Lantern Festival

The first lunar month on the 15th, is China's traditional Lantern Festival. The first month is a lunar January, the ancients called "Xiao," and on the 15th is the first year of a full moon night, so that fifteenth day of the Lantern Festival.
Also known as little New Year's Day,Yuan Xi or Light Festival，the first after the Spring Festival, an important festival.

Lantern Festival originated in the "Torch Festival", the Han people in the countryside, holding torches field driven worm beast, hoping to reduce pests, praying to have a good harvest. Even today, people in some parts of southwest China are still on the first month 15th reed torches made of wood or tree branches, holding torches in groups, or drying in farms dance field. Since Sui, Tang, Song ,Singing and dancing were enough to reach tens of thousands of participants, from dusk until dawn, to covertly while the strike. As society and the times when changes in the customs of the Lantern Festival already has made significant changes, but is still a Chinese folk traditional festivals.

Point of origin Lantern

Legend in a long time ago, beast a lot of harm to people and livestock around, people have organized to fight them, there is a hardship for the lost and landed divine Bird, but the accident was unaware of the hunters to a shot of.

After the Emperor of Heaven knows very angry edicts have come immediately ordered so heavenly in the first month on the 15th to the earth and set fires to burn them altogether human and property of people and livestock. The Emperor of Heaven's daughter, good-natured, could not bear suffering of innocent people, they risk their lives, secretly steered the clouds come to earth to tell people the news. Everyone heard the news, his head rang like a torpedo. Scared and confused.

After a very long time, only the old people come up with a sure way out, he said: "In the first month 14, 15, on the 16th three days, each household are at home and decorated, point ring firecrackers, fireworks display. So As a result, the Emperor of Heaven will be that people have been burned to death. "

People listened to all nod yes, then split up ready to go by. To the fifteenth day this evening, the Emperor of Heaven looked down and found earth a red light, noise deafening, three consecutive nights were the case, thought it was fire burning flames, hearts greatly. In this way the people keep their lives and property. To commemorate this success, from every fifteenth day, every household hung lanterns, and fireworks to mark the occasion.

Lantern Festival custom: guess riddles, playing dragon lantern, stilt, lion dance, draw Han Boat, Festival Gate, Festival households, Expulsion mouse, to send Children lights, receive Zi Gu, extrude all diseases, stealing food and so on.