The Lantern Festival

The Lantern Festival is a traditional festival in China. The formation of the Lantern Festival custom has a long process, which is rooted in the ancient folk custom of turning on the lights and praying for blessings. Turning on the lights and praying for blessings usually starts on the 14th night of the first lunar month, and on the 15th night is the ''zheng lantern''. It is also of great significance for the formation of the custom of the Lantern Festival. During the Yongping period of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, in order to promote Buddhism, Emperor Ming of the Han ordered the palace and monasteries to "burn lamps to represent Buddha" on the fifteenth night of the first lunar month. Therefore, the custom of burning lamps on the fifteenth night of the first lunar month has followed the development of Buddhist culture. The expansion of influence and the addition of Taoist culture gradually expanded in China. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Lantern Festival became more and more popular. Emperor Wu of Liang believed in Buddhism, and his palace displayed lights on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. During the Tang Dynasty, the cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries were closer. Buddhism flourished, officials and people generally "lit lanterns to worship Buddha" on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and Buddhist lights spread throughout the people. Since the Tang Dynasty, lighting lanterns on Lantern Festival has become a legal matter.

The fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar calendar is the Lantern Festival, also known as Shangyuan Festival, Yuan Ye, Lantern Festival. The first month is the first month of the lunar calendar. The ancients called the night "Xiao", so the fifteenth day of the first month was called the "Lantern Festival". With the changes of society and the times, the customs and habits of the Lantern Festival have already changed a lot, but it is still a traditional Chinese folk festival. When the Lantern Festival was formed in the early days, it was only called the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the first half of the first lunar month or the moon moon. After the Sui Dynasty, it was called Yuan Xi or Yuan Ye. Influenced by Taoism in the early Tang Dynasty, it was also called Shangyuan, and it was only occasionally called Yuanxiao at the end of the Tang Dynasty. But since the Song Dynasty, it has also been called Dengxi. In the Qing Dynasty, it was also called the Lantern Festival. In foreign countries, Lantern Festival is also known as The Lantern Festival. On the night of the 15th day of the first lunar month, Chinese people are known for a series of traditional folk activities such as viewing lanterns, eating glutinous rice balls, eating Lantern Festival, guessing lantern riddles, and setting off fireworks.