元宵节的起源和习俗

译 / 蔚然

元宵节的起源和习俗

译 / 蔚然

热闹的元宵灯会

农历正月十五日是元宵节，紧随春节之后。古时候，人们提前20天为春节做准备，然而，元宵节为春节画上了句号，元宵之后，一切归于平常。

“元”是第一的意思，“霄”指夜晚。元宵就是新年首个能看到满月的夜晚。元宵节是家庭团聚的传统佳节，最隆重的活动就是展挂各种各样美丽的灯笼，故此，元宵节又叫“灯节”。

关于元宵节的起源之说多种多样，但是最确切的一种说它跟宗教信仰有关。

有这样一个传说，元宵节是拜“太乙”神的日子，太乙是古代的天神。古人认为天神掌管着人类世界的命运，太乙手下有9条龙听他使唤，他决定人间什么时候遭遇饥荒瘟疫之祸，什么时候受旱灾水涝之苦。从统一中国的第一个皇帝秦始皇开始，每年都举行盛大的仪式，皇帝祈求太乙神赐予他和臣民们风调雨顺、健康长寿。汉武帝对元宵灯会特别重视，元封七年（公元前104年），他把元宵钦定为最重要的佳庆之一,庆祝仪式通宵进行。

另一个传说认为“灯节”与道教有关。“天官”是道教的神，专管人间祥运，他出生于农历正月十五。相传“天官”喜乐，所以他的信徒们就准备了各种各样的活动，祈求好运。

还有一种传说认为元宵节与佛教有关。东汉明帝时期，佛教进入中国，这也是佛教首次传入中国，然而，佛教并没有对中国人产生多大影响。一日，明帝做了个梦，梦见皇宫里有个金人，正当他准备问清这个神秘人物的身世时，金人突然升入天空，消失在西面。次日，明帝委派一位学士去印度开始了他的取经之旅，经过几千里的长途跋涉，学士终于带回了经卷。汉明帝下令建造一所寺庙供佛雕安身、收藏经书。佛徒们相信佛能驱走黑暗，所以汉明帝宣诏他的臣民们张灯结彩，这样就形成了“灯节”。

张灯的习俗得以延续传承，然而，灯盏由简朴到华贵，样式繁多，庆贺的规模也愈来愈大。

吃元宵

元宵是元宵节的特色食品。据说，元宵是因汉武帝时期的一位名叫元宵的宫女而得名。元宵是一种带馅儿的甜食，是由糯米粉加上甜的馅料制成。元宵节就是因此食品得名。元宵的烹制方法非常简单，将元宵倒入装满沸水的锅中煮几分钟就可以了。

猜灯谜

灯谜也是元宵节活动的一个基本组成部分。灯笼的所有者将谜面写在一张纸条上，然后将纸条展示在灯笼上。如果赏灯者猜出谜语，就将纸条取出，然后找灯笼所有者确认答案。猜对的话，他们就可以领取一份小礼品。这个活动起源于宋朝（960——1279）。猜灯谜活动极富情趣和智慧，因此在全社会广受欢迎。

看烟火

元宵节的白天会有舞龙舞狮、划旱船、扭秧歌、踩高跷。而在晚上，除了各种大型灯会，灿烂的焰火也是一幅美丽的画卷。很多家庭在春节时会留下一部分烟花等着元宵节放。有的地方政府甚至会组织焰火晚会。当新年的第一轮圆月升上夜空时，人们都会因燃放的烟火和空中的明月而兴奋。

（《中国日报》孙晔供稿）

The Lantern Festival is on the 15th day of the first Chinese lunar month. It is closely related to the Spring Festival. In the old days, people began preparing for the Spring Festival about 20 days before.However, the Lantern Festival marks the end of the New Year celebrations. And after the Lantern Festival, everything returns to normal.

Yuan literally means first, while Xiao refers to night. Yuanxiao is the fi rst time when we see the full moon in the New year. It is traditionally a time for family reunion. The most prominent activity of the Lantern Festival is the display of all types of beautiful lanterns. So the occasion is also called the Lantern Festival.

There are many beliefs about the origin of the Lantern Festival.But one thing for sure is that it had something to do with religious worship.

One legend tells that it was a time to worship Taiyi, the God of Heaven in ancient times. The belief was that the God of Heaven controlled the destiny of the human world. He had nine dragons at his back and call. It was him who decided when to inflict drought, storms, famine or pestilence upon human beings. Beginning with Qinshihuang, the fi rst emperor united the country, all subsequent emperors ordered splendid ceremonies each year. The emperor would ask Taiyi to bring favorable weather and good health to him and to his people.Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty directed special attention to this event. In 104 BC, he proclaimed it one of the most important celebrations and the ceremony would last throughout the night.Another legend associated with the Lantern Festival is Taoism.Tianguan is the Taoist god responsible for good fortune. His birthday falls on the 15th day of the fi rst lunar month. It is said that Tianguan likes all types of entertainment. So his followers prepare various kinds of activities during which they pray for good fortune.

The third story about the origin of the festival goes like this.Buddhism first entered China during the reign of Emperor Mingdi of the Eastern Han Dynasty. That was in the first century. However, it did not exert any great in fl uence among the Chinese people. One day, Emperor Mingdi had a dream about a gold man in his palace. At the very moment when he was about to ask the mysterious fi gure who he was, the gold man suddenly rose to the sky and disappeared in the west. The next day,Emperor Mingdi sent a scholar to India on a pilgrimage to locate Buddhist scriptures. After journeying thousands of miles, the scholar finally returned with the scriptures. Emperor Mingdi ordered that a temple be built to house a statue of Buddha and serve as a repository for the scriptures. Followers believe that the power of Buddha can dispel darkness. So Emperor Mingdi ordered his subjects to display lighted lanterns during what was to become the Lantern Festival.

The custom of lighting lanterns continued. However, the lanterns would develop from simple ones to those of various color and shape. The scale of the celebration also increased greatly.

Eating Yuanxiao

Yuanxiao is the special food for the Lantern Festival. It is believed that Yuanxiao is named after a palace maid, Yuanxiao,of Emperor Wu Di of the Han Dynasty. Yuanxiao is a kind of sweet dumpling, which is made with sticky rice flour filled with sweet stuf fi ng. And the Festival is named after the famous dumpling. It is very easy to cook - simply dump them in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes - and eaten as a desert.

Guessing lantern riddles

"Guessing lantern riddles"is an essential part of the Festival.Lantern owners write riddles on a piece of paper and post them on the lanterns. If visitors have solutions to the riddles, they can pull the paper out and go to the lantern owners to check their answer. If they are right, they will get a little gift. The activity emerged during people's enjoyment of lanterns in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). As riddle guessing is interesting and full of wisdom, it has become popular among all social strata.

Watch fireworks

In the daytime of the Festival, performances such as a dragon lantern dance, a lion dance, a land boat dance, a yangge dance,walking on stilts and beating drums while dancing will be staged. On the night, except for magni fi cent lanterns, fi reworks form a beautiful scene. Most families spare some fi reworks from the Spring Festival and let them off in the Lantern Festival.Some local governments will even organize a fi reworks party.On the night when the first full moon enters the New Year,people become really intoxicated by the imposing fi reworks and bright moon in the sky.

Origin and Customs of the Lantern Festival

By Jim Harbert