Love would always find its way. Until then, you have to wait patiently and search ceaselessly. At the same time, you have to work hard to become a better self than yesterday. Because of technology, it is agreeably easier and faster nowadays than ever to "find" your potential other half. However, who would have known that the courtship process took longer and harder for men and women in ancient times than it does today? This reminds us with Lantern Festival, one of the most famous festival of ancient China.
The Lantern Festival is held on the 15th day of the first month of the Lunar calendar. This is the first full moon of the Lunar New Year, symbolizing the arrival of spring.
In ancient times, because of customs, young ladies were normally disallowed to go out of the house. They were allowed to go out only during three days before and after the Lantern Festival. They would go out to watch lanterns and enjoy the fun. During this time, when young men saw girls they liked, they would ask people to propose marriage to them. The Lantern Festival also created many good marriages.
As there were also many ancient poems depicting the festival and the courtships, therefore, the Lantern Festival is also known as the "Chinese Valentine's Day". The other side of the story would be, due to the rarity of such chances, there was also many unfortunate losses of chances for budding a relationship.
This ancient match-making activity is much like the process of matching pearls. Pearl-matching also depends on a little bit of luck, eyesight and patience. Each pearl has its own luster, size, shape, color and imperfections. Each pearl is selected and compared countless times by the pearl artisan. For the more demanding artisan, they might demand a perfectly matched pair. Even the slightest difference in, for example, texture can be deemed as unacceptable. Those pairs that can pass the test will then be able to transform into a gorgeous pair of earrings.
When you receive a pair of pearl earrings, don't forget that someone has put in the effort and time match the pearls up and make them into a piece of jewelry for your sake.
Reference：WIKI