每年農歷的正月十五日,春節剛過,迎來的就是中國的傳統節日--元宵節。元宵主要的活動就是看燈。東漢明帝時期,明帝提倡佛教,聽說佛教有正月十五日僧人觀佛舍利,點燈敬佛的做法,就命令這一天夜晚在皇宮和寺廟里點燈敬佛,令士族庶民都掛燈。
TheLanternFestivalfallsonthe15thdayofthe1stlunarmonth,usuallyinFebruaryorMarchintheGregoriancalendar.AsearlyastheWesternHanDynasty(206BC-AD25),ithadbecomeafestivalwithgreatsignificance.Thisday’simportantactivityiswatchinglanterns.ThroughouttheHanDynasty(206BC-AD220),BuddhismflourishedinChina.OneemperorheardthatBuddhistmonkswouldwatchsarira,orremainsfromthecremationofBuddha’sbody,andlightlanternstoworshipBuddhaonthe15thdayofthe1stlunarmonth,soheorderedtolightlanternsintheimperialpalaceandtemplestoshowrespecttoBuddhaonthisday.Later,theBuddhistritedevelopedintoagrandfestivalamongcommonpeopleanditsinfluenceexpandedfromtheCentralPlainstothewholeofChina.
每年農歷的正月十五日,春節剛過,迎來的就是中國的傳統節日?元宵節。元宵主要的活動就是看燈。東漢明帝時期,明帝提倡佛教,聽說佛教有正月十五日僧人觀佛舍利,點燈敬佛的做法,就命令這一天夜晚在皇宮和寺廟里點燈敬佛,令士族庶民都掛燈。以后這種佛教禮儀節日逐漸形成民間盛大的節日。該節經歷了由宮廷到民間,由中原到全國的發展過程。
Tilltoday,thelanternfestivalisstillheldeachyeararoundthecountry.Lanternsofvariousshapesandsizesarehunginthestreets,attractingcountlessvisitors.Childrenwillholdself-madeorboughtlanternstostrollwithonthestreets,extremelyexcited.“Guessinglanternriddles”isanessentialpartoftheFestival.Lanternownerswriteriddlesonapieceofpaperandpostthemonthelanterns.Ifvisitorshavesolutionstotheriddles,theycanpullthepaperoutandgotothelanternownerstochecktheiranswer.Iftheyareright,theywillgetalittlegift.Theactivityemergedduringpeople’senjoymentoflanternsintheSongDynasty(960-1279).Asriddleguessingisinterestingandfullofwisdom,ithasbecomepopularamongallsocialstrata.
直到今天,元宵點燈的習俗仍然在中國的各地流傳的,各式各樣美麗的花燈在這一天都會點亮,孩子們提著自制的燈籠走街串巷,非常高興。猜燈謎也是元宵節的一項重要活動,花燈的主人會將謎面寫在燈籠上,掛在門口,如果有人可以猜中,就能得到小小的禮物。這項活動最早起源于宋朝,因為謎語能啟迪智慧又饒有興趣,所以流傳過程中深受社會各階層的歡迎。