譯 / 蔚然

元宵節(jié)的起源和習俗

譯 / 蔚然

熱鬧的元宵燈會

農(nóng)歷正月十五日是元宵節(jié)，緊隨春節(jié)之后。古時候，人們提前20天為春節(jié)做準備，然而，元宵節(jié)為春節(jié)畫上了句號，元宵之后，一切歸于平常。

“元”是第一的意思，“霄”指夜晚。元宵就是新年首個能看到滿月的夜晚。元宵節(jié)是家庭團聚的傳統(tǒng)佳節(jié)，最隆重的活動就是展掛各種各樣美麗的燈籠，故此，元宵節(jié)又叫“燈節(jié)”。

關于元宵節(jié)的起源之說多種多樣，但是最確切的一種說它跟宗教信仰有關。

有這樣一個傳說，元宵節(jié)是拜“太乙”神的日子，太乙是古代的天神。古人認為天神掌管著人類世界的命運，太乙手下有9條龍聽他使喚，他決定人間什么時候遭遇饑荒瘟疫之禍，什么時候受旱災水澇之苦。從統(tǒng)一中國的第一個皇帝秦始皇開始，每年都舉行盛大的儀式，皇帝祈求太乙神賜予他和臣民們風調雨順、健康長壽。漢武帝對元宵燈會特別重視，元封七年（公元前104年），他把元宵欽定為最重要的佳慶之一,慶祝儀式通宵進行。

另一個傳說認為“燈節(jié)”與道教有關?！疤旃佟笔堑澜痰纳?，專管人間祥運，他出生于農(nóng)歷正月十五。相傳“天官”喜樂，所以他的信徒們就準備了各種各樣的活動，祈求好運。

還有一種傳說認為元宵節(jié)與佛教有關。東漢明帝時期，佛教進入中國，這也是佛教首次傳入中國，然而，佛教并沒有對中國人產(chǎn)生多大影響。一日，明帝做了個夢，夢見皇宮里有個金人，正當他準備問清這個神秘人物的身世時，金人突然升入天空，消失在西面。次日，明帝委派一位學士去印度開始了他的取經(jīng)之旅，經(jīng)過幾千里的長途跋涉，學士終于帶回了經(jīng)卷。漢明帝下令建造一所寺廟供佛雕安身、收藏經(jīng)書。佛徒們相信佛能驅走黑暗，所以漢明帝宣詔他的臣民們張燈結彩，這樣就形成了“燈節(jié)”。

張燈的習俗得以延續(xù)傳承，然而，燈盞由簡樸到華貴，樣式繁多，慶賀的規(guī)模也愈來愈大。

吃元宵

元宵是元宵節(jié)的特色食品。據(jù)說，元宵是因漢武帝時期的一位名叫元宵的宮女而得名。元宵是一種帶餡兒的甜食，是由糯米粉加上甜的餡料制成。元宵節(jié)就是因此食品得名。元宵的烹制方法非常簡單，將元宵倒入裝滿沸水的鍋中煮幾分鐘就可以了。

猜燈謎

燈謎也是元宵節(jié)活動的一個基本組成部分。燈籠的所有者將謎面寫在一張紙條上，然后將紙條展示在燈籠上。如果賞燈者猜出謎語，就將紙條取出，然后找燈籠所有者確認答案。猜對的話，他們就可以領取一份小禮品。這個活動起源于宋朝（960——1279）。猜燈謎活動極富情趣和智慧，因此在全社會廣受歡迎。

看煙火

元宵節(jié)的白天會有舞龍舞獅、劃旱船、扭秧歌、踩高蹺。而在晚上，除了各種大型燈會，燦爛的焰火也是一幅美麗的畫卷。很多家庭在春節(jié)時會留下一部分煙花等著元宵節(jié)放。有的地方政府甚至會組織焰火晚會。當新年的第一輪圓月升上夜空時，人們都會因燃放的煙火和空中的明月而興奮。

（《中國日報》孫曄供稿）

The Lantern Festival is on the 15th day of the first Chinese lunar month. It is closely related to the Spring Festival. In the old days, people began preparing for the Spring Festival about 20 days before.However, the Lantern Festival marks the end of the New Year celebrations. And after the Lantern Festival, everything returns to normal.

Yuan literally means first, while Xiao refers to night. Yuanxiao is the fi rst time when we see the full moon in the New year. It is traditionally a time for family reunion. The most prominent activity of the Lantern Festival is the display of all types of beautiful lanterns. So the occasion is also called the Lantern Festival.

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

One legend tells that it was a time to worship Taiyi, the God of Heaven in ancient times. The belief was that the God of Heaven controlled the destiny of the human world. He had nine dragons at his back and call. It was him who decided when to inflict drought, storms, famine or pestilence upon human beings. Beginning with Qinshihuang, the fi rst emperor united the country, all subsequent emperors ordered splendid ceremonies each year. The emperor would ask Taiyi to bring favorable weather and good health to him and to his people.Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty directed special attention to this event. In 104 BC, he proclaimed it one of the most important celebrations and the ceremony would last throughout the night.Another legend associated with the Lantern Festival is Taoism.Tianguan is the Taoist god responsible for good fortune. His birthday falls on the 15th day of the fi rst lunar month. It is said that Tianguan likes all types of entertainment. So his followers prepare various kinds of activities during which they pray for good fortune.

The third story about the origin of the festival goes like this.Buddhism first entered China during the reign of Emperor Mingdi of the Eastern Han Dynasty. That was in the first century. However, it did not exert any great in fl uence among the Chinese people. One day, Emperor Mingdi had a dream about a gold man in his palace. At the very moment when he was about to ask the mysterious fi gure who he was, the gold man suddenly rose to the sky and disappeared in the west. The next day,Emperor Mingdi sent a scholar to India on a pilgrimage to locate Buddhist scriptures. After journeying thousands of miles, the scholar finally returned with the scriptures. Emperor Mingdi ordered that a temple be built to house a statue of Buddha and serve as a repository for the scriptures. Followers believe that the power of Buddha can dispel darkness. So Emperor Mingdi ordered his subjects to display lighted lanterns during what was to become the Lantern Festival.

The custom of lighting lanterns continued. However, the lanterns would develop from simple ones to those of various color and shape. The scale of the celebration also increased greatly.

Eating Yuanxiao

Yuanxiao is the special food for the Lantern Festival. It is believed that Yuanxiao is named after a palace maid, Yuanxiao,of Emperor Wu Di of the Han Dynasty. Yuanxiao is a kind of sweet dumpling, which is made with sticky rice flour filled with sweet stuf fi ng. And the Festival is named after the famous dumpling. It is very easy to cook - simply dump them in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes - and eaten as a desert.

Guessing lantern riddles

"Guessing lantern riddles"is an essential part of the Festival.Lantern owners write riddles on a piece of paper and post them on the lanterns. If visitors have solutions to the riddles, they can pull the paper out and go to the lantern owners to check their answer. If they are right, they will get a little gift. The activity emerged during people's enjoyment of lanterns in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). As riddle guessing is interesting and full of wisdom, it has become popular among all social strata.

Watch fireworks

In the daytime of the Festival, performances such as a dragon lantern dance, a lion dance, a land boat dance, a yangge dance,walking on stilts and beating drums while dancing will be staged. On the night, except for magni fi cent lanterns, fi reworks form a beautiful scene. Most families spare some fi reworks from the Spring Festival and let them off in the Lantern Festival.Some local governments will even organize a fi reworks party.On the night when the first full moon enters the New Year,people become really intoxicated by the imposing fi reworks and bright moon in the sky.

Origin and Customs of the Lantern Festival

By Jim Harbert