On the fifteenth day of the main lunar month, fourteen days after Chinese New Year, another significant conventional Chinese celebration, the Chinese Light Celebration or Yuan Xiao Jie or Yuanxiao Celebration (元宵节), is commended. It denotes the primary full moon of the new lunar year and the finish of the Chinese New Year (Spring Celebration) period. Chinese Light Celebration 2022 will be praised on February fifth in 2023.
The evening of the Chinese Light Celebration, roads are embellished with brilliant lamps, frequently with puzzles composed on them. Individuals eat sweet rice balls called tangyuan, watch winged serpent and lion moves, and set off firecrackers.
Chinese Lantern Festival Facts
- Famous Chinese name: 元宵节 Yuánxiāojié /ywen-sshyaoww jyeah/ ‘first night festival’
- Elective Chinese name: 上元节 Shàngyuánjié /shung-ywen-jyeah/ ‘first first festival’
- Date: Lunar calendar month 1 day 15 (February 5, 2023)
- Significance: marks the end of the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) period
- Festivities: enjoying lanterns, lantern riddles, eating tangyuan a.k.a. yuanxiao (ball dumplings in soup), lion dances, dragon dances, etc.
- History: about 2,000 years
- Greeting: Happy Lantern Festival! 元宵节快乐！Yuánxiāojié kuàilè! /ywen-sshyaoww-jyeah kwhy-luh/
When is the Chinese Lantern Festival 2023?
Chinese Light Celebration is on the fifteenth day of the primary Chinese lunar month (consistently between February 4 and Walk 6). In 2023, the Chinese Lamp Celebration will fall on February 5.
| Year | Chinese Lantern Festival Date |
|---|---|
| 2020 | February 8 |
| 2021 | February 26 |
| 2022 | February 15 |
| 2023 | February 5 |
| 2024 | February 24 |
The Significance of the Chinese Lantern Festival
Chinese New year, additionally called Spring Celebration in China, denotes the start of the Spring season. The Chinese Lamp Celebration denotes the last day of these festivals. After the Lamp Celebration, Chinese New Year restrictions are presently not in actuality, and all New Year enrichments are brought down. Certain individuals actually stand by till after the celebration to get back to work or study.
The lamps represent individuals relinquishing the previous year and inviting the new year with favorable luck.
China’s Lantern FestivalThe Origins and Stories of Chinese Lantern Festival
Chinese Light Celebration can be followed back to quite a while back. There are numerous histories about it. The following are two of the most famous ones:
Origin Story 1: A Buddhist Celebration
Administering the start of the Eastern Han Tradition (25-220), Sovereign Hanmingdi was a backer of Buddhism. He heard that a few priests lit lamps in their sanctuaries to recognize Buddha on the fifteenth day of the primary lunar month.
In this manner, he requested that every one of the sanctuaries, families, and imperial royal residences ought to light lamps on that night. This Buddhist custom slowly turned into a terrific celebration among individuals of China.
Origin Story 2: A Trick Played on the Jade Emperor
A rumors have spread far and wide suggesting that the Jade Ruler’s #1 crane was killed by certain townspeople. Thus, he chose to obliterate the town with fire on the fifteenth day of the lunar year. The Jade Ruler’s little girl had an extremely miserable outlook on this and cautioned the residents about the thing planned to occur.
Then, at that point, a shrewd man encouraged the locals to drape red lights to give the Jade Sovereign the feeling that the town was at that point ablaze. The sovereign was tricked and the town made due. This practice of draping red lights on the fifteenth day of the lunar year has gone on until now.
How Do Chinese Celebrate the Chinese Lantern Festival?
The most famous customs to observe Yuanxiao Celebration are appreciating lights, speculating lamp questions, eating tangyuan, and lion/winged serpent moves.
1. Lighting and Watching Lanterns
Lighting and valuing lamps is the primary movement of Yuan Xiao Jie. Lamps are seen wherever remembering for houses, shopping centers, parks, and roads. The (conventional) lamps are quite often red to summon favorable luck.
Lighting lamps represent “enlightening what’s in store”. It is a way for individuals to ask that they will have smooth fates and to communicate their all the best for their families. In the Taiwanese Mandarin vernacular, the Chinese word for light (灯 dēng) is articulated in basically the same manner to (丁 dīng), and that means ‘to have a new-conceived child’, so in Taiwan setting up lamps really might communicate a wish for couples to have a child!
During the Light Celebration, numerous huge lamp fairs are held in China, like Qinhuai Worldwide Light Celebration in Nanjing and Shanghai Yuyuan Light Celebration. The lights’ craftsmanship distinctively outlines customary Chinese symbolism and images, like organic products, blossoms, birds, creatures, individuals, and structures.
2. Guessing Lantern Riddles
Speculating (tackling) light questions began in the Melody Line (960-1279), and it is one of the most significant and well known exercises of the Lamp Celebration. Light proprietors get enigmas written down notes and glue them on the beautiful lamps. Individuals swarm round to figure the conundrums.
Assuming somebody thinks they have the right response, they can pull the conundrum off and go to the lamp proprietor to really take a look at their response. In the event that the response is right, there is typically a little gift as an award.
3. Eating Tangyuan (Yuanxiao)
Eating tangyuan is a significant custom of the Lamp Celebration. Tangyuan (汤圆 tāngyuán/tung-ywen/’soup round’), likewise called yuanxiao in the north, are wads of glutinous rice bubbled in a sweet soup.
As tangyuan is articulated in much the same way to tuanyuan (团圆/twan-ywen/’bunch round’), and that signifies ‘get-together’ and ‘fulfillment’, Chinese individuals accept that the round state of the balls and bowls represent completeness and harmony. The well known fortunate saying while eating tangyuan is 团团圆圆 (/Tuántuán yuányuán/’bunch round’): ‘Cheerful (family) gathering!’
4. Watching Dragon Dances and Lion Dances
Dragon DanceAs two of the most extraordinary customary society moves in China, winged serpent and lion moves are normal during the Light Celebration. Chinese individuals (generally) see the lion as an image of boldness and strength and accept that it’s appearance can drive away shrewd and safeguard individuals and their domesticated animals. Chinese individuals love the mythical beast and see it as an image of best of luck.
Chinese Lantern Festival Food
The most conventional food eaten at Chinese Light Celebration is tangyuan (汤圆 tāngyuán/tung-ywen/’soup round’), additionally called yuanxiao in northern China. They are ball-formed dumplings, made of glutinous rice flour and loaded down with various fillings, for example, earthy colored sugar, sesame seeds, peanuts, pecans, bean glue, and jujube glue or a mix of fixings. They are typically sweet.
It is a must-eat food at the Chinese Light Celebration because of its propitious importance in each viewpoint — from its round shape to its sweet taste and fine-sounding elocution.
- Its round shape symbolizes wholeness and completeness.
- Its sweet taste symbolizes a sweet and happy life.
- Tangyuan sounds similar to tuanyuan (团圆), which means ‘reunion’. It, therefore, symbolizes family reunion, harmony, and happiness.
Yuanxiao can be bubbled, seared, or steamed, and are generally served in matured rice soup, called tianjiu (甜酒 tiánjiǔ/tyen-jyoh/’sweet alcohol’).
It is accepted that the custom of eating tangyuan began during the Tune Administration time, and became famous during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynastic periods.
Is Yuanxiao Jie the Real Chinese Valentine’s Day?
China’s Light Celebration is one of the heartfelt conventional Chinese celebrations. In old times, unmarried ladies were not permitted to leave the house. The Chinese Lamp Celebration gave an open door to them to walk uninhibitedly, lighting lights, messing around, and cooperating with men. To this end some say that the Chinese Light Celebration is the genuine Chinese “Valentine’s Day”, as opposed to Qixi Celebration (七夕 ‘Twofold Seventh’).
Chinese Lantern Festival 2022 Events Around the World
Chinese Lamp Celebration has become progressively famous in Western nations lately. Numerous huge lamp shows are held, for example,
- REACH Winter Lanterns: January 27–February 6, 2022, John F. Kennedy Center, Washington, DC
- The Philadelphia Chinese Lantern: May 2022, Philadelphia
- The Chinese Lantern Festival in North Carolina: November 19, 2021 – January 9, 2022, North Carolina
- Rockville Lantern Festival 2022: February 11, 2022, Rockville, MD
- The Auckland Lantern Festival 2022, February 10-13, 2022, Auckland, New Zealand
