| Lantern Festival - the Chinese St. Valentine's Day |
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Lantern Festival The Yuanxiao or Lantern Festival is on the 15th day of the first Chinese lunar month. (7th February this year.) Yuan literally means first, while Xiao refers to night. Yuanxiao is the first time we see the full moon in the New Year. It is traditionally a time for family reunion and is the Chinese equivalent of St. Valentine's Day. The streets of Chinese communities all over the world are filled with displays of all kinds of beautiful lanterns. So this occasion is also commonly called the Lantern Festival. |
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are many different stories about the origin of the Lantern Festival. The
most popular one is Buddhist in nature. When Buddhism first entered China
during the reign of the Emperor Mingdi of the Eastern Han Dynasty in the
first century, it did not exert great influence among the Chinese people.
However, one day, the Emperor Mingdi had a dream about a golden man in his
palace that suddenly rose to the sky and disappeared in the West when he
tried to talk to him. The next day, Emperor Mingdi sent a scholar to India
to locate Buddhist scriptures illustrated with the golden man. When the
scholar returned with the scriptures, the Emperor Mingdi ordered a temple
built to house a statue of Buddha and to serve as a repository for the scriptures.
Followers believe that the power of Buddha can dispel darkness. So the Emperor
Mingdi ordered his subjects to display lighted lanterns. But this story
does not explain why the Lantern Festival is only on the 15th day of the
First Month and not any other days. |
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Traditionally, Chinese parents prepared lanterns for their children to carry on the first school day of the New Year to symbolize the hope that the children would have a bright future. Couples in the old days were discouraged from dating because their elders thought that marriage should always be prearranged by parents. Love was not allowed to get in the way of a good match! This may explain the two Chinese Valentine's days, it was the only chance the youngsters got! Chinese Valentine's Day gradually became more significant as the traditional customs lost their importance. |
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In
Hong Kong, Victoria Park (Causeway Bay) is the most popular
place to spend Lantern Festival day. You can see an incredible display
of lanterns, some traditional, some modern. It is the custom to
try and solve the riddles placed inside the lanterns. As to Chinese
Valentine's Day, there are two! Both the Seventh
Day of the Seventh Month and also the Fifteenth
Day of the First Month are dedicated to couples. Nowadays, it
is more popular to celebrate on the First Month. This may be simply because
it is quite close to St. Valentine's Day on 14th February.
On Chinese Valentine's Day, you will see lovers strolling everywhere, but especially in places like the Peak, Tsim Sha Tsui and Victoria Park. If it just happens that the 15th day of the First Month falls on a Friday or Saturday night, you'd better have a dinner reservation as everywhere will be packed with dating couples! St. Valentine's Day is still the more popular festival and is celebrated widely. |
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Story
by Joanie Scott
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