It seemed that Cai Junmo was touched by the poem and withdrew the order. Though it is difficult to prove what really happened at that time, this significantly mirrors the fact that customs were formed when people followed the examples of their superiors. The activities of the Lantern Festival started from the capital city, and then spread to many of the big cities and later to poor little villages. Obviously this is how customs came into being.
正月十五闹元宵由来已久。元宵节，又称“上元节”、“元夕节”、“灯节”。这是一年当中第一个月圆的夜晚，人们张灯结彩，走上街头，通宵达旦，欢度节日，总是会留下深刻的印象。
The celebration of the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month has a very long history. The Lantern Festival is also known as the Shangyuan Festival, the Yuanxi Festival or the Yuanxiao Festival. The 15th day is the first night to see a full moon in a new year and every house is decorated with lanterns and streamers. As night falls, people go in crowds to admire the colorful and impressive lanterns in streets. The celebration leaves deep impressions on anyone who joins it.
元宵节的形成，可能要追溯到古人对火的崇拜。古代傩祭，要点燃火把，用来逐疫驱鬼，不过在时间上还并不是定在正月十五。
The lantern Festival may originate from the fire worship by the ancient people. According to the belief of the ancient people, when they sffered sacrifices to their ancestors, fire was lit to alleviate illness and ward off evil spirits. But the day of sacrifices was not exactly on the 15th day of the first lunar month.
东汉明帝曾经下令，元宵节不论士族庶民一律挂灯，开创了先例。到了隋炀帝的时候，则已形成定律，每年正月十五夜晚，京城里总要“大列炬火，光烛照地，百戏之盛，振古无比”，几万人走上街头狂欢，说元宵节这时候已蔚然成风，大概是比较稳妥的。此后，历代帝王又有意倡导，上行下效，愈演愈烈。
It was Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty(25AD—220AD) who first ordered his people, whether rich or poor, to display lighted lanterns during the Lantern Festival. This was Formalized by Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty (581AD—618AD). As can be seen from the historical records about the nights of the Lantern Festival every year in the capital city—the magnificent lanterns displayed lit up the night sky and the great scene of performances were unparalleled—the Lantern Festival had developed into a great trend by that time. It was then promoted and enforced by later emperors and became increasingly popular.
唐代实行宵禁，夜晚不准出行，唯独在元宵节，皇帝特许开禁三天，称为“放夜”。宋代，又延长到五夜。明代愈发开放，规定正月初八上灯，十七落灯，前后狂欢十夜。
In the Tang Dynasty(618AD—907AD)，due to the curfew, people could only go out at night during the three-day Lantern Festival. In the Song Dynasty(960AD—1279AD), the festival celebration lasted for five days. However, the grandest celebration took place in the Ming Dynasty(1368AD—1644AD), during which the festivities lasted for ten days from the eighth day to the seventeenth day of the first lunar month.
《福建通志》里记载了一段轶闻，说是蔡君谟任福州太守时，下令民间每家点灯七盏，等于是一种“硬性摊派”。有人故意做了盏大灯，上面题写一首诗：“富家一盏灯，太仓一粒粟；贫家一盏灯，父子相对哭。风流太守知不知，犹恨笙歌无妙曲！”蔡君谟看到了，当即“还舆罢灯”。
A story in Fujian Annals says that once Cai Junmo, Prefect of Fuzhou, ordered every household to light seven lanterns on the lantern Festival, which was beyond the means of common people. So someone deliberately made a big lantern, with a sarcastic poem written on it: A lantern for a rich family is like a drop in the ocean. A lantern for a poor family makes the father and the son cry to each other; Does the merry Prefect know about this? He is still complaining that the music is not good enough.
看来他是有所触动，认为别人的批评是有道理的。这段轶闻是否有夸饰，已经很难考证了，不过从中折射历史，说明风俗的形成往往与“上行下效”有某种关系，倒是很值得我们重视。元宵节先是在京城里酝酿成熟，后来扩布到各地的城市，然后不断蔓延，直到穷乡僻壤，人们也总是会张罗着过这个节，这样一种流播的轨迹，显而易见。
