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Lantern Festival
元宵节的由来英文
介绍
2011
年
02
月
17
日
00:18
腾讯
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(
12
)
字号：
T|T
Lantern Festival The 15th day of the
1st lunar month
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The 15th day of the 1st lunar month is
the Chinese Lantern Festival
because
the first lunar month is called yuan-month and in
the ancient times
people called night
Xiao. The 15th day is the first night to see a
full moon. So
the day is also called
Yuan Xiao Festival in China.
According to the Chinese tradition, at
the very beginning of a new year,
when
there is a bright full moon hanging in the sky,
there should be thousands
of colorful
lanterns hung out for people to appreciate. At
this time, people will
try to solve the
puzzles on the lanterns and eat yuanxiao
(glutinous rice ball)
and get all their
families united in the joyful atmosphere.
元宵节正月十五吃元宵的的习俗由来已久，元宵也叫
“
汤圆
”
、
“
圆子
”
。据说
元宵象征合家团圆，吃元宵意味新的一年合家幸福、万事如意。
元宵节闹花灯的习俗起源于道教的
“
三元说
”
；正月十五日为上元节，七月
十
五日为中元节，十月十五日为下元节。主管上、中、下三元的分别为天、地、人
三官，天官喜乐，故上元节要燃灯。元宵节的节期与节俗活动，是随历史的发展
而延长、扩展的。就节期长短而言，汉代才一天，到唐代已为三天，宋代则长达
五天，明代更是自初八点灯，一直到正月十七的夜里才落灯，整整十天。与春节
相接，<
/p>
白昼为市，
热闹非凡，
夜间燃灯，
蔚为壮观。
特别是那精巧、
多彩的灯火，
更使其成为春节期间娱乐活动的高潮。至清代，又增加了舞龙、舞狮、跑旱船、
踩高跷、扭秧歌等
“
百戏
”
内容，只是节期缩短为四到五天。
History
Until
the Sui Dynasty in the sixth century, Emperor
Yangdi invited envoys
from other
countries to China to see the colorful lighted
lanterns and enjoy the
gala
（
节日的，庆祝的）
performances.
By the beginning of the Tang Dynasty in
the seventh century, the lantern
displays would last three days. The
emperor also lifted the
curfew
（宵禁令）
,
allowing the people to enjoy the
festive lanterns day and night. It is not
difficult
to find Chinese poems which
describe this happy scene.
In the Song Dynasty, the festival was
celebrated for five days and the
activities began to spread to many of
the big cities in China. Colorful glass and
even jade were used to make lanterns,
with figures from folk tales painted on
the lanterns.
However, the largest Lantern Festival
celebration took place in the early
part of the 15th century. The
festivities continued for ten days. Emperor
Chengzu had the downtown area set aside
as a center for displaying the
lanterns. Even today, there is a place
in Beijing called Dengshikou. In Chinese,
Deng means lantern and Shi is market.
The area became a market where
lanterns
were sold during the day. In the evening, the
local people would go
there to see the
beautiful lighted lanterns on display.
Today, the displaying of lanterns is
still a big event on the 15th day of the
first lunar month throughout China.
People enjoy the brightly lit night. Chengdu
in Southwest China's Sichuan Province,
for example, holds a lantern fair each
year in the Cultural Park. During the
Lantern Festival, the park is literally an
ocean of lanterns! Many new designs
attract countless visitors. The most
eye-catching lantern is the Dragon
Pole. This is a lantern in the shape of a
golden dragon, spiraling up a 27-meter
-high pole, spewing fireworks from its
mouth. It is quite an impressive sight!
元宵节是中国的传统节日，早在
20
00
多年前的西汉就有了，元宵赏灯始于
东汉明帝时期，
明帝提倡佛教，
听说佛教有正月十五日僧人观佛舍利，
点灯敬佛
的做法，
就命令这一天夜晚在皇宫和寺庙里点
灯敬佛，
令士族庶民都挂灯。
以后
这种
佛教礼仪节日逐渐形成民间盛大的节日。
该节经历了由宫廷到民间，
由中原
到全国的发展过程。
<
/p>
在汉文帝时，已下令将正月十五定为元宵节。汉武帝时，
“
太一神
”
的祭祀活
动
定在正月十五。（太一：主宰宇宙一切之神）。司马迁创建
“
太
初历
”
时，就已
将元宵节确定为重大节
日。
另有一说是元宵燃灯的习俗起源于道教的
“
三元说
”
；正月十五日为上
元节，
七月十五日为中元节，十月十五日为下元节。主管上、中、下三元的分别为天、<
/p>
地、人三官，天官喜乐，故上元节要燃灯。
元宵节的节期与节俗活动，
是随历史的发展而延长、
扩展的
。
就节期长短而
言，汉代才一天，到唐代已为三天，宋代则长达
五天，明代更是自初八点灯，一
直到正月十七的夜里才落灯，整整十天。与春节相接，白
昼为市，热闹非凡，夜
间燃灯，蔚为壮观。特别是那精巧、多彩的灯火，更使其成为春节
期间娱乐活动
的高潮。至清代，又增加了舞龙、舞狮、跑旱船、踩高跷、扭秧歌等
“
百戏
”
内容，
只是节期缩短为四到五天。
Origin
There are many different
beliefs about the origin of the Lantern Festival.
But one thing for sure is that it had
something to do with religious worship.
One legend tells us that it
was a time to worship Taiyi, the God of Heaven
in ancient times. The belief was that
the God of Heaven controlled the destiny
of the human world. He had sixteen
dragons at his beck and call and he
decided when to inflict drought,
storms, famine or
pestilence
（瘟疫）
upon
human beings. Beginning with
Qinshihuang, the first emperor to unite the
country, all subsequent emperors
ordered splendid ceremonies each year.
The emperor would ask Taiyi to bring
favorable weather and good health to
him and his people. Emperor Wudi of the
Han Dynasty directed special
attention
to this event. In 104 BC, he proclaimed it one of
the most important
celebrations and the
ceremony would last throughout the night.
Another legend associates
the Lantern Festival with Taoism. Tianguan is
the Taoist god responsible for good
fortune. His birthday falls on the 15th day
of the first lunar month. It is said
that Tianguan likes all types of entertainment.
So followers prepare various kinds of
activities during which they pray for good
fortune.
The
third story about the origin of the festival is
like this. Buddhism first
entered China
during the reign of Emperor Mingdi of the Eastern
Han Dynasty.
That was in the first
century. However, it did not exert any great
influence
among the Chinese people. one
day, Emperor Mingdi had a dream about a
gold man in his palace. At the very
moment when he was about to ask the
mysterious figure who he was, the gold
man suddenly rose to the sky and
disappeared in the west. The next day,
Emperor Mingdi sent a scholar to India
on a
pilgrimage
（朝圣）
to locate
Buddhist scriptures. After journeying
thousands of miles, the scholar finally
returned with the scriptures. Emperor
Mingdi ordered that a temple be built
to house a statue of Buddha and serve as
a repository for the scriptures.
Followers believe that the power of Buddha can