Regarding the origin of the Lantern Festival, there is such a record in the History of the North: "On the fifteenth day of the first month, Sui Liu or other people played a play and said,' In Jing Yi and other States, every night in the first month, the streets are full of Taiwan and the fire shines on the ground. A man is a beast, a man is a woman's dress, and he is tired and bankrupt. Please fight for this time. You can play it. "The farce here is a wrestling match.
"History of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty" said: "In the spring of Yuanfeng three years, I made a corner play and came to see it within 300 miles."
Like the Han Dynasty, the Sui Dynasty held a wrestling match during the Spring Festival, but the Sui people chose to hold it on the night of the Lantern Festival, and expanded the scope, turning the wrestling match into "a man with a beast's heart and a man wearing women's clothes", just like a modern costume parade. According to Liu or the throne, "bankruptcy due to exhaustion of capital, fighting for this moment" can be described as very lively. However, the "ban" failed to curb folk customs. In the Tang Dynasty, the Lantern Festival developed into a grand lantern festival.
According to Ming Taizu's Miscellaneous Notes, "In the east, in the first month, people watch the night, move to Yang Palace, and set up a court to burn. As for the temple, they set up candles and torches, and the list goes on and on. Kyoto craftsmen Mao Shun and Qiao Sijie Chuang painted twelve lighthouses from time to time, 150 feet high, hanging pearls and precious gold and silver, and the breeze brought them bright. Its lights are in the shape of dragons, phoenixes, tigers and leopards. "
In the Song Dynasty, the lights were turned on for five nights. Xin Qiji's "Jade Case Yuan" describes the Lantern Festival, which is still intriguing to read so far: "Thousands of trees bloom in the east wind night, and the stars are like rain. BMW carved cars are full of incense. The bagpipes sound, the jade pots light, and the fish dragons dance all night. "
As can be seen from the above records, the Lantern Festival began in the Han Dynasty and flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties. In the early leisure time of ancient agricultural society, officials and people spent holidays together, decorated with lanterns and stayed up all night, and it was conceivable that they were happy.
After the founding of New China, people of all ethnic groups in China still regard the Lantern Festival as a symbol of celebration, harvest and joy. Lantern exhibitions will be held in parks and entertainment places all over the country. The shape of lanterns is fantastic and ingenious, and there are even electric lanterns. The figures are vivid and spectacular.