小学生元宵节英语作文（汇编20篇）

Dear Freshmen,

I, the undersigned, am a senior in the Computer Science Department of Tsinghua University. I would like to say a few words to you, which I hope would be helpful to you.

To begin with, the change of ideas is of most importance for freshmen to adapt themselves to campus life. During the middle school days, we usually depend upon our teachers at school and parents at home.

However, the life and study on university campus features independence, which is essential to our psychological development. In my view, we had better always bear in mind the idea of independence.

What’s more, English learning is a must. On one hand, without CET 4 certificate, we can not get our degree when we graduate from university. On the other hand, when we hunt for job, English level is a deciding factor. Therefore, I do hope that all of you will have a good understanding of the necessity of learning English well.

Good Luck to you!

Sincerely Yours

I like eating fruit. Watermelons are my favourite fruit.

Watermelons are big and round. In Cixi, watermelons are very sweet, because they grow on the salty ground.

During summer holiday, I can eat watermelons every day. After eating, I often make a watermelon lantern with my friends. In the evening, we often take the lanterns and play in the park.

My grandmother uses the watermelon peel to make pickled food.(酱瓜) It’s salty, but very tasty.

Watermelons are so useful! Do you like them?

昨天是元宵节，我和爸爸妈妈来到了热闹的街上看庙会。

一来到大街上，那里人山人海，热闹非凡。我首先看到的是消防队的叔叔表演的腰鼓，真是太精彩了，以往我看到的都是阿姨敲得腰鼓，没想到这帮叔叔也能把腰鼓敲得那么好。

接下来还看到了漂亮的阿姨们扭秧歌，可真好看呀!我还看到了各种各样的敲大鼓，我还去敲了几下，真带劲!我最喜欢的是舞龙表演，有四条颜色各仪的龙，黄的·红的·蓝的·绿的在场子里来回奔跑，最后他们盘在一起嘴里吐出了漂亮的火花。引来了无数的掌声。真是太精彩了!晚上我们吃了香香的汤圆，看着远处点点的烟花，真美呀!

我喜欢这个热闹的元宵节!

my name is tang shanshan, my english name is alice. i am 10 years old. i study in linpu no.1 primary school. i am beautiful. i have long hair, big eyes.

my favourite day is friday. we have music and english class. potatoes are my favourite food, they’re tasty and healthy. my favourite drink is coffee. they’re tasty and healthy too. i like animals. but i don’t like frog and spider, they’re ugly.

i like playing table tennis and playing the piano. i’m helpful, i can make the bed, sweep the floor, water the flowers, empty the trash, put away the clothes and many other housework. do you want to be my friend?

A week ago， my best friend gave me a lovely cat. I love it very much. It is special. Its fur is black not yellow. So I call it little black. It has the same taste with me. We all like eating fish. So， after it comes to my home， nearly every meal will appear fish. I like playing with it. It always makes me laugh. Every morning， it will wake me up. It brings much happiness for me.

今天是元宵节，听说爸爸的工地晚上要放烟花，我高兴地一蹦三尺高，下午，我就看见叔叔阿姨在商店里买了一车烟花爆竹，我数了数一共14箱，我真想晚上快点儿来到呀！我就耐心地等待着。

晚上，我赶紧把汤喝完，迫不及待地跑到放烟花的地方，叔叔阿姨已经开始准备了，他们先把卷的鞭炮，给铺成直的，然后把烟花摆在鞭炮的中间，叔叔阿姨们都各有一个打火机，我也有一个，叔叔阿姨上去把烟花点着，我也点着我的烟花，不一会儿，烟花就像利箭似的飞上天空，随着“啪”的一声响就爆炸了，火花顿时四处飞溅，五颜六色的，有红色的、有绿色的、有黄色的、······漂亮极了！烟花的形状也各不相同。有鲜花形的、有五角星形的、有圆形的······，这些美丽的烟花把辽阔的夜空装扮得多姿多彩的。

元宵节的晚上真美丽呀！今天我过得真开心！

I am Happy

Today， the biology class is very different. We don’t need to sit in the

classroom， because the teacher takes us to do activities. We go to a field that

is near our school， and the task for us is to observe flowers. We feel so

excited and finish the task very carefully. It is a good way for us to learn

knowledge. I am so happy.

今天，生物课与平时不太一样，我们不需要在教室里面坐着，因为老师带我们去做活动。我们来到学校附近的一片田野上，我们的任务是观察花朵。我们非常激动，也非常认真地完成这项任务。这是一个学习知识的好方法。我很开心。

Lantern Festival is a traditional festival in China. This years Lantern

Festival, our school organized a unique "Happy Lantern Festival" activity!

Before the activity started, I came to the activity site of writing

couplets and waited. Look! The contestants smiled one by one. They all looked

confident. You and I exchanged the written content one by one. I calmly came to

the writing desk, took out the carefully prepared brush, drove light and

familiar to write seriously, and soon a few big words came out.

Then, I quickly joined the lively activity of wrapping dumplings. Kneading

noodles is the first and crucial step in making dumplings. Our group poured the

prepared flour into the basin, poured some water, kneaded a large dough with the

help of the students parents, and then distributed it equally to each member.

Everyone thought and thought. They added all kinds of juice to the dough. After

kneading, it became colorful and very beautiful. Just listen to "the dumpling

filling is coming..." everyone, you argue with me and start wrapping dumplings.

I first squeezed the dough in the palm of my hand and patted it into a cake

shape, then closed my palm slightly and added stuffing to it. At this time, I

accidentally threw sesame sugar all over the floor in a hurry. I regret it! It

took a lot of effort to make several dumplings. The students next to them are

not like this. They pinch the dough of appropriate size, gently flatten it and

add stuffing, then put their hands up, rub it, and gently knead it into small

and exquisite dumplings. It is a sharp contrast with my dumplings, which is

enviable.

When the glutinous rice balls are put into the pot, we wait nearby. Its

called a hurry. We cant wait to eat them directly from the pot! After a long

waiting period, the glutinous rice balls finally came out of the pot. With a

gentle bite, the soft skin immediately melted away in my mouth. The smell of

fruit juice and sesame came to my nostrils and turned into a wonderful force.

Once and again, it made me particularly satisfied and gave me endless

aftertaste.

At the end of the activity, the students gathered to take a group photo of

the class. Although I stood at the edge, I smiled brightly because I was

particularly happy today. This is this years Lantern Festival - a lively

Festival!

元宵节是我国传统节日，今年的元宵节，我们学校组织了一场别开生面的“欢乐闹元宵”活动!

活动还没开始，我便来到写对联的活动现场等待，瞧!选手们一个个面露笑容，都是一副胸有成竹的样子，你一句我一句交流着书写的内容。我不慌不忙地来到书写台前，拿出精心准备好的毛笔，驾轻熟路地认真书写起来，不一会儿端端正正的几个大字就出来了。

紧接着，我又快速加入到热闹非凡的包汤圆活动中。揉面是包汤圆的第一步，也非常关键的一步，我们小组把事先准备好的面粉倒入面盆里，倒入些水，在学生家长的帮助下，揉出了个大面团，而后等分的分配给每个成员。大家各思奇想，往面团里加了各色果汁，揉搓后成了五颜六色，十分好看。只听“汤圆馅来了……”，大家你争我抢地开始包汤圆。我先把面团捏在手掌心里，拍成饼状，再手掌微微合拢，往里面加馅，就在这时不小心手忙脚乱地把芝麻糖撒了一地，后悔极了!好不容易费了九牛二虎之力搓成了几个汤圆。旁边的同学可不这样，他们捏起大小合适的面团，轻轻压平后往里加馅，然后双手往上一顶，搓一搓，轻轻一揉就成一个个小巧玲珑的汤圆，和我的汤圆放在一起，简直就是鲜明的对比，令人好生羡慕。

当汤圆下锅时，我们在旁边等着，那叫一个急啊，恨不得直接从锅里捞上来就吃!在漫长的等待期后，汤圆终于出锅了，我轻轻一咬，柔嫩的外皮在嘴里立马化掉，果汁的味儿和芝麻的味儿扑鼻而来，化为一股奇妙的力量，一次一次让我格外满足，让我回味无穷。

活动结束时，同学们聚在一起拍班级合影，我虽然站在最边上的位置，但我笑得却很灿烂，因为我今天格外开心。这就是今年的元宵节——一个热闹的节日!

My family lives in Taiwan, but my father doesnt. He lives in China. My family name is Jian. I have one brother and one sister. My name is Jeff. My brothers name is Art. My sisters name is Sophia. My fathers name is Jian Zong-he and my mothers name is Jenny. I like to watch TV and play PC games. My brother likes them, too. My father and my mother both like to watch TV. My brother and I are both junior high school students. My father is a businessman. My mother is a businesswoman. I like my family very much.

Although the winter holiday is very short, but we cant play because of the

winter vacation short and follow ones inclinations, should be playing at the

same time not forget to study combining exertion and rest.

Gorky once said that "books are the ladder of human progress" in peacetime

because learning busy and have no spare time to read reference books. Winter

holiday is coming now, we just can use the time to read reference books.

"Has its own gold room in the book, the book has its own treasure to", so I

decided to use this holiday season more than look at the name of the ancient and

modern, Chinese and foreign. Not only that I also want to consolidate the

knowledge of this semester, prepare the knowledge of the next semester. I hope

next semester moved on. Learning to lay a foundation for the next semester.

In the spare time to complete the teacher and parents the assignment, look

at news concerned state affairs. In the time of the Spring Festival is not only

to watch the Spring Festival gala, will eat dinner, visiting friends and

relatives.

After the Spring Festival to loose heart a accept, to start put your heart

in learning, the work can not continue to play. To the teacher and the school

the assignment check check is done. Again next semester need to information and

exercises will be ready.

This is my winter holiday life, my winter vacation I make decision.

According to the Chinese tradition，at the very beginning of a new year， when there is a bright full moon hanging in the sky， there should be thousands of colorful lanterns hung out.

During the Lantern Festival， people will try to solve the puzzles on the lanterns and eat yuanxiao (glutinous rice ball)。

In the Sui Dynasty in the sixth century， Emperor Yangdi invited envoys from other countries to China to see the colorful lighted lanterns and enjoy the gala performances.

By the beginning of the Tang Dynasty in the seventh century， the lantern displays would last three days. The emperor also lifted the curfew， allowing the people to enjoy the festive lanterns day and night.

In the Song Dynasty， the festival was celebrated for five days and the activities began to spread to many of the big cities in China.

Today，3the displaying of lanterns is still a big event on the 15th day of the first lunar month throughout China.

The fillings inside the dumplings or Yuansiao are either sweet or salty. Sweet fillings are made of sugar，Walnuts，sesame，osmanthus flowers，rose petals，or jujube paste etc. A single ingredient or any combination can be used as the filling . The salty variety is filled with minced meat，vegetables etc.

It was October 12th yesterday. My friends held a birthday party for me. In

the morning, they came to my home early, and they brought many presents for me.

I liked them very much. I invited them to the KTV, we sang songs, danced and

played games. About 5:30 p.m., we went my home. My mother had cooked a delicious

dinner for us. After dinner, we watched TV and at about 8:30 p.m. we ate

birthday cake. There were fifteen candles on my birthday cake. I made a silent

wish, and then I blew the candles out in one breath. I had an interesting

birthday party. We had a good time in the party. I was so grateful to what they

did for me.

My father is a teacher, he looks fat, but also wearing a pair of glasses, the rationale of a flat head, not tall.

Dad likes to swim, run, play table tennis, read books, travel.

My dad asked me very strict, he often taught me to be polite. Once to a uncle home to a guest, my uncle gave me a big and round apple, I took over from the hands of uncle apples, relish to eat up, on the way home, my father taught me: Make a polite child, someone else give you something, say thank you.

Dad asked me to be an honest man. Once I secretly in the room watching TV, my father told me to open the door, I quickly turn off the TV, my father asked me: "What are you doing?" I said: "I am reading." He looked at it and said, "Are you lying too? Are you deceiving me? Do you know?" I had to admit. Dad said to me: "I have to do something wrong to take the initiative to admit, do not lie, know wrong to change or a good boy." Dads teachings I keep in mind.

My father is a demanding person, I like my father, he taught me to do a very polite, honest and honest people.

The fifteenth day of the first month is a traditional festival of our

Chinese nation. At this moment, my heart has been hooked by the rich dinner. Who

makes today the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month!

"The moon is round and round on the 15th day..." this classic song is

around my ears again. Listen... At this time, I have come to my grandparents

house: "Grandpa, grandma, happy Lantern Festival!"

"Wow" my eyes fly away with the fragrance and catch a large piece of meat

again, hee hee!

After dinner, dusk shrouded everything around us, so we decided to go to

Swan square to enjoy the moon.

As I walk, the moon also walks. If I walk fast, it also walks fast; I walk

slowly, so does it. As soon as I looked up, a round, large and high disc hung in

the air, as if it were the most dazzling star in the sky. The surrounding stars

were not shy and comparable with the moon. It seemed to say, "you see, you have

dominated all the glory of the 15th, how can you let me shine!"

Suddenly, my eyes were fascinated by the fascinating riddle guessing. I

quickly took my family to join the fun.

"There is a prize if you guess right, there is a prize if you guess right!"

At this time, my uncle opened his voice and attracted people heartily. Before

waiting for my uncle to finish, the visitors had already begun to grab

mysteries. Some secretly turned over reference books, others discussed with each

other, or enlightened, and happily competed for prizes. It was so lively!

As the night gets deeper and deeper, there are more and more people playing

in the square. Adults and children gather together, like the vivid pictures of

the master and the hot partners, spreading their troubles and playing

"Crazy".

Suddenly, I dont know where there is a strong smell of sleeves. Oh, my

mother peeled off this sweet and delicious thing, and the juice penetrated from

it. Wow, its so fragrant! I quickly took a bite, um, a word: "incense"! Its

still slowly aftertaste after eating!

It was getting late. I looked at the people who were playing hide and seek,

playing balloons, guessing lantern riddles and setting off fireworks

正月十五，是我们中华民族的传统节日，此时此刻，我的心早已被那丰盛的晚餐给勾去了谁让今天是正月十五元宵节呢!

“十五的月亮圆又圆……”这首经典歌曲又在我耳边围绕，听着听着……这时已来到了我的爷爷奶奶家了：“爷爷，奶奶，元宵节快乐!”

“哇”我的眼随着香味飞去，捞上一大块肉再说，嘻嘻!

吃过晚饭，夜暮便笼罩了周围的一切，我们便决定去天鹅广场赏月。

我一边走，月亮也一边走，我走快，它也走快;我走慢，它也走慢。一抬头，一个又圆又大又高的大圆盘吊在空中，仿佛是天上最耀眼的一颗明星，周围的星星也不羞涩，与月亮互相媲美，仿佛在说：“你看，十五的光彩全被你一个霸了，怎么也得让我沾光沾光!”

突然，我的眼被吸人眼睛的猜灯谜给迷住了，我连忙拉着家人去凑热闹。

“猜对有奖，猜对有奖!”此时，叔叔拉开了嗓门，尽情地招引人们，没等位叔叔说完，游玩的人们早已开始抢迷谜了，有的偷偷翻工具书，有的则互相探讨，或开窍了，高高兴兴地竞换奖品去了，好热闹!

夜越来越深，广场的游玩人们也愈多，大人小孩们交集在一起，像大师手下的生动图画，又好似热火朝天的伙伴，在洒开烦恼“疯”玩。

突然，不知从哪里飘来一股浓浓的袖子香味，哦，原来妈妈剥开了这香甜可口的东西，果汁从里面渗透出来，哇，好香呀!我连忙咬上了一口，嗯，一个字：“香”!吃完了还在慢慢回味呢!

时候不早了，我又望了望正在捉迷藏，打气球，猜灯谜，放烟火的人们……

On the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar, just after the

Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival, a traditional Chinese festival, is

ushered in. The Lantern Festival is also called "little first month", "Lantern

Festival" and so on.

The first month is the first month of the lunar calendar. The ancients

called night "Xiao", so they called the fifteenth day of the first month the

Lantern Festival. The 15th of the first month is the night of the first full

moon of the year. It is also the night of the beginning of the year and the

return of spring. People celebrate it and celebrate the continuation of the new

year. Therefore, the Lantern Festival is also called "Shangyuan Festival".

According to Chinese folk tradition, in this bright moon hanging night,

people point out thousands of colored lights to celebrate. Go out to enjoy the

moon, set off lights and flames, like to guess lantern riddles, eat yuanxiao,

have a family reunion and celebrate the festival together.

I spent the Lantern Festival in my hometown this year. I not only saw

beautiful colored lights and colorful fireworks, but also saw dozens of colorful

floats and floats.

The crowd poured in, and my parents and I crowded past and saw floats

"passing" by me. All kinds of decorations make the car look like beautiful

girls.

Just then, there was a deafening sound in the sky. The crowd looked up at

the sky and saw fireworks "bloom" on our heads. I said to my mother, "Mom, look

how beautiful they laugh!" Mom looked at me and smiled.

"Its Lantern Festival!" Every tree put on new clothes. Whenever people

walk by the tree, the colored lights on the tree are like eyes staring at you.

Among the big trees, red lines were "led". On the red line, small lanterns hung

one by one. The small lanterns looked at the people and smiled red.

Then we went to the lantern riddle exhibition. A corridor was covered with

riddles. Everyone guessed. Im not idle either. I look around. "Oh, its so

difficult to guess! Oh, its also very difficult!" Its really a little hate

when books are used! I secretly complained about myself.

Back home, grandpa has cooked my favorite dumpling. "Grandpa, why do you

want to eat dumplings? Cant you eat dumplings?" Grandpa smiled and said to me,

"of course you cant eat dumplings. The custom of our Southerners is to eat

dumplings, which symbolizes reunion!" At this time, everyone gathered around,

you and me, laughing and enjoying the delicious dumplings. The room was full of

laughter.

This lantern festival also makes me understand that as long as the family

gets together, it is the happiest and happiest thing in my life!

每年农历的正月十五，春节刚过，迎来的就是中国的传统节日——元宵节。元宵节又称为“小正月”、“元宵式灯节”等。

正月是农历的元月，古人称夜为“宵”，所以称正月十五为元宵节。正月十五日是一年中第一个月圆之夜，也是一元复始，大地回春的夜晚，人们对此加以庆喜，也是庆贺新年的延续，所以元宵节又称为“上元节”。

按中国民间传统，在这皓月高悬的夜晚，人们要点起彩灯万盏，以示庆贺。出门赏月，燃灯放焰，喜猜灯谜，共吃元宵，合家团聚，同庆佳节，其乐融融。

今年元宵节我在老家度过。我不仅看到了美丽的彩灯和五光十色的焰火，还看到了几十辆五颜六色的花车、彩车。

人群蜂涌而来，我和爸爸妈妈也挤了过去，看见一辆辆彩车从我的身边“走过”。各式各样的装饰品把车子打扮得漂漂亮亮，像一个个俊俏的姑娘。

正在这时，天上响起了一声声”震耳欲聋的声音。人群纷纷不约而同仰望着上空，看见焰火在我们头上“开花”，我对妈妈说：“妈，看它们笑得多美啊!”妈妈看着我，笑了。

“过元宵喽!”一棵棵树都穿上了新衣服。每当人们从树旁走过，大树上彩灯就像一个个眼睛一闪一闪地盯着你看。一棵棵大树间都“牵着”一条条红线，红线上挂着一个一个的小灯笼，小灯笼看着人们，笑红了脸。

接着我们还去看了灯谜展。一条走廊粘满了灯谜。大家都纷纷猜了起来。我也不闲着，到处看，“哎呀，这个怎么这么难猜呀!哎呀，这个也很难!”真是书到用时方恨少啊!我暗暗地埋怨着自已。

回到了家，爷爷已经煮好了我最爱吃的汤圆。“爷爷，为什么要吃汤圆呢?吃水饺不行吗?”爷爷笑着对我说：“当然不能吃水饺啦，我们南方人的习俗是吃汤圆，象征着团团圆圆!”这时大家都围了过来，你一碗我一碗，一边说笑，一边享受着美味的汤圆。屋里充满了笑声……。

这个元宵节，也让我明白了：只要家人团团圆圆在一起，那才是一生中最快乐、最幸福的事!

“吃汤圆喽!”外婆那浓浓的乡音为元宵节美满的开始吹响了号角。

外婆住在海滨的乡下，大平原上的天空特别的蓝，外婆所在的小村翠竹四季葱郁，门前的小河清流舒缓。我把这里看作我的乐园，每年除过年、中秋、清明，寒暑假，元宵节这天我也是一定要随爸爸、妈妈去外婆家的。

我喜爱那儿的食物。外婆做的汤圆有很多花样：芝麻的香甜可人，荠菜的入口即化，水果的酸甜沁人……口味层出不穷。餐桌上，大人们谈笑风生，而我则不断的舀着汤圆往嘴里送。等他们回过神来，碗已见着底，我溜出餐厅躲到一旁偷笑。

我喜欢那儿的火把。元宵节的傍晚，外公会用香点燃一根散发着松脂香味的木棒，然后举着这柄熊熊燃烧的火炬在田里晃上一圈，远远的看上去，就像太阳留在天际的余晖，迟迟不肯落下。外公说“这样可以把害虫烧死，来年庄稼就会大丰收。”我宁愿相信这把火真的会演化成为燎原之势，会遂了外公外婆和乡亲们的心。

我喜欢那儿的灯谜。这些年村子里富庶了，文化的气息也浓厚起来。当月亮枝头挂，星星随意闪，彩云任意飘时，大家来到公园广场，猜着妙趣横生的灯谜，赏着炫彩夺目的烟花，人们眼中闪烁着希望的光芒，共同沉醉在幸福之中。

我喜欢那儿的氛围。华灯初上，星星点灯，灯火通明。家家户户团聚在一起，看着精彩纷呈的电视，打着趣味无穷的扑克，嗑着瓜子，聊着天，一片和谐融洽的氛围，驱散了料峭的春寒，让人们从慵懒的冬天里走出来，走出一个五彩的新世界!

“元宵”，在我们这里既是一个节日，也是汤圆的代称，还象征了一家人团聚在一起，日子就像这圆硕的汤圆，团团圆圆，幸福圆满。我最喜欢外婆家的元宵节了!

Dear Sir,

I noticed an ad. In the paper today you said you were looking for people to join your expedition team. It sounded as if it might be fun so Im writing to say Id like to come along.

About myself: I left school at 16 because I wanted to earn a bit of money. After that I got a few part-time jobs as a waiter, etc. But I didnt stick to any of them for long. Recently Ive been doing a bit of hitch-hiking round

Europe so Ive had some experience of traveling the hard way which should come in handy on the expedition youre planning. By the way, Im a great guitarist so I can keep you all amused round the campfire at night.Let me know when I can call in for a chat about dates and other details, etc.

Yours,

David Smith

Today isMid-autumn Day. I have a big meal at home with my parents and relatives. This isan important festival, so my mother was busy with preparing the dinner frommorning. She bought a lot of foods for the dinner. We ate the dinner at 5:30p.m.. The dinner was very delicious. I was so full. After dinner, we went totheHongTingParkto enjoy the glorious full moon. There were many people in the park. We talked toeach other and strangers. Of course, the moon cake was essential. We had agreat night there.

My hobby

My hobby is lisetening to music.I like listening to music best.Because listening to music makes me relaxed.When I am tired,I will listening some quiet music,that makes me fall asleep very quickly.My favorite music is the music that has good lyrics.Good lyrics can also make me learn Chinese or English well.

I love listening to music.I will keep this hobby forever.

It is neither genius nor extraordinary ability that gives us power to deal

with and overcome whatever hardship one is confronted with.2、As in the picture,

the athlete is running, with a determined spirit, towards the finishing line in

order to obtain the gold medal, considered as the symbol of success for any

sportsman.I most like the human is Liu Xiang 。 the famous athlete Liu Xiang

striding forward in the Olympics Games in Athens. Determination is universally

regarded asa highly praised quality. It is neither genius nor extraordinary

ability that gives us power to deal with and overcome whatever hardship one is

confronted with. It is this kind of spirit that enables us to endure the

difficult moments and attain our goals.

The determined spirit gives us light when we are in dark moments and

encourages when we are frustrated. With this quality, no enemy can overwhelm us,

and noobstacles can stand in our way. There are many examples of success being

achieved solely through the strong will of the spirit. As in the picture, the

athlete is running, with a determined spirit, towards the finishing line in

order to obtain the gold medal, considered as the symbol of success for any

sportsman. It is determination that leads to success. ?

It is not easy to cultivate this determined spirit. To do this, we must

establish a firm faith in our actions and be ready to devote ourselves to them.

We must boldly go through trials and hardships to train our will so as to get

rid of the weak points of our moral character. Around us, there are quite a few

people with this intense determination and spirit and set a good example for us

to follow.

The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, usually

in February or March in the Gregorian calendar. As early as the Western Han

Dynasty (206 BC-AD 25), it had become a festival with great significance.

This days important activity is watching lanterns. Throughout the Han

Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), Buddhism flourished in China. One emperor heard that

Buddhist monks would watch sarira, or remains from the cremation of Buddhas

body, and light lanterns to worship Buddha on the 15th day of the 1st lunar

month, so he ordered to light lanterns in the imperial palace and temples to

show respect to Buddha on this day. Later, the Buddhist rite developed into a

grand festival among common people and its influence expanded from the Central

Plains to the whole of China.

Till today, the lantern festival is still held each year around the

country. Lanterns of various shapes and sizes are hung in the streets,

attracting countless visitors. Children will hold self-made or bought lanterns

to stroll with on the streets, extremely excited. "Guessing lantern riddles"is

an essential part of the Festival.

Lantern owners write riddles on a piece of paper and post them on the

lanterns. If visitors have solutions to the riddles, they can pull the paper out

and go to the lantern owners to check their answer. If they are right, they will

get a little gift. The activity emerged during peoples enjoyment of lanterns in

the Song Dynasty (960-1279). As riddle guessing is interesting and full of

wisdom, it has become popular among all social strata.

People will eat yuanxiao, or rice dumplings, on this day, so it is also

called the "Yuanxiao Festival."Yuanxiao also has another name, tangyuan. It is

small dumpling balls made of glutinous rice flour with rose petals, sesame, bean

paste, jujube paste, walnut meat, dried fruit, sugar and edible oil as filling.

Tangyuan can be boiled, fried or steamed. It tastes sweet and delicious. What’s

more, tangyuan in Chinese has a similar pronunciation with "tuanyuan”, meaning

reunion. So people eat them to denote union, harmony and happiness for the

family.

In the daytime of the Festival, performances such as a dragon lantern

dance, a lion dance, a land boat dance, a yangge dance, walking on stilts and

beating drums while dancing will be staged. On the night, except for magnificent

lanterns, fireworks form a beautiful scene. Most families spare some fireworks

from the Spring Festival and let them off in the Lantern Festival. Some local

governments will even organize a fireworks party. On the night when the first

full moon enters the New Year, people become really intoxicated by the imposing

fireworks and bright moon in the sky.