过年习俗之正月十三：点灯买灯笼

January 13 of Chinese Lunar Calendar

正月初十三

Custom: buying lanterns and lighting a lamp

习俗：点灯买灯笼

Today is the 13rd day of the 1st month in Lunar Calendar. The preparation for Lantern Festival is still going on.

今天是农历正月十三。元宵节的准备还在继续。

In the southern part of China, this day is the day to appreciate lanterns. On this day, Chinese people in an endless stream will go to Town God’s Temple (城隍庙, cheng huang miao) to appreciate lanterns. And this is only the prologue of the lantern show of Lantern Festival.

在中国南方，这天要欣赏灯笼。络绎不绝的中国人会在这天去城隍庙赏花灯。而这仅仅是元宵节的序幕。

There are many different kinds of lanterns besides the traditional red round lantern. The lantern show will normally start from today and end around the 18th day of Chinese new year. A folk saying goes like: 13rd and 14th are for gods to enjoy lanterns, 15th and 16th are for ordinary people, whereas 17th and 18th are for the ghosts. 

除了传统的红灯笼外，还有许多不同样式的花灯。灯展通常从今天开始到正月十八结束。古话是这样讲的：十三十四神看灯，十五十六人看灯，十七十八鬼看灯。

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