CHINESE LANTERN FESTIVAL
• The Lantern Festival is a
traditional Chinese festival
originated in Qin Dynasty
(221 - 207 BC). It falls on the
first Chinese lunar month
which is called Yuan month
in old times. It is the first night
to see the full moon. Night is
called Xiao in mandarin. So,
the festival is also called
Yuan Xiao Festival.
• The Lantern Festival is also known
as the Chinese Valentine's Day in
the past. In the old times, young
girls were usually not allowed to
go out. The festival was a good
chance for girls going out in the
evening to find love when
watching lanterns. And it was also
a good day for lovers to meet. But
now it has no such meanings in
most part of China. While in Hong
Kong, it is now commercialized as
the Valentine's Day.
ORIGIN AND HISTORY
• There are many origins about the Lantern Festival.
One said that it was originated from the Taoism. It is
called Shangyuan Festival according to the
Daoism. ‘Shang’ refers to the heaven. On the day,
families should worship the Heaven Officer of
Taoism and decorate the house with lanterns to
get safety.
Another said it is related with a Buddhist legend.
According to the legend, the fifteenth day of the
first Chinese lunar month was the day that
Sakyamuni defeated the demons. So to
commemorate the day, lanterns should be lighted.
Since the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220AD), the
custom has been popular. The Emperor Hanmingdi
ordered all the temples and families should light
lanterns on the evening of the day. From that time
on, it has a custom to light lanterns for the festival.
• It is said that in ancient times, there was a beautiful
bird flew down from the heaven to earth. It was killed
by a villager by accident. As the bird was favored by
the Jade Emperor in Heaven, after knowing this, he
got angry and ordered to burn the village and all the
people on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
Can't bear to see this, the daughter of the Jade
Emperor told this message to the villagers. All the
villages were anxious and had no idea after knowing
this. Luckily, an old man had suggested that every
family hang red lanterns, set off fireworks and
firecrackers on the 14th, 15th and 16th day. In this
way, the Jade Emperor may thought the villages had
been on fire and the villagers were burned to death.
On the evening of 15th day, the Jade Emperor saw
the village was ablaze and thought the people had
been died. So, he didn't order to burn the village.
From that time on, people hang lanterns, set fireworks
and firecrackers on the 15th day of the first lunar
month every year to celebrate the victory.
Enjoying the family reunion, appreciating the
bright full moon, watching beautiful lanterns,
guessing lantern riddles, watching fireworks,
performing dragon lantern dance, lion dance and
walking on stilts are the main traditions of the
festival.
Like the Spring Festival, on the day of the Lantern
Festival, all the members will try to go home for a
reunion. In the evening, they usually prepare a
sumptuous dinner. Among them, Yuanxiao is an
indispensable food symbolizing the unity of the
family. They are made of sweet rice flour into sticky
glutinous balls with fillings. The common fillings are
sesame, red-bean and peanut butter paste. In
Southern China, it is called Tang Yuan.
• Lanterns in various sizes and shapes
will be hung on everywhere
including households, shopping malls
and streets. Children like to take a
small lantern to play outside. In the
evening, there are usually lantern
shows in most cities adding the
festival atmosphere to a great
extent. The lanterns are usually in
different forms such as animals,
flowers, people, buildings and more.
The most popular lanterns are those
with the zodiac animal of the year
(2014 is the year of the horse). On
the lanterns, there are usually riddles
written on a piece of paper. People
crowed to guess the riddles and pull
them down once have the answers.
After checking, if the answer is right,
people can get a small gift as a
prize.