1. The Lantern Festival, also known as the first lunar month, Yuanxi or Lantern Festival, falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month every year, which is the first important festival after the Spring Festival. In Qu You's "The Double-headed Peony Lantern" in Qiantang, it says, "Every year on Yuanxi, lanterns are lit for five nights in Mingzhou. All the women in the city have to look at it. "

Second, the first month is the first month of the lunar calendar. The ancients called the night "night", so they called the fifteenth day of the first month "Lantern Festival". The 15th day of the first month is the night of the first full moon in a year, and it is also the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty. On the night in spring returns, people celebrate it and celebrate the continuation of the Spring Festival. The Lantern Festival is also called "Shangyuan Festival".

Lantern Festival customs and habits

In the ancient customs of China, Shangyuan Festival (Tianguan Festival, Lantern Festival), Zhongyuan Festival (Diguan Festival, Yuban Festival) and Xiayuan Festival (Shuiguan Festival) are collectively called Sanyuan.

The Lantern Festival began in the Qin Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago. When Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty ordered the fifteenth day of the first month to be designated as the Lantern Festival, when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the ritual activities of "Taiyi God" were scheduled for the fifteenth day of the first month (Taiyi: the God who rules everything in the universe), and when Sima Qian founded the "taichu calendar", the Lantern Festival was already designated as a major festival.

Traditional customs include going out to enjoy the moon, burning lanterns and setting off flames, enjoying solve riddles on the lanterns, eating Lantern Festival and pulling rabbit lanterns. In addition, traditional folk performances such as playing dragon lanterns, playing lions, walking on stilts, rowing dry boats, dancing yangko and playing Taiping drum have been added in many places.