Lantern Festival

Mamian skirt, Qixiong dress, and the hundred-pleat skirt; wearing traditional Hanfu has become a new trend in public attire in recent years, whether it be for sightseeing, wedding ceremonies, shopping, friend gatherings, and various other occasions. The "Hanfu craze" continues to rise, blending tradition with modernity, activating cultural resources, igniting the consumer market, and driving industrial development. In recent years, Hanfu has gradually gained popularity among the younger generation, with their youthful expression and fashionable presentation bringing Chinese traditional culture into daily life in a tangible and palpable form. The long-standing Chinese traditional clothing culture embodies a blend of Chinese aesthetic interests, reflecting not only a consumer choice but also the Chinese people's love for outstanding traditional culture.   Demand exceeds supply During the Spring Festival and Lantern Festival of the Year of the Dragon, the activity of "wearing Chinese costumes for free to visit the Confucian Temples" in Qufu City, Jining, Shandong, has been well received. Wang Chunling, a visitor from Liaoning, traveled a long distance with friends to play here, attracted by the lively atmosphere of night tours in the ancient city of Qufu and folk performances, and dressed in Hanfu to join the parade. This year, garments…

Introduction of Chinese Lanterns Chinese lanterns (Deng Long, 灯笼), also known collectively as Deng Cai (灯彩), an ancient Han Chinese traditional craft. Through thousands of years of development, Chinese lanterns have developed different regional styles, each with a unique artistic expression. Every year, around the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar, people hang up red lanterns, which symbolize the meaning of reunion, to create a festive atmosphere. Lanterns are closely related to the life of Chinese people and have become a symbol of joy and celebration. Through the succession and development of lantern artists in the past generations, a colorful variety and high level of craftsmanship have been formed. There are various types of lanterns: palace lanterns, sarong lanterns, and so on. The outer layer is mostly made of thin bamboo or wire skeleton, and covered with transparent materials such as paper or yarn, and the candles are burned inside for lighting and decoration. The origin of the Chinese lantern has a variety of sayings, one of the more widely circulated is: during the Eastern Han Dynasty, the emperor Liu Zhuang advocated Buddhism, heard that Buddhism has the practice of the 15th…

Today is the Lantern Festival, the first full moon night of the year in the Chinese Lunar New Year. In the Chinese lunar calendar, the first month of the year is called the month of Yuan (元), and the ancient people called the night Xiao (宵), so it is called the Yuan Xiao (元宵, Lantern Festival), also known as Shang Yuan (上元) and Yuan Xi (元夕). On this night, all activities revolve around lantern. As a specific festival, the Lantern Festival was shaped in Sui, and from Tang to Qing Dynasty, it was continuously grand, gradually forming a festival custom with lanterns as the core. How did people spend the Lantern Festival in the past? Follow The Palace Museum to check out the Lantern Festival customs that inherited for thousands of years.   Rich Traditional Lantern Types Both daily or festival, from the palace to the folk, the ancient people used a wide range of lantern styles, characters, flowers, birds, fish, insects, and so on. The exquisite and chic appearance of the lanterns gives good meaning. During the Lantern Festival, there are some specific categories of lanterns. For example, the Qingcheng lantern is a custom-made palace lantern in the Forbidden…