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People crowd the corridor at Longhua Temple trying to solve the lantern riddles prior to the Lantern Festival, which falls on Sunday.(Photo Source: Shanghai Daily)
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BEIJING, Feb. 26 -- The Lantern Festival, which falls on Sunday this year, is a time to appreciate the night sky filled with lanterns, and especially to appreciate the wide-eyed children captivated by the lights.
But there's another ancient aspect to the festival that concludes the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration - the "tiger lantern" - also known as riddle guessing.
Because ancient riddles were so difficult and required so much classical knowledge, wisdom and wit, there was a saying about them: It's as difficult to kill a tiger as it is to guess a lantern puzzle. Hence, the name tiger lantern.
These days, however, most popular puzzles don't require a literati to come up with the answer, though they can be brain teasers, requiring knowledge of history, culture and classics, puns and homophones.
Today's Spring Festival puzzles usually carry simpler messages of good fortune, family reunion, abundant harvest, prosperity and love.
Lanterns often have four riddles written on red vertical strips of paper pasted to the lamp, attached by strings.
Winners these days usually get small gifts. In the past, the prize was intellectual satisfaction.
