It is said that at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, King Zhao and Chu passed the Yangtze River on his way back from the countryside and saw something floating on the river, which was white and yellow, and there was a kind of rouge-red pulp in it, which was very sweet. People didn't know what it was, so Zhao Haoqi sent someone to ask Confucius. Confucius said, "This duckweed fruit is also a sign of the master's revival."

Because this day is the fifteenth day of the first month, on this day in the future, Zhao Haoqi ordered his men to imitate this fruit with flour and cook it with red stuffing made of hawthorn. There is also a saying that Yuanxiao was originally called Tangyuan. When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, there was a maid-in-waiting named Yuanxiao, who was very good at making dumplings. Since then, the world has been named after this maid-in-waiting.

The earliest record of eating Lantern Festival can be traced back to the Song Dynasty. At that time, Yuanxiao was called "floating dumplings", "dumplings", "lactose dumplings" and "sugar dumplings". According to historical records such as Pingyuan Xu, Guangji Four Years Old and Ode to Daming, Yuanxiao, as a timely food to celebrate the Lantern Festival, began in the Song Dynasty. Because we must eat "Zi Yuan" during the Lantern Festival, people named it Yuanxiao.

In modern times, there are also stories related to the Lantern Festival. Yuan Shikai is not willing to be a big president, but also wants to be an emperor. Because his dream can't come true, he has been very upset. One day, his aunt said that she wanted to eat Yuanxiao. When' tis once spoken, Yuan Shikai gave her a slap in the face. Because Yuanxiao and Yuan Xiao are homophonic, Yuan had ordered his men not to say "Yuanxiao" again, but only "Tangyuan".

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Lantern Festival