What's the significance of old Beijingers hanging lanterns in the New Year?

Folk lanterns, also called "lanterns", are hung more than traditional festivals and weddings to set off the festive atmosphere. According to legend, in the Han Dynasty, "Lantern Festival is not allowed at night", the imperial court and the people decorated lanterns to show that all people have fun, and later became a company. The Tang poetry said, "The purple fire is forbidden, the fireworks are heavy, the Aoshan palace is hidden in the clear sky, the jade emperor arches in the clouds, and the characters swim on land and sea." In the Song Dynasty, the Lantern Festival in the capital of song dynasty and Lin 'an lasted for five nights, with "forty miles of colored lights". Dream of Tokyo recorded the grand occasion of the Lantern Festival. Zhu Yuanzhang, the capital of Nanjing, once set off 10,000 water lanterns on the Qinhuai River during the Lantern Festival. After moving the capital to Beijing, lanterns were hung in the Lantern Festival area, which increased the lantern market. The Lantern Festival in the Qing Dynasty is also "different from year to year."

China's colored lanterns are also collectively called colored lanterns. Originated in the Western Han Dynasty more than 1800 years ago, red lanterns symbolizing reunion are hung around the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month every year to create a festive atmosphere. Later, colorful lanterns became a symbol of happiness for the people of China. Through the inheritance and development of lantern artists in past dynasties, colorful varieties and exquisite craftsmanship have been formed. There are: palace lanterns, gauze lanterns, chandeliers and so on. From the modeling point of view, there are figures, landscapes, flowers and birds, dragons and phoenixes, fish and insects, etc. In addition, there are lanterns for people to enjoy. Colorful lanterns in China are made of bamboo, wood, rattan, straw, animal horn, metal, silk and other materials produced in various regions. Palace lanterns and gauze lanterns are the most famous colored lanterns made in ancient China. The lanterns in various places have national and local characteristics: the dragon lanterns in Shanghai are made of cloth; Guangdong's lantern is exquisite in structure; The pearl cellar in Wenzhou, Xiangjiang River is composed of thousands of beads, which are exquisite and spectacular; Palace lanterns in Beijing feel very elegant; The mouse climbing grape lamp, scorpion carrying archway lamp, unicorn lamp, pig eight quit lamp, duck lamp, goldfish lamp and Yuanyang lamp in Baxian County, Hebei Province have humorous themes and vivid meanings.