The Lantern Festival is an important traditional Chinese festival, which has existed since the Western Han Dynasty over 2,000 years ago. The custom of viewing lanterns began in the Eastern Han Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Ming. Emperor Ming was a proponent of Buddhism and heard that Buddhist monks observed the Buddha's relics and lit lamps to honor the Buddha on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. He ordered that on this night, palaces and temples should light lamps to honor the Buddha, and commoners should also hang lanterns. This Buddhist ritual gradually developed into a grand folk festival. The festival evolved from the imperial court to the people, and from the Central Plains to the entire country.
During the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, it was decreed that the fifteenth day of the first lunar month would be set as the Lantern Festival. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the sacrificial activities for the "Taiyi God" were fixed on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month (Taiyi: the god who controls everything in the universe). When Sima Qian created the "Taichu Calendar," the Lantern Festival was already established as a major festival.
Another explanation is that the custom of lighting lanterns on the Lantern Festival originated from the Taoist concept of the "Three Y uans"; the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Upper Yuan Festival, the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is the Middle Yuan Festival, and the fifteenth day of the tenth lunar month is the Lower Yuan Festival. The deities in charge of the Upper, Middle, and Lower Y uans are the Heaven, Earth, and Human Officials respectively. Since the Heaven Official enjoys music and entertainment, the Upper Yuan Festival requires lighting lanterns.
The duration and customs of the Lantern Festival have expanded and extended with historical development. Regarding the length of the festival period, it was only one day during the Han Dynasty, three days during the Tang Dynasty, five days during the Song Dynasty, and ten days during the Ming Dynasty, starting from the eighth day of the first lunar month to the night of the seventeenth day. It coincides with the Spring Festival, with bustling daytime markets and lively nighttime lantern displays, making it a spectacular sight. Especially the exquisite and colorful lanterns make it the climax of the Spring Festival's entertainment activities. By the Qing Dynasty, additional performances such as dragon and lion dances, boat parades, high stilts, and秧歌 (yangge) dance were added, although the festival period was shortened to four or five days.
There are several interesting legends about the origin of the Lantern Festival:
The Legend of the Lanterns
Long ago, there were many fierce beasts that attacked people and livestock. People organized themselves to fight them. One day, a divine bird accidentally fell to earth and was shot dead by an unaware hunter. The Heavenly Emperor was very angry and ordered the heavenly soldiers to set fire to the world on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, burning all people and property. The emperor's daughter, kind-hearted, could not bear to see the people suffer, so she secretly flew down to the earth on clouds to inform the people of this news. Upon hearing this, the people were shocked and didn't know what to do. After a while, an old man came up with a plan, saying, "On the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth days of the first lunar month, every household should decorate their homes with lanterns, set off firecrackers, and burn fireworks. Thus, the Heavenly Emperor will think everyone has been burned."
Everyone agreed and started preparing. On the evening of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Heavenly Emperor looked down and saw the world filled with red lights and loud noises. For three consecutive nights, it was the same, and he thought it was the flames of a big fire. The people thus saved their lives and property. To commemorate this success, every year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, families hang lanterns and set off fireworks to celebrate this day.
