Hi everyone, I’m Ally
Let’s talk about the Lantern Festival today
It falls on the 15th day of the 1st month on the Lunar Calendar and this year it’s on February 19th
The Lantern Festival officially marks the last day of the Lunar New Year celebration
And just like the New Year, it is one of the most celebrated holidays across Asia
In this video, I will talk about the history and list out some traditions you may or may not have heard of about the Lantern Festival
The original purpose of this festival was to worship and celebrate great enlightened beings
In Taoist terminology, the 15th day of the 1st month is considered the birthday of a great Taoist Deity
and it was called Shang Yuan Festival meaning Upper Yuan Festival
The lighting tradition was first established more than 2,000 years ago
when Emperor Wu of Han lit lanterns in his palace to worship the Taoist Deity
By the Eastern Han Dynasty, Buddhism arrived in China
Emperor Ming of Han ordered to light lanterns on the 15th to show respect to the Buddha’s teachings
And this time, it was not limited to the imperial palace and temples
the emperor asked all citizens to light and hang lanterns
From this point on, lighting lanterns became popular among common people
and eventually developed into a grand celebration on January 15th of the Lunar calendar
As the Lantern Festival got larger and larger in scale, more and more forms of entertainment became available
People would organize large events of lantern displays that include large colorful lanterns in a variety of shapes
It’s usually accompanied by the classic dragon dance, various acrobatic performances
stalls selling lanterns and other hand made items, and various food carts
This painting from the Ming Dynasty depicts the scene where street performers were invited to the palace for the royal family to join in on the fun
This Qing Dynasty painting is showing a similar scene
This year I went to the first ever annual lantern festival in NYC
I’ll show you more details in my next video
Riddles have a long history in China
Attaching riddles to lanterns, however, was believed to be first developed during the Song Dynasty
Small strips of cloth were attached to the lantern body
Whoever could solve the riddle would get a small prize, sometimes even the lantern itself!
It’s a fun challenging activity. It’s also a way for both riddle-makers and riddle-guessers to show off their wits
So here’s one for you to try:
Use the 10 letters ACDEHIJLNP (on the screen) to spell out the names of four countries
Each name must be five letters long, and the four countries must be neighbours
Think about it, and let’s find out the answer at the end of this video
Glutinous rice balls were first developed in the Song Dynasty and later became a must-have food item during the Lantern Festival
I love it so much though that I just eat it all year round
It has two different names Yuan Xiao and Tang Yuan depending on how it’s made
If it’s made like a dumpling by wrapping the filling inside, then it’s called Tang Yuan
Yuan Xiao on the other hand is made by rolling the filling in glutinous rice flour
This holiday is actually most commonly known as Yuan Xiao Jie in Chinese, meaning Yuan Xiao Festival
Yuan Xiao Jie marks the first full moon of the new lunar year so it makes sense for people to admire the moon on this day
A full moon is round, therefore it also symbolizes reunion with family
Chinese scholars love to write poems on this occasion as well
Rope jumping was a popular activity for kids and women during the Lantern Festival
especially during the Ming and Qing Dynasties
This is a unique tradition for ladies
They didn’t get to step out of the house very often in ancient times
But on this day, everyone from little girls to grandmas would all go out and walk across a bridge or multiple bridges
This was believed to help get rid of all illnesses in the coming year
According to ancient text from the Ming Dynasty, ladies would wear white tops when crossing the bridge
You can check out my previous video on the history of this outfit
Later on, the bridge walking tradition was expanded to climbing mountains and walking on the street
and even walking on the ice in the Northern regions
This is another tradition for ancient ladies, but it was done in secret at first
Ming Dynasty ladies believed touching the studs on Palace doors would grant them their wish of getting a son
By the Qing Dynasty, it was not a secret any more, ladies would line up to touch the door studs
And today, tourists in Beijing all take photos while touching those door studs
It might have originated from this tradition
This one seems a bit odd right?
It actually came from the Jurchen tribe
During the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, they would allow 3 days of open stealing and not punish anyone for it
Unmarried girls and boys did it in hopes for a decent spouse. Married ladies did it in hopes for a son
Of course it shouldn’t be practiced anymore today
As promised, the answer for the lantern riddle from earlier is China, Japan, Nepal, and India
I hope you learned a lot about the Lantern Festival in this video. What’s your favorite part of this holiday?
And let me know in the comments below if there’s anything else you would like to learn
And don’t forget to subscribe to my channel if you want to learn more about traditional Chinese culture, beauty, and fashion
I’ll see you next time!