Yuanxiao Festival (Lantern Festival)
China's traditional festival - Yuanxiao (Lantern Festival) falls on the fifteenth day of the first month on the Chinese lunar calendar. Yuanxiao means the first full moon in a year. Taoism worships Sanyuan (Three Primes), with Lantern Festival be- ing the birthdate of the first Prime, the festival is also called Shangyuan Festival.
Yuanxiao already received much attention back in the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 25). To promote Bud- dhism, Emperor Mingdi of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) ordered to light up the royal palace and temples to pay tribute to Buddha, which gave birth to the later custom of lighting up lanterns on this day. Since the Sui (581-618) and the Tang (618-907) dynasties, lantern fairs would be held on the night of Yuanxiao; on these occasions, bright lanterns would light up the night as if it were daytime, and the lively fairs would hum with people who came to enjoy various-shaped lanterns, and solve riddles on the lanterns. In the Song Dynasty (960-1279), people developed the tradition of eating yuanxiao or tangyuan (sweet glutinous rice balls) on the Lantern Festival - though of similar nature, the food's name is different due to different making process. People from northern China would make yuanxiao by rolling the rice flour with fillings into balls, while those from southern China would use the wrapping method to make tangyuan. Both yuanxiao and tangyuan contains the Chinese character yuan, which is a part of the Chinese word tuanyuan, meaning getting together with family. In the food resides people's wish for their family's harmony and happiness. Influenced by Chinese culture, countries like South Korea, Japan, North Korea and Vietnam all share this traditional festival. In the regions where oversea Chinese communities inhabit, people will hold various activities to celebrate this festival.
元宵节
农历正月十五是中国传统节日元宵节。“元宵”意为一年中第一个月圆之夜。据道教“三元”的说法，又被称为“上元节”。
西汉时期就已重视正月十五的节庆，东汉明帝为弘扬佛法，下令正月十五夜晚在皇宫和寺庙里点灯敬佛，此后逐渐形成元宵张灯的习俗。隋唐以来，元宵节灯市热闹非凡，灯火如昼，人们出游赏花灯、猜灯谜。从宋代开始，正月十五形成吃元宵或汤圆的传统，“北方‘滚’元宵、南方‘包’汤圆”都有“团圆”之意，象征全家人和睦幸福。
受中华文化影响，韩国、日本、朝鲜、越南等国也有过元宵节的传统，海外华人聚居区也多在元宵节举办各种庆祝活动。
