Lantern Festival

The Lantern Festival or Yuan Xiao Festival (Traditional Chinese: 元宵節, Simplified Chinese: 元宵节, Pinyin: Yuánxiāojié or Traditional Chinese: 上元節, Simplified Chinese: 上元节, Pinyin: Shàngyuánjié; Vietnamese: Tết Nguyên tiêu) is a Chinese festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the Chinese calendar. It is not to be confused with the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is also sometimes known as the "Lantern Festival" in locations such as Singapore and Malaysia. During the Lantern Festival, children go out at night to temples carrying paper lantern]s (Traditional Chinese: 兔子燈, Simplified Chinese: 兔子灯, Pinyin: ùzidēng) and solve riddles on the lanterns (Traditional Chinese: 猜燈謎, Simplified Chinese: 猜灯谜 Pinyin: cāidēngmí). It officially ends the Chinese New Year.
In ancient times, the lanterns were fairly simple, for only the emperor and noblemen had large ornate ones; in modern times, lanterns have been embellished with many complex designs. For example, lanterns are now often made in shapes of animals.
The Lantern Festival is also known as the Little New Year since it marks the end of the series of celebrations starting from the Chinese New Year.
In some regions it is considered to be the Chinese equivalent of Valentine's Day.
==History==
The first lunar month is called yuan month and in ancient times people called night xiao. The fifteenth day is the first night to see a full moon. So the day is also called Yuan Xiao Festival in China. According to the Chinese tradition, at the very beginning of a new year, when there is a bright full moon hanging in the sky, there should be thousands of colorful lanterns hung out for people to appreciate. At this time, people will try to solve the puzzles on the lanterns and eat yuanxiao (元宵 glutinous rice balls) and get all their families united in the joyful atmosphere.
===Origin legends===
There are many different beliefs about the origin of the Lantern Festival. However, it is certain that it had something to do with celebrating and cultivating positive relationships between people, families, nature and the higher beings they believed were responsible for bringing or returning the light each year.
One legend tells us that it was a time to worship Taiyi, the God of Heaven in ancient times. The belief was that the God of Heaven 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 Qinshihuang, the first emperor to unite 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. Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty directed special attention to this event. In 104 BCE, he proclaimed it as one of the most important celebrations and the ceremony would last throughout the night.
Another legend associates the Lantern Festival with Taoism. Tianguan is the Taoist god responsible for good fortune. His birthday falls on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. It is said that Tianguan likes all types of entertainment, so followers prepare various kinds of activities during which they pray for good fortune.
Yet another common legend dealing with the origins of the Lantern Festival speaks of a beautiful bird that flew down to earth from heaven, which was hunted and killed by some villagers. This angered the Jade Emperor in Heaven because the bird was his favorite one. Therefore, he planned a storm of fire to destroy the village on the fifteenth lunar day. The Jade Emperor's daughter heard of this plan, and warned the villagers of her father's plan to destroy their village. The village was in turmoil because nobody knew how they should escape their imminent destruction. However, a wise man from another village suggested that every family should hang red lanterns around their houses, set up bonfires on the streets, and explode firecrackers on the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth lunar days. This would give the village the appearance of being on fire to the Jade Emperor. On the fifteenth lunar day, troops sent down from heaven whose mission was to destroy the village saw that the village was already ablaze, and returned to heaven to report to the Jade Emperor. Satisfied, the Jade Emperor decided not to burn down the village. From that day on, people celebrate the anniversary on the fifteenth lunar day every year by carrying red lanterns on the streets and exploding firecrackers and fireworks.
Another legend about the origin of Lantern Festival involves a maid named Yuan-Xiao. In the Han Dynasty, Mr. Eastern was a favorite advisor 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. Mr. Eastern stopped her and asked why. She said her name was Yuan-Xiao, she was a maid in the emperor's palace and she never had the chance to see her family after she started working there.If she could not have the chance to show her filial piety, as Confucianism commands, in this life, she would rather die. Mr. Eastern promised to find a way for her to reunite with her family. Mr. Eastern 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 every one got the same prediction - a calamitous fire on the fifteenth lunar day. The rumor spread quickly. Everyone was worried about the future and asked Mr. Eastern for help. Mr. Eastern said, that on the thirteenth lunar day, the God of Fire would send a fairy in red on a black horse to burn down the city and that day people should ask for her mercy On that day, Yuan-Xiao pretended to be the red fairy. When people asked for her help, she said that she had a decree from the God of Fire that should be taken to the emperor. After she left, people went to the palace to show the emperor the decree which stated that the capital city would burn down. The emperor asked Mr. Eastern for advice, Mr. Eastern said, that the God of Fire liked to eat tangyuan (sweet dumpling). On the fifteenth lunar day, Yuan-Xiao should make tangyuan and the emperor should order every house to prepare tangyuan to worship the God of Fire at the same time. Also,every house in the city should hang red lantern and explode fire crackers. Lastly, everyone in the palace and people outside the city should carry their lanterns on the street to watch the lantern decoration and fireworks. The Jade Emperor would be deceived. Then everyone could avoid the fire The emperor happily followed the plan. Lanterns were everywhere in the capital city on the night of the fifteenth lunar day. People were walking on the street. Fire crackers kept making lots of noise. It looked like the entire city was on fire. Yuan-Xiao's parents went into the palace to watch the lantern decorations and were reunited with their daughter. The emperor decreed that people should do the same thing every year. Since Yuan-Xiao cooked the best tanyuan, people called the day Yuan-Xiao Festival.
===Early practices===
Young people were chaperoned in the streets in hopes of finding love. 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.
Those who do not carry lanterns often enjoy watching informal lantern parades. In addition to eating tangyuan, another popular activity at this festival is guessing lantern riddles (which became part of the festival during the Tang Dynasty), which often contain messages of good fortune, family reunion, abundant harvest, prosperity and love.
===6th century and afterwards===
Until the Sui Dynasty in the sixth century, Emperor Yangdi invited envoys from other countries to China to see the colorful lighted lanterns and enjoy the gala performances.
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.
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. Colorful glass and even jade were used to make lanterns, with figures from folk tales painted on the lanterns.
However, the largest Lantern Festival celebration took place in the early part of the 15th century. The festivities continued for ten days. Emperor Chengzu had the downtown area set aside as a center for displaying the lanterns. Even today, there is a place in Beijing called Dengshikou. In Chinese, deng means lantern and shi is market. The area became a market where lanterns were sold during the day. In the evening, the local people would go there to see the beautiful lighted lanterns on display.
Today, the displaying of lanterns is still a major event on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month throughout China. Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, for example, holds a lantern fair each year in Culture Park. Many new designs attract large numbers of visitors. The most eye-catching lantern is the Dragon Pole. This is a lantern in the shape of a golden dragon, spiraling up a 27-meter-high pole, spewing fireworks from its mouth. Cities such as Hangzhou and Shanghai have adopted electric and neon lanterns, which can often be seen beside their traditional paper or wooden counterparts.
==References==
http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/LanternFestival.htm
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