and it was up to the people to maintain it. For folk entertainment, not only do they not reject it, but they strongly support it. Because the gods of folk entertainment are basically members of the Taoist ghost and god lineage, and the days of folk entertainment or self-entertainment are also Taoist festivals, so the large-scale lively scene just shows the majesty and prosperity of Taoism. Folk worship of the gods of BuddhismWhy does Buddhism overpower Taoism?Compared with Taoism, Buddhism is much more valuable. In the history of Chinese Buddhism, the "White Horse Sutra" has been widely promoted by Buddhists. Their purpose was not to explain how Buddhism had come to China, but to show the world that they had been personally invited by the emperor. 
Indeed, Buddhism received royal attention as soon as it was introduced to China. However, the purpose of the royal support for Buddhism was not to support the development of Buddhism, but to consolidate its own rule with the help of Buddhism. Therefore, when Buddhism is needed, the royal family will give a big cheer and send gold and silver to cover the temple statue;When you don't need them, give them a cold look. Buddhism understands that in order to survive and thrive, it needs both royal support and the support of ordinary people. If there were not a large number of good men and women from the people, even if there were tall and magnificent temples, they would be left out in the cold. Therefore, they held on to the royal family with one hand, and stretched out to the people with the other, bringing in countless people. Soon, Buddhism overtook the native Taoism. Although in China, Buddhism and Taoism are often mentioned together, but when it comes to queuing, Buddhism always stands at the forefront. Many festivals of Buddhism:Buddhism brought with it its ideological system, its ranks of ghosts and gods, and also its festivals of ghosts and gods. The first day of the first lunar month is the birthday of Maitreya Buddha, February 15 is the day of Nirvana of Shakyamuni, February 19 is the birthday of Guanyin Bodhisattva, February 21 is the birthday of Puxian Bodhisattva, the fourth day of April is the birthday of Manjushri, the eighth day of April is Shakyamuni's birthday, July 15 is Obon, July 30 is the birthday of Jizo Bodhisattva, September 13 is the birthday of Medicine Buddha, November 7 is the birthday of Buddha Mita, and the eighth day of December (Laba) is the day of Buddha's enlightenment. On these days, large and small festivals are held in the temple. However, the only festivals that really interested the Han people and participated in them were the Buddha Bathing Festival on the eighth day of the fourth month, the Bon Festival on July 15, and the Buddha Enlightenment Festival on the eighth day of December. 
The so-called "bathing Buddha" is to bathe the image of Shakyamuni. According to Buddhist scriptures, when Shakyamuni's mother, Lady Maya, visited the Lumbini Garden, she gave birth to Prince Siddhartha (i.e. Shakyamuni) under the Sanssouci tree, which alarmed the two dragon kings, Nanda and Fubo Nanda, who came to spit water and bathe Prince Siddhartha. Later, Buddhists followed this legend to perform a Buddha bathing ceremony on Shakyamuni's birthday. According to Tang Yijing's "South China Sea Return", when the ancient Indian Buddhists bathed in the Buddha, it was particularly lively, on this day, the temple Zhang Shi Baogai, invited the courtesans to play music, and bathed the Buddha in a cheerful atmosphere. The main purpose of the people actively participating in the Buddha Bathing Festival is to be entertained while worshipping the Buddha. 
However, the climax of the Buddha Bathing Festival is not the Buddha Bathing, and the most lively scene is the "Walking Statue". The "walking statue" is to parade the Buddha statue on the street with a richly decorated car. The Buddha Bathing Festival held a statue activity, which was already popular in the Western Regions and the areas where the Han people lived during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. According to the "Biography of Fa Xian", when the Jin monk Fa Xian traveled west to seek the Dharma, he saw the scene of the statue in Khotan (now Hotan, Xinjiang). The car carrying the Buddha statue is more than three feet high, and it is decorated with various treasures, like a car from the city.
Three or four miles of land slowly walked, like a car into the city, the gatehouse lady, the colorful girl scattered the flowers, one after another. This is the case in the Western Regions, and the Central Plains is even more lively. Yang Weizhi's "Luoyang Jialan" recorded the lively scene of the walking statues in the Central Plains. The vast line like a convoy shuttles back and forth, in the city, the canopy is like a cloud, Jinhua reflects the sun, the music shakes the heavens and the earth, the juggling plays open together, the line is like, the line is like, the line is like the show, the juggling is really busy, bustling. ** People who act like activities are satisfied. However, this satisfaction is not through offering a pious heart to the Buddha by bathing in the Buddha statue, but in the process of bathing the Buddha statue. Those monks who are trapped in the rules and precepts all day long can also leave the high-walled compound and dreary halls on this day, no longer practice and meditate monotonously, and go to the scene to experience the joys of the world. 
The eighth day of December is the Buddha's enlightenment festival, which later evolved into the "Laba Festival" of the Han people. In addition to offering sacrifices to the Buddha, this festival is mainly about eating laba porridge. In this way, the original tendency of self-entertainment in folk entertainment activities has developed rapidly under the impetus of religion, and in the later worship activities, there is a "race god" activity based on self-entertainment. [Note]: This is the reading notes of the book "The Magic of Ghosts and Gods - The Belief in Ghosts and Gods of the Han Nation".