Want to know the origin of Lantern Festival and the custom of carrying lanterns?

The formation of Lantern Festival custom has a long process. According to general data and folklore, the fifteenth day of the first month was paid attention to in the Western Han Dynasty. On the night of the first month, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty offered sacrifices to "Taiyi" in Ganquan Palace, which was regarded by later generations as the first sacrifice to the gods on the fifteenth day of the first month. However, the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month is indeed a folk festival after the Han and Wei Dynasties.

The custom of burning lanterns on the fifteenth day of the first month is related to the eastward spread of Buddhism. During the Tang dynasty, Buddhism flourished, and officials and ordinary people generally "lit lanterns for the Buddha" on the fifteenth day of the first month, so Buddha lanterns spread all over the people. Since the Tang Dynasty, the Lantern Festival has become a legal thing and has gradually become a folk custom.

Lantern Festival actually refers to the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. The fifteenth day of the first month is the night of the first full moon in a year, and it is also the night of the unification and spring return of the Yuan Dynasty. People celebrate this festival and celebrate the continuation of the Spring Festival. Therefore, the Lantern Festival is also called "Shangyuan Festival".

The custom of setting off Kongming lanterns on the Lantern Festival has been formed since the Han Dynasty. From the imperial court to the people, it formed an unprecedented lantern market in the Tang Dynasty, and became a national carnival festival after the middle Tang Dynasty. At that time, there was a big lantern market in Chang 'an, with 50,000 lanterns ordered, and the whole Chang 'an was golden.