The Lantern Festival (the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in the lunar calendar) is a traditional Chinese festival. The first month is the first month, and the ancients called the night "Xiao". The fifteenth day is the first full moon night in the year, so it is called the tenth day of the first month.
The fifth day is the Lantern Festival, also known as the "Shangyuan Festival". According to Chinese folk tradition, at the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, when the earth returns to spring, the bright moon hangs high in the sky, and people watch the lanterns, guess lantern riddles and eat Lantern Festival on the ground.
The Lantern Festival originated in the Han Dynasty. It is said that it was established to commemorate "Ping Lu" during the reign of Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty. After the death of Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty, Empress Lu usurped power and the Lu family controlled the government.
After Empress Lu's death, Ping eliminated Empress Lu's influence and established Liu Heng as Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty. Since the day to pacify the Lus was the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, every year thereafter, Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty would leave the palace incognito and enjoy themselves with the people.
In order to commemorate it, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month was designated as the Lantern Festival. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Sima Qian listed the Lantern Festival as a major festival in the "Taichu Calendar".
After the custom of lanterns was formed, viewing lanterns on the 15th day of the first lunar month was a major event in all dynasties. Emperor Jianwen of Liang once wrote an "Ode to the Lamps": "The oil in the south is full, and the paint in the west is burning. Su Zheng rests in peace."
, the wax comes out of Longchuan. The slanting light reflects and the reflection is clear. "Describes the grand occasion of the palace lighting up lanterns during the Lantern Festival. During the reign of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, a grand party was held on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month to entertain guests and envoys from all over the world. According to "Sui Dynasty".
"Book·Music Chronicles" records: The Lantern Festival celebration is very grand, with lanterns and colorful decorations everywhere, singing, dancing and playing music day and night. There are more than 30,000 performers and more than 18,000 music players. The stage is eight miles long. People who play and watch the lanterns
Countless people stayed up all night, enjoying themselves and being very lively. In the Tang Dynasty, it developed into an unprecedented lantern market. After the mid-Tang Dynasty, it developed into a nationwide carnival during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (AD 685-762).
During the prosperous Kaiyuan period, the lantern market in Chang'an was very large, with 50,000 lanterns burning in a variety of styles. The emperor ordered a giant lantern tower to be built, with 20 rooms in total and 150 feet high. The golden light was brilliant and extremely spectacular.
In the case of curfew, it is forbidden to travel when the drum sounds at night, and people who break the night will be punished; only on the Lantern Festival, the emperor granted permission to lift the ban for three days, which was called "night release". In the Song Dynasty, the lanterns were extended from three nights to five.
At night, in addition to lanterns, fireworks and various acrobatic performances are performed, making the scene even more lively. "Tokyo Menghualu" records: During the Lantern Festival, thousands of colorful lanterns form a mountain of lanterns on Kaifeng Imperial Street, and the lanterns and fireworks are magnificent.
Shooting, the beautiful scenery blooms. Kyoto girls are singing and dancing, and thousands of people are watching. "Visitors gather under the two corridors of the Royal Street, performing magic tricks, singing and dancing, and the music is noisy for more than ten miles." The streets and alleys, teahouses and wine shops.
Lanterns and candles are burning, gongs and drums are sounding, firecrackers are blasting, and hundreds of miles of lights are on. Compatriots from all over the country celebrate the Lantern Festival. In the Ming Dynasty, after Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne in Jinling, in order to make the capital prosperous and lively, he also stipulated that the lights be turned on on the eighth day of the first lunar month and turned off on the seventeenth day of the first lunar month.
For ten nights, every household hangs colorful lanterns with various characters dancing gracefully, birds flying and flowers blooming, lanterns and fireworks shining all night long. This is the longest lantern festival in China.
In the Qing Dynasty, when the Manchus took over the Central Plains, the palace no longer held lantern festivals, but the folk lantern festivals were still spectacular.
The date was shortened to five days and continues to this day.