Meaning
The Lantern Festival is a traditional Chinese festival celebrated on the 15th day of the first lunar month, marking the end of Chinese New Year celebrations. It is characterized by hanging colorful lanterns, solving riddles written on lanterns, eating tangyuan or yuanxiao (sweet glutinous rice balls), and various folk performances like lion dances and dragon dances.
Usage
Native speakers commonly refer to this festival when discussing traditional holidays or making plans around the lunar new year period. The festival is strongly associated with family reunion, as it represents the first full moon of the lunar year. People often say 元宵节快乐 to wish others a happy Lantern Festival.
Examples
- 01元宵节那天，我们全家一起吃汤圆，看花灯。, , .On Lantern Festival, our whole family ate tangyuan together and looked at the decorative lanterns.
- 02今年的元宵节是二月五号。.This year's Lantern Festival is on February 5th.
Characters
Measure words
- 个一个元宵节
Common collocations
- 过元宵节to celebrate Lantern Festival
- 元宵节快乐Happy Lantern Festival
- 闹元宵to celebrate Lantern Festival with festivities
Origin
The name literally means 'first night festival,' referring to the first full moon night of the lunar new year. The festival dates back over 2,000 years to the Han Dynasty.