Why do you play with lanterns on the Lantern Festival?

Playing lanterns on the Lantern Festival is to pray for blessings and create an atmosphere. During the Yongping period of Emperor Hanming, in order to promote Buddhism, Emperor Hanming ordered "burning lamps to show Buddha" in palaces and temples on the fifteenth night of the first month. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Lantern Festival gradually became a trend. During the Tang Dynasty, cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries became closer, and Buddhism flourished. On the fifteenth day of the first month, officials and people generally "burned lanterns to worship Buddha". As a result, Buddha's light spread all over the people. It has been legal to set off lanterns on the Lantern Festival since the Tang Dynasty.

The origin of hanging lanterns on Lantern Festival

Lantern Festival, also known as Shangyuan Festival, Little Lantern Festival, Lantern Festival or Lantern Festival, is one of the traditional festivals in China, which falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month every year. The first month is the first month of the lunar calendar, and the ancients called "night". The fifteenth day of the first month is the first full moon night in a year, so it is called "Lantern Festival". According to the Taoist "Sanyuan Festival", the fifteenth day of the first month is also called "Shangyuan Festival". The custom of Lantern Festival has been based on the warm and festive custom of watching lanterns since ancient times.

The formation of the Lantern Festival has a long process, which is rooted in the folk custom of turning on the lights to pray. According to general data and folklore, the fifteenth day of the first month was paid attention to in the Western Han Dynasty, but the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month really became a national folk festival after the Han and Wei Dynasties. The rise of the custom of burning lanterns on the fifteenth day of the first month is also related to the spread of Buddhism to the east. Buddhism flourished in the Tang Dynasty, and officials and people generally "lit lanterns for the Buddha" on the fifteenth day of the first month, so Buddha lanterns spread all over the people.

Lanterns are related to gods, so they are also endowed with many symbolic meanings. In ancient times, in order to dispel the fear of darkness, lanterns were derived with the meaning of exorcising evil spirits and praying for light. In Minnan dialect, the pronunciation of "Deng" is similar to that of "Ding", so lanterns are also used to pray for children to add Ding, seek fame and avoid evil spirits. There is a kind of lamp. At the end of the year and the beginning of the year, lanterns will be placed in temples to make the year safe and smooth by the magic of Buddha.