The Lantern Festival, also known as the Shangyuan Festival or the Little New Year, has a rich tradition of customs in both southern and northern China. Here are some of the main differences in Lantern Festival customs between the north and the south:
Northern Customs: **
1.*Eat Lantern Festival**: It is popular in the northern region to eat Lantern Festival in the Lantern Festival, which is a ball food made by dipping the filling in water and rolling it in glutinous rice flour and wrapping it layer by layer, meaning reunion.
2.*Visit the temple fair**: Many places in the north have the tradition of holding large-scale temple fairs, where people can watch various handicrafts, taste snacks, and participate in folk entertainment activities.
3.*Lion Dance and Yangge Twisting**: During the Northern Lantern Festival, there will be lively lion dance performances and folk dance activities such as Yangge twisting.
4.*Lanterns, riddles**: The north also retains the customs of hanging lanterns, viewing lanterns and guessing lantern riddles, especially the large-scale lantern will be very spectacular.
Southern Customs: **
1.*Eat glutinous rice balls**: The southern part of the country is accustomed to eat tangyuan during the Lantern Festival, and the practice of tangyuan is different from the Lantern Festival, which is directly wrapped in water and glutinous rice flour and rolled into a circle, symbolizing family harmony and reunion.
2.*Putting Sky Lanterns Kong Ming Lanterns**: Some areas in the south have the custom of flying sky lanterns (also known as Kong Ming lanterns) to place hopes and blessings.
3.*Dragon Lantern Dance**: Dragon Lantern Dance will be held in many places in the south to pray for smooth weather and peace in the new year.
4.*Lanterns, riddles**: Like the north, there are also activities in the south to make exquisite lanterns, enjoy lanterns and guess lantern riddles, which are grand in scale and in various forms.
5.*Different salty and sweet tastes**: In addition to the common sweet fillings, there are also salty flavors such as meat filling.
In general, although the way the Lantern Festival is celebrated in the north and south is different, it reflects people's yearning for a better life in the new year and their expectations for reunion and harmony. At the same time, with the deepening of cultural exchanges, many originally regional customs are gradually merging, and people everywhere can experience a variety of celebrations.