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Xiayuan Festival

Also known as: Xiayuan Jie, Xiayuan Day, Xià yuán jié

Definition

Xiayuan is the last of the three Sanyuan observances, held on the fifteenth day of the tenth lunar month. Daoist tradition honours the Water Official on this date, associating the festival with relief from adversity as well as remembrance of the deceased.

Names and variants

Simplified
下元节
Traditional
下元節
Other names
Xia Yuan Festival, Xiayuan Jie, Xiayuan Day
Pinyin
Xià yuán jié
English
Xiayuan Festival

Overview

The date is observed as the Water Official's sacred birthday. Within the threefold calendar, it complements the Heavenly Official's Shangyuan observance and the Earthly Official's Zhongyuan observance, rather than naming a separate group of deities.

The source describes temple ceremonies, remembrance of ancestors and local celebrations honouring deities. These settings connect the festival with both communal religious life and household remembrance, alongside its association with the Water Official's relief of adversity.

Other observances for the dead also occur in the tenth lunar month, including the first-day occasion known as Hanyi. That date is different from Xiayuan's fifteenth day. Similar concerns and shifts in local custom should not be mistaken for one universally interchangeable festival date.

References

  1. [1]
    Dictionary of Daoism