When Is Lantern Festival? The Lantern Festival, also known as the Yuanxiao Festival, falls on the 15th of the first month of the New Year.

Yuan means “first”, and “Xiao” means “night”. The Yuanxiao Festival is the first time when people see the full moon in the New Year. The Lantern Festival marks the end of the New Year celebrations.

After the festival, everything has to return to normal.

The First Legend In one such legend, the Jade Emperor in Heaven was so angry at a town because some people killed his favorite goose. He decided to burn all the people with a big fire. Oh! My dear goose! Who dared to kill you will live no longer!

However, a wise old woman told the people to light lanterns throughout the town on the night of the fifteenth. From Heaven, the town looked as if it were on fire.

The Jade Emperor was satisfied. To celebrate their good fortune, people hung lanterns during the Lantern Festival.

The 2nd legend 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 3rd Legend 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 cause 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 to get 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 get away darkness. So Emperor Mingdi ordered his subjects to display lighted lanterns during what was to become the Lantern Festival.

The Fourth Legend It is said that the Lantern Festival started during the Han Dynasty(206 B.C. – 220 A.D.).

After the first emperor Liubang’s death, the queen, Lu, and her brothers tried to seize power.

Afterwards, every year on January 15, the new Emperor celebrate the day with people.

Gradually, the day become a festival.

Queen-mother Lu killed Prince Ruyi with poisoned wine. She had Lady Qi's hands and feet cut off to turn her a cripple deaf and blind and then had her prisoned in a toilet all year round.

Emperor Huidi was very resentful to the cruelty and imperiousness of his queen mother. So he fell ill with anxiety and melancholy in the end and died soon afterwards

From then on Queen Mother Lu held all the powers to herself at court and took over the command of the army from Marshal Zhou Bo.

Queen Mother Lu not only pushed out the old officials but also killed the sons of the late emperor Liu Bang.

Members of the royal family and the officials felt deeply indignant at this, but being afraid of the Lu's cruelty

One day they met secretly at General Lu Lu's house to plot a rebellion so as to take over the state power from the Liu family once for all.

After that Liu Zhang also got in touch with the founding officials Zhou Bo and Cheng Ping.

And they decided through discussion to operate from within in suppressing the rebellion.

The suppression of the rebellion was carried on with irresistible force.

After the putting down of the rebellion, Liu Bang to succeed to the throne. He made a great contribution to the flourishing period of the Han Dynsaty.

Emperor Wun felt deeply that the peace did not come easily. So he made the 15th of the 1st lunar month on which the Lus were suppressed the day of the sharing happiness with the people.

On that day every house in the capital was decorated with lanterns and colored streamers as an expression of celebration.

Since then, the 15th of the 1st lunar month has become a folk festival on which people share happiness everywhere in the country

How do people celebrate Lantern Festival nowadays?

People eat special food, yuanxiao during the Lantern Festival.

As well, there are lanterns, firecrackers and a dragon and lion dance in the street.

Sometimes, people write riddles on their lanterns. If someone guesses the answers to a riddle, he will get a gift.

Yuan Xiao and Tang Yuan Yuan Xiao and Tang Yuan are balls of glutinous rice, sometimes rolled around a filling of sesame, peanuts, vegetable, or meat.

Tang Yuan are often cooked in red-bean or other kinds of soup. The round shape symbolizes wholeness and unity.

Yuan means “first”, and Xiao means “night”. Obviously, they get the name from the festival itself.

Riddles What's black when clean, and white when dirty? A Blackboard What do you get if you had a word with 5 letters so that when you take away 2 you are left with one? Stone What time is it when you have a toothache? Tooth-hurty (2:30)

What time is the same spelled backward or forward? Noon Why is 6 afraid of 7? Because What weighs more? A pound of feathers or a pound of lead? They both weigh the same

What is a vampire’s girlfriend called? His ghoul friend What did one snake say to the other snake? Give me a hug and a hiss. Why did banana go out with orange? Because he couldn’t get a date.