Quanzhou -- the Lantern Festival 

cctv.com 03-23-2005 13:46

Motorcycles and scooters are quite popular in south part of China. It gives you a closer look at the local lifestyle. Welcome to Travelogue, welcome to Quan Zhou. On the street of Quan Zhou there are about 500,000 of this type of scooters.

Quanzhou is my destiny on this trip. It is located in the very south of China in Fujian province. Quanzhou is famous for making the incredible puppy doll and holding a large parade at Lantern Festival.

The 15th day of the 1st lunar month is the Chinese Lantern Festival because the first lunar month is called yuan-month and in the ancient times people called night Xiao. The 15th day is the first night to see a full moon. So the day is also called Yuan Xiao Festival in China. According to the Chinese tradition, at the every beginning of a new year, when there is a bright full moon hanging in the sky, there should be thousands of colorful lanterns hung out for people to appreciate. At this time people will try to solve the puzzles on the lanterns and eat Yuanxiao for get the families united in the joyful atmosphere

There are many different beliefs about the origin of the Lantern Festival. But one thing for sure is that it had something to do with religious worship.

A legend associates the Lantern Festival with Taoism. Tianguan is the Taoist god responsible for good fortune. His birthday falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month. It is said that Tianguan likes all types of entertainment. So followers prepare various kinds of activities during which they pray for good fortune.

Today, the displaying of lanterns is still a big event on the 15th day of the first lunar month throughout China. At Quanzhou, woman in the near by village still keep the tradition of saving their hair for good luck. At the day right before the holiday, people will clean up house, preparing many different dishes for praying to the ancestor, and of cause Yuan Xiao, the glutenous rice ball has to be the must-eat course with family and friends.

Besides entertainment and beautiful lanterns, another important part of the Lantern Festival, or Yuanxiao Festival is eating small dumpling balls made of glutinous rice flour. We call these balls Yuanxiao or Tangyuan.

Obviously, they get the name from the festival itself. It is said that the custom of eating Yuanxiao originated during the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the fourth centuty, then became popular during the Tang and Song periods.