Yuanxiao Festival

元宵节

Yuanxiao Festival is on the 15th day of the first Chinese lunar month.

元宵节的时间是农历的正月十五。

It is part of and the last day of the Spring Festival.

这一天是春节的最后一天。

In the old days, people began preparing for the Spring Festival about 20 days before.

在古代，人们提前大约二十天为春节作准备。

However the Yuanxiao Festival marks the end of the New Year celebrations.

而元宵节的到来标志着春节庆祝活动的结束。

And after the Yuanxiao Festival, everything returns to normal.

元宵节之后，一切生活又恢复正常。

The Yuanxiao Festival is also known as the Lantern Festival.

元宵节还称“灯节”。

Yuan literarily means “First” while “Xiao” refers to “night”.

“元”代表第一，古人称“正月”为“元月”，“夜”也称 “宵”。

Yuanxiao is the first time when people see the full moon in the New Year.

“元宵”就是指新的一年中第一个见到圆满的明月的晚上。

It is traditionally a time for family reunion.

人们往往在这一天阖家团圆。

The most prominent activity of the Yuanxiao Festival is the display of all types of beautiful lanterns.

元宵节最有代表性的活动就是观花灯。

So the occasion is also called the Lantern Festival.

所以元宵节也称为灯节。

There are many beliefs about the origin of the Lantern Festival. But one thing for sure is that it had something to do with religious worship.

关于元宵灯节的由来，有许多说法：

有人说元宵节的来历与祭祀“泰一神”有关。

Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty directed special attention to this event.

史载汉武帝时，汉室要祭祀一位 叫“太乙”的神明。

The belief was that the God of Heaven controlled the destiny of the human world.

据说他的权力很大。

It was he who decided when to inflict drought, storms, famine or pestilence upon human beings.

人间的风雨、干旱、饥馑、瘟疫都由他掌管。

In 104 BC, he proclaimed it one of the most important celebrations, and the ceremony would last throughout the night.

Another legend associated with the Lantern Festival is Taoism.

也有人说元宵节的来历与道教有关。

Tian-guan was the Taoist god responsible for good fortune. His birthday falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month. It is said that Tian-guan liked all types of entertainment. So his followers prepared various kinds of activities during which they prayed for good fortune.

到了唐朝，崇尚老庄,奉道教为国教，为祝贺道教的“上元赐福天官紫微大帝”在正月十五的诞辰而举行各种各样的祝节活动，至此，元宵节又添上了道教色彩。

The third story about the origin of the festival goes like this：

第三种说法是和佛教相关。

One day，Emperor Mingdi had a dream about a gold man in his palace.

东汉时期，明帝有一天突然梦见大殿里出现了一个不速之客。

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.

正要寻问此人身份时，那人却飘至空中消失于西方。

The next day Emperor Mingdi sent a scholar to India on a pilgrimage to locate Buddhist scriptures.

翌日，明帝即派人前往印度朝圣求佛经。

So Emperor Mingdi ordered his subjects to display lighted lanterns during what was to become the Lantern Festival.

后来，明帝听说有正月十五日僧人观佛舍利，点灯敬佛的做法，就命令这一天夜晚在皇宫和寺庙里点灯敬佛，令士族庶民都挂灯。

The custom of lighting lanterns continued. However the lanterns would develop from simple ones to those of various color and shape. The scale of the celebration also increased greatly.

以后这种佛教礼仪节日逐渐形成民间盛大的节日。