Ming-Ai (London) Institute
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
A. Money
B. Love
C. Authority
D. Peace
E. Family
F. Friends
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
Can’t say it’s the MOST
IMPORTANT, but we
can’t live without it.
A love story for this day is about the 7th
daughter was forced to move to the star Vega
and the cowherd moved to the star Altair. They
are allowed to meet only once a year on the
day of 7th day of 7th lunar month. Because of
such a romantic story behind, people tend to
think that the Chinese Valentine’s day is on
the 7th of the 7th lunar month.
However, some people don’t usually
celebrate the Chinese Valentine’s Day
that in most area of China, as they think
that the Chinese Valentine’s Day should
be on the same day as the lantern
festival.
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
Taiyi, the God of Heaven
Tianguan, the Taoist god
Control the destiny of the
human world
Decided when to inflict drought,
storms, famine or pestilence upon
human beings
Responsible for good fortune
His birthday falls on the 15th day of the first
lunar month
Since Qinshihuang time
All subsequent emperors ordered
splendid ceremonies each year
Emperors asked Taiyi of favourable weather and
good health to him and his people
Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty made it as one
of the most important celebrations and would last
throughout the night
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
Tianguan likes all types of
entertainment
The followers prepare
various kinds of activities on
his birthday
People pray for
good fortune
Chinese Lantern Festival is one of the most
popular festivals being celebrated in China.
This is also called Yuan Xiao Festival because
the 15th day is the first night to see a full moon.
On the lantern festival, people eat
Yuan Xiao; make their own
lanterns, enjoy the amazing
glowing and colourful lantern
parades, have lantern festival
parties, play guess the lantern
riddles and matchmakers, etc.
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
1.
Today, the displaying of lanterns is still a big event on the
15th day of the first lunar month throughout China.
2.
In the Song Dynasty, the festival was celebrated for five
days and the activities began to spread to many of the big
cities in China.
3.
The largest Lantern Festival celebration took place in the
early part of the 15th century.
4.
By the beginning of the Tang Dynasty in the 7th century, the
lantern displays would last three days.
5.
During Sui Dynasty in the 6th century, Emperor Yangdi
invited envoys from other countries to China to see the
colourful lighted lanterns and enjoy the gala performances.
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
1.
2.
During Sui Dynasty in the 6th century,
Emperor Yangdi invited envoys from other
countries to China to see the colourful
lighted lanterns and enjoy the gala
performances.
By the beginning of the Tang Dynasty in the
7th century, the lantern displays would last
three
3. In the Song Dynasty, the festival
wasdays.
celebrated for five days
and the activities began to spread to many of the big cities in
China.
4. The largest Lantern Festival celebration took place in the early
part of the 15th century.
5. Today, the displaying of lanterns is still a big event on the 15th
day of the first lunar month throughout China.
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
Step 3
Step 1
Prepare
Yuanxiao
Step 2
Make lanterns from
red construction
paper and decorate
them with pictures,
sequence or riddles
Step 4
Having lantern festival
party. Provide space for
people to make their
own lanterns. Set off
firecrackers and serve
traditional Chinese
food.
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
Step 5
Play Guess the
Lantern Riddle
Attend Chinese Lantern
Festival activities
sponsored by local
Chinese Community.
They often include
parades, dances,
acrobatics and food. Also,
many larger cities hold
glowing lantern parades!
Step 6
Matchmaker! Lantern
Festival is also considered
to be Chinese Valentine’s
Day!
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
1.
When you cry, she cries. When you laugh, she laughs.
When you ask her who she is, She says, “Who are you?”
(mirror)
2.
It looks green, it opens red.
What you eat is red, but what you spit out is black.
(fruit: watermelon)
3.
Branches grow on its head; it wears spotted clothes.
Not a donkey of a horse, it runs like the wind.
(animal: deer)
4.
People ride this horse that never eats grass.
(vehicle: bicycle)
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
The history of Yuan Xiao:
Besides entertainment and beautiful lanterns,
another important part of this festival is eating
small dumpling balls made of glutinous rice flour. It
is said that the custom of eating Yuan Xiao
originated during the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the
fourth century, then became popular during the
Tang and Song periods.
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
As we know that people eat special food like Yuan Xiao in the
Chinese Lantern Festival. Yuan Xiao can sometimes be called as
Tang Yuan. People normally think that they are the same, but from
the research, we can see that, Yuan Xiao is a different food eaten by
people from northern China. They are very small and normally don’t
have fillings.
Compare to Yuan Xiao, Tang Yuan is a lot bigger and have
varieties of fillings, and eaten by people who live in southern China
in Lantern Festival.
Yuan Xiao and Tang Yuan all mean being together; however, they
show that there’s still a huge difference of food concept among
different places in one country.
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
The way to make Yuan Xiao also varies between northern and southern China.
Southern China:
1.
Shape the dough of rice flour into balls.
2.
Make a hole of the dough and insert fillings.
3.
Close the hole and smooth out the dumpling by rolling it between your hands.
Northern China:
1.
Sweet or non-meat stuffing is used as ingredients.
2.
The fillings are pressed into hardened cores.
3.
They are then dipped lightly in water.
4.
They are rolled in a flat basket containing dry glutinous rice flour.
5.
A layer of the flour sticks to the filling.
6.
Repeat the process until the dumpling is the desired size.
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
1.
The traditional culture of celebrating Chinese Lantern
Festival has been maintained.
WHY:
This is very important for a country, as people shouldn’t
forget
what has been passed on by ancestors.
2.
Lantern productions have been developed and the
celebrations also help and facilitate the economic
development.
HOW:
More people buy lanterns from shops and due to the
competition between lantern productions, they will
develop many special lanterns to have more business
opportunity and satisfy the majority group of people. This
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London)
Institute
can
also boost the economy at the same time.
1.
Lantern Festival has become more
commercialised.
HOW:
People used to make their lanterns, but now, more
people tend to buy them from shops.
2.
It has led to an increase of deforestation and use of
crude oil.
WHY:
People don’t usually recycle the lanterns that have
been used and most of them are made of paper and
plastics now.
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
1.
Recycle as much lanterns as possible.
WHY:
Recycling can reduce the deforestations and the crude oil used to make them. Also, less
non-biodegradable materials are dumped in to the environment. This helps to preserve
the environment and prevent permanent damages.
2.
Start the ceremony earlier and make best use of sunlight.
HOW:
Less electricity will be wasted during the performances. We can also use lower watts
bulbs during the celebration, more energy can be saved.
3.
Use some phosphorescent paints to save energy.
HOW:
They absorb energy from the sun during the day and can release it in form of light
energy at night.
Fewer lanterns are required and more resource can be saved. It also much safer than
some radioactive paints which are designed to glow in the dark.
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
In ancient Rome, February 14th was the day for
worshipping the Goddess Juno, the consort of
Jupiter and Queen of the Roman pantheon and
associated with the Greek Goddess Hera, wife of
Zeus.
The sacred marriage was held in the month of
Gamelion- mid January to mid February. February
15th is the beginning of the Roman festival of
Lupercalia. Two youths used to run a course round
the Palatine with strips of goat-hide in their hands. A
blow from one of these thongs was believed to
produce fertility in women.
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II, Rome was
involved in many bloody and unpopular military
campaigns. The emperor believed the reason was
roman men did not want to leave their loves or
families. So he cancelled all marriages and
engagements in Rome.
Valentine, Christian priest came to defend love in the
empire and began to secretly marry couples despite
the emperor’s orders. When Emperor Claudius was
informed of these ceremonies, Valentine was sent to
prison where he remained until his death on
February 14th in the year 270. When Emperor
Claudius was informed of these ceremonies, Valentine
was sent to prison where he remained until his death
on February 14th in the year 270.
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
1.
Looking for dates
One of the most popular customs of Valentine’s Day observed
worldwide is to go on a date with sweetheart. It’s originated
from the popular English belief that birds chose their
partners on Feb. 14th, for this reason, Valentine’s Day was
called “the birds’ ‘wedding day’” in parts of Sussex.
2.
Exchanging notes
One of the most commonly observed Valentine’s Day customs is
the exchange of love notes. People used to exchange
handwritten notes until the 19th century, the hand written
notes was replaced by greeting card and eventually become
the Valentine’s cards now.
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
3.
Wishing ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’ to all
we love
In the beginning, Valentine’s Day was
associated with romantic couples only;
but now the festival is seen in much
larger perspective. The idea behind this
tradition is to celebrate love, get love and
give love to everyone around us.
4.
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
Exchanging gifts
There exists a strong tradition of indulging
one’s beloved with gifts of love. Most
popular gifts are roses, chocolates and
teddy bears. Valentine’s Day is
increasingly being regarded as the
festival that celebrates love between two
individuals and not just lovers.
5.
An occasion to dine and wine
The other most traditional way to celebrate
Valentine’s Day is to go for romantic candlelight
dinners with one’s Valentine. Also, the other
most emerging tradition is to participate in
Valentine’s Day balls and dance parties.
6.
Valentine’s Day celebrations in schools
In some countries, there is a tradition to organize
Valentine’s Day classroom parties in schools. In
such parties, children exchange gifts and cards
with friends.
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
Valentine’s Day shouldn’t be limited to lovers only.
WHY:
From the origin, Valentine sacrificed himself for
other people. His scarification is a way he showed
the world his love. It also tells us that love is
unlimited and shouldn’t be narrowed by people’s
thought. Love can be broader than what people
think of.
Love can be shown in varied ways: we love our earth and we protect it,
parents love their children and do what ever it takes to make sure their
children’s safeties. They are all ways to show that we care and we love;
therefore, Valentine’s Day shouldn’t only for couples, as it can be a special
day for everyone to express emotions to the one they care and they love.
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
1.
Valentine’s Day give out lots of business opportunities.
HOW:
People usually celebrate the festival by sending each other
presents, cards, chocolates and teddy bears. These develop
the productions.
2.
It can boost the world economy.
HOW:
All kinds of events and celebrations on Valentine’s Day
associate with money. More people celebrate the festivals,
more money shops and restaurants make.
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
1.
There will be an increase of deforestation.
HOW:
If there’s not enough paper for the card selling, more trees will be cut
down.
2.
Extinction of some specific species.
HOW:
As the amount of trees decreases, less photosynthesis will take place,
this will eventually lead to the extinction of some species.
3.
Money, energy and resources wasting.
WHY:
Buying different presents every year is a waste of money and
resources.
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
1.
Sustainable development should be carried out.
HOW:
Plant more trees in order to keep up with the supply of
paper.
2.
Use E-cards to express love to others.
WHY:
Less paper is needed to make cards therefore less
deforestation.
More convenient and eco-friendly and they don’t produce
any atmospheric pollution.
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
Similarities
Differences
1. Both these festivals have
become commercialised due to
world development.
1. The transformation of lantern
festival is relatively slow compare
to that of the Valentine’s Day.
2. Nowadays, most people
celebrate these festivals without
any understanding of the origins.
2. There’s a huge difference
between the origins of these two
festivals. Lantern festival is
originated from legends whereas
Valentine’s Day is from real
historical event happened in
ancient Rome.
3. Both festivals can be celebrated
by lovers to exchange their
feelings to each other.
4. Both of the festivals lead to
some environmental problems in
some aspects.
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
3. These two festivals have
completely different celebrations.
Chines
e Ghost
Festiva
l
Valentine’s Day
(About 1000-500BC)
(About 563-483 BC)
(About 200-299 AD)
Halloween
© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute
(About 581-618 AD)
Chines
e
Lanter
n
Festiva
l
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© 2010 Ming-Ai (London) Institute