道教文化对“太一信仰”的接受与上元节的产生

关于元宵节的起源主要有三种说法：一是源于西汉的“太一”祭祀;二是源于道教的“三官”信仰;三是源于东汉时明帝的燃灯表佛.经过细致考察可知,“元宵节”的前身是“上元节”.道教吸收了上古的“太一”神信仰又糅合了“北斗星崇拜”和“三官”信仰而改造成“上元节”.随着节日娱乐性的增强,才出现元夕节、元宵节的称谓.但是名称无论怎么改变,其内在的“太一”生成万物而崇拜祈祷的主题却一直贯穿到现在.

Acceptance of Tai Yi Belief and the Occurrence of the Lantern Festival based on Taoist Culture

There are three kinds of argument about the origin of the lantern festival. First, it dates back to the worship ceremony of Tai Yi in Xihan Dynasty ; second, it originates from the belief of San Guan of Taoist ; third, it is related with the custom in Donghan Dynasty.