The origin of eating glutinous rice balls during the Lantern Festival

Every year on the 15th day of the first lunar month, just after the Spring Festival, comes the traditional Chinese festival - the Lantern Festival.

The first month of the first lunar month is the first month of the lunar calendar. The ancients called night "Xiao", so the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is called the Lantern Festival. The 15th day of the first lunar month is the first full-moon night of the year. It is also the night when the Yuan Dynasty begins and the earth returns to spring. People celebrate this and it is also the continuation of celebrating the New Year. The Lantern Festival is also called the "Shangyuan Festival".

According to Chinese folk tradition, on this night when the bright moon hangs high in the sky, people light up thousands of colorful lanterns to celebrate. They go out to enjoy the moon, light lanterns and set off flames, guess lantern riddles, and eat Yuanxiao. The family reunites and celebrates the festival together, and it is a joyful time. The Lantern Festival is also called the Festival of Lanterns. The custom of lighting lanterns during the Lantern Festival began in the Han Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, lantern viewing activities became more prosperous. Lanterns were hung everywhere in the palace and on the streets, and tall lantern wheels, lantern towers and lantern trees were built. Lu Zhaolin, a great poet of the imperial dynasty, once described the grand occasion of lighting lanterns during the Lantern Festival in "Watching Lanterns on the Fifteenth Night": "The stars are falling after the Han Dynasty, and the moon hangs against the building."

The Song Dynasty paid more attention to the Lantern Festival and lantern viewing activities. It is more lively, the lantern viewing activity lasts for 5 days, and the styles of lanterns are also more abundant. In the Ming Dynasty, lantern viewing lasted for 10 consecutive days, making this the longest lantern festival in China. Although the lantern viewing event in the Qing Dynasty only lasted for three days, it was very large-scale and unprecedentedly grand. In addition to lighting lanterns, fireworks were also set off to add to the fun.