每年農(nóng)歷的正月十五日，春節(jié)剛過，迎來的就是中國(guó)的傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日--元宵節(jié)。元宵主要的活動(dòng)就是看燈。東漢明帝時(shí)期，明帝提倡佛教，聽說佛教有正月十五日僧人觀佛舍利，點(diǎn)燈敬佛的做法，就命令這一天夜晚在皇宮和寺廟里點(diǎn)燈敬佛，令士族庶民都掛燈。

　　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 day’s 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 Buddha’s 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.

　　每年農(nóng)歷的正月十五日，春節(jié)剛過，迎來的就是中國(guó)的傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日?元宵節(jié)。元宵主要的活動(dòng)就是看燈。東漢明帝時(shí)期，明帝提倡佛教，聽說佛教有正月十五日僧人觀佛舍利，點(diǎn)燈敬佛的做法，就命令這一天夜晚在皇宮和寺廟里點(diǎn)燈敬佛，令士族庶民都掛燈。以后這種佛教禮儀節(jié)日逐漸形成民間盛大的節(jié)日。該節(jié)經(jīng)歷了由宮廷到民間，由中原到全國(guó)的發(fā)展過程。

　　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 people’s 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.

　　直到今天，元宵點(diǎn)燈的俗仍然在中國(guó)的各地流傳的，各式各樣美麗的花燈在這一天都會(huì)點(diǎn)亮，孩子們提著自制的燈籠走街串巷，非常高興。猜燈謎也是元宵節(jié)的一項(xiàng)重要活動(dòng)，花燈的主人會(huì)將謎面寫在燈籠上，掛在門口，如果有人可以猜中，就能得到小小的禮物。這項(xiàng)活動(dòng)最早起源于宋朝，因?yàn)橹i語能啟迪智慧又饒有興趣，所以流傳過程中深受社會(huì)各階層的歡迎。