Eating Yuanxiao and guessing lantern riddles

The Lantern Festival is the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar. On this day, people go out to watch the moon, let off fireworks, guess lantern riddles, and eat Yuanxiao.

When it comes to the Lantern Festival, the custom of the Chinese people is to eat a bowl of Yuanxiao or Tangyuan to celebrate, which means reunion and happiness. According to historical records, the custom of eating Yuanxiao originated from the Tang and Five Dynasties. At that time, Yuanxiao was made of glutinous rice, and it was filled with sugar. Later, because it was a specific food eaten during the Lantern Festival, it was simply called “Yuanxiao”.

Yuanxiao is best to eat it little at a time, and don’t swallow it all for fear of scalding your throat or getting chocked. The hot Yuanxiao just came out of the pot, the temperature is very high, especially the high-fat stuffing inside, swallowing it, can easily cause esophagus burns.

On the Lantern Festival night, people are enjoying lanterns and guessing lantern riddles. Lantern riddles are a traditional project of the Lantern Festival that began in the Southern Song Dynasty. Because riddles can inspire wisdom and cater to the festive atmosphere, so many people responded. Later, guessing lantern riddles gradually became an indispensable program for the Lantern Festival. The lantern riddles improve the atmosphere of festival, which show the intelligence of ancient Chinese people and their desire for a better life.  Guessing lantern riddles, as a form of cultural activities with a national style, has been used for thousands of years to make the festival more interesting, and has also created many marriages.