It is now the evening of February 3rd, and there are 7 days left until returning to school. The Spring Festival is nearing its end, and it's time to focus, sleep early, and prepare for exams. According to tradition, I should introduce the festivals of February, but I feel that the day to break this tradition is not far off, because the first time I wrote about festival introductions was in the March 2022 issue, so writing about the March festivals can conclude it, and anything beyond that would be repetitive.
Needless to say, I am going to introduce the Lantern Festival, which is also known as the Shangyuan Festival, Little New Year, Yuan Evening, or Lantern Festival, occurring on the 15th day of the first lunar month each year (this year it falls on February 5th). The first month of the lunar calendar is called "Yuan," and the ancients referred to "night" as "Xiao." The 15th day of the first month is the first full moon night of the year, hence it is called the "Lantern Festival." According to Taoist beliefs regarding the "Three Yuan," the 15th day of the first month is also referred to as the "Shangyuan Festival." The customs of the Lantern Festival have historically centered around the lively and festive practice of admiring lanterns. The formation of the Lantern Festival has a long history, rooted in the ancient custom of lighting lamps to pray for blessings. According to general information and folk legends, the 15th day of the first month was already being valued during the Western Han Dynasty, but the Lantern Festival truly became a national folk festival after the Han and Wei dynasties. The rise of the custom of lighting lamps on the 15th day of the first month is also related to the eastward spread of Buddhism. During the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism flourished, and both officials and common people commonly "lit lamps to offer to Buddha" on the 15th day of the first month, leading to the widespread presence of Buddhist lights among the populace. Since the Tang Dynasty, the lighting of lanterns for the Lantern Festival has become a formal practice.
In the first month of 2023, although I have been idle at home, I have not been doing nothing. I finished reading a book titled "A Pilgrimage to the Astronomical Sky"; completed a compilation of short answer questions on the heat treatment of steel; went out for barbecue and walks with QY, PPT, and MJJ; discovered a café in a narrow alley; played board games with seven or eight friends; revisited my high school; and recently, after having fun at a riverside teahouse, I enjoyed a meal of fish and rabbit, which led me to decide to focus and prepare for the start of school. Regarding skills outside my major, I have picked up OOP programming languages represented by Java and C++, and wrote my first Minecraft Spigot plugin, Fireworkyu; my progress in learning Japanese has been slow, but as long as I don't regress, that's good.
The start of school means the beginning of my junior year, second semester. My feeling is that I am being swept forward by the torrent of time, facing it whether I want to or not. Whether to pursue graduate school or find a job (?), that’s a question. I am not someone who only looks at the present, but as long as I change one word to "live in the moment," I can also accept being someone who does not envision the so-called "short-sightedness" of the future. "The present" is a magical term; it can become the past in an instant, yet in that instant, it is still in your hands. I know what I want, so I can stop worrying about the future, as long as I take responsibility for the present. However, the anxiety about unattainable ideals and the peace of the present create a contradiction, so I have to say that I am being swept forward by time.
Having said so much, I am gradually starting to get philosophical, so I will stop here. I will talk about February's matters in the next issue; for now, what I know is that I can no longer live leisurely and face the exams unprepared.