元宵节又称为“上元节”，按中国民间的传统，这天，人们要点起彩灯万盏以示庆贺。出门赏月、燃灯放焰、喜猜灯谜、共吃元宵，合家团聚、其乐融融。而吃团圆饭、猜灯谜、观花灯、放烟花等习俗更是元宵节必不可少的节目.
元宵节的意义（significance）
The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month. It is the first full moon of the new year, symbolizing unity and perfection.
元宵节在农历第一个月的十五号，它是新的一年的第一次满月，象征着团圆和美。
元宵节的起源（origin）
the Han Dynasty(206BC-220AD), Buddhism flourished all over China. One emperor heard that Buddhism monks would watch sarira , or remains from the cremation of Buddha's body , and light laterns to worship buddha on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, so he ordered to light laterns in the imperial palace and temples to show respect to Buddha on this day. Later, the Buddhist rite developed into a grand festival among common people and its influence expanded form the Central Plains to the whole China.
东汉明帝时期，明帝提倡佛教，听说佛教有正月十五日僧人观舍利，点灯敬佛的做法，就命令这一天夜晚在皇宫和寺庙里点灯敬佛，令士族和庶民都挂灯。以后这种佛教礼仪节日逐渐演变为民间盛大的节日。元宵节经历了由宫廷到民间，由中原到全国的发展过程。
Foreign version:
中国传统的过年，一般要持续到元宵节，元宵节一过也象征过年的结束，人们就要恢复正常的生产和生活了。在元宵节期间，人们举行各种民俗活动，赏月、观花灯、猜灯谜、放烟花、舞龙灯、舞狮子、跑旱船、踩高跷、扭秧歌，普天同庆，其乐融融。元宵节也成为中国诸多传统节日当中最热闹的一个，可以称为中国的“狂欢节”。
元宵节的习俗（custom）
guess the riddle 猜灯谜
play the dragon latern 耍龙灯
lion dance 舞狮子
a land boat dance 划旱船
stilt walk 踩高跷
yangko 扭秧歌
enjoy the beautiful laterns 赏花灯
set off fire works 放烟花
play couples game 对对联
have tangyuan/yuanxiao 吃汤圆/元宵
顺便元宵节常用词语的英文说法》》》》》》》
the Lantern Festival 元宵节
rice glue ball 元宵
glutinous rice 糯米
lions/dragons dancing 舞龙/舞狮
guess lantern riddles 猜灯谜
play couplets game 对对联
enjoy beautiful lanterns 赏花灯
snuff 灯花
exhibit of lanterns 灯会
dragon lantern dancing 耍龙灯
walking on stilts 踩高跷
land boat dancing 划旱船
yangko/yangge dance 扭秧歌
beating drums while dancing 打太平鼓
drum dance 腰鼓舞
fireworks party 焰火大会
traditional opera 戏曲
variety show/vaudeville 杂耍
Lantern Festival's temple fair 元宵庙会
colored lanterns' temple fair 彩灯庙会
世界各地“灯节”大比拼
元宵节自古以来就有挂灯、观灯、猜灯谜的习俗，故也称“灯节”。无独有偶，在其他一些国家，也有着以各式花灯装点氛围、传达祝福的美好节日。
以上美图对应着哪些灯节？下面就请跟着来看点儿不一样的花灯！
泰国：
Loy Krathong
水灯节
每年11月正是泰国河水高涨，月儿清辉的美好季节。按照泰国传统习俗，人们将各式各样造型（塔形、船形和莲花形等）的水灯放入河流中，以寄托心中美好的愿望和祝福。通常，水灯中间插有香烛、鲜花和彩色的小纸旗，也有人会在水灯上放数枚硬币表示礼佛或布施。
Celebrated nationwide, Loy Krathong is probably Thailand’s most beautiful and enchanting festival. The word loy means to float, whilst krathong are small rafts or baskets.
Traditionally made from banana leaves or the bark (树皮) of a banana tree, the krathongs usually contain a candle, incense (香) and flowers. The person who will be floating the krathong will often take a small clipping of their hair or fingernail which will be added to the krathong together with some coins. The candle and incense are then lit and a wish is made before the krathong is placed on the nearest stretch of water. It is believed that the krathong carries away bad luck and signals a fresh start.
泰国：
Yi Peng Lantern Festival
天灯节
在泰国，每年11月还有另外一个重要节日——天灯节。天灯既孔明灯，通常由竹篦、绵纸、纸糊等原料制作而成。节日夜晚，万人将写满祝福与祈愿的天灯齐放，漫天灯火随风摇曳，如星空绚烂，如银河璀璨，场面极为壮观。
Yi Peng Lantern Festival coincides with Loi Krathong. The festival is meant as a time to make merit. Swarms (一大群) of sky lanterns are launched into the air. Sky lanterns are made from a thin fabric, such as rice paper, stretched over a bamboo or wire frame, to which a candle or fuel cell is attached. When the fuel cell is lit, the resulting hot air is trapped inside the lantern and creates enough lift for the lantern to float into the sky.
菲律宾：
Giant Lantern Festival
巨灯节
巨灯节起源于1904年。每年12月中旬，菲律宾圣费尔南多市各处会装点上巨型彩灯。每座巨灯高约18到20英尺，大约使用3,500到5,000个灯泡照亮，还要涂上各色的涂料，工期约半年。一个多世纪来，从糊在竹子上的简单纸灯笼到千变万化的巨灯，彩灯越来越炫丽，但其所要传递的节庆的希望和喜悦不曾改变。
The materials used in each lantern have changed significantly throughout the years. What started as frames made up of bamboo sticks are now made of steel. The vibrant wrap of the lanterns from Japanese paper now turned into colorful plastic wrappers. These gigantic and magnificent lanterns are also made up of thousands of small, different bulbs controlled by a rotor (旋翼). These are maneuvered (机动) manually so the lights of the lanterns could “dance”. The patterns could vary from intricate stars to flowers, or even words.
尼泊尔：
Tihar Festival
灯节
在尼泊尔，灯节是仅次于德赛节的第二大节日，代表着“以光明驱走黑暗，以善良战胜邪恶”。灯节庆典每年开始于10月末或11月初，在持续五天的节日期间，亲友互赠礼物，家家户户购买黄金，打扫房子，入夜后点亮象征着光明、繁荣和幸福的蜡烛或油灯，以迎接财富与幸运女神拉克什米。此外，人们还会装扮、祭拜乌鸦、狗、牛等动物。
Tihar Festival is the festival of lights, as diyas, an oil lamp used in the Indian subcontinent (次大陆), usually made from clay, with a cotton wick dipped in ghee (酥油) or vegetable oils, are lit inside and outside the houses to make it illuminate at night.
People make patterns on the floor of living rooms or courtyards using materials such as colored rice, colored sand, dry flour, or flower petals, called Rangoli, which is meant to be a sacred welcoming area for Goddess Laxmi. The festival is considered to be of great importance as it also shows contribution to animals like crows, cows, and dogs that maintain an intimate relationship with humans.
写作任务：
假设你是李华，你的美国笔友John对中国传统节日很感兴趣，他知道尽管由于新型冠状病毒，今年的元宵节少了很多庆祝形式，但他仍然想要就传统的节日文化有所了解，写信向你了解相关情况，请你写封回信，就相关内容作简要介绍。