Lantern Festival 2018

 

Began over 2000 years ago, the festival has developed many meanings. It celebrates family reunions and society. It features ancient spiritual traditions. Some also call this the “true” Chinese Valentine’s Day.

The many activities include moon gazing, lighting lanterns, riddles, lion dances and eating rice balls. According to the lunar calendar, the festival takes place on January 15. The date of the Lantern Festival of 2018 is March 2nd.

Cultural Significance of the Lantern Festival

 The Spring Festival is a time reserved for families. There is the reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve, visits (拜年—bài nián) to in-laws on the 2nd day and neighbors after that. Stores reopen on the 5th and society basically goes back to normal.

But on the 15th, everyone—regardless of age or gender—go out onto the streets to celebrate. Though the Lantern Festival symbolizes reunions (more on that later), it’s also a time of socializing and freedom.
The Chinese New Year holiday comes to its climax with the Yuan Xiao (元宵节—yuán xiāo jié), or Lantern Festival.

 

In Ancient China, women usually weren’t allowed out the house. But on this night, they can stroll freely, lighting lanterns, playing games and interacting with men. The wild and romantic stories are why some say the Lantern Festival is the true Chinese Valentine’s Day, rather than Qixi (七夕).

On a more serious side, the Lantern Festival also has religious aspects. It was important in ancient Chinese paganism, and also modern day Buddhism and ethnic minority cultures.

Origins and Histories

The general consensus is that the festival began more than 2000 years ago in the Western Han Dynasty.

Emperor Wu (汉武帝—hàn wǔ dì) designated this day for worship rituals for Taiyi (太一神—tài yī shén), one of the universe’s sovereigns. Intense power play and unrest came after his reign. The new emperor was Emperor Wen (汉文帝—hàn wén dì). To celebrate the return of peace, he made the 15th a national holiday. Every household would light candles and lanterns. It became known as 闹元宵(nào yuán xiāo). “Nao” can be interpreted as having fun, or going wild with excitement.

 

Another legend about the origins of Lantern Festival involves a maid named Yuan-Xiao. In Han Dynasty, a favorite adviser of the emperor named Dongfang Shuo (东方朔). One day, he heard a maid crying and attempt to jump into a well to commit suicide. Shuo stopped her and asked why. She said her name 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 came to met the emperor and said that according to his fortune-telling, a calamitous fire will happen on the fifteenth lunar day. Due to his reputation, the emperor believed him and ask for his suggestion.

Shuo said that the God of Fire liked to eat tangyuan (sweet dumplings), people should 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 decorations and fireworks. It looked like the entire city was on fire.

 

The emperor followed the plan and so Yuan-Xiao got the chance to meet her parents on that day. The emperor decreed that people should do the same thing every year.

 

Another saying that Emperor Ming of the later Eastern Han was a devout Buddhist. He heard that on the 15th, monks would light candles for the Buddha. He ordered the palace and temples to light candles, and for the citizens to hang lanterns.

These events combined and eventually developed into the Lantern Festival we know today.

Lantern Festival Celebration

The duration of celebrations varied throughout history. Nowadays, the festival technically isn’t a national holiday, so there aren’t any days off. The best period for Lantern Festival lovers would be the Ming dynasty. It lasted around 1 month!

Lighting the Lanterns

Lanterns are the most notable part of the festival. Which you can probably tell by the name.

In the early days, the Lantern Festival was also called Shang Yuan (上元). It was dedicated to the heavenly palace (天宫—tiān gōng). People would gather in their yards and give offerings to the gods. The lit lantern near the setup represented a god’s seat.

 

Throughout history, countless variations of lanterns have been created. They can be small globes that fit in your palm, or as large as a parade float. People make lanterns in symbolic designs as well.

 

A famous variation is the Kongming lantern (孔明灯—kǒng míng dēng). They represent hope, success and happiness. In the past, people used these lanterns to signify they were safe after an attack. Now, they are used for wishes, people will wirte down their wishes on the surface before lighten it up. It’s also known as the sky lantern (天灯—tiān dēng), it sounds similar to 添丁 (tiān ding), which means “adding children”. Lanterns would be gifted to newlyweds or couples without children to pass on the blessings. Pregnant women would receive a pair of small lanterns to wish health and safety on both mother and child.

 

Some regions also burn lanterns to determine the gender of their future child from the shape of the ashes.

Traditions and Activities

Every holiday has its own set of activities. There’s more to this festival than lanterns!

One of the festival sights in Hebei are the jǐng xíng lā huā (井陉拉花) performances. Holding fans and parasol-like props, folks dance to the beat of drums.

 

Lantern riddles (猜灯谜—cāi dēng mí)

The ancient Chinese would often get together with some friends, drink wine and write poetry. Plays on words and riddles were a favorite pastime.

 

During this festival, people would write riddles on the lanterns. These small games are popular with everyone. They require you to be clever and think outside the box.

According to many love stories, you can catch the attention of your crush through this game!
 

Dragon dance (耍龙灯—shuǎ lóng dēng)

Dragon dance has a history almost as long as Chinese culture itself.

The performers create impressive formations to the beat of Chinese drums and cymbals.

 

Food and Family

The trademark food of the Lantern Festival is called yuan xiao, just like the festival itself. It’s also known as tāng yuan (汤圆) in the South, and one of the many tasty Chinese New Year desserts.

They are glutinous rice dumplings with sweet fillings made of syrup, red bean paste, black sesame paste or more. They can be steamed or fried, but usually boiled and served in hot water.

 

They represent family reunions because tang yuan sounds similar to “reunion” (团圆—tuán yuan). Some businessmen also call these balls 元宝 (yuán bǎo), meaning gold or silver ingots.

Despite being a night of revelry, the Lantern Festival is also a night for families.

Before Chinese New Year finally ends, the family should reunite again. Take a break from the celebrations and relax with your family. Reconnect under the moon. Enjoy firework shows and performances while eating a bowl of yuanxiao!