Colorful lanterns are lighting up China’s night sky, as activities begin across the country to celebrate Lantern Festival today.
多彩的燈籠照亮中國的半邊天，今日，全國各地已經(jīng)開始慶祝元宵節(jié)。

In Quanzhou city, southeast China’s Fujian Province, the lantern shows began on Thursday night. Xinmen Street was decorated by 805 traditional hand-made lanterns embroidered with beautiful patterns.
在中國東南部福建省的泉州市，燈籠秀在周四晚上就開始了。新門街上裝點(diǎn)了805個(gè)圖案各異的手工燈籠。

“While enjoying the shows, some people walk around with a small lantern in hand, making the atmosphere especially festive,” Mai Binbin, a local resident, said.
當(dāng)?shù)厥忻耨R彬彬說：“很多人一邊看燈，一邊手里拿著小燈籠，非常有過節(jié)氛圍?！?/div>

At the Confucius Temple, a tourist spot in Nanjing city, in eastern China’s Jiangsu Province, tens of thousands of colorful lanterns for a grand lantern show are creating a sea of lights to attract tourists.
在華東的江蘇省，南京的旅游景點(diǎn)孔廟，舉行了宏大的燈籠秀，元宵燈籠的海洋吸引了大批游客前來觀賞。

Local resident Mao Mingjuan took her son to the temple to watch the lanterns on Thursday evening, saying she hoped her son would now better understand the history of the festival and the temple.
當(dāng)?shù)厥忻衩骶曛芩耐砩蠋е鴥鹤觼砜礋?，她說希望通過這樣的活動(dòng)，讓兒子理解元宵節(jié)和孔廟的文化歷史。

Dating back to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 25), the Lantern Festival is held on the 15th day of the first lunar month to mark the first full moon of the lunar new year.
元宵節(jié)始于西漢（公元前206年-公元25年），與每年正月十五月圓時(shí)舉行。

You Guoqing, a folk custom expert in Tianjin Municipality, said the Lantern Festival was about going out for a colorful celebration rather than a family get together.
天津市民俗研究專家由國慶說，元宵節(jié)并不是家庭聚會(huì)，而是出門看展。

Besides watching lanterns, it is also a day to appreciate the full moon, solve lantern riddles, watch art performances and eat tang yuan, dumpling balls made of glutinous rice, usually with sweet fillings.
除了看燈，元宵節(jié)也是賞月、猜燈謎、看藝術(shù)表演、吃湯圓/元宵的好時(shí)候。

The festival was once also a time for romantic encounters. In feudal times, young women were not allowed to go out freely, but Lantern Festival was an exception, when young men and women could meet up.
元宵節(jié)也曾是戀人相聚的時(shí)候。在封建時(shí)期，年輕女子不能隨便出門，但元宵節(jié)可以出門看燈，這也就成為青年男女相會(huì)的好時(shí)機(jī)。

Some aspects of the festival, such as its romantic atmosphere, are fading, but people still see the Lantern Festival as a day to rejoice and a chance to wish for happiness.
雖然元宵節(jié)的一些元素（比如浪漫氣息）已經(jīng)漸漸淡化，但人們?nèi)匀话阉?dāng)做慶祝、祈福的節(jié)日。

Childhood memories of Lantern Festival are still vivid for Yu Le’an, an elderly man from Changsha, capital of central China’s Hunan Province.
余樂安是湖南省會(huì)長沙的一位老人，對(duì)他來說童年的元宵節(jié)記憶猶新。

“It would be a time when we could have new clothes and good things to eat,” he said.
他說：“每到元宵節(jié)，我們就有新衣服穿、有好吃的可以吃?！?/div>

The Lantern Festival is a now a mixture of the traditional and modern.
當(dāng)代元宵節(jié)已經(jīng)成為傳統(tǒng)和現(xiàn)代的結(jié)合。

The workshop of lantern craftsman Lu Xiezhuang in Shanghai is especially busy, as flocks of people visit to appreciate and buy his lanterns on the eve of the festival.
上海手藝人魯謝莊的工作室最近非常忙碌，因?yàn)樵谠?jié)前夜有很多人前來賞燈、買燈籠。

Lu, 63, is glad to see people’s love for the lanterns, but she believes that there is still much to do to ensure the traditional craftsmanship survives.
魯謝莊今年63歲，她看到人們對(duì)燈籠的熱愛感到非常新聞。但她認(rèn)為，要想讓這門傳統(tǒng)手工藝流傳下去，還需要付出很多努力。

She says “innovation” is key to keep the ancient art alive, and has been exploring the creation of lanterns of different patterns and colors catering for modern day aesthetics.
她說，“創(chuàng)新”是讓這一傳統(tǒng)藝術(shù)活下去的關(guān)鍵。并且她一直在探索和創(chuàng)造現(xiàn)代審美下不同圖案、不同樣式的燈籠。