有关付出与收获的优秀英语作文精品20篇

No Pains,No Gains

It is obvious to everybody that the only way to achieve one s goal is to work hard. Just as the old saying goes no mill, no meal . Have you ever seen a man who succeeds just by idling about? Of course, the answer is No . So we know if you want to gain something, you will have pains.

The farmers harvest by a year of arduous work; the scientists gain achievements by years of devoted researches; students get good marks by working hard; even the little ants have their food by working hard day and night. 1 know there are always some people who wait for the opportunities falling on them. They may attribute their failures to lack of good chances. Therefore, there are so many people gaining nothing at last. Clever men know that the more effort they make, the bigger chance they will have to be successful.

So, when others achieve their aspirations and you still gain nothing, don t complain about the unfair.

[没有付出就没有收获英语作文

August 15th in Chinese Lunar Calendar is the Mid-Autumn Day. It is one of

the most important traditional festivals in China.

On that day people usually go back home to have family reunion . Each

family will have the members get together to have a big dinner. The most popular

food is moon cakes. They are round and look like the moon.

The moon is the brightest this night. People eat the delicious food while

they are enjoying a beautiful full moon in their yard. At this time, some old

people would like to tell many past events and tell the children a story about

the rabbit on the moon . The children really believe that there is a rabbit on

the moon. They hope to go to the moon and have a look one day.

What a great festival!

中秋节

农历八月十五日是中秋节，在中国它是最重要的传统节日之一。

在那一天，人们通常回家与家人团聚，一家人聚在一起饱餐一顿。最流行的食品是月饼，它们圆圆的就像月亮。

中秋节晚上的月亮特别地圆。人们都在自家的院子里一边赏月一边吃着可口的月饼。这个时候

，一些老人会讲述许多古老的故事，如月亮上的玉兔，孩子们信以为真，他们真想有一天登上月球看个究竟。

中秋是个美好的节日啊!

Science and technology have been bringing human beings tremendous benefits.

Thanks to science and technology, we now live comfortably and conveniently in

houses furnished with air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines and

televisions etc. Thanks to science and technology, we can eat fresh vegetables

at the year round. Thanks to science and technology, we can travel long

distances in the fraction of a second on planes, trains and cars. Thanks to

science and technology, we wear clothes with synthetic materials which can not

easily be worn out.

However, science and technology have atso brought us a lot of disasters.

First, because of the many breakthroughs in the field of medicine, people are

now living much longer than they used to. As a result, the population of the

world is increasing, causing lots of problems. Second, because of the

development of industry, lots of the wastes from factories pour into the air and

rivers, causing pollution of all kinds. Third, some terrorists are using science

and technology against mankind. They use biological, chemical and unclear

weapons to threaten world peace...

So its urgent that we find ways to solve these problems. But we should not

stop the development of science and technology because of these disasters they

bring, just as we should not give up eating for fear of choking. In addition, we

should make some rules to regulate our actions. As long as we use science and

technology in a proper way, they may bring us even more benefits.

Halloween

Halloween always falls on 31 October. It’s a holiday for children. On that day, children always wear fancy clothes and masks. And then, they go from house to house to say “Trick or Treat”, so that people will treat them with candies. If they don’t receive any candies, they’ll play a trick on people. But sometimes if the people are going out, when the children come, they’ll put the candies in a carved pumpkin lanterns. Children will take the candies themselves. All of the children enjoy this holiday very much.

万圣节总是在10月31日。这是一个属于孩子们的节日。在那天，孩子们总是穿奇装异服而且带上面具。然后，他们会挨家挨户地说“不招待就使坏”，所以人们都会用糖果招待他们。如果他们不接受糖果，他们就会对人们恶作剧。但有时，如果人们外出了，而孩子们来了，他们会把糖果放在雕刻好的南瓜灯笼里。孩子们会自己拿糖果。所有的孩子都很享受这个节日。

Today is Saturday. Today is very strange, very special, because when I go

online today, an unexpectedly found a note, tonight at 8-9: to earth hour,

really depressed.

Then after I know detailed understanding of earth hour is what meaning,

which requires us out all the unnecessary lighting, achieve energy conservation

and emission reduction, global warming, improve the environment effect. Really

is a joke.

To improve the earth - our homes and not so easy. An hour out unwanted

light can achieve? Not that things are not so simple. Want to save our beautiful

home, must pay more attention to the ecological environment and save the earth

is not a moment to achieve.

I hope some and some of our homeland enterprises can give their hand.

Today, with the development of high-technology, we can get access to all

kinds of high-tech products, such as computer, digital cameras and so on. These

products make our life more convenient, we can keep in touch with family and

friends any time any where. Our life has been changed by the high-tech, we live

in a fast-pace world. Cell phone influences our life deeply, everyone owns it.

While cell phone brings many dangers. First, cell hone contains radiation which

hurts people’s body. Today, more and more people die of cancer, the main reason

is that the high-tech products radiate their bodies, in the long run, the bodies

get sick. Cell phone is one of such products, it hurts our bodies as long we use

it. Second, cell phone distracts our attention about discovering the beauty of

life. People pay their attention on cell phone, they count on it by reading news

and making friends, being less going out. We should use cell phone properly.

Then, the representative of the bedroom Zhu Guozhang asked us to guess a

line of a poem related to the above situation. He added that Li Xinmin alone was

born in the year of the dog and the other three were all born in the year of the

chicken. They left us all in confusion. And it was our monitor who was

quickwitted. He shouted our, "The day breaks as the cock crows three times at

dawn." The hall After that, they had another item. This time Li Xinmin was

placed in the middle of the circle. While he was standing there, the other three

stood around him, each bowing down to him at an angle of 120 degrees. It was an

idiom. This time I got it right:"The dog stands out among a group of

chickens."

一分耕耘一分收获，有志者事竟成，破釜沉舟，百二秦关终属楚;苦心人天不负，卧薪尝胆，三千越甲可吞吴。

付出才有回报，这是千古不变的真理。

付出才有回报可以体现在多个方面，例如学习上、劳作上、生活中等等……杂交水稻之父袁隆平、身残志坚的张海迪都是很好的例子，付出了，才会得到回报，又如，你帮助了别人，别人会感谢你，你会得到心理上的回报。

在学习上，这句话的价值得到了最大化，那些成绩好的学生们，都在其他同学玩的时候付出了，没有付出绝不可能得到回报。记得一次英语听写，头一天晚上我只顾玩没有背单词，谁知第一节早读竟然就要听写，随着老师公布这个消息，班里躁动不安起来，有的兴奋有的皱着眉头，我听到这个消息，自然是七上八下，怎么办，我想到了一个办法，拿起小纸条遮遮掩掩地在书下写了几个单词，同学们依旧是大声背单词，唯有我这里安静得出奇，过了大约五分钟，规定的时间已到，开始默写，我便不动声色的拿出了事先准备好的那张纸条，把它压在桌子底下，前面听写的几个句子，我都会，到第五个单词的时候，实在是忘了，是看还是不看?我的心跳加快了，一想到那些红色的叉号，我便看了一下纸条，第一次没有被发现，可是第二次老师直接走到了我身边，拿出我压在书下的纸条，我顿时感到羞愧难当，老师让我站起来，我便颤颤巍巍的站了起来，可是那根本不叫站，因为我几乎是趴在桌子上，不愿意让别人看到，老师开始教育我，说我是不劳而获，我当时有些生气，可是思考了一会儿后，我认为老师批评得对，批评得好，老师如果这次不发现我，我可能还会一次次这样下去，害了自己。不劳而获是不行的，还是要靠自己的努力耕耘才能成功，只有付出才有回报，只有付出才能尝到回报香甜的果实，只有付出中的艰辛才能衬托出成功时的喜悦。

生活是公平的，付出什么，就收获什么：付出一种心态，收获一种思想;付出一种思想，收获一种行动;付出一种行动，收获一种习惯;付出一种习惯，收获一种命运。收获，是一件很美好的事，可是它也有自己的前提——付出。

心之所向，行之所从。一个人内心有了向往和憧憬的目标，行动就有了方向，步履也就不会急躁匆忙。习近平总书记在党的十九大报告中指出，“中国共产党人的初心和使命，就是为中国人民谋幸福，为中华民族谋复兴。这个初心和使命是激励中国共产党人不断前进的根本动力。”5月13日，中共中央政治局召开会议，决定从今年6月开始，在全党自上而下分两批开展“不忘初心、牢记使命”主题教育。号令已经发出、号角已经吹响，如何坚守初心、更好地履行使命，笔者以为，关键在于用好“尺子”“镜子”“鞭子”三样工具。

坚持一个标准一把尺子，把握目标要求。做任何事情，都需要可遵循的标准和可对照的参考。开展主题教育，关键在于要明确根本任务，把握总要求，达到总目标。要守住“初心”，把实现人民对美好生活的向往贯穿于主题教育全过程各方面，引导全党牢固树立群众观点、践行群众路线，真正坚持以人民为中心;要锁定“中心”，紧扣深入学习贯彻习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想这个根本任务，推动全党深入学习贯彻习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想;要突出“重心”，贯彻新时代党的建设总要求，强化主题教育政治性、严肃性，提升党的先进性、纯洁性;要落脚实干，开展主题教育既可武装头脑，又能指导实践、推动工作，要将其同推进“两学一做”学习教育常态化制度化结合起来，同“应对化解各种风险挑战、推动本地区本部门本单位的中心工作”结合起来，防止“两张皮”，通过干部大学习，推动工作大落实、事业大发展。

坚持一个主体一面镜子，发挥引领作用。古语有云：“以人为镜，可以明得失”。其实，党员干部作为单一个体，本身就是一面镜子，既能照人、亦能照己，利用好这面明镜，对于广大党员干部特别是领导干部抓好自身的教育至关重要。“子帅以正，熟敢不正。”开展主题教育，领导机关、领导干部首先要抓好自身的教育。领导机关要带好头，扛起主体责任，早思考、早谋划，在现有行之有效的学习教育体制机制和党员教育管理方式方法上固本创新求变，将开展主题教育的根本任务、总要求和总目标作为一以贯之的主旋律、主色调贯穿于思考谋划全过程，要在有条件的党组织中按照开展主题教育的要求，确定组织方式、教育内容和推进步奏，敢于第一个吃螃蟹，先行先试;最好的准备是思想上的准备，思想上准备好了，行动也就有支撑和力量了。领导干部对党中央开展主题教育的历史背景、现实意义、安排部署和目标要求都要先学一步，学深一层，做到思想上认得清，行动上跟得起，效果上稳得住。要坚决防止形式主义、官僚主义，杜绝开展主题教育与其他学习教育、与具体工作“两张皮”，杜绝口头上积极落实、行动上却灌铅难行，形式上热热闹闹、内容上空无一物。从抓“关键少数”破题，管住“绝大多数”，使全体党员干部都在初心驱使下，更好地履职尽责。

坚持一份责任一条鞭子，强化奋进意识。邓小平同志乘坐日本新干线时，曾深有感触地说：“像风一样快，新干线推着人们跑，我们现在很需要跑。”当“不忘初心、砥砺奋进”刷爆朋友圈，成为许多干部群众人生之座右铭时，我们才知道，原来奋进已经融入人们的血液里，融进思想里，融入行动中。当前，我们既面临着重要发展机遇，也面临着前所未有的困难和挑战。开展主题教育，就是要教育引导广大党员干部坚守初心，把对党忠诚的初心、为民服务的初心、不懈奋斗的初心体现在每一个日子里、每一件小事中、每一项工作上，把好精神世界“总开关”，扣好人生的所有“扣子”，在奋斗中释放人生激情、追逐家国理想，以奋斗之我、奉献之我，为人民幸福推波助澜，为民族复兴铺路架桥，为祖国建设添砖加瓦，确保如期全面建成小康社会、实现中华民族伟大复兴中国梦。

There is nothing more important in life than the sun .Without the sun all

living things on Earth would die. The sun is a star .In the sky there are

thousands of star like the sun .They are as large as the sun and as hot as the

sun .At night you can see many stars, but in day-time you can only see one star

---the sun.

The sun is much nearer to us than any other star.That is why it books like

the biggest and brightest of all the stars .The distance of the sun from the

Earth is as much as 150 million kilometres .Most of the stars are thousands of

light years away from the Earth .

Do you know what a light year is ?Nothing in the world travels faster than

light .It travels 300,000 kilometers a second .One light year is the distance

that light travels in one year .

这几天我非常难过，因为本来我们是要去广州旅游的，就是因为武汉爆发的这个新型冠状病毒，害的我们不能去玩了。

Im very sad these days, because we were going to travel to Guangzhou.

Because of the outbreak of this new coronavirus in Wuhan, we cant play

anymore.

昨天晚上妈妈给我讲了这个新型冠状病毒的`绘本，从里面我知道了这个病毒本来是长在野生动物身上的，但是因为有些人吃野生动物，捕杀野生动物，使这个新型冠状病毒跑到我们人类身上安家落户了。虽然这个病毒很危险，但是人们还是有办法对付它的，尤其是那些医生们很努力地在治疗被感染的病人们，有的病人已经康复出院了。我和外公、外婆、爸爸、妈妈、弟弟都待在家里，不敢出门，如果有人要出去买菜，我一定会提醒他：“别忘了带上口罩!”

Last night, my mother told me about the picture book of the new

coronavirus. I learned from it that the virus was originally grown on wild

animals, but because some people eat wild animals and kill wild animals, the new

coronavirus ran to our human beings and settled down. Although the virus is very

dangerous, there are still ways to deal with it, especially those doctors who

are working hard to treat the infected patients, some of whom have recovered and

left the hospital. I stay at home with my grandfather, grandmother, father,

mother and brother. I dare not go out. If someone wants to go out to buy food, I

will remind him: "dont forget to put on the mask!"

病毒给人类带来了很大的灾难，我想对大家说：“加油!我们有办法对付这个病毒，我们一定会胜利的!”

The virus has brought great disaster to human beings. I want to say to you,

"come on! We have a way to deal with this virus, we will win! "

Teacher, perhaps the two words you have listened to many times, but I still want to say to you: "teacher, thank you!" On the occasion of arrival of teachers day, I will always think of you taught my scenes at ordinary times. When I have trouble, you always took pains to my guidance and help me; When I have a mistake, you will seriously pointed out, and then kindly help me to correct mistakes; When I achieved good grades, you will always be cock thumb, smile with canthus.

Teacher, you are my teacher! You are let me admire, let me progress, let me grow up tutor!

Teachers, thank you!

dear dick,

i’m very glad to hear from you again. from your letter i know you want to know more about reducing learning load for primary and middle school students in china. let me tell you. before learning load was reduced, i had had to do my homework, so i could not go to bed until half past eleven; but after learning load was reduced, i can visit museums, take computer and painting lessons. at night i can read books and newspapers or watch tv. now i usually go to bed at ten. we are all like it very much.

best wishes.

yours,

li hua

What does it mean to relax?Despite hearing this term thousands of times

during the course of our lives, very few people have deeply considered what it’s

really about.

When you ask people (which I have done many times) what it means to relax,

most will answer in a way that suggests that relaxing is something you plan to

do lateryou do it on vacation, in a hammock, when you retire, or when you get

everything else done. This implies, of course, that most other times should be

spent nervous, agitated, rushed, and frenzied. Very few actually come out and

say so, but this is the obvious implication.Could this explain why so many of us

operate as if life were one great big emergency?

It is useful to think of relaxation as a quality of heart that you can

access on a regular basis rather than something reserved for some later time.

You can relax now. It’s helpful to remember that relaxed people can still be

superachievers and, in fact, that relaxation and creativity go hand in hand.When

I’m feeling uptight, for example, I don’t even try to write. But when I feel

relaxed, my writing flows quickly and easily.

In China, Mid-autumn Day is considered to be a symbol of family reunion. On

this day, all the family members gather together at home to celebrate this

special occasion. Last year, I could not celebrate the festival with my family

because I was in university. However, this special day left a deep impression on

me.

I still remember the atmosphere of that evening. All the students who could

not go back home assembled in our classroom, having a party to celebrate this

traditional festival. We tried our best to show our own enthusiasm. As an ethnic

minority, I performed a peacock dance, which received warm applause. After the

two-hour party, we went out to the playground and sat together to appreciate the

moon because it is a tradition on Mid-autumn Day. (www.fwsir.com)We ate moon

cakes, played cards, and listened to romantic poems recited by one of our

classmates. In that harmonious atmosphere, nobody felt lonely or homesick even

though we were far away from our homes

Thanks to our classmates, I experienced such a colorful and interesting

Mid-autumn Day at my university. Thus, I learned to value all the festivals I

spent during my university life.

I think everyone likes weekend. Because it’s time for relax and fun. Now I

want to talk about my weekend.

I often spend Saturday for fun. Such as playing basketball with my friends,

watching movies and TV shows, having a trip with family and so on. And I always

spend Sunday for homework and have some rest. Sometimes I visit my grandparents

with my parents. It’s very interesting to visit them.

My Sister 我的姐姐

Allow me to introduce my sister. Her name is Carol. She is tall and slim. She has big eyes and wears a pair of glasses.Her hair is long and blond. She is very polite and helpful. She is willing to give seats to the people in need in the bus. She has the same hobby with me. We both like playing tennis and computer games. I don’t think she plays better than me in tennis. But she plays better than me in computer games. Such as Russia, Bricks,Bubbles and so on!

My sister is very hard-Working. She is learning IELTS by herself. She wants to be a teaeher in the future. I think she can make it!

【参考译文】

请允许我介绍一下我的姐姐。她的名字叫卡罗尔。她又高又苗条。她有一双大眼睛，戴着一副眼镜。她的有一头很长的金发。她很有礼貌而且乐于助人。她坐车的时候愿意把座位让给需要的人。她和我有相同的爱好。我们都喜欢打网球和玩电脑游戏。我不认为她网球比我打得好。但她电脑游戏玩的比我好。如俄罗斯，砖块，泡沫等!

我的姐姐总是很努力。她正在学习雅思。她将来想当老师。我认为她能做到!

收获是与付出并生的。以付出与收获为话题的作文

身为中学生的我们正在付出着汗水，收获着知识，收获着未来。

我们身边常常会有那么一些令人羡慕的“天才”，他们的光环成了家长对你施加压力的借口，成为了你日夜奋斗却无法赶上的目标。

这些人往往令其他人嫉妒，从而被别人针对。

“吃不到果子说果子酸”，这是许多人的共同点。当看到别人摘取成功的果实时，看见自我面前的路还很长，还需要走到猴年马月，便心生不满，从而转变为对别人的“恨”，嫉妒天的不公，让别人占尽了发光，自我一向被埋没着。

其实，事实何尝是这样？

每个人都不会是天才，所谓“天才”都是后天的结果。既然别人能够卓越出众，那么就注定他要付出别人成倍的汗水，只是你看不到而已。假设每个人的“努力程度”能够挂在头上，那么见到“天才”的每个人都会觉得世事是公平的，因为别人比自我还努力5倍、10倍，成为“天才”也是理所应当。

事实往往是残酷的。很多人都会觉得成功的人是上天赐予的结果，自我从来没好运过，于是乎，一个人堕落了，他也煽动着、怂恿着别人一齐堕落，社会的风气便被染黑了一角，“近朱者赤，近墨者黑”的名言从此诞生，家长的观念就此改变，只让孩子与那些光环笼罩的孩子一齐玩，不论那人品质如何，只看学习。学习好的人人赞之，学习差的人人避之。

这样的现实使得一时走了歪路的人再也无法收获。收获知识，收获友谊，当然，狐朋狗友不算是朋友，还有再不能收获转折的机会。这是不公平的.。

不论是你我他，都有资格收获共同的东西，但因为世道的不一样，这种收获变得自私起来。我们明明付出了很多，收获的也不少，却在一次次攀比中，显得那样微不足道，使得收获毫无意义。攀比心理是阻碍社会提高的一大因素。

我们要肯定别人，也要相信自我。

抛开学习，我们人生路上还有许多精彩的路。我们付出了童年，收获了欢乐，收获了一段精彩的记忆。我们付出了花季，收获了成长，变得成熟。付出是艰难的，收获是喜悦的。小气的人往往就是因为不愿付出，结果使得人生充满悔恨，变得失败。

学会付出，我们的人生能够收获更多完美。我们该怎样做呢？

蜕变，拒绝懒惰，从小事做起，从此刻做起。独生子女是此刻社会的无奈，要想控制人口，就间接造成大部分孩子被宠坏。我们活到此刻，或许还没洗过衣服，还没有做过一次饭。不要觉得以后有时间，以后就来不及了。作为一个光荣的龙之传人，我们应当学会生活，而这些生活技能便是基础。付出了此刻一段时间，为以后收获精彩的生活打好基础，这是我们此刻最需要做的。

学会付出，收获精彩的未来，从小事做起，从此刻做起。相信我，我们一齐创造光明的明天！

So many children take what their parents do for them for granted, they

haven’t realized the meaning of being grateful. So they always get angry with

their parents, because they don’t get what they want. According to the news that

a little girl went out of the house and refused to go home because her parents

did not give her enough pocket money. I was so shocked to hear it, I would never

ask much from my parents, because I knew they were not easy to make a living and

I am always feel so thankful for what they offer me. Even the one who gives me a

hand when I am in need, I would remember him and when I have the chance, I will

return. A grateful heart makes us a kind person and create a harmonious

environment.

China is the biggest family with 56 ethnic groups. Among them, the Han

Chinese is the largest and the most highly developed group. The Han Chinese can

be found in many parts of China. They mainly live in the north plain region, the

middle and the lower reaches of Yangze River and Pearl River Deltas. The other

55 groups are the minority ethnic groups. They are distributed in the

mountainous areas of southwest and northwest of China.

Being too far away from big cities, the minority ethnic groups are poor in

economy and there people are not well-educated. They have very few

understandings of science and technology. So they must develop their

economy.

To help the people of the minority ethnic groups live better, the

government should take some effective measures. For one thing, more and more

knowledgeable undergraduates should be encouraged to those poor areas to help

the people there to get rid of their poverty. For another, the advanced science

and technology must be introduced into the minority ethnic groups to improve

their living conditions. More importantly, people of the minority ethnic groups

should be given equal opportunities to study and work. Only so will China be

more prosperous in the future.

There are many different beliefs about the origin of the Lantern Festival.

But one thing for sure is that it had something to do with celebrating and

cultivating positive relationship between people, families, nature and the

higher beings they believed were responsible for bringing/returning the light

each year.

One legend tells us 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 sixteen dragons at his beck and call and he decided

when to inflict drought, storms, famine or pestilence upon human beings.

Beginning with Qinshihuang, the first emperor to unite the country, all the

emperors ordered splendid ceremonies each year. The emperor would ask Taiyi to

bring favorable weather and good health to him and his people. Emperor Wudi of

the Han Dynasty directed special attention to this event. In 104 BC, he

proclaimed it as one of the most important celebrations and the ceremony would

last throughout the night. They clean it all up in the morning.

Another legend associates the Lantern Festival with Taoism. Tianguan is the

Taoist god responsible for good fortune. His birthday falls on the 15th day of

the first lunar month. It is said that Tianguan likes all types of

entertainment, so followers prepare various kinds of activities during which

they pray for good fortune.

Yet another common legend dealing with the origins of the Lantern Festival

speaks of a beautiful bird that flew down to earth from heaven, which was hunted

and killed by some villagers. This angered the Jade Emperor in Heaven because

the bird was his favorite one. Therefore, he planned a storm of fire to destroy

the village on the 15th lunar day. The Jade Emperors daughter heard of this

plan, and warned the villagers of her father’s plan to destroy their village.

The village was in turmoil because nobody knew how should they escape their

imminent destruction.

However, a wise man from another village suggested that every family should

hang red lanterns around their houses, set up bonfires on the streets, and

explode firecrackers on the 14th, 15th, and 16th lunar days. This would give the

village the appearance of being on fire to the Jade Emperor. On the 15th lunar

day, troops sent down from heaven whose mission was to destroy the village saw

that the village was already ablaze, and returned to heaven to report to the

Jade Emperor. Satisfied, the Jade Emperor decided not to burn down the village.

From that day on, people celebrate the anniversary on the 15th lunar day every

year by carrying red lanterns on the streets and exploding firecrackers and

fireworks.

There are many stories on how this festival was created. One other story is

about a maid. In the Han Dynasty, Mr. Eastern was a favorite advisor of the

emperor. One winter day, he went to the garden and heard a little girl crying

and getting ready to jump into a well to commit suicide. Mr. Eastern stopped her

and asked why. She said she was a maid in the emperors palace and her name was

Yuan-Xiao.

She never had the chance to meet her family after she started worked at the

palace. She missed them so much every 12th lunar month. If she couldnt have the

chance to show her filial piety in this life, she would rather die. Mr. Eastern

promised her to find a way so she could reunion with her family. Mr. Eastern

left the palace and set up a fortune-telling stall on the street and disguised

himself as a fortuneteller. Because of his reputation, many people asked for

their fortunes.

But every one got the same prediction - a severe fire accident on the 15th

lunar day. The rumor spread quickly. Everyone was worried about the future and

asked Mr. Eastern for help. Mr. Eastern said, "On the 13th lunar day, the God of

Fire will send a fairy lady in red to burn down the city. If you see a lady in

red wearing green pants riding a black horse on that day, you should ask for her

mercy." On that day, Yuan-Xiao pretended to be the red fairy lady. When people

asked for her help, she said, "Im the messenger of the God of Fire and came to

check on the city and Im going to set up fire on 15th. This is an order from

Jade Emperor. He will watch from the heavens.

I will give you a copy of the imperial decree from the God of Fire. You

should go to ask your emperor to find a way out." After she left, people went to

the palace to show the emperor the decree which reads "The capital city is in

trouble. Fire burns on the palace, and fire from Heaven burns all night long on

the 15th." The emperor of Han Dynasty was very shocked. He called and asked Mr.

Eastern for advice. After pondering for a while, Mr. Eastern said, "I heard that

the God of Fire likes to eat Tang-Yuan (Sweet dumpling). Does Yuan-Xiao often

cook Tang-Yuan for you? On the 15th lunar day, let Yuan-Xiao make Tang-Yuan.

Your Majesty will take charge of the worshipping ceremony and you will give

an order to every house to prepare Tang-Yuan to worship the God of Fire at the

same time. Also, deliver another order to ask every house in the city to hang

red lantern and explode fire crackers. Lastly, everyone in the palace and people

outside the city should carry their lanterns on the street to watch the lantern

decoration and fireworks. If everything goes this way, the Jade Emperor would be

deceived.

Then everyone can avoid the fire accident." The emperor happily followed

the plan. Lanterns were everywhere in the capital city on the night of the 15th

lunar day. People were walking on the street. Fire crackers kept making lots of

noise. It looked like the entire city was on fire. Yuan-Xiaos parents went into

the palace to watch the lantern decorations, and Yuan-Xiao made a big lantern

and wrote her name on the lantern. They happily reunited together after her

parents called her name. Everybody was safe during the night. The emperor of Han

Dynasty had a new order that people should do the same thing every year. Since

Yuan-Xiao cooked the best Tan-Yuan, people called the day Yuan-Xiao

Festival.

Young people were chaperoned in the streets in hopes of finding love.

Matchmakers acted busily in hopes of pairing couples. The brightest lanterns

were symbolic of good luck and hope. As time has passed, the festival no longer

has such implications.

Those who do not carry lanterns often enjoy watching informal lantern

parades. In addition to eating tangyuan (simplified Chinese: 汤圆; traditional

Chinese: 湯圓; pinyin: tāngyuán), another popular activity at this festival is

guessing lantern riddles (which became part of the festival during the Tang

Dynasty), which often contain messages of good fortune, family reunion, abundant

harvest, prosperity and love.