What is the 14th day of the first month (the origin of the Lantern Festival)?

The 14th day of the first month is the Lantern Festival, a traditional festival in China, also known as Xiaoyuanyue or Lantern Festival. Lantern Festival is the last important festival of China Lunar New Year, which is usually celebrated on the 15th day of the first lunar month. On this day, people will enjoy the moon, eat Yuanxiao, solve riddles on the lanterns, dragon lantern dance and other activities to create a strong festive atmosphere. So, what is the origin of the Lantern Festival? Let's take a look together.

On the origin of the Lantern Festival

The origin of Lantern Festival can be traced back to the Han Dynasty more than two thousand years ago. At that time, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty held a grand court event on the 15th day of the first month of each year to commemorate his wife, Wei Ruyun Zifu. This activity includes celebration ceremonies such as enjoying the moon, dancing and singing. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also ordered people to light lamps to celebrate on this day. This is the earliest origin of the Lantern Festival.

Legend of the lantern festival

There is also an important legend about the Lantern Festival, which is about a wise man named Sean in the Han Dynasty. It is said that before Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang unified the world, Sean was once a poor scholar. One day, he passed by a village and saw the villagers preparing Yuanxiao for the festival. Sean felt very strange, so he asked a villager why he had to prepare so many Yuanxiao. The villagers told him that he would worship his ancestors on the fifteenth day of the first month and pray for peace and happiness. Hearing this, Sean felt that this festival was very meaningful, so he decided to help the villagers solve their difficulties.

Sean's Wisdom

After Sean came home, he thought for a long time. Finally, he came up with an idea. On the night of the fourteenth day of the first month, he lit all the lanterns in his house and wrote some words on them. The next day, he took these lanterns to the village for the villagers to enjoy. The villagers all sighed when they saw the words written on the lanterns. They think these words are very wise and can help them solve their difficulties. So the villagers asked Sean questions one by one, hoping to get his help. Sean took this opportunity to impart a lot of wisdom and knowledge to the villagers. The villagers benefited a lot and were grateful to Sean.

Traditional activities of Lantern Festival

Lantern Festival is a festival full of joy and blessings, and people will carry out various traditional activities to celebrate it. One of the most important activities is to enjoy the lights. On the night of the Lantern Festival, people will light all kinds of lanterns and hang them in front of doors, windows or trees. These lanterns have various shapes, including red lanterns, lanterns, animal lanterns and so on. They are very beautiful. In addition, people will hold performances such as lion dance and dragon dance, as well as solve riddles on the lanterns games. Solve riddles on the lanterns is a traditional activity of the Lantern Festival. People will write some riddles on riddles, and then others will guess the bottom of the riddle. Solve riddles on the lanterns not only tests intelligence, but also adds interest to festivals.