Because the Lantern Festival, a folk activity, has existed since ancient times, but there was no such word as "glutinous rice balls" at that time. So it was impossible to say "Tangyuan Festival" at that time.

The meaning of Lantern Festival

Why is the fifteenth day of the first lunar month called Lantern Festival? Because the first month is the first month of the lunar calendar, people in ancient times called it "Lantern Festival", and because the fifteenth day happened to be the first full moon night of the year, the fifteenth day of the first month was called "Lantern Festival" in ancient times, not because people like to eat Yuanxiao.

Legend of Lantern Festival

Here is a fairy tale about the legend of Lantern Festival. Legend has it that in ancient times, there were many fierce birds and wild animals on the land of China. Wild animals harmed people and livestock everywhere, and people always tried many ways to solve this dilemma. Just then, an unsuspecting hunter shot and killed a god bird one day and has never been seen since. When the Emperor of Heaven found out, he flew into a rage and was very angry. The heavenly soldiers were ordered to set fire to the earth on the fifteenth day of the first month to punish and warn mankind. The daughter of Tiandi was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see human suffering, so she told the earth people that people began to panic and didn't know what to do. At this time, a wise man thought of a way: on the 14th, 15th and 16th of the first month, Lantern Festival lanterns, firecrackers and fireworks were lit respectively. In this way, the Emperor of Heaven will think that people have been burned to death. After using this method, people are lucky to save their lives. In order to commemorate this success, every household hangs lanterns and sets off fireworks to commemorate this day. This is the legend about the Lantern Festival.