Falling on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, the Lantern Festival is one of the grandest celebrations among the common people in China, and the custom of merry making on this night has a long history. The custom originated from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) 2,000 years ago. After the death of Liu Bang, the 1st emperor of the Han Dynasty, Queen Lv usurped power. After her death, with the help of the ministers Zhou Bo and Chen Ping, Emperor Wen removed the supporters of the queen and ascended to the throne.

For the reason that he got rid of Queen Lv’s influence on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, Emperor Wen would go out incognito on this day every year and stroll about streets, amusing himself with the common people. In ancient times, night was called “xiao” and the 1st lunar month was known as the “yuan” (meaning beginning or first in Chinese) month, so Emperor Wen set this night as “yuan xiao”. The date was known regarded as the lucky time to worship the Heaven and pray for its blessing.

The Lantern Festival is also known as the First Full-Moon Festival. In the Taoist traditions there were three full-moon festivals: the First Full-Moon Festival on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, the Middle Full-Moon Festival on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, and the Last Full-Moon Festival on the 15th day of the 10th lunar month. And they refer to the birthday of the Heavenly Official, the Earthly Official and the Water Official respectively. “the 15th day of the 1st lunar month is the Lantern Festival when the Heavenly Official will grant blessings”.