The Lantern Festival falls on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. This is the first full moon of the new year， symbolizing unity and perfection. The Lantern Festival is an important part of the Spring Festival， and marks the official end of the long holiday. As early as the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC—25 AD)， it had become a festival with great significance.
This day’s important activity is “watching lanterns”. Throughout the Han Dynasty (206 BC—220 AD)， Buddhism flourished in China. Emperor Ming heard that Buddhist monks would watch sarira， or remains from the cremation① of Buddha’s body， and light lanterns to worship Buddha on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month， so he ordered to light lanterns in the imperial palace and temples to show respect to Buddha on this day. Later， the Buddhist rite developed into a grand festival among common people and its influence expanded from the Central Plains to the whole of China.
There are many legends concerning the origins of the Lantern Festival. One of them is about Lantern.
According to it， once in ancient times， a celestial swan came into the mortal② world for being lost， where it was shot down by a hunter who didn’t know that. The Jade Emperor， the highest god in Heaven， vowed to avenge the swan. Then he started making plans to send a troop of celestial soldiers and generals to Earth on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month， with orders to incinerate③ all humans and animals. But the other celestial beings disagreed with this course of action， and risked their lives to warn the people of Earth. When hearing the news， people were all scared and they didn’t know what to do. After a long while， an old man thought out a solution. He said that， before and after the fifteenth day of the first month， every family hung red lanterns outside their doors and set off firecrackers and fireworks， giving the impression that our homes were already burning. By successfully tricking the Jade Emperor in this way， humanity was saved from extermination④.
From then on， on each fifteenth day of the first lunar month， every family hung red lanterns to commemorate that day.
Till today， the lantern festival is still held each year around the country. Lanterns of various shapes and sizes are hung in the streets， attracting countless visitors. Children will hold self-made or bought lanterns to stroll with on the streets， extremely excited.
“Guessing lantern riddles⑤” is an essential part of the Festival. Lantern owners write riddles on a piece of paper and post them on the lanterns which will be later hung out of their houses. If visitors have solutions to the riddles， they can pull the paper out and go to the lantern owners to check their answer. If they are right， they will get a little gift. The activity emerged during people’s enjoyment of lanterns in the Song Dynasty (960—1279). As riddle guessing is interesting and full of wisdom， it has become popular among all social strata.
People will eat yuanxiao on this day， so it is also called the “Yuanxiao Festival.” Yuanxiao also has another name， tangyuan. It is small dumpling balls made of glutinous⑥ rice flour with rose petals， sesame， bean paste， jujube paste， walnut meat， dried fruit， sugar and edible oil as filling.
Tangyuan can be boiled， fried or steamed. It tastes sweet and delicious. What’s more， tangyuan in Chinese has a similar pronunciation with “tuanyuan”， meaning reunion. So people eat them to denote⑦ union， harmony⑧ and happiness for the family， showing their longing for a better life.
Now there are more and more activities on this day. In the daytime of the Festival， performances such as a dragon lantern dance， a lion dance， a land boat dance， a yangge dance， walking on stilts and beating drums. On the night， except for magnificent⑨ lanterns， fireworks form a beautiful scene. Most families spare some fireworks from the Spring Festival and let them off in the Lantern Festival. Some local governments will even organize a fireworks party. On the night when the first full moon enters the New Year， people become really intoxicated⑩ by the imposing fireworks and bright moon in the sky.
① cremationn. 焚化，火葬
② mortaladj. 人的，凡人的
③ incineratev. 烧成灰，焚化
④ exterminationn. 根除，灭绝
⑤ riddlen. 谜语
⑥ glutinousadj. 粘的，粘稠的
⑦ denotev. 表示，预示
⑧ harmonyn. 和睦，一致；和谐，协调
⑨ magnificentadj. 极美的，好看的
⑩ intoxicatev. 使陶醉，使狂喜
元宵节
每年农历的正月十五日是元宵节。这是春节过后的第一个满月，代表着祥和美好。元宵节是春节的一个重要部分，也是长长的法定假日结束的标志。早在西汉时期，元宵节就已是一个重要的节日。
元宵主要的活动就是看灯。汉朝时期，佛教开始在中国盛行。汉明帝听说佛教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。以后这种佛教礼仪节日逐渐形成民间盛大的节日。该节经历了由宫廷到民间，由中原到全国的发展过程。
关于元宵节的来历，民间还有几种有趣的传说。其中有一种关于灯的传说。
相传，在很久以前，有一只神鸟困为迷路而降落人间，却意外的被不知情的猎人给射死了。天帝知道后十分震怒，发誓要为神鸟报仇。于是他立即传旨，下令让天兵天降于正月十五日到人间放火，把人间的人畜财产通通烧死。但是有一些神仙却不同意天地的做法，于是就冒着生命的危险来到人间，把这个消息告诉了人们。众人听说了这个消息，都万分恐惧，不知如何是好。过了好久，才有个老人家想出个法子。他说：“在正月十四、十五、十六日这三天，每户人家都在家里张灯结彩、点响爆竹、燃放烟火，这样一来，天帝就会以为人们都被烧死了。”最终人们成功地瞒过了天帝，躲避了被灭绝的劫难。
从那以后，每到正月十五，家家户户都悬挂灯笼，放烟火来纪念这个日子。
直到今天，元宵点灯的习俗仍然在中国的各地流传的，各式各样美丽的花灯在这一天都会点亮，吸引不少的游客前来观赏。孩子们提着自制或是买来的灯笼走街串巷，非常高兴。
猜灯谜也是元宵节的一项重要活动，花灯的主人会将谜面写在纸上，再将其贴在灯笼上，挂在门口，如果有人知道谜底，他们就可以取下纸，拿着到灯笼主人前核对正确答案。若是猜对了，就能得到小小的礼物。这项活动最早起源于宋朝，当时灯笼深受人们喜爱。因为谜语能启迪智慧又饶有兴趣，所以流传过程中深受社会各阶层的欢迎。
人们在这一天有吃元宵的习俗，所以这天被称为元宵节。元宵也叫做汤圆。元宵是由糯米制成的小圆球，中间带馅。馅有玫瑰花瓣、芝麻、豆沙、枣泥、核仁、干果、白糖、食用油等。食用时煮、煎、蒸皆可，味美香甜。另外，汤圆的汉语发音与“团圆”字音相近，取团圆之意。人们食用汤圆象征全家人团团圆圆，和睦幸福，寄托了对未来生活的美好愿望。
现在元宵节的活动越来越多，白天有耍龙灯、耍狮子、划旱船、扭秧歌、踩高跷、打太平鼓等传统民俗表演。到了夜晚，除了五颜六色的美花灯之外，还有艳丽多姿的烟火。大多数家庭会在春节时留下一些烟花等到元宵节这天燃放，而一些地方政府也会举办烟花大会，当新年的第一个月圆之夜在盛大的烟火表演中来临时，人们都陶醉在这令人难忘的烟花与皎洁的明月中。