The Lantern Festival is the final celebration of the Lunar New Year Festival. It falls on the first full moon of the lunar year and symbolizes the arrival of spring. Every year, people celebrate this festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and during the Lantern Festival there are three activities people do to celebrate: eat tangyuan (sweet glutinous rice balls), view lantern exhibits, and guess lantern riddles. These customs each have their own history, originating from various interesting folktales and cultural traditions, which I will introduce and explain one by one down below.
Historical Origins
The Lantern Festival can be traced back to the Qin Dynasty. During that time, on the fifteenth of the lunar year, people would carry torches into the fields to drive away pests, praying for a bumper harvest in the upcoming year. During the middle of the Han Dynasty, there was an emperor who took the advice from a Taoist priest that performing the sacrifice to the gods on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month was the most ceremonious. The emperor then ordered the whole country to hold these celebrations to the gods with splendid lanterns from dusk till dawn on that day. Additionally, meteor showers often passed over the altars at night, creating a brightly lit scenery full of brilliant lights from the sky and ground. After the end of the Han Dynasty, while the custom of worshiping gods has changed, the tradition of hanging lanterns and decorations on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month continued down to this day. Later in the Tang and Song Dynasties, people paid more attention to the quality and design of the lanterns. Thus, during those Lantern Festivals, the lanterns displayed on the streets had elaborate craftsmanship and exquisite coloring, creating a grand and joyful atmosphere. People during the Song Dynasty had a fondness for elegance and literary pursuits, the tradition of guessing lantern riddles emerged during that era. Riddles were written on rectangular strips of paper and pasted at the bottom of lanterns, and those who solved the riddles were given small prizes. This interesting brain teaser was very popular, and at one point the Lantern Festival festivities during the Song Dynasty lasted for five days, showing the love and importance the people had for this festival. Furthermore, during the Ming Dynasty,
people even spent up to ten days celebrating Lantern Festival festivities. Apart from guessing lantern riddles and viewing lantern displays, people also set off fireworks and watched acrobatics and Chinese opera performances. Children were even allowed to play with colorful lantern carts. But nowadays, as the urban population continues to grow, large celebrations are less likely to be held in order to prevent accidents. Under these concerns for safety, Lantern Festival celebrations are not as lively as they were before. People still hang colorful lanterns in commercial areas to celebrate. Guessing lantern riddles has been mostly relegated to schools, occasionally letting the children feel the festive atmosphere.
Celebratory Foods
Other than the various vibrant activities of the Lantern Festival, the “foodie” Chinese people also have a must-eat dessert—tangyuan. Tangyuan is a type of dessert dumpling made from glutinous rice and is typically filled with black sesame paste. Traditionally, people in the northern regions eat yuanxiao, while those in the southern regions eat tangyuan. Tangyuan and yuanxiao have no difference in taste or appearance; their difference lay in preparation method and name. Southern Chinese people make tangyuan by mixing glutinous rice flour with water to form a rice watery paste, which is then steamed to make a glutinous rice skin. This skin is then filled with a mixture of black sesame, sugar, and lard and then rolled into small balls, to be boiled and served. On the other hand, the northern Chinese yuanxiao involves rolling the sesame filling into small balls, dipping the balls into water, and then putting them in a container of glutinous rice flour. The container is then shaken until the balls are coated, appearing like snowballs. Finally, these coated sesame balls are then boiled and served. To the Chinese people, tangyuan symbolizes "reunion" and "happiness"
because of its round and full shape. Therefore, eating tangyuan during the Lantern Festival signifies people's wish for full and happy days in the future, a smooth life. Nowadays, most urban families prefer to buy the more convenient ready-made frozen tangyuan from supermarkets, while rural areas mostly continue the tradition of making tang yuan at home.
Lovers' Reunion
Not only is the Lantern Festival a traditional holiday celebrated by the whole country, but also a day for lovers to meet. In ancient China, due to strict feudal gender roles, men and women were forbidden to
meet in private, and even if they were lovers. However, on the Lantern Festival, it was possible for lovers to meet, relieving the pain of longing. However, as time changes, Chinese people now generally consider another traditional festival, the Qixi Festival, as the Chinese Valentine's Day. On that day, many couples plan special dates or outings, embracing the romantic atmosphere.
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