By T. Jayani, JadeTimes News
The Lantern Festival, also known as the Shangyuan Festival, marks the conclusion of Chinese New Year celebrations. Celebrated on the first full moon of the new year in the traditional Chinese calendar, this festival is an integral part of the lunisolar calendar, which synchronizes lunar months and solar years by adding extra leap months over a 19 year cycle. The highlight of the Lantern Festival involves people carrying paper lanterns at night and solving riddles written on them, which often convey messages of good fortune, family reunion, abundant harvest, prosperity, and love.
Origins of the Lantern Festival
Various legends explain the origins of the Lantern Festival. One legend recounts how the Jade Emperor, angered by the killing of his favorite bird, planned to destroy the people with fire. To deceive the angels sent to execute this judgment, the people lit red lanterns, fireworks, and bonfires, making it appear as if the fire judgment had already taken place. This plan worked, and the people were spared. Other legends similarly describe how lanterns on the first full moon of the year averted divine judgment.
The Passover and Its Riddle
The Hebrew calendar, also lunisolar, is ancient like the Chinese calendar. It marks a festival on the first full moon of the year, known as Passover, which originated over 3500 years ago. Unlike the Lantern Festival, Passover does not involve solving riddles but was established by God as a riddle for all humanity, taking 1500 years for its solution to be revealed. This solution demonstrated how liberation from karma and death could be achieved for all peoples.
The Exodus Passover
The Passover festival commemorates the Israelite exodus from Egyptian slavery, led by Moses approximately 3500 years ago, as recorded in the book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible. After nine plagues, Pharaoh still refused to free the Israelites, prompting God to bring a tenth and final plague. God instructed the Israelites to slaughter a lamb and put its blood on their doorframes. On the designated night, the Angel of Death would pass through Egypt, killing the firstborn son in every house except those marked with the lamb’s blood. This night was called Passover because the Angel of Death passed over houses with the lamb's blood.
The Riddle of the Passover
God decreed that the blood on the doorframes was a sign for the people, not for Himself. This peculiar detail forms the Passover riddle. The Israelites were commanded to observe this ceremony annually, and to this day, Jewish people celebrate Passover on the same date, according to their lunisolar calendar.
The Solution 1500 Years Later
The Passover riddle was solved 1500 years later with the crucifixion of Jesus, known as the "Lamb of God," on the Passover day of the Jewish calendar. The Gospel records Jesus' trial and crucifixion during Passover, emphasizing the timing of His sacrifice. This parallel between the sacrifice of the lamb in the original Passover and Jesus' crucifixion signifies that Jesus' sacrifice fulfills the Passover symbolism.
The Significance of Signs
Signs, like commercial logos or religious symbols, direct our thoughts to specific meanings. The Passover blood was a sign pointing to the future sacrifice of Jesus. The timing of His death on Passover indicates that Jesus’ sacrifice was planned and ordained by God, illustrating how His sacrifice saves humanity from karma.
Connecting to Abraham’s Sacrifice
The location of Abraham’s intended sacrifice of his son, Mount Moriah, was the same place where Jesus was later crucified. This connection between location and timing in the Hebrew scriptures points to Jesus, reinforcing the significance of His sacrifice.
The dramatic parallels between the ancient Hebrew scriptures and the life of Jesus illustrate that His sacrifice was divinely orchestrated. These signs, given centuries apart, provide confidence in the divine plan of salvation through Jesus, fulfilling ancient prophecies and resolving the Passover riddle.