Dragon Lantern, also known as "Dragon Dance", is a folk dance form of light in China, which is popular in many places in China. There is a faucet in front of the dragon lantern. The number of joints in the middle of the body varies, but it is generally singular. There is a stick under each joint for support. Each node of candles is called "Dragon Lantern", and those who don't light candles are called "Bulong".
Palace lantern is a world-famous special handcrafted lantern art in China. Palace lanterns are mostly made and used by palaces and government officials, so they have this name. The earliest palace lantern in existence is the Ming Dynasty palace lantern collected by the Palace Museum. The production of palace lanterns is very complicated, mainly with carved wood, bamboo and bronze as the skeleton, and then inlaid with tulle, glass or horn pieces, on which various auspicious and festive themes such as landscapes, flowers and birds, fish and insects, and figures are painted.
Myths and legends of lanterns:
Legend has it that a long time ago, a god bird got lost and landed on the earth, but was accidentally shot by an unsuspecting hunter. Emperor Tiandi was very angry when he learned that, so he ordered the heavenly soldiers to set fire to the world on the fifteenth day of the first month and burn all mankind to death. The daughter of the Emperor of Heaven was kind-hearted, and could not bear to see the innocent suffering of the people, so she risked her life to tell the people the news.
When people heard the news, they were like a thunderbolt overhead, and they were so scared that they didn't know what to do. After a long time, an old man came up with an idea. He said: "On the 14th, 15th and 16th of the first month, every family hangs red lanterns, lights firecrackers and sets off fireworks. In this way, the emperor will think that people have been burned to death. "
Everyone nodded and said yes, and they were ready to go separately. On the fifteenth night of the first month, the mountain soldiers looked down and found that there was red light in the world, thinking it was the flame of a big fire, and told the Emperor not to set fire to the ground. People thus saved their lives and property. In order to commemorate this success, every household hangs lanterns and sets off fireworks on the fifteenth day of the first month to commemorate this day.