China Weather News: "On the New Year's Eve of the Flaming Trees and Silver Lanterns, thousands of colorful lanterns shine." The 15th day of the first lunar month is the traditional festival of the Lantern Festival in China every year. On this day, when the night falls, the lanterns will light up all over the city, making people intoxicated with the grand scene of "Flaming Trees and Silver Lanterns". Tomorrow (February 15) is the Lantern Festival. The China Weather Network specially launched the 2022 Lantern Festival weather map to see where the "snow plays the lantern" and where the "moon accompanies the lantern"?

The weather map of the National Lantern Festival "Moonlight" has the widest range

The custom of "making lanterns" on the Lantern Festival has a long history in China, which began in the Western Han Dynasty and has a history of more than 2000 years. The ancients called the night of the Lantern Festival the night of the New Year's Eve, and the Chinese people's interest in watching lanterns reached its climax on the night of the New Year's Eve. On the 15th day of the first month of this year, the "moon with lights" covers the widest range. People can enjoy the charming moonlight while enjoying lights in southern Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Beijing Tianjin Hebei, Shandong, northern Jiangxi, Zhejiang, western Sichuan, Yunnan, Fujian and most of Guangdong. In Heilongjiang, Jilin, eastern Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei and other places, there are more clouds in the sky, which will be "clouds with lights", and the lights will be brighter than the moon.

There will be snowflakes falling in most parts of Heilongjiang, eastern Jilin, northern Xinjiang and eastern Tibet, and people are expected to watch "snow playing lights" in the sky. Children in eastern Sichuan, southern Chongqing, Guizhou, southeastern Yunnan, most of Hunan, Guangxi, Taiwan Island and other places should take rain gear when they go out to enjoy the lights. These places will rain in succession, but the good news is that the rainfall is not large, mainly light rain.

There are many kinds of lanterns on the Lantern Festival. They are either image lanterns modeled on the image of things, such as dragon lanterns, tiger lanterns, rabbit lanterns, etc., or activity lanterns based on folk stories, such as cowherd and weaver, twenty four filial piety lanterns, etc. There are still many places in our country that have the custom of holding lantern parties. On the 15th day of the first month of this year, cities such as Xi'an and Nanjing will hold lantern parties. Xi'an will be "the moon with the lantern", which can enjoy both the lantern and the moon, while Nanjing will be "the cloud with the lantern". The minimum temperature in these two places is only 0 ℃, so you need to cover the lights carefully to keep warm.

On the night of the Lantern Festival, the temperature in most parts of our country is low, and we should do a good job of watching lights and keeping warm

On the night of the Lantern Festival this year, the temperature in most parts of China is relatively low. The minimum temperature in northern Xinjiang, Qinghai, Ningxia, Gansu, most of the northeast and Beijing Tianjin Hebei areas will be below - 8 ℃. You need to wear long thick down jackets to keep warm when going out; Southern Xinjiang Basin, Shandong, most of Henan, southern Shanxi, southern Shaanxi, eastern Gansu, southern Ningxia, northwestern Sichuan and other places will also feel "frozen", and down jackets will also appear. In areas south of the Yangtze River, although the temperature at night will generally be above freezing point, the body feeling is still cold. For example, most areas in the Jianghuai and Jiangnan regions need wool overcoats to keep warm.

What is the difference between South Tangyuan and North Yuanxiao

In addition to enjoying lanterns, the tradition of eating "Yuanxiao" has also been spread in China for nearly a thousand years. In the folk, there is a saying that "South glutinous rice balls and North Lantern Festival". In the past, because glutinous rice in the north was not easy to obtain, the Lantern Festival appeared as a specific food for the Lantern Festival, and was called "Yuanxiao". In the south, where there is abundant glutinous rice, food made from glutinous rice is very common. It is usually cooked in hot water. It is called "Tangyuan", which means "Yuanzi in hot water".

Creative Tangyuan. (Zhao Yuguo/Visual China/copyright picture source Visual China)

There is a big difference between the making method of Tangyuan and Yuanxiao. The processing method of the former is "wrapping", where the stuffing is wrapped inside the skin; While the Lantern Festival is "rolling", the processor will roll the filling in the basket filled with glutinous rice noodles, and sprinkle water while rolling until the filling is covered with glutinous rice noodles and rolled into a ball.

Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival. Both Yuanxiao and Tangyuan are high viscosity foods, which should be eaten properly to avoid indigestion. In addition, at the critical period of epidemic prevention and control, the Chinese weather reminds you to wear masks when enjoying the lights, do not pile up, and pay attention to your own safety. (Text/Jiang Yi Data Support/Wang Weiyue Design/Chen Yujie)