Lighting up memories(2)

A sea of faces

In some small towns in the outer suburbs there are still traces of the original festival. The main street in Baozhen town in Chongming was always closed to traffic on the night of the Lantern Festival so people could gather there and celebrate. This still happens today. 

"I remember the street being filled with people, with kids walking or showing off their homemade lanterns. The largest I've ever seen was shaped like a dragon and was almost three meters in length. It was spectacular and attracted a great deal of attention," said Chongming native Dong Mei. "It's not exaggerating to say there's a sea of happy faces on the street that spreads for around three kilometers on the night. As well as the lanterns we enjoy the big fireworks display and the street stalls selling cotton candy, ice cream, and fresh cream cakes. Back then these were tastes from heaven for me." 

These days, Dong said, although the street was still full of people for the Lantern Festival, most were waiting to see the fireworks. And the crowd was mostly adult instead of kids with lanterns. Dong is a primary school teacher in Huangpu district and said because this Lantern Festival falls on the first day of the new semester there would be no special classroom activities.

Also retaining the traditional bustling atmosphere of the festival is Qibao old town in Minhang district. The town has been packed with people from around the city over the weekend for the yuanxiao here, reputedly the most authentic in Shanghai.

Some folk tradition experts are concerned that many traditional Chinese festivals are now simply represented by foods, like yuanxiao for the Lantern Festival, moon cakes for the Mid-autumn Festival and zongzi (sticky rice bundles wrapped in bamboo leaves) for the Dragon Boat Festival. But Professor Tian Zhaoyuan of the East China Normal University said the increase in the number of events involving people in some of the traditions like making paper lanterns and the enthusiasm people have for this are a good sign and are really important for the preservation of these traditions.

Rabbits, birds and Buddha

There are many versions of how the Lantern Festival came about. One legend has it that long ago in ancient times, a divine bird belonging to the Jade Emperor of Heaven, became lost on the earth and was accidentally killed by a hunter. The Jade Emperor was angered and decided to send his divine troops to set fire to the earth on the 15th day of the lunar calendar. But the emperor's daughter was very kind and didn't want to see many innocent people die. She secretly informed the people on the earth of her father's decision. A wise old man told every household to light lanterns and set off fireworks and crackers from the 14th day of the lunar calendar through to the 16th day. Seeing a sea of bright fire on the earth, the Jade Emperor thought the humans had been destroyed in the fire. 

Another popular version said that during the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD), Emperor Mingdi promoted Buddhism. He issued an order, saying that lights should be lit in the imperial palace and  all temples to pay tribute to Buddha on the 15th day of the lunar calendar. That's how the practice of lighting lanterns on this day began. But the rabbit lanterns were just one of the many shapes then. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties (386-589), in Ningdu county of today's Jiangxi Province, people first made rabbit lanterns with colored paper. They walked around their villages and temples carrying these lanterns on the festival day. The rabbit was regarded as a symbol of auspiciousness and they were trying to spread good luck everywhere. Rabbit lanterns have been popular ever since.