Written by: Amna Naseem
Posted on: February 14, 2022 | 
| 中文
Lantern celebrating the
The cultural festivals of China are one of the most prominent and distinctive features of their age-old traditions. The grand celebrations of the Chinese New Year come to a traditional end with the preparation of yet another enjoyable and more romantic in nature festival, known as the ‘Lantern festival’ (or in mandarin: 元宵节, pinyin: yuán xiāo jié). Since the Lantern festival has been around for almost 2 centuries, several different meanings have been associated with this day. Some say it glorifies the family reunion, while others believe it to be the day of true love, also known as ‘The Chinese Valentine’s Day’.
Lantern festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the lunar calendar. This year, the day falls on the 15th of February. The cultural importance of this day is significant. After a week-long celebrations of New Year dinners and family reunions, comes the time for floating lanterns in the sky. People of all genders and generations come out on their streets to partake in this beautiful commemoration. This tradition also symbolizes togetherness between different generations.
A spectacular assortment of lanterns!
In the ancient times, women were not allowed to go out of their homes, and strict curfew was imposed on them. But on the night of the Lantern festival, they could roam around freely, playing games and lighting lanterns and could mingle with men. And for that reason, Lantern festival is believed to be the true Chinese Valentine’s Day.
Apart from these endearing customs, Lantern Festival holds religious importance as well. Amongst several ethnic minorities and religions, such as modern-day Buddhism, Lantern Festival is considered sacred and enjoyed with fervor.
A family celebrating the Lantern Festival
The origin of this festival can be traced back all the way to Western Han dynasty, when the Emperor Wu decided to designate this day for worship and rites offered to universe’s sovereign, Taiya, the God of Heaven. After Emperor Wu’s reign, a massive wave of unrest and a big uprising took place. Emperor Wen, who had succeeded Emperor Wu, reserved the 15th day of the year for celebrations as peace was restored that day. People would light candles and lanterns in their homes and streets as a sign of the return of peace and joy.
In later times, Emperor Ming of Eastern Han came to know about these celebrations, and their religious significance for the monks who lit candles for Buddha. As an expression of his devotion to Buddha, he commanded that his palace and temples be also lit with candles and lanterns, and encouraged his citizens to also do the same. And after several hundreds of years, this combined celebration became the ‘Lantern Festival’ as we know it today.
Buddhist monks with lanterns
The duration for this Festival’s celebration has varied throughout the different dynasties. Although now, the Lantern Festival is not a national holiday but during the Ming dynasty, the celebration of this festival used to last for almost a month.
As the name suggests, Lanterns are the most significant part of this festival. This day was also known as Shang Yuan (上元) in the early days, as a dedication to a heavenly palace called Tiān Gong (mandarin: 天宫). One of the common traditional practices for people was to gather up in their yards and offer prayers to their gods and ancestors. A lantern was also lit near a setup that was supposedly the god’s seat.
Drumming by a talented child
Since this festival has been around for centuries, several variations of the lanterns have been created. People make lanterns so small that they could fit in a palm, or as huge as a floating parade. In the modern-day celebrations, many shapes and sized lanterns like dragons, flowers, boats and lion can be seen. People use distinctive expressions or art in making these lanterns symbolic.
One of the most popular variations in the lanterns is Kongming lantern (mandarin: 孔明灯, pinyin: kǒng míng dēng). Also known by the name ‘sky lantern’, they represent happiness, success and hope. Kongming lanterns are made with treated paper, wires or sometimes with a bamboo ring, which makes them very light and easy to float. Sky lantern or Tiān Dēng (天灯) is often associated with the Chinese word Tiān Ding, which translates into ‘adding children’. Sky lanterns make a great gift for newlyweds, or couples with no children, or a pregnant mother to pass on the blessing.
Lantern Festival carnival in Longzhou, China
Another interesting activity that is observed on this day is guessing lantern riddles. It started back in the Song Dynasty, when scholars used to write riddles on a piece of paper and hang it from the lanterns for the attendees to guess. Now a days, these riddles are not as simple and sometimes also referred to as ‘guessing lantern tigers’. This practice is simply a form of entertainment.
Aside from prayers and other entertainment activities, food is another important aspect of this festival. People enjoy tangyuan (mandarin: 汤圆, Pinyin: tāngyuán). Tangyuan are glutinous balls of rice flour, generally made with sweet fillings. But based on which region it’s being prepared in, Tangyuan can vary from being sweet to savory. This delicious dish is mostly white in color, and is either steamed, boiled or something fried as well. It is served in a hot soup with thin consistency. With time, some changes have been made in this dish like adding bright food colors to the rice balls, or adding extra flavors to it like chocolate etc. Though these new additions are less traditional, but are enjoyed now a days.
The Tangyuan dish
Chinese New Year is the best time to visit China as you get to witness the grand celebrations. Lantern Festival is truly a beautiful and dreamy festival, promoting peace, hope, forgiveness and bringing good fortune.
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