Happy Lantern Festival

• From James Steed

Lantern Festival

• The Chinese Lantern Festival (Yuan Xiao Jie) is on 15th day of the 1st Lunar month

– the first lunar month is called “yuan”-month– years ago the word for ‘night’ was “xiao.”

Yuan Xiao Jie

First full moon of the year, so

• yuan (round) • xiao (night)

• jie (festival)

The first lantern festival

The Jade Emperor in Heaven was angry at a town for killing his

favorite goose.

• He planned to destroy the town with fire storm.

• For protection, a fairy told the town to put lanterns all over the town to make it look like it is burning.

The town puts up lanterns to fool the Jade Emperor.

• He saw the “fire” and believed the people suffered enough, so he stopped the firestorm early.

Now, people celebrate survival by carrying lanterns outside that night.

Today

Cities today compete for the best lantern festivals

Lanterns are now fancier.

Buddhas

Fruit and Flowers

Phoneix

Dragon

Power Animals

Sea Animals

Buildings

Lanterns and Fireworks

Fireworks

Sky Lanterns. Write your wish and your name on them and send them to heaven.

Two hundred wishes!

People will try to solve the puzzles on the lanterns.

People eat Yuan Xiao: “Tang Yuan” moon-shaped sticky rice balls.

International Students in the USA celebrate away from home.

Making Tang Yuan with sesame.

Tang yuan

Tang Yuan with sweetened bean soup.

Would you like to?

Have a Happy Lantern Festival

From Jim