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LANTERN FESTIVAL

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LANTERN FESTIVAL

The Lantern Festival is a traditional Chinese festival commemorated every 15th day of the first month in the lunisolar Chinese calendar. It usually falls in February, and it signifies the last day of the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations. Even as early as the Western Han Dynasty, it was already celebrated as a festivity with great importance. During the Lantern Festival in ancient times, the lanterns were moderately simple. It was just the emperor and great noblemen who had large elegant lanterns. In modern times, lanterns have become enhanced with several complex designs. Some lanterns are now frequently made in the shape of animals.

HISTORY OF LANTERN FESTIVAL

The origin of the Lantern Festival has brought about various beliefs and conceptions. However, its roots go way back to over 2,000 years ago and are famously associated with the dynasty of Emperor Ming at the time when Buddhism was evolving in China. Emperor Ming was a supporter of Buddhism, and when he noted how Buddhist monks would often light lanterns in temples on the 15th day of the first lunar month. He decreed that all households, temples, and the imperial palace light lanterns on that evening. So from there, lighting lanterns developed into a folk custom.

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But there’s another origin, most likely a legend — the observation of the declining darkness of winter and how the community can move about at night with human-made light. During the Han dynasty, the lantern festival was associated with Ti Yin, the deity of the North Star. Some other legend associates the Lantern Festival with Taoism. Tianguan, being the Taoist deity responsible for good fortune, has his birthday on the 15th day of the first lunar month. It is believed that Tianguan likes all types of entertainment, so his followers organize various activities during which they pray and plead for good fortune.

Yet another widespread legend about the origins of the Lantern Festival talks about an elegant crane that flew down to earth from the heavens. After it landed on earth, it was hunted down and slaughtered. This annoyed the Jade Emperor in heaven, and in his anger, he formed a storm of fire to engulf the entire village. Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty gave special allure to this event. In 104 B.C., he declared it as one of the most significant celebrations and decreed that the ceremony be held throughout the night. 

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Laid stars Stephanie Hsu and Zosia Mamet reveal the worst gifts their romantic partners gave them | Exclusive

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Laid stars Stephanie Hsu and Zosia Mamet reveal the worst gifts their romantic partners gave them | Exclusive

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Stephanie Hsu and Zosia Mamet talk about their new series Laid, and some of the horrors of dating as millennials.
Imagine a scenario where anyone and everyone you have ever been intimate with begins to die one by one. Is it a curse? If yes, then who is cursed? These are questions that Stephanie Hsu‘s Ruby battles with in the new zany comedy, Laid. Ahead of the show’s release, Stephanie and co-star Zosia Mamet spoke exclusively with HT about their roles, the show’s unique premise, and the horrors of dating as millennials. (Also read: Dune: Prophecy star Emily Watson on working with Tabu: ‘She is a true treasure’)

Stephanie Hsu on her character’s flawed morality

Laid, created by Nahnatchka Khan and Sally Bradford McKenna, is the story of Ruby (Stephanie Hsu), who discovers that all her sexual partners are dying one by one, and she must warn them. Helping her in this unique quest is her best friend AJ (Zosia). The fun thing about Laid is that the protagonists are not the usual likeable characters. “She is totally an anti-hero of our story. I really love that,” says Stephanie, referring to Ruby’s moral greyness. “I am not a perfect person and I love playing flawed characters. But it was difficult. The creators told me that she is a total narcissist. But narcissists don’t think they are one, so I had to figure out a way to love her. For me, playing Ruby was about getting into her psychology and finding the innocent part of her – which is that she just wants love,” the actor adds.

While sitcoms usually add the best friend as the voice of reason trope, Laid diverges from that, with AJ even zanier and more morally ambiguous than Ruby. Talking about playing such a colourful character, Zosia Mamet says, “When you play not-so-likable or zany characters, people don’t believe they are that way. I don’t think AJ wakes up every morning and thinks, ‘I am absolutely crazy’. It’s about trusting the writing and finding an organic way into these characters to make them seem grounded, real, and relatable.”

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Stephanie, Zosia reveal the worst gifts they received from partners

In Laid, Ruby gives the gift of death to the men she is with, even if that is inadvertent. Ask the women about the worst ‘gift’ a partner has ever given them, and the discussions veer into the unusual horrors of modern-day dating. “I got a vintage wooden duck decoy from someone. It was broken, and I thought, ‘What does this say about our relationship?’. They didn’t know me well enough to know if I’d want this but also that they gave me something old and ailing,” Zosia says with a laugh.

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