元宵節(jié)的來歷

Lantern Festival falls on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. This is the first full moon of the new year， symbolizing unity and perfection. Lantern Festival is an important part of Spring Festival ， and marks the official end of the long holiday.

There are many legends concerning the origins of Lantern Festival.

According to one legend， once in ancient times， a celestial swan came into the mortal world where it was shot down by a hunter. The Jade Emperor， the highest god in Heaven， vowed to avenge the swan. He started making plans to send a troop of celestial soldiers and generals to Earth on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month， with orders to incinerate all humans and animals. But the other celestial beings disagreed with this course of action， and risked their lives to warn the people of Earth. As a result， before and after the fifteenth day of the first month， every family hung red lanterns outside their doors and set off firecrackers and fireworks， giving the impression that their homes were already burning. By successfully tricking the Jade Emperor in this way， humanity was saved from extermination.

According to another legend， during the time of Emperor Han Wudi of the Han Dynasty ， a palace woman named Yuanxiao was prevented from carrying out her filial duty of visiting her parents on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Distraught， she said she would kill herself by jumping into a well. In order to help Yuanxiao fulfill her duty as a filial daughter， the scholar Dongfang Shuo came up with a scheme. He told Emperor Han Wudi that the Jade Emperor， the highest god in Heaven， had ordered the Fire God to burn down the capital city of Chang’an on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month. Anxious to find a way to save his city， the emperor asked Dongfang Shuo what he should do. Dongfang Shuo replied that the Fire God loved red lanterns more than anything. He advised that the streets be hung with red lanterns， and the emperor， empress， concubines， and court officials come out of the palace to see them. In this way， the Fire God would be distracted and disaster averted. The emperor followed Dongfang Shuo’s advice， and while everyone was out viewing the lanterns， Yuanxiao was able to sneak out of the palace and be reunited with her parents.

Although the above stories are quite fantastical， it is sure that the origins of Lantern Festival are related to ancient humanity’s use of fire to celebrate festivals and avert disaster. Since Lantern Festival involves making offerings to the deities and is celebrated at night， it is natural that fire would play an important role. Over time， Lantern Festival gradually evolved into its present form. When Buddhism was introduced to China during the Eastern Han Dynasty ， the emperor decreed that on the night of the full moon of the first lunar month， lanterns should be lit to honor Buddha， adding yet another level of significance to Lantern Festival. And according to Daoism， Lantern Festival is associated with the primordial deities of Heaven and Fire， who were born on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

Eating yuanxiao （sweet dumplings made with glutinous rice flour） is one of the special traditions of Lantern Festival. Lantern Festival is also called Yuanxiao Festival. Another name for yuanxiao is tangyuan， which literally means “boiled spheres”.

元宵節(jié)是農(nóng)歷正月的第十五天，這是新年的第一次滿月，象征著和睦和團圓。元宵節(jié)是春節(jié)的一個重要組成部分，也象征著春節(jié)長假的正式結(jié)束。

關(guān)于元宵節(jié)的來歷有很多傳說。

有一個傳說是這樣的，在古代，有一位神界天鵝闖入人間被獵手誤殺。天界最高的神玉皇大帝因此發(fā)誓為這只天鵝報仇。他開始制定計劃，派出一支天兵天將于農(nóng)歷正月十五來到人間，命令他們火燒所有的人和動物。但是其他神仙并不贊同這一計劃，他們冒著生命危險提醒人間的人們。結(jié)果，在正月十五這一天前后，每一個家庭在門外掛起燈籠，并燃放煙花爆竹，給天兵天將造成各家各戶起火的假象。通過這種方式，人們成功騙過了玉皇大帝，人類也因此逃過滅絕的危險。

另外一個傳說發(fā)生在漢武帝時期。一位名叫元宵的宮女因身處深宮，沒法在正月十五與父母團聚盡孝。為此，她欲跳井自盡。為了幫助元宵姑娘為父母盡孝，智者東方朔想出了一個計劃。他告訴漢武帝，天界最高的神——玉皇大帝下令在正月十六火燒長安。為了拯救長安城，漢武帝問東方朔該怎么辦。東方朔回答說火神最愛大紅燈籠。他建議在街道上懸掛大紅燈籠，皇帝、皇后、六宮嬪妃和朝廷大臣都要外出觀賞燈籠。這樣，火神的注意力就會被分散，災(zāi)難也就可以避免了?；实鄄杉{了東方朔的建議，當所有人都外出賞燈時，元宵得以有機會溜出皇宮，和家人團圓。

雖然上述的傳說很神奇，但可以確定的是元宵節(jié)的起源必定跟古代人們使用火來慶祝節(jié)日、躲避災(zāi)難有關(guān)。元宵節(jié)活動包括逃避邪神，且是在晚上慶祝，所以很自然地，火就扮演了很重要的角色。隨著時間的流逝，元宵節(jié)逐漸演變?yōu)榻裉斓男问健|漢時期，佛教傳入中國，皇帝下令，在正月第一個滿月的晚上，必須點亮燈籠敬佛，這也使元宵節(jié)更增添了一份意義。而在道教里，元宵節(jié)是與掌管天界和火的元神緊密相連的，因為他們就誕生在正月十五。

吃元宵（有糯米粉制成的甜餡兒食物）是元宵節(jié)一個特別傳統(tǒng)，而元宵節(jié)也因這種食物得名。元宵的另一種叫法是湯圓，字面意思就是“煮熟的圓球狀食品”。