Explanatory text about the Lantern Festival (250 words including origin, legend, and what to do)

The Lantern Festival originated in the Han Dynasty. According to legend, Emperor Wen of Han succeeded to the throne and proclaimed himself emperor after pacifying the "Zhu Lu Rebellion". The day when the rebellion was quelled happened to be the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Therefore, from then on, every night on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Chinese The emperor wanted to go out of the palace to have fun with the people, so he designated this day as the Lantern Festival. Later, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty ordered the Lantern Festival to light lanterns, which was also called "Lantern Festival" and "Dengxi". Legend has it that the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the "birthday of Tianguan", so it is also called the "Shangyuan Festival".

Since ancient times, the main folk customs of the Lantern Festival are eating Lantern Festival, watching lanterns and guessing lantern riddles. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, women still had the custom of "walking on bridges and touching lanterns". In the old days, on the night of the 16th day of the first lunar month, women would all put on their white silk blouses and walk in groups hand in hand. The one walking in the front would hold incense to clear the way, and the other women would follow closely behind and call them "walking all diseases" to lead the way. The bridge is called "the bridge". It is said that those who cross the bridge can keep their waist and legs free of disease for a year and live a long and healthy life. After crossing the bridge, women have to go to each city gate to touch the copper nails on the city gates, saying that this is "good for a man" and can give birth to a boy.

Every time during the Lantern Festival, the court would also decorate with lanterns, officials would have a holiday, the curfew would be lifted, and people could travel all night to watch the lanterns. The festival lasted from one day in the Han Dynasty, three days in the Tang Dynasty, and five days in the Song Dynasty to ten days in the Ming Dynasty, ending on the night of the eighth to seventeenth day of the first lunar month. It is a city during the day and lights at night, which is extremely spectacular. The Lantern Festival is called the Festival of Lanterns because lighting and viewing lanterns are the main contents of this festival. The 13th day of the first lunar month is "Shang Deng", the 14th day is "Testing Lamp", the 15th day is "Right Lamp", and the 17th day is "Stop Lamp", also known as "Remnant Lamp" or "Lantern Lamp". During the Ming Dynasty, Beijing's lantern market was located at Dengshikou in today's Dongcheng District. At that time, the lanterns and the market were integrated. On Lantern Festival night, the entire street of Dengshikou was very lively. In addition to the shops on both sides with lanterns and colorful decorations, there were all kinds of jewelry, jade, and daily necessities, making it very lively. In the Qing Dynasty, the lanterns and the city were separated. The "city" was owned by Liulichang and Lingyou Palace, while the "lantern" was located in the area around the East Fourth Archway and Di'anmen in the inner city. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, ice lanterns were made on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in Di'anmen and Shichahai areas, which were very popular among the people. Therefore, the custom of making lanterns on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month has been passed down to this day, and there are many stories about watching lanterns during the Lantern Festival in history. Legend has it that in the Song Dynasty, a couple got separated while watching lanterns on the Lantern Festival night. It happened to be that Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty was giving wine. The wife was eager to find her husband, so she picked up the emperor's royal wine glass and recited a poem: "The moon is full, the pot is shining with lanterns." , hand in hand with Lang to Duanmen. They are greedy for watching the cranes, singing and dancing, but they don't realize that the mandarin ducks are missing. It is getting late. I am grateful for the emperor's favor, and I am afraid that I will be scolded by my uncle for stealing the wine glasses when I return home. After hearing this, the romantic emperor happily rewarded the woman with the gold cup and left a good story about the Lantern Festival.

In the past, "lanterns" and "riddles" were inseparable. If there were lanterns, there would be riddles, so it was called "lantern riddles" and commonly known as "lantern riddles" (this theory comes from Li Guang's shooting of tigers in Peking). derived from the story). On the night of the Lantern Festival, riddle strips are usually attached to lanterns or hung on drawstrings, and whoever guesses correctly wins a prize. Some shops also put up lanterns and hung riddles, and specially marked the prizes, "If the guesser is correct, he will be awarded three thousand apples." When the correct guesser stepped forward to receive the prize, the prize was just an apple with three toothpicks stuck in it. This adds to the joyful atmosphere. The riddles played during the Lantern Festival are generally humorous and interesting. For example, the riddle is "Bajie takes a bath" (name a meat dish), and the answer is "Pigs go into the water". Another example is, "A farmer's heart is like boiling soup", (a three-character saying) the answer is "Qian is anxious" and so on.

On the night of the Lantern Festival, there is a bright moonlight above and thousands of bright lanterns below. The sky and the earth complement each other, which is so beautiful. Fireworks, walking on stilts, running land boats, playing lions, small gatherings, etc. are also a display of folk culture.