What is the origin of Lantern Festival, a traditional festival in China?

Legend has it that a long time ago, there were many fierce birds and beasts everywhere, which hurt people and livestock, so people organized to beat them. A god bird landed on the earth because it got lost, but was accidentally shot by an unsuspecting hunter. The Emperor of Heaven was very angry when he learned that. He immediately issued a decree, ordering the heavenly soldiers to set fire to the land on the fifteenth day of the first month, burning all the people, livestock and property. The daughter of the Emperor of Heaven is kind-hearted. She couldn't bear to see the innocent suffering of the people, so she risked her life and secretly rushed Xiangyun to the world to tell people the news. When people heard the news, they were like a thunderbolt overhead, and they were so scared that they didn't know what to do. After a long time, an old man came up with an idea. He said: "On the 14th, 15th and 16th of the first month, every family decorated their houses, set off firecrackers and set off fireworks. In this way, the emperor will think that people have been burned to death. " Everyone nodded and said yes, and they were ready to go separately. On the night of the fifteenth day of the first month, the emperor looked down and found that for three consecutive nights, the world was red and the noise was deafening. He thought it was the flame of the fire, and he was overjoyed. In this way, people saved their lives and property. In order to commemorate this success, every household hangs lanterns and sets off fireworks on the fifteenth day of the first month to commemorate this day. According to the legend of Emperor Wendi commemorating Pinglu, the Lantern Festival was designed by Emperor Wendi to commemorate Pinglu. After the death of Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang, Lv Hou's son Liu Ying became Emperor Hui of Han Dynasty. Hui Di was born weak and indecisive, and power gradually fell into the hands of Lv Hou. After Hui Di's death, he monopolized state affairs and turned Liu's world into Lu's. The old minister of the DPRK and Liu Zongshi were deeply indignant at this, but they were afraid of cruelty and did not dare to say anything. After Lv Hou's death, Zhu Lu was afraid of being hurt and excluded. So, in the general's home, they secretly assembled and plotted to make trouble in order to completely seize Liu's country. This story reached the ears of Liu Nang, the king of Liu. In order to protect Liu Jiangshan, Liu Nang decided to attack Zhu Lu. Later, he got in touch with founding fathers Zhou Bo and Chen Ping, and planned to get rid of Lv Lu. After the rebellion, the ministers made Liu Heng, the second son of Liu Bang, king and called him Emperor Wen. Deeply moved by the hard-won peace and prosperity, Wendy ended the "Zhu-Lu Rebellion". Since then, the fifteenth day of the first month has become a popular folk festival-"Lantern Festival". Another way of saying this is that Lantern Festival [1] lighting custom originated from Taoist "ternary theory"; The fifteenth day of the first month is Shangyuan Festival, the fifteenth day of July is Zhongyuan Festival, and the fifteenth day of October is Xiayuan Festival. The officials in charge of the upper, middle and lower elements are heaven, earth and man respectively. The celestial officials are happy and the Lantern Festival should be lit. The festivals and customs of Lantern Festival have been extended and expanded with the development of history. As far as the length of festivals is concerned, there is only one day in Han Dynasty, three days in Tang Dynasty and five days in Song Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, lights were lit from the eighth day of August until the seventeenth night of the first month, a total of ten days. Connected with the Spring Festival, it is a city during the day, full of excitement, and brightly lit at night, which is spectacular. Especially the exquisite and colorful lights make it the climax of entertainment activities during the Spring Festival. In the Qing Dynasty, there were more "hundred operas" such as dragon dancing, lion dancing, dry boating, walking on stilts and yangko dancing, but the festival period was shortened to four to five days. The legend of Dong Fangshuo and Yuanxiao girl is related to the custom of eating Yuanxiao: According to legend, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had a favorite person named Dong Fangshuo, who was kind and funny. One winter, it snowed heavily for several days, and Dong Fangshuo went to the Imperial Garden to fold plum blossoms for Emperor Wu. As soon as I entered the garden gate, I found a maid-in-waiting in tears ready to throw herself into the well. Dong Fangshuo rushed forward to help and asked her why she committed suicide. It turns out that this maid-in-waiting named Yuanxiao has parents and a sister at home. Since she entered the palace, she has never seen the legend and family of Dong Fangshuo Yuanxiao girl. Every spring comes, she misses her family more than usual. I think in front of my parents, I would rather die than be filial. Dong Fangshuo expressed deep sympathy for her suffering and assured her that she would try her best to reunite with her family. One day, Dong Fangshuo left the palace and set up a divination pavilion on Chang 'an Avenue. Many people are scrambling to find him for divination. Unexpectedly, what everyone wants is the signature of "burning us on the 16th day of the first month". Suddenly, there was a panic in Chang 'an. People are looking for a solution to the disaster. Dong Fangshuo said, "On the night of the 15th day of the first month, Vulcan will send a goddess in red to visit the earth. She is the messenger who ordered the burning of Chang 'an. I'll give you the copied poem and let today's emperor do something. " Say that finish, then dropped a red pillar and roared off. The people picked up the red post and quickly sent it to the palace to report to the emperor. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took it and read: "Chang 'an is robbing, and the Forbidden City is being burned. It has been burning for fifteen days, and the midnight snack is red." He was so scared that he soon invited resourceful Dong Fangshuo. Dong Fangshuo thought for a moment and said, "I heard that Vulcan likes to eat dumplings. Don't Yuanxiao in the palace often make dumplings for you? Let Yuanxiao package jiaozi on 15th night. Long live the incense and offerings, and order every family in Kyoto to pack jiaozi and worship Vulcan together. Then tell the subjects to hang lights together on the fifteenth night and set off firecrackers and fireworks all over the city, as if the whole city were on fire, so that the jade emperor could be fooled. In addition, inform the people outside the city to go to the city to watch the lights for fifteen nights, and they will eliminate disasters and solve problems in the crowd. " Liang Wudi was very happy after hearing this, so he ordered him to do it according to Dong Fangshuo's method. On the fifteenth day of the first month, Chang 'an City was decorated with colorful lights, crowded with tourists and very lively. The parents of the maid-in-waiting Yuanxiao also took their sister to the city to see the lights. When they saw the big palace lantern with the words "Yuanxiao" written on it, they shouted in surprise: "Yuanxiao! Lantern Festival! " When Yuanxiao heard the shouts, she was finally reunited with her relatives at home. After such a busy night, Chang 'an was safe. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was overjoyed and ordered that glutinous rice balls should be made for Vulcan every year on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the fifteenth day of the first month, the whole city was decorated with lanterns and set off fireworks. Because jiaozi cooked by Yuanxiao is the best, this day is called Lantern Festival. According to the legend of Yuan Shikai and Yuanxiao, after Yuan Shikai usurped the achievements of the Revolution of 1911, he was bent on restoring the throne of the emperor, but he was afraid of people's opposition and was always on tenterhooks. One day, he heard people selling Yuanxiao in the street screaming, "Yuanxiao." I think the word "Yuanxiao" is homophonic with "Yuan Xiao", which is suspected of the demise of Yuan Shikai and related to my own fate. So before 19 13 Lantern Festival, it is forbidden to call it "Yuanxiao", and it can only be called "glutinous rice balls" or "fruit powder". However, the word "Yuanxiao" was not cancelled because of his will, and the people did not buy his account, so it was still circulated among the people.