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Lantern Festival (In Chinese also Yuanxiao jie) is a traditional Chinese festival which can be dated back to Han dynasty - It has been nearly two thousand years. Lantern Festival is the fifteenth day of the 1st lunar month. Why in China we called it Yuanxiao jie, I think you can find it in many resouces. There is no need for me to mention it here.

During the day of Lantern Festival, there are many different customs. Even in different places of China, the customs are different from each other. But certainly there are somthing in common. For example, During the day, people will eat Tangyuan, hang the lanterns outsite the room and solve riddles on the lanterns and so on. Though the customs may be different, the sybol of the festival is the same - sybol of getting together with the family and friends, for the pronunciation of yuan in Tangyuan is just the same as the pronunciation of Chinese word Tuanyuan, which means being together.

Useually, we have 3 days legal leave in the New Year's Festival. However, in my hometown, people always consider the Lantern Festival as the last day of the New Year's Festival - we call the New Year's Festival nian in Chinese, and the Lantern Festival xiaonian. From this, you can see how inportant the festival is - second only to the New Year's Festival.

Tomorrow is also Monday - the next week's work will began. I was so sad that I can not gather with my family far away. Tonight, when I heard the sound of fireworks (In China, we always set off fireworks during this day), I missed my family more than ever before. This make me think of one Chinese poem "A lonely stranger in a strange land I am cast, I miss my family all the more on every festive day." With these beatiful words, the scene of the Lantern Festivals in my childhood came into my mind:

Those were really carefree ages. In the day, I got up early with my parents and went to the crowd temple - fair. It is said that the earlier you get up, the sencere you are and your wish will have more chances to come true(At that time, the only wish that my family and I prayed for is that in the future I can go to university and have a good job). So every Lantern Festival we got up early to go to the fair. But later the day, I would forgot my wish behind. When the night came, I will take the lantern and play with my little companions around the village.

Those were really memorale time in my life. When we get up gradually, the time for us to gather with our families will become less and less. If you have time, no matter it is a festival of not, no matter you are far away or not, please go home to see your parents and grand -parents.

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