When is the Lantern Festival? Is the Lantern Festival the Shangyuan Festival?

When is the Lantern Festival? Is the Lantern Festival the Shangyuan Festival?
The Lantern Festival is one of China's traditional festivals. On this day, there is a custom of eating Lantern Festival dumplings and dancing with dragon lanterns in many places in China. The whole festival is full of festive atmosphere. So when is the Lantern Festival? If you want to know more about the first month of the lunar calendar in 2018, please pay attention to our fortune teller website!

When is the Lantern Festival?

The Lantern Festival is held on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in my country. It is a time for family reunion and is a very festive occasion.
The first month of the lunar calendar is the first month of the year. The ancients called the night "xiao", so the fifteenth day of the first month is called the Lantern Festival. The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the first full-moon night of the year. It is also the night when a new year begins and the earth returns to spring. People celebrate this night, which is also a continuation of the celebration of the New Year. The Lantern Festival is also known as the "Shangyuan Festival."
According to Chinese folk tradition, on this night when the moon is high in the sky, people light up thousands of colorful lanterns to celebrate. Go out to admire the moon, light lanterns and fireworks, guess lantern riddles, eat Yuanxiao together, reunite with family, and celebrate the festival together in great joy.
The Lantern Festival is also known as the Lantern Festival. The custom of lighting lanterns during the Lantern Festival originated in the Han Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, the lantern-viewing activities became more prosperous. Lanterns were hung everywhere in the palace and on the streets. Tall lantern wheels, lantern towers and lantern trees were also built. The great Tang Dynasty poet Lu Zhaolin once described the grand occasion of lighting lanterns during the Lantern Festival in "Watching Lanterns on the 15th Night" as follows: "The sky looks like falling stars, and the sky looks like hanging moon."
The Song Dynasty attached greater importance to the Lantern Festival. The lantern viewing activities were more lively, lasting for 5 days, and the styles of lanterns were also more diverse. In the Ming Dynasty, people would enjoy the lanterns for 10 consecutive days, which was the longest Lantern Festival in China. Although the lantern viewing activity in the Qing Dynasty lasted only three days, it was on a large scale and unprecedentedly grand. In addition to lighting lanterns, fireworks were also set off to add to the fun.
"Guessing lantern riddles" is also called "playing lantern riddles". It is an activity added after the Lantern Festival and appeared in the Song Dynasty. During the Southern Song Dynasty, riddles were made in the capital Lin'an every Lantern Festival, and many people came to guess the riddles. In the beginning, curious people would write riddles on pieces of paper and stick them on colorful lanterns for people to guess. Because riddles can enlighten the mind and are interesting, they are welcomed by all walks of life during the process of circulation.

Is the Lantern Festival the Shangyuan Festival?

The Lantern Festival, also known as the Shangyuan Festival, the Little New Year, the Yuanxiao Festival or the Lantern Festival, is the first important festival after the Spring Festival. It is one of the traditional festivals of China, the regions in the Chinese character cultural circle and overseas Chinese. The first month of the lunar calendar is the first month of the year. The ancients called the night "xiao", so the fifteenth day of the first full moon night of the year is called the Lantern Festival. [1-2]
In ancient Chinese customs, the Shangyuan Festival (Tianguan Festival, Lantern Festival), the Zhongyuan Festival (Diguan Festival, Yulan Festival), and the Xiayuan Festival (Shuiguan Festival) are collectively known as the Three Yuans. The Lantern Festival began in the Qin Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago. Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty issued an order to designate the fifteenth day of the first lunar month as the Lantern Festival. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the worship activities for "Taiyi God" were set on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month (Taiyi: the god who dominates everything in the universe). When Sima Qian created the "Taichu Calendar", he had already designated the Lantern Festival as a major festival.

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