Lantern
Festival
The many activities include moon gazing, lighting lanterns,
riddles, lion dances and eating rice balls. According to the lunar calendar,
the festival takes place on January 15. Dates of past and future Lantern Festivals
using the Gregorian calendar include. Began over 2000 years ago, the festival
has developed many meanings. It celebrates family reunions and society. It
features ancient spiritual traditions. Some also call this the “true” Chinese
Valentine’s Day.
Cultural Significance of the
Lantern Festival
The Spring Festival is a time reserved for families. There is the
reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve, visits to in-laws on the 2nd day and
neighbors after that. Stores reopen on the 5th and society basically goes back
to normal. In Ancient China, women usually weren’t allowed
out the house. But on this night, they can stroll freely, lighting lanterns,
playing games and interacting with men. The wild and romantic stories are why
some say the Lantern Festival is the true Chinese Valentine’s Day, rather than
Qixi But
on the 15th, everyone—regardless of age or gender—go out onto the streets to
celebrate. Though the Lantern Festival symbolizes reunions (more on that
later), it’s also a time of socializing and freedom.
Histories
Both events combined and eventually developed into the Lantern
Festival we know today.Intense power play and unrest came after his reign. The
new emperor was Emperor Wen. To celebrate the return of peace, he made the 15th
a national holiday. Every household would light candles and lanterns. It became
known as. “Nao” can be interpreted as having fun, or going wild with
excitement. Emperor Ming of the later Eastern Han was a devout Buddhist. He
heard that on the 15th, monks would light candles for the Buddha. He ordered
the palace and temples to light candles, and for the citizens to hang lanterns.
Lantern Festival Celebration
The duration of celebrations varied throughout
history. Nowadays, the festival technically isn’t a national holiday, so there
aren’t any days off. The best period for Lantern Festival lovers would be the
Ming dynasty. It lasted around 1 month. There are some holidays that coincide with the Lantern Festival
and are now celebrated together.
Children gather firewood and tree branches. Adults then light
them. Holding these torches, entire communities dance in fields from dusk to
dawn. Even now, it is still celebrated in some parts of Southwestern China. The Torch Festival began in ancient times to chase away
insects and pests and pray for a good harvest.
Throughout history, countless variations of lanterns have been
created. They can be small globes that fit in your palm, or as large as a
parade float. People make lanterns in symbolic designs as well. Lanterns are
the most notable part of the festival. Which you can probably tell by the name.
As night
fell, off we went into town to hunt out the best celebrations. And boy, did we
find them. Hidden away down a side street, there was a huge opening right by
the river, with music, tables, drinks and food stalls aplenty. We milled about
for a bit, checking out everything that was on offer, making our way through
the throngs of people, before settling down at a table with some delicious food
and drink and just soaking up the atmosphere. Everybody was in high spirits as
they walked down to the water and took their turn at letting off a lantern or
pushing their candle onto the water, letting go of the past and looking to the
future.
which means “adding children”. Lanterns would be
gifted to newlyweds or couples without children to pass on the blessings.
Pregnant women would receive a pair of small lanterns to wish health and safety
on both mother and child. Some regions also burn lanterns to determine the gender of their
future child from the shape of the ashes.
The
beauty of this Taiwanese festival is impossible to be put into simple words.
You have to be there to feel the magic of thousand lanterns ascending to the
night sky. The celebration is held in the Pingxi District in Taiwan, and it is
the biggest lantern festival in the world. During the last few years, the
traditional festival has become more popular, and nowadays both locals and
tourists participate in the launching of thousand lanterns which are
astonishing with their innovative and intricate shapes and sizes. LED lights,
laser shows, and colorful lightbulbs have also become a part of this beautiful
celebration.
Traditions and Activities
In the city of Fengyang, swings play a major role. A popular
saying there is, “Swing on the Lantern Festival, no aches or pains the entire
year.” Every holiday has its own set of activities. There’s more to this
festival than lanterns.
Lantern riddles
During this festival, people would write riddles on the lanterns.
These small games are popular with everyone. They require you to be clever and
think outside the box. The ancient Chinese would often get together with some
friends, drink wine and write poetry. Plays on words and riddles were a
favorite pastime. The lion is intricately designed, with movable eyes and
mouths. Sometimes, the lion will open its mouth and demand food and red
pockets. Other times, they roll around and play like oversized kittens.
Chinese stilt performances are an ancient act. They stem from
Chinese opera and the performers sing and dance while on stilts. Depending on
their character, they have difference costumes and heights.
They are
glutinous rice dumplings with sweet fillings made of syrup, red bean paste,
black sesame paste or more. They can be steamed or fried, but usually boiled
and served in hot water. Despite
being a night of revelry, the Lantern Festival is also a night for families.
Before Chinese New Year finally ends, the family should reunite again. Take a
break from the celebrations and relax with your family. Reconnect under the
moon. Enjoy firework shows and performances while eating a bowl of yuan xiao.
It
is often said that the Lantern Festival celebrates the birthday of the Daoist
god of fortune, Tianguan. Just as often, it is said to be a Buddhist
celebration, dating back to when the Eastern Han dynasty Emperor Mingdi (28-75)
rejoiced over the arrival of sacred Buddhist texts from India. It is often said
that the Lantern Festival celebrates the birthday of the Daoist god of fortune,
Tianguan. Just as often, it is said to be a Buddhist celebration, dating back
to when the Eastern Han dynasty Emperor Mingdi (28-75) rejoiced over the
arrival of sacred Buddhist texts from India. The lighting of the lanterns is
said to symbolize how the light of wisdom spreads to the world. The lighting of
the lanterns is said to symbolize how the light of wisdom spreads to the world.
The Chinese lunar calendar has a different name for each month. The first month
is called Yuányuè (yuán means beginning, first) and Xiāo means ‘evening’ or
‘night’ referring to the fact that the Lantern Festival is at its peak in the
evening when the red lanterns are lit in the midst of darkness.
Today,
during the Lantern Festival, hundreds of red lanterns are brought to parks,
making a forest or a sea of lanterns that people walk among and admire.
Lanterns can be of all shapes and sizes, but the colour is almost without
exemption red, the favourite colour of the Chinese. Sometimes, the Lantern
Festival is also called "Dating Festival" because at one time, it was
only during Yuanxiao that unmarried men and women were allowed to socialize
without a chaperone. It is one of those foods that tastes better than it looks
-- pale balls of dough swimming in water does not exactly stimulate the
appetite, but it's still worth tasting should you have the opportunity. The
round yuanxiao balls symbolise, of course, the full moon that shines during the
Lantern Festival, which for all Chinese means family togetherness. To understand this festival it is important to explain
its meaning – the word ‘Loi’ literally means ‘to float’ while the word
‘Krathong’ stands for the lotus shaped vessel that floats on the water, usually
made from a banana tree stalk or even bread. The Krathongs are decorated with
banana leaves, candles and flowers and then they are left to float down a river
on the night of the full moon. This act is symbolic of letting go of all anger
and grudges and starting over afresh, and many people believe that it will also
bring good luck and happiness.
As night
fell, off we went into town to hunt out the best celebrations. And boy, did we
find them. Hidden away down a side street, there was a huge opening right by
the river, with music, tables, drinks and food stalls aplenty. We milled about
for a bit, checking out everything that was on offer, making our way through
the throngs of people, before settling down at a table with some delicious food
and drink and just soaking up the atmosphere. Everybody was in high spirits as
they walked down to the water and took their turn at letting off a lantern or
pushing their candle onto the water, letting go of the past and looking to the
future. The family who ran the guesthouse I was staying at in Chiang Mai gave
us a lesson on how to create our own Krathongs to take to the celebrations that
evening. We were taught how to cut and shape our banana trunks and then came
the art of leaf folding and decorating with petals, candles and incense sticks.
Let me tell you, it’s not as easy as you might think to turn a banana leaf into
something pretty! But it was great fun to get involved with this family and
learn all about the history and meaning behind these floating candle creations
we were busy making.
The
beauty of this Taiwanese festival is impossible to be put into simple words.
You have to be there to feel the magic of thousand lanterns ascending to the
night sky. The celebration is held in the Pingxi District in Taiwan, and it is
the biggest lantern festival in the world. During the last few years, the
traditional festival has become more popular, and nowadays both locals and
tourists participate in the launching of thousand lanterns which are
astonishing with their innovative and intricate shapes and sizes. LED lights,
laser shows, and colorful lightbulbs have also become a part of this beautiful
celebration.
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