Temple fair, also known as “temple market” or “festival venue”. It is a Chinese folk religion and custom at the time of the year. It is usually held in the Lunar New Year, the Yuanxiao (Filled round balls made of glutinous rice-flour for Lantern Festival) Festival, the Second Dragon Festival in February and other festivals. It is also one of the forms of market trade in China, and its formation and development are related to religious activities in temples. It is held on festivals or designated dates in temples and is often located inside or near temples. Temple fairs are popular throughout the country.
Play and have fun
Ancient style
At the temple fair, there are many folk activities such as touching the stone monkey and playing the money eye at the Wofeng Bridge. Under the curved stone carving inside the gate of Baiyun Temple, there is a relief of a stone monkey. The common people believe that touching the stone monkey can ward off illness, eliminate disasters, and prolong life, so they compete to touch it; There is a large copper coin hanging in the bridge hole under the Wofeng Bridge. There is a small copper bell in the hole of the coin, with the words “Bell rings for good fortune” written on it. If you can insert a coin into the copper bell, you can achieve your dreams. These two are the most lively activities at the temple fair.
modern final
With the changes of the times, ancient temple fairs have also added many new contents, such as negotiating business during temple fairs, but showcasing folk customs has always been the main feature of temple fairs. The content includes lion dance, traditional ethnic flower festivals, modern dance, Beijing folk character modeling, traditional commercial “cover up” exhibitions, old Beijing old photo exhibitions, folk handicraft exhibitions, special book markets, and special performances for Beijing opera, martial arts, acrobatics, etc. The temple fair integrates tourism, leisure and entertainment, shopping and catering, and has distinctive traditional ethnic characteristics.
Le Si Temple Fair
Temple fair culture is a part of China’s national popular culture, which is an extremely complex, ancient, and fresh social and cultural phenomenon. It is both religious and secular, fully reflecting the ideological consciousness, values, behavioral patterns, and psychological state formed by the long-term accumulation of farmers. It has been passed down, inherited, and developed from generation to generation, enduring for a long time and persisting despite repeated prohibitions. With the implementation of reform and opening up, as well as ethnic and religious policies, temple fairs have emerged in urban and rural areas, with considerable scale and worth studying. The cultural connotation of temple fairs reflects primitive beliefs, folk beliefs, and religious beliefs. The most essential is to pray for life and health, and the most fundamental value orientation is to “promote filial piety and goodness, eliminate disasters and avoid evil.
