How did the Lantern Festival come about? Is the Lantern Festival the Torch Festival?

How did the Lantern Festival come about? Is the Lantern Festival the Torch Festival?
Different festivals have different origins. So, let’s take a look at how the Lantern Festival came about. Is the Lantern Festival the Torch Festival? Some days are auspicious and some are inauspicious. As the first month of the lunar calendar is the month of the new year, one must carefully study the almanac for each day. If you want to know the contents of the lunar calendar for the first month of 2022, please visit Shuimoxiansheng.com.

How did the Lantern Festival come about?

During the Yongping reign of Emperor Ming of Han, in order to promote Buddhism, Emperor Ming of Han ordered that lights be lit in the palace and temples on the fifteenth night of the first lunar month to show respect to Buddha. Therefore, the custom of lighting lanterns on the fifteenth night of the first lunar month gradually spread in China with the expansion of the influence of Buddhist culture and the later addition of Taoist culture. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, hanging lanterns during the Lantern Festival gradually became a custom. Emperor Wu of Liang was a devout Buddhist and he decorated his palace with lanterns on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. During the Tang Dynasty, cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries became closer, Buddhism flourished, and officials and common people generally "lit lanterns to worship Buddha" on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Buddhist lanterns thus spread throughout the people. Since the Tang Dynasty, hanging lanterns during the Lantern Festival has become a legal requirement.
The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival, also known as the Shangyuan Festival, Yuan Ye, and Lantern Festival. 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". [9] As society and times change, the customs and habits of the Lantern Festival have undergone significant changes, but it is still a traditional Chinese folk festival. When the Lantern Festival was in its early stages of being a festival, it was only called the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the middle of the first lunar month, or the full moon. After the Sui Dynasty, it was called Yuan Xiao or Yuan Ye. Influenced by Taoism in the early Tang Dynasty, it was also called Shangyuan, and it was occasionally called Yuanxiao in the late Tang Dynasty.
This is the origin of the Lantern Festival.

Is the Lantern Festival the Torch Festival?

Yes, the Lantern Festival is also called the Torch Festival.
The Lantern Festival is a traditional Chinese festival since ancient times. It is said that the Lantern Festival began when ancient people held torches in the countryside to drive away insects and animals, hoping to reduce pests and pray for a good harvest. To this day, people in some southwestern China still make torches out of reeds or branches on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and dance in groups in fields or threshing grounds with torches held high. It flourished during the Sui, Tang and Song dynasties. There were tens of thousands of people participating in the singing and dancing, which lasted from dusk to dawn and ended at dusk. With the changes of society and times, the customs and habits of the Lantern Festival have undergone great changes, but it is still a traditional Chinese folk festival.
Therefore, the Lantern Festival is also called the Torch Festival.

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