Lantern Festival began in the Western Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago. Lantern Festival viewing began in the period of Emperor Han Ming in the East. Ming Di advocates Buddhism. According to legend, in Buddhism, on the fifteenth day of the first month, monks watched the relics and lit lanterns to worship the Buddha, which made the gentry and ordinary people hang lanterns and gradually formed a grand folk festival. Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty designated the 15th day of the first month as the Lantern Festival.
Lantern Festival is one of the traditional festivals in China. Lantern Festival mainly includes a series of traditional folk activities, such as watching lanterns, eating glutinous rice balls, solve riddles on the lanterns and setting off fireworks. In addition, traditional folk performances such as Youlong lanterns, lion dancing, walking on stilts, boating, yangko and playing Taiping drums have been added to the Lantern Festival in many places.
Cultural value:
The traditional festival customs in China have adapted to the comprehensive needs of the broad masses of people in China in material, spiritual, ethical and aesthetic aspects. In terms of material life, traditional festivals in China have many unique foods in different festivals. On the Lantern Festival, the whole family eats glutinous rice balls together. "Tangyuan" sounds similar to "reunion", symbolizing reunion and harmony.
The cultural value of Lantern Festival lies in that it is a national carnival, in which everyone participates and enjoys it. Because of the opening of the ancient Lantern Festival, the crowds are woven, and men and women meet, which is easy to produce love. For thousands of years, two of a kind's love story staged on the Lantern Festival is endless.