Usually falling in February or early March on the Gregorian calendar, it marks the final day of the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations.

However, its roots trace back more than 2,000 years and is popularly linked to the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han dynasty.

[12] Emperor Ming, an advocate of Buddhism, noticed Buddhist monks would light lanterns in temples on the fifteenth day of the first lunisolar month.

Another likely origin is the celebration of "the declining darkness of winter" and community's ability to "move about at night with human-made light," namely, lanterns.

He had sixteen dragons at his beck and call and he decided when to inflict drought, storms, famine or pestilence upon human beings.

It is said that Tianguan likes all types of entertainment, so followers prepare various kinds of activities during which they pray for good fortune.

[15] Yet another common legend dealing with the origins of the Lantern Festival speaks of a beautiful crane that flew down to earth from heaven.

However, a wise man from another village suggested that every family should hang red lanterns around their houses, set up bonfires on the streets, and explode firecrackers on the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth lunisolar days.

Due to his reputation, many people asked for their fortunes to be told but everyone got the same prediction – a calamitous fire on the fifteenth lunisolar day.

Dongfang Shuo said that on the thirteenth lunisolar day, the God of Fire would send a fairy in red riding a black horse to burn down the city.

After she left, people went to the palace to show the emperor the decree which stated that the capital city would burn down on the fifteenth.

When the emperor asked Dongfang Shuo for advice, the latter said that the God of Fire liked to eat tangyuan (sweet dumplings).

Lanterns were everywhere in the capital city on the night of the fifteenth lunisolar day and people were walking on the street and there were noisy firecrackers.

[2][4]During the Sui dynasty in the sixth century, Emperor Yang invited envoys from other countries to China to see the colourful lighted lanterns and enjoy the gala performances.

[18] In the Song dynasty, the festival was celebrated for five days[12] and the activities began to spread to many of the big cities in China.

Today, displaying lanterns remains a major tradition across China on the fifteenth day of the first lunisolar month.

Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan Province, for example, holds a lantern fair each year in Culture Park.

Cities such as Hangzhou and Shanghai have adopted electric and neon lanterns, which can often be seen beside their traditional paper or wooden counterparts.

Another popular activity at this festival is guessing lantern riddles,[19] a tradition which dates back to the Song dynasty.

The theme of riddles can be drawn from classics, biographies, poetry, the various philosophers' well-known stories and novels, proverbs, (the names of) all kinds of birds, animals, and insects, as well as flowers, grasses, vegetables, and herbs.