Chinese Yuanxiao
2 min readRound sweet dumplings traditionally are eaten for happiness on the Lantern Festival.Today these dumplings also are a popular dessert in China，and come in two varieties:one is made of white and brown sugar，sweet-scented osmanthus，nuts and sesame seeds；the other has meat and vegetable fillings.Recently Chinese have begun adding chocolate for a truly unique flavor，even though traditional boiled dumplings，fried sweet dumplings are becoming popular.
A Legend of Yuanxiao
A legend tells the origin of eating yuanxiao on the night of the first full moon after the lunar New Year.The goddess of the moon，Chang’e swallowed a magic potion belonging to her husband and flew to the moon to become a fairy.Her husband，Houyi，missed her so much that he became ill.So on the eve of the first full moon after his illness，the goddess sent a young fairy to Houyi，telling him that she would descendto earth to be with him，but he should first make sticky rice balls in the shape of the round moon and put them on the table.Then he had to repeat her name over and over until she appeared.
No one knows whether she reunited with her husband or not，but this is how yuanxiao gained popularity.
The History of Lantern Festival
Lantern Festival has a history of more than 2 000 years.It started in West Han Dynasty when emperor gave orders that all people light lamps at that night to show respect to Buddha.Since then the festival soon popularized.In Tang and Song Dynasties，lantern display continues for 5 consecutive nights，starting from 13th to 17th of the first lunar month.In Qing Dynasty，the festival became even more recognized，as lanterns displayed from 8th to 17th-a 10 consecutive nights，the longest time in history.Today，in city parks or in the open squares，various kinds of lanterns are highly hung and displayed，and palace lantern，running horse lantern，flower-and-plant lantern，etc.have added to the bright night and attracted many people who rarely come out at night.
