Tomb-Sweeping Day is one of the eight most important traditional festivals in China. The actual day usually occurs around April 5 of the Gregorian calendar but the festival lasts     1     (long). Traditionally,10 days before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day can be counted as the festival. The festival is said to originate     2     the funerals of emperors, generals and ministers in ancient times. The rituals (仪式)     3     (perform) at these funerals later became popular among ordinary people. Over time the tradition of offering sacrifices to the ancestors and sweeping tombs has been passed down from generation to generation and evolved into     4     custom widely observed by the Chinese nation. Despite the festival     5     (have) no official status, the overseas Chinese communities take this festival seriously and observe its traditions faithfully.

Tomb-Sweeping Day is also known as the Qingming Festival,     6     spring is in the air, the earth looks clearer and brighter with increasing rainfall, and everything in the natural world waves goodbye to the unpleasant memory of winter. This     7     (consider) as a shift from yin to yang. During this beautiful season, flowers blossom in the     8     (warm) and everything is full of vitality. The tradition of spring outings     9     (date) back to the Tang Dynasty. Apart from enjoying glorious natural scenery, outings involve other     10     (activity) which serve to bring out the best of the festival.

Since its first appearance in Paris in mid-December, the Yuyuan Garden Lantern Show     1     (attract) huge crowds to admire its fine designs and     2     (color) lights during the cold winter nights at the 163-year-old Jardin d’Acclimatation amusement park.

It is the first time that the lantern show,     3     national intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) item in Shanghai, has been held outside China.

The show, which opened on Dec.15 in Paris at the same time as the one that opened in Shanghai’s Yuyuan Garden,     4     (be) among events celebrating the     5     (sixty) anniversary of the establishment of China-France diplomatic relations. It also welcomes the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism. The show will run through Feb. 25.

According to the event’s organizer Yuyuan Inc., 3,000 online tickets     6     (buy) up in a day, with additional ones being sold in-person.

At the brightly lit double dragon-shaped gate, long lines     7     visitors can be seen at the entrance.

    8     (theme) on “Classic of Mountains and Seas”,     9     shares the name of the ancient Chinese mythology (神话) Shan Hai Jing, the event comprises 60 large Chinese lantern sets and 2,000 traditional lanterns,     10     (allow) visitors to appreciate the breathtaking art of Chinese lanterns and broader Chinese culture.