每年农历的正月十五日，春节刚过，迎来的就是中国的传统节日--元宵节。元宵主要的活动就是看灯。东汉明帝时期，明帝提倡佛教，听说佛教有正月十五日僧人观佛舍利，点灯敬佛的做法，就命令这一天夜晚在皇宫和寺庙里点灯敬佛，令士族庶民都挂灯。
TheLanternFestivalfallsonthe15thdayofthe1stlunarmonth,usuallyinFebruaryorMarchintheGregoriancalendar.AsearlyastheWesternHanDynasty(206BC-AD25),ithadbecomeafestivalwithgreatsignificance.Thisday’simportantactivityiswatchinglanterns.ThroughouttheHanDynasty(206BC-AD220),BuddhismflourishedinChina.OneemperorheardthatBuddhistmonkswouldwatchsarira,orremainsfromthecremationofBuddha’sbody,andlightlanternstoworshipBuddhaonthe15thdayofthe1stlunarmonth,soheorderedtolightlanternsintheimperialpalaceandtemplestoshowrespecttoBuddhaonthisday.Later,theBuddhistritedevelopedintoagrandfestivalamongcommonpeopleanditsinfluenceexpandedfromtheCentralPlainstothewholeofChina.
每年农历的正月十五日，春节刚过，迎来的就是中国的传统节日?元宵节。元宵主要的活动就是看灯。东汉明帝时期，明帝提倡佛教，听说佛教有正月十五日僧人观佛舍利，点灯敬佛的做法，就命令这一天夜晚在皇宫和寺庙里点灯敬佛，令士族庶民都挂灯。以后这种佛教礼仪节日逐渐形成民间盛大的节日。该节经历了由宫廷到民间，由中原到全国的发展过程。
Tilltoday,thelanternfestivalisstillheldeachyeararoundthecountry.Lanternsofvariousshapesandsizesarehunginthestreets,attractingcountlessvisitors.Childrenwillholdself-madeorboughtlanternstostrollwithonthestreets,extremelyexcited.“Guessinglanternriddles”isanessentialpartoftheFestival.Lanternownerswriteriddlesonapieceofpaperandpostthemonthelanterns.Ifvisitorshavesolutionstotheriddles,theycanpullthepaperoutandgotothelanternownerstochecktheiranswer.Iftheyareright,theywillgetalittlegift.Theactivityemergedduringpeople’senjoymentoflanternsintheSongDynasty(960-1279).Asriddleguessingisinterestingandfullofwisdom,ithasbecomepopularamongallsocialstrata.
直到今天，元宵点灯的习俗仍然在中国的各地流传的，各式各样美丽的花灯在这一天都会点亮，孩子们提着自制的灯笼走街串巷，非常高兴。猜灯谜也是元宵节的一项重要活动，花灯的主人会将谜面写在灯笼上，挂在门口，如果有人可以猜中，就能得到小小的礼物。这项活动最早起源于宋朝，因为谜语能启迪智慧又饶有兴趣，所以流传过程中深受社会各阶层的欢迎。
