Lantern Festival: A Celebration of Joy and Wisdom元宵节：欢乐与智慧的庆祝活动

钟晓艺

元宵节，是一个充满欢乐与智慧的节日，已经走过了两千多年的历史长河。它不仅仅是一个简单的传统节日，更是中华民族团结、和谐和创造力的象征。

The Lantern Festival， also known as Yuanxiao Festival， falls on the15th day of the first month in the Chinese lunar calendar， marking thefirst full moon night of the year. The term “Yuanxiao” comes from “yuan”，meaning the first month of the lunar year， and “xiao”， an ancient term fornight. This festival， rooted in over 2000 years of history， began duringthe Western Han Dynasty.

On this attractive night， the sky is 1）adorned with a bright full moon，while the earth is lit with thousands of colorful lanterns. In the northernregions， families gather to enjoy yuanxiao， symbolizing reunion andhappiness. These glutinous rice dumplings come in various fillings， such as sweet bean paste， sugar， hawthorn， ormixed fruits， and can be boiled， fried，steamed. Eating yuanxiao representshope for unity and prosperous， harmoniouslife， as well as a way to remember 2）distantrelatives and express wishes for thefuture.

Differently， the southern regionsof China prefer tangyuan， similaryet different from yuanxiao. Thedifference lies in the preparation. Yuanxiaoare made by shaping the filling into balls and rolling them in glutinousrice flour， gradually forming a layer of sticky rice around the filling. Incontrast， tangyuan are crafted similar to making dumplings： Glutinousrice flour is mixed with water， left to rest， and thenshaped into balls with fillings mixed separately.The fillings for tangyuan are usually softer due tohigher moisture content， not easy to 3）preservefor a long time. With the development of quickfreezingtechnology， tangyuan hasalso begun to appear in stores.

The Lantern Festival also has the tradition of lanternappreciation， which began in the Han Dynasty andreached its peak during the Tang Dynasty. The SongDynasty saw a more vivid celebration， extending thelantern appreciation to five days with more beautifullantern designs. The Ming Dynasty prolonged thisto a ten-day event， the longest in Chinese history.Although the Qing Dynasty limited it to three days，the scale was grander than ever， with fireworksadding to the festivities.

An important part of the LanternFestival is the joy of solving lanternriddles， a tradition that started in theSong Dynasty. Initially， riddles werewritten on paper and attached tocolorful lanterns for people to guess.This intellectually stimulating andentertaining activity quickly gainedpopularity across all social strata.

The Lantern Festival is not only atraditional festival， but also a symbolof reunion， joy and wisdom in Chineseculture， and it is deeply loved by peopleof all ages.

1） adorn v. 裝饰

2） distant adj. 遥远的

3） preserve v. 保存

元宵节，时间为农历的正月十五，标志着一年中的第一个满月之夜。“元宵”一词中，“元”是农历年的第一个月，“宵”是古代对夜晚的称呼。这个节日有着两千多年的历史，起源于西汉时期。

在这个迷人的夜晚，天空挂着明亮的满月，而地面则被成千上万的彩灯点亮。在北方，家庭聚集在一起享用象征着团聚和幸福的元宵。这些糯米团子有各种馅料，如甜豆沙、糖、山楂或混合水果，可以煮、炸、蒸。吃元宵代表着对团结和繁荣、和谐生活的希望，也是一种对远方亲人的怀念和对未来生活的美好愿望。

与此不同的是，南方地区更喜欢吃汤圆，汤圆虽然与元宵相似但又有所不同。二者区别在于制备方式。元宵是将馅料做成球状，然后在糯米粉中滚动，逐渐在馅料周围形成一层糯米粉的表皮。相比之下，汤圆的制作更像是做饺子：将糯米粉和水混合，静置然后分别放入馅料搓成球状。汤圆的馅料通常因含有更多水分而更软，不易长时间保存。随着速冻技术的发展，汤圆也开始出现在商店里。

元宵节还有赏灯的习俗。赏灯始于汉朝，唐朝时发展到顶峰。宋朝时元宵节的庆祝方式更丰富，赏灯活动持续5 天，灯笼的样式也更加美观。明朝时，赏灯活动延长至10 天，成为中国历史上最长的灯节。尽管清朝的赏灯活动仅持续3 天，但规模空前，还燃放烟花以增添节日气氛。

猜灯谜是元宵节的一项重要活动，始于宋朝。最初，人们把谜语写在纸条上，贴在五颜六色的灯笼上供人猜。这种激发智力的娱乐活动很快在所有阶层中受到欢迎。

元宵节不仅仅是一个传统节日，它也是中华文化中团聚、欢乐和智慧的象征，深受各个年龄段人群的喜爱。