thumb|Statues of mother and daughter celebrating the Lantern Festival. [[Xi'an, Shaanxi province]]
The Lantern Festival () is a Chinese traditional festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunisolar Chinese calendar, during the full moon. Usually falling in February or early March on the Gregorian calendar, it marks the final day of the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations. As early as the Western Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 25), it had become a festival with great significance.
During the Lantern Festival, children go out at night carrying paper lanterns and solving riddles written on them (). In ancient times, lanterns were fairly simple, and only the emperor and noblemen had large, ornate ones. In modern times, lanterns have been embellished with intricate designs. which they will let go of the next year. The lanterns are almost always red to symbolize good fortune.
The festival acts as an Uposatha day on the Chinese calendar. It should not be confused with the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is sometimes also known as the "Lantern Festival" in locations such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Lantern Festivals have also become popular in Western countries, such as the Water Lantern Festival held in multiple locations in the United States.
Origin
There are several beliefs about the origin of the Lantern Festival. However, its roots trace back more than 2,000 years and is popularly linked to the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han dynasty. Emperor Ming, an advocate of Buddhism, noticed Buddhist monks would light lanterns in temples on the fifteenth day of the first lunisolar month. As a result, he ordered all households, temples and the imperial palace to light lanterns on that evening. From there it developed into a folk custom. Another likely origin is the celebration of "the declining darkness of winter" and community's ability to "move about at night with human-made light," namely, lanterns. During the Han dynasty, the festival was connected to Ti Yin, the deity of the North Star. The belief was that Taiyi controlled the destiny of the human world. He had sixteen dragons at his beck and call and he decided when to inflict drought, storms, famine or pestilence upon human beings. Beginning with Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, all the emperors ordered splendid ceremonies each year. The emperor would ask Taiyi to bring favorable weather and good health to him and his people.
Another legend associates with the Lantern Festival with an ancient warrior named Lan Moon, who led a rebellion against the tyrannical king in ancient China. He was killed in the storming of the city and the successful rebels commemorated the festival in his name.
Another legend about the origins of Lantern Festival involves a maid named Yuan-Xiao. In the Han dynasty, Dongfang Shuo was a favorite adviser of the emperor. One winter day, he went to the garden and heard a little girl crying and getting ready to jump into a well to commit suicide. Shuo stopped her and asked why. She said she was Yuan-Xiao, a maid in the emperor's palace and that she never had a chance to see her family since she started working there. If she could not have the chance to show her filial piety in this life, she would rather die. Shuo promised to find a way to reunite her with her family. Shuo left the palace and set up a fortune-telling stall on the street. Due to his reputation, many people asked for their fortunes to be told but everyone got the same prediction – a calamitous fire on the fifteenth lunisolar day. The rumor spread quickly. Matchmakers acted busily in hopes of pairing couples. The brightest lanterns were symbolic of good luck and hope. As time has passed, the festival no longer has such implications in most of mainland China, Taiwan, or Hong Kong.
Tangyuan or Yuanxiao
Eaten during the Lantern Festival, tangyuan '湯圓' (Southern China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia) or yuanxiao '元宵' (Northern China) is a glutinous rice ball typically filled with sweet red bean paste, sesame paste, or peanut butter. Chinese people believe that the round shape of the balls and the bowls in which they are served symbolize family togetherness, and that eating tangyuan or yuanxiao may bring the family harmony, happiness and luck in the new year.
By the beginning of the Tang dynasty in the seventh century, the lantern displays would last three days. The emperor also lifted the curfew, allowing the people to enjoy the festive lanterns day and night. It is not difficult to find Chinese poems which describe this happy scene. a tradition which dates back to the Song dynasty.
Festivities
Lion dance (), walking on stilts (), riddle games (), and dragon dances () are very popular activities during the festival day and the days following.
The lantern riddle, according to Japanese scholars, became popular as early as the Northern Song dynasty (960–1126). The lantern riddles are done by a host blocking one side of the lantern and pasting riddles on the remaining three sides of the lanterns. Participants will guess the blocked side by solving the riddles, which is called "breaking/solving lantern riddles". The theme of riddles can be drawn from classics, biographies, poetry, the various philosophers' well-known stories and novels, proverbs, (the names of) all kinds of birds, animals, and insects, as well as flowers, grasses, vegetables, and herbs. Participants can tear off the riddle of the lantern and let the host verify their answers. Those who answer the correct answer can get a "riddle reward", including ink, paper, writing brushes, ink slabs, fans, perfumed sachets, fruit, or eatables.
See also
- Daeboreum, the Korean festival on the same day
- Sagichō Fire Festival, the Japanese (Shintoist) festival held in January
- Bon Festival, the Japanese Buddhist festival held in August
- Festival of Lights (disambiguation), a list of various festivals associated with light
- 15th of Shevat, the New Year for Trees in the Hebrew calendar
- Giant Lantern Festival, the Filipino annual festival for Christmas held in mid-December in the City of San Fernando in the Philippines