The Lantern Festival is a very important festival in China. The arrival of the Lantern Festival means the end of the Spring Festival. Whether it is Chinese or the Chinese in other parts of the world, they celebrate the Spring Festival as an important holiday. For the understanding of the Lantern Festival, you can start with these English nouns:
1. Chinese Valentine’s Day (中国情人节)
On the Lantern Festival in ancient times, young men and women would usually be accompanied by their families to find their favorite objects on the street, hoping to find good ones, and matchmakers would do their best to match up couples. Today, although the meaning of Lantern Festival as Valentine’s Day has faded a lot, it is still regarded as one of the most important Chinese Valentine’s Day. Therefore, in addition to spending this day with your family, you can also choose to spend it with your loved one, or participate in various Lantern Festival activities. Maybe you will meet the right person.
2. Eating Rice Ball (吃汤圆)
汤圆 (Rice Ball) is basically a trademark food of the Lantern Festival, or a trademark dessert. The most common glutinous rice balls are made from sticky/glutinous rice and filled with different types of sweet fillings, such as black sesame, red bean, mango, and syrup. etc. The most traditional method of glutinous rice balls is naturally boiled and then served in sugar water, but in recent years, steaming or frying has gradually become popular.
With its round shape and sweet taste, glutinous rice balls give people a sense of family reunion and happiness, highlighting the meaning of reunion during the Lantern Festival.
3. Lanterns (灯笼)
Lantern is the most representative decoration during the Lantern Festival. Therefore, the English name of the Lantern Festival is directly linked to the lantern, so it is also called the Lantern Festival.
According to legend, the custom of lighting lanterns originated from the Han Dynasty, when Buddhism prevailed in China. At that time, a Han emperor was a devout Buddhist. He heard that monks met on the day of the Lantern Festival. Light candles for the Buddha, so he ordered all palaces and temples to also light candles, and let the common people also hang lanterns. Gradually, lighting lanterns has become a custom in the Lantern Festival.
There are many kinds of Lantern Lanterns. In addition to the most common red lanterns, Kongming Latern (or Sky Latern) is another famous variant of lanterns. Many people write about themselves on Kongming Lanterns. Wish, and then let go of the Kongming Lantern to make a wish.
4. Guessing Riddles (猜灯谜)
In addition to lanterns, guessing lantern riddles is also one of the most traditional activities in the Lantern Festival (traditional activity).
The activity of guessing lantern riddles originated in the Tang Dynasty and became an integral part of the Lantern Festival in the Song Dynasty. During the Lantern Festival, people will write different types of riddles on paper, and then paste the written riddles on the lantern for tourists to guess (you can also write the riddle directly on the lantern). When people guess the answer to the riddle, he/she will tear off the riddle paper (or take away the lantern directly) and go to the riddle party organizer to check the answer. If the answer is correct, the guesser will receive a prize.
It is precisely because lantern riddles test participants’ knowledge and thinking skills that make it popular. It is said that in ancient times there were still talents who used lantern riddles to choose their sons-in-law.