How many kinds of lanterns are there during the Lantern Festival? Why do we guess lantern riddles during the Lantern Festival?

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, every household hangs up lanterns and sets off fireworks. Guessing lantern riddles is a special activity of the Lantern Festival that has been passed down since ancient times. Sending lanterns during the Lantern Festival is to promote filial piety. The Lantern Festival is also called the Lantern Festival, which is why lanterns are sent. If you still don't know, please read the introduction below!

Contents of this article

1. How many kinds of Lantern Festival lanterns are there?

2. Why do we guess riddles during the Lantern Festival?

3. Why do we send lanterns during the Lantern Festival?

How many kinds of Lantern Festival lanterns are there?

1. Zoumadeng: Zoumadeng was called Panchideng (Qin and Han Dynasties), Xianyinzhu and Zhuanludeng (Tang Dynasty), and Maqideng (Song Dynasty) in ancient times. It is a special handicraft of the Han nationality and one of the traditional festival toys. It is a kind of lantern. It is commonly seen in festivals such as Lantern Festival, Lantern Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival. A candle is lit in the lamp, and the heat generated by the candle creates airflow, which makes the axle rotate. There are paper-cuts on the axle, and the candlelight projects the shadow of the paper-cuts on the screen, and the image keeps moving. Because there are many pictures of ancient generals riding horses on each side of the lamp, and when the lamp rotates, it looks like several people chasing each other, so it is called Zoumadeng. The candle in the Zoumadeng needs to be cut into small pieces, and it should be placed straight when it is put into the Zoumadeng, and never placed at an angle.

2. Dice lamp.

3. Round lamp.

4. Guandao Lantern: Guandao Lantern is made according to the legend that Guan Gong used the Qinglong Yanyue Sword when he was alive. It is paraded together with Kangdeng and Rabbit Lantern, which symbolizes the protection of peace. The custom of parading lanterns here has a history of four to five hundred years. From the night of the 13th to the 15th of the first lunar month, it starts from Qianmen Village, starts from the lantern village, and then tours all four villages.

5. Rabbit Lantern: The rabbit lantern has three heads in parallel. The middle head is very big, commonly known as "rabbit lady", and the heads on both sides are smaller, so they are called "thin rabbit". It is made of bamboo strips as the frame, and covered with red, white and green paper. The wick is inserted in the middle, and it is carried away after being lit. According to legend, this is because some people are eager to have children, and the rabbit is a symbol of having children, which means having many children and grandchildren. It has been passed down to this day.

Why do we guess riddles during the Lantern Festival?

Guessing lantern riddles is a special activity of the Lantern Festival that has been passed down since ancient times. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, every household would hang up lanterns and set off fireworks. Later, some people wrote riddles on pieces of paper and pasted them on colorful lanterns for people to guess. Because riddles can enlighten wisdom and cater to the festive atmosphere, many people responded, and then guessing riddles gradually became an indispensable program of the Lantern Festival.

Why do we send lanterns during the Lantern Festival?

Sending lanterns during the Lantern Festival is to promote filial piety. The Lantern Festival is also called the Lantern Festival. In ancient times, people would send lanterns to their deceased relatives on this day to let the deceased feel the greetings of their relatives. In addition, people would have a reunion dinner very early on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month every year. Some people also say that this is to send lanterns early. In addition, there is a traditional story about sending lanterns during the Lantern Festival.

Sending lanterns during the Lantern Festival is to promote filial piety. Every Lantern Festival, people light lanterns for their ancestors and express their greetings and warmth to the deceased at the resting place of their ancestors. The Lantern Festival is also called the Lantern Festival. Sending lanterns has always been a tradition of the Lantern Festival. This custom is said to have started in the Ming Dynasty to commemorate Zhu Yuanzhang.

Every year, the reunion dinner on the 15th day of the first lunar month ends very early, before 3:30. There are two theories about why the dinner is so early. One theory is that after the dinner, the New Year is over and it is time to start working. Another theory is that it ends early because lanterns are sent after the dinner.

There is another story about the tradition of sending lanterns during the Lantern Festival. It is said that Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty was looking for his mother's grave during the Lantern Festival, but he couldn't find it. So he lit a lantern in front of each grave and kowtowed to the graves. The grave whose lantern was not extinguished was his mother's grave.