Is Lantern Festival a small year?

Lantern Festival, also known as Shangyuan Festival, Xiaoyuanyuan Festival, Yuanxi Festival or Lantern Festival, is the 15th day of the first lunar month every year and one of the traditional festivals in China. The first month is the first month of the lunar calendar, and the ancients called the night Xiao. The fifteenth day of the first month is the first full moon night in a year, so it is called the Lantern Festival.

Off-year is a traditional festival of Han nationality in China, also called "offering sacrifices to the stove". The main activities of Xiaonian 1 are usually held in the evening, so it is also called "Xiaonian Eve". The specific dates of off-year are different in different regions. Most areas in the north are on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, and many areas in the south are on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month. Off-year is the only traditional festival in China with different dates in the north and south, which is the result of the multi-cultural integration of folk customs in China.

The origin of Lantern Festival:

The formation of Lantern Festival custom has a long process. According to general data and folklore, the fifteenth day of the first month was paid attention to in the Western Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's activity of offering sacrifices to Taiyi in Ganquan Palace in the first month was regarded by later generations as the forerunner of offering sacrifices to the gods on the fifteenth day of the first month: "Historical Records": "Han people often go to Xin Temple to offer sacrifices to Taiyi Ganquan in the first month, and when they are unconscious, they will die in Ming Dynasty."

The introduction of Buddhist culture in the Eastern Han Dynasty is of great significance to the formation of Lantern Festival customs. 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. Therefore, the custom of burning lanterns on the 15th night of the first month was gradually spread in China with the expansion of the influence of Buddhist culture and the addition of Taoist culture. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Lantern Festival gradually became a trend.