元宵节 The Lantern Festival

每年农历的一月十五日是中国人的元宵节，它正好在春节之后。
The Lantern Festival is celebrated everywhere on January 15th of the lunar calendar, right after the Spring Festival.

传统意义上元宵节也是春节活动的一部分。
Traditionally, the Lantern Festival is a part of the Spring Festival.

这天是农历新年里第一个月圆的日子。
This day is always the first full moon in the lunar New Year.

中国各地张灯结彩，家家户户歌舞游乐，人们做元宵、放烟火。
Across China, people celebrate by hanging up lanterns and festoons, attending dancing and singing performances, making “Yuan Xiao” or sweet rice dumplings and lighting fireworks.

这也是庆祝春节的延续。
This is also a continuation of the Spring Festival celebration.

在元宵节之夜，天上明月高照，地上彩灯万盏。
On the Lantern Festival night, the moon illuminates the dark sky while many lanterns shine bright colors on the earth.

元宵夜观花灯的习俗开始于两千多年前的西汉时期。
The traditions of viewing decorative lanterns on this night began more than two thousand years ago in the Western Han Dynasty.