Yuanxiao is the special food for the Lantern Festival. It is believed that
Yuanxiao is named after a palace maid, Yuanxiao, of Emperor Wu Di of the Han
Dynasty. Yuanxiao is a kind of sweet dumpling, which is made with sticky rice
flour filled with sweet stuffing. And the Festival is named after the famous
dumpling. It is very easy to cook - simply dump them in a pot of boiling water
for a few minutes - and eaten as a desert.
元宵是元宵節的特色食品。據說，元宵是因漢武帝時期的壹位名叫元宵的宮女而得名。元宵是壹種帶餡兒的甜食，是由糯米粉加上甜的餡料制成。元宵節就是因此食品得名。元宵的烹制方法非常簡單，將元宵倒入裝滿沸水的鍋中煮幾分鐘就可以了。
2、Guessing lantern riddles 猜燈謎
"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.
猜燈謎也是元宵節活動的壹個基本組成部分。燈籠的所有者將謎語寫在壹張紙條上，然後將紙條展示在燈籠上。如果賞燈者猜出謎語，就將紙條取出，然後找燈籠所有者確認答案。打對的話，他們就可以領取壹份小禮品。這個活動起源於宋朝(960——1279)。猜燈謎活動極富情趣和智慧，因此在全社會廣受歡迎。
3、Watch fireworks 看煙火
In the daytime of the Festival, performances such as a dragon lantern dance, a
lion dance, a land boat dance, a yangge dance, walking on stilts and beating
drums while dancing will be staged. On the night, except for magnificent
lanterns, fireworks form a beautiful scene. Most families spare some fireworks
from the Spring Festival and let them off in the Lantern Festival. Some local
governments will even organize a fireworks party. On the night when the first
full moon enters the New Year, people become really intoxicated by the imposing
fireworks and bright moon in the sky.
元宵節的白天會有舞龍舞獅、劃旱船、扭秧歌、踩高蹺。而在晚上，除了各種大型燈會，燦爛的焰火也是壹幅美麗的畫卷。很多家庭在春節時會留下壹部分煙花等著元宵節放。有的地方政府甚至會組織焰火