Lantern Festival 15 Zhēngyuè

During the Lantern Festival, children go out at night with paper lanterns and solve riddles about lanterns (Traditional Chinese: 猜燈謎; Simplified Chinese: 猜灯谜). In ancient times, lanterns were quite simple, and only the emperor and nobles had large, ornate ones. In modern times, lanterns have been decorated with many intricate designs.

For example, lanterns are now often made in the shape of animals. Lanterns can symbolize people letting go of their past and gaining new ones, which they will leave behind next year. Lanterns are almost always red to symbolize good fortune.

There are several beliefs about the origins of the Lantern Festival. However, its roots date back more than 2,000 years and are generally linked to the reign of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, during the period when Buddhism was flourishing in China. Emperor Ming, a supporter of Buddhism, noticed that Buddhist monks were lighting lanterns in temples on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. As a result, he ordered all homes, temples, and the imperial palace to light lanterns that evening. From then on, it became a folk custom.

Another likely origin is the celebration of "the fading darkness of winter" and the community's ability to "move at night with artificial light," namely lanterns. During the Han Dynasty, the festival was linked to Ti Yin, the deity of the North Star.

There is a legend which says that it was a time to worship Taiyi, the God of Heaven in ancient times. The belief was that Taiyi controlled the destiny of the human world. He had sixteen dragons at his command and he decided when to inflict drought, storms, famine, or plague on human beings. Beginning with Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, all emperors ordered splendid ceremonies every year. The emperor would ask Taiyi to bring favorable weather and good health to him and his people.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty paid special attention to this event. In 104 BCE, he proclaimed it one of the most important celebrations, and the ceremony would last all night.

Another legend associates the Lantern Festival with Taoism. Tianguan is the Taoist deity responsible for good fortune. His birthday falls on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Tianguan is said to enjoy all kinds of entertainment, so followers organize various activities during which they pray for good fortune.

Another legend associates the Lantern Festival with an ancient warrior named Lan Moon, who led a rebellion against a tyrannical king in ancient China. He was killed during the capture of the city, and the successful rebels commemorated the festival in his name.

Another common legend about the origins of the Lantern Festival tells of a beautiful crane that flew to earth from the sky. After landing on earth, it was chased and killed by villagers. This angered the Jade Emperor in heaven because the crane was his favorite. Thus, he planned a firestorm to destroy the village on the fifteenth lunar day.

The Jade Emperor's daughter warned the townspeople of her father's plan to destroy their village. The village was in turmoil as no one knew how to escape its impending destruction. However, a wise man from another village suggested that each family hang red lanterns around their homes, light bonfires in the streets, and set off firecrackers on the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth lunar days. This would make the village appear to the Jade Emperor to be on fire.

On the fifteenth lunar day, troops sent from heaven whose mission was to destroy the village saw that it was already on fire and returned to heaven to report to the Jade Emperor. Satisfied, the Jade Emperor decided not to burn the village down. From that day on, people celebrated the anniversary every year on the fifteenth lunar day by carrying lanterns through the streets and setting off firecrackers and fireworks.

Another legend about the origins of the Lantern Festival involves a maid named Yuan-Xiao. During the Han Dynasty, Dongfang Shuo was a favorite advisor to the emperor. One winter day, he went to the garden and heard a little girl crying and about 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 she had never had the opportunity to see her family since she began working there. If she couldn't 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 booth on the street. Because of his reputation, many people asked for their fortunes, but everyone received the same prediction: a calamitous fire on the fifteenth lunar day. The rumor spread quickly.

Everyone was worried about the future, so they asked Dongfang Shuo for help. Dongfang Shuo said that on the thirteenth lunar day, the Fire God would send a fairy in red on a black horse to burn down the city. When people saw the fairy, they were to ask for her mercy. That day, Yuan-Xiao pretended to be the Red Fairy. When people asked for her help, she said she had a copy of a decree from the Fire God that was to be taken to the emperor.

After his departure, people went to the palace to show the emperor the decree that the capital would burn on the 15th. When the emperor asked Dongfang Shuo for advice, the latter told him that the fire god liked to eat tangyuan (sweet dumplings). Yuan-Xiao must cook tangyuan on the fifteenth lunar day, and the emperor must order every household to prepare tangyuan to worship the fire god at the same time.

In addition, every house in the city should hang a red lantern and set off firecrackers. Finally, everyone in the palace and outside the city should carry their lanterns into the street to watch the lantern decorations and fireworks. The Jade Emperor would be deceived, and everyone would avoid the disastrous fire.

The emperor happily followed the plan. Lanterns were everywhere in the capital on the night of the fifteenth lunar day, and people walked down the street, with loud firecrackers. It was as if the whole city was on fire. Yuan Xiao's parents entered the palace to look at 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 tangyuan, people called the day the Yuan Xiao Festival.