Lantern Festival

Yunxio ji
Created By:
Alex Nguyen
Jason Nguyen

Megan Ko
Matthew Hung

ORIGIN ( yun
) celebrated for more than
This festival Q
has
been
2,000 years.

It started at the beginning of the Han Dynasty (25220)

During the reign of Emperor Hanmingdi (also a
Buddhist advocate), he witnessed monks
lighting lanterns in respect to Buddha.
So Emperor Hanmingdi ordered that all temples,
households, and any royal places do the same.

CUSTOMS/TRADITIONS/TABOOS
( Chuntng)
The main tradition of the Lantern Festival is to light lanterns and hang them everywhere.
Places such as homes, shops, parks, and streets.

There is a dance danced by two people wearing lion costumes which was to ward off evil
spirits since lions were symbols of strength and bravery. This dance has spread to many other
countries that holds a chinese community.
An important custom is to eat Tangyuan . Tangyuan symbolizes the gathering of a family.
Also, the shape of the Tangyuan and their bowls also symbolize wholeness, togetherness, and
family.

MODERN DAY EVOLUTION

The people
of ancient
China believed that spirits could be seen flying
Xindi
ynbin

around in the light on the first full moon of the lunar new year.
Over time, their search for the spirits evolved into the Lantern Festival,
now celebrated in parks, temples, etc.
The Lantern Festival is now one of the most unique festivals. It is known
for their rocket hives, fireworks, dragon and lion dances, art
demonstrations, and acrobatic performances.
This three day celebration attracts millions of revelers every year.

STORIES (

- Gsh jqng
Sort of looks like the
town is on fire

One story about the lantern festival is about the Jade Emperor whose
favorite crane was hunted and killed. Furious, he wanted to set villages
ablaze in retaliation of the death of his crane. So a wise man had the
village hang up red lanterns and use firecrackers so it seems like the
village was already destroyed and tricked the Jade Emperor.
Another story is about a god named Taiyi and his 16 pet dragons. Taiyi
used his 16 dragons to control the destiny of the world. So Emperor
Qinshihuang held the Lantern Festival to ask Taiyi for good weather and
wealth.

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
Lantern
Wnhu
day of the Spring Festival while also on the
festival yy
is the last
Chinese Lunar Calendar, the it was the first full moon which indicated the
starting of spring.

During the Han dynasty, Buddhist told monks hang lanterns on January 15
of lunar calendar to show respect to Buddha. Emperors then started to
hang lanterns in palaces and temples. This tradition was then slowly
followed by civilians.
Buddhist also told monks to visit and watch sarira which are relics that
contained parts of Buddhas skull such as his teeth.
Traditionally, on the day of the Lantern Festival, parents prepared lanterns
for their children to carry to school to symbolize bright futures.

VISUALS ( Tpin)

QUESTIONS
What were some traditions that were used in the
Lantern Festival other than lighting lanterns?
How long was the Lantern Festival celebrated?
How many dragons did the god Taiyi have and what
were they used for?
What does the food Tangyuan symbolize?

BIBLIOGRAPHIES
http://traditions.cultural-china.com/en/14Traditions99.html
http://www.lantern-festival.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/20090203_79
c1a049b10e3d8cd738rdXzCGvhU34p.jpg
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/unfJNR_zwnk/maxresdefault.jpg
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/buddhist-human-pearls
http://www.chinahighlights.com/festivals/lantern-festival.htm
http://chineseculture.about.com/od/chinesefestivals/a/Chinese-New-Year-Orig
ins-Of-The-Lantern-Festival.htm