Lantern Festival--元宵节

     The lantern Festival, called Yuánxiāojié (元宵节) is celebrated on the 15th day after the Chinese Lunar New Year. During the Lantern Festival, children carries paper lanterns (纸灯笼，zhǐ dēng lóng) or electric/LED lanterns nowadays at night for a fun gathering. The lantern light show (电子花灯, diàn zǐ huā dēng) and parade featuring a yearly zodiac theme are perceived as a grand event locally and nationally. The Chinese temples are usually crowded with people for viewing the exhibition of the versatile lanterns  and solving the riddles (猜灯谜, cāi dēng mí). It is a tradition that people eat sticky rice dumplings (元宵, Yuánxiāo) during the festival.

The Origins of the Yuánxiāo 元宵的由来

     The first month of the lunar calendar is called the Yuán month (元月 yuán yuè), and the night time was called xiāo (宵) in Chinese. The fifteenth day of the first month is the first full moon of the lunar year. According to East Asian tradition, when there is a bright full moon in the sky at the beginning of a new year, there should be thousands of colorful lanterns hung out for people to appreciate. That is how the celebration of the Lantern Festival is originated.  

Lantern Riddles 猜灯谜

     Lantern Riddles Solving is usually a fun activity held in Chinese temples during the Lantern Festival. Lantern riddles are written on the sides of the lanterns hung and displayed for people to solve. People who participate in guessing the riddles will try to get the answer within a very limited of time. The riddles can be associated with any word, poem, phrase, or a zodiac theme. Finding a right answer could be as challenging as fighting with a tiger. Therefore, the lantern riddles are also called 'lantern tiger" (纸老虎) Here are some riddles for you to guess (provided by Chen, Chinese Lantern Company).

Chinese Lantern Riddles
Riddles: ‘不负中秋夜明月’
Suggest: 成语
Answer: 胜利在望

Riddles: ‘灯会元宵初’
Suggest: 化学词语
Answer: 烷

Riddles: ‘春节第一日’
Suggest: 字谜
Answer: 夫


English Lantern Riddles
Riddles: What’s full of holes but still holds water?
Answer: a sponge

Riddles: What building has the most stories?
Answer: A Library

Riddles: Which is faster, hot or cold?
Answer: Hot’s faster. You can catch a cold

Riddles: When is your mind like a rumpled bed?
Answer: When it is not made up.

Riddles: What is it that everybody does at the same time?
Answer: grow older