文化价值
中国传统节日习俗适应了中国社会广大民众在物质、精神、伦理和审美等方面的综合需要。在物质生活层面，中国的传统节日具有许多不同节日独特的食品。元宵佳节，全家人在一起吃汤圆，“汤圆”与“团圆”字音相近，象征着团团圆圆，和睦相处。
元宵节的文化价值在于它是全民的狂欢节，人人参与，乐在其中。古代元宵节由于开禁，人流如织，男女相遇，易于产生爱情。千百年来，在元宵节上演的两情相悦的爱情故事，举不胜举。
元宵节主要活动是大众娱乐，但是其社会文化意义却不仅仅是娱乐。正月十五有很多信仰活动，祈求神灵保佑。[元宵节也是求子的佳节良辰。宋代陈元靓《岁时广记》卷十二《偷灯盏》解释当时人在元宵节偷灯的原因时说：“一云，偷灯者，生男子之兆。”这里“灯”谐音“丁”，就是男丁。这样一来，偷灯就象征着生育儿子，偷灯就是祈求子嗣绵延。根据同样的道理，观灯也具有求子的涵义。于是，古代妇女出门观灯有了这个理由，就名正言顺了。
节日文化是没有国界的，春节如此，元宵节也不例外。亿万国人的热情、奔放、张扬，可与巴西、德国等国的狂欢节比肩。
历史价值
元宵节俗的形成有一个较长的过程，正月十五在西汉已经受到重视，不过，正月十五真正作为民俗节日是在汉魏之后。东汉佛教文化的传入，对于形成过元宵节的风俗有着重要的推动意义。汉明帝永平年间(公元58——75年)，因明帝提倡佛法，适逢蔡愔从印度求得佛法归来，称印度摩喝陀国每逢正月十五，僧众云集瞻仰佛舍利，是参佛的吉日良辰。汉明帝为了弘扬佛法，下令正月十五夜在宫中和寺院“燃灯表佛”。因此正月十五夜燃灯的习俗随着佛教文化影响的扩大及道教文化的加入逐渐在中国扩展开来。 如今，随着时代发展，今天的元宵节正从家庭走向社会。不论元宵、彩灯、烟花如何变化出新，这些元宵节延续的古老传统风俗依然没变。这些传统文化的元素，它始终是人们心中割舍不断的情愫。
经济价值
元宵节临近，花灯、汤圆和花炮等商品生意火爆，山东省日照市“元宵经济”红红火火。商家吹响元宵经济“集结号”。2011年2月17日是元宵节，吃汤圆、品美食、看庙会，每一位市民都在努力的抓住春节的尾巴，享受元宵节中的年味。在元宵节到来时，节日经济再度被搅热，酒店订座爆满，超市元宵卖得火。近年来一些春节期间没来得及聚会的同事、亲友将元宵节作为一起聚餐的机会，使得元宵节酒店的订座率大幅增加，元宵节订餐数量几乎不亚于除夕年夜饭，部分酒店针对市民过年喜吃大鱼、大肉的习惯，特意在元宵节推出“忆苦思甜”菜肴，粗粮、野菜、窝窝头颇受市民青睐。
元宵节的来历习俗意义英文
until the sui dynasty in the sixth century, emperor yangdi invited envoys from other countries to china to see the colorful lighted lanterns and enjoy the gala(节日的，庆祝的)performances.
by the beginning of the tang dynasty in the seventh century, the lantern displays would last three days. the emperor also lifted the curfew(宵禁令), allowing the people to enjoy the festive lanterns day and night. it is not difficult to find chinese poems which describe this happy scene.
in the song dynasty, the festival was celebrated for five days and the activities began to spread to many of the big cities in china. colorful glass and even jade were used to make lanterns, with figures from folk tales painted on the lanterns.
however, the largest lantern festival celebration took place in the early part of the 15th century. the festivities continued for ten days. emperor chengzu had the downtown area set aside as a center for displaying the lanterns. even today, there is a place in beijing called dengshikou. in chinese, deng means lantern and shi is market. the area became a market where lanterns were sold during the day. in the evening, the local people would go there to see the beautiful lighted lanterns on display.
today, the displaying of lanterns is still a big event on the 15th day of the first lunar month throughout china. people enjoy the brightly lit night. chengdu in southwest china's sichuan province, for example, holds a lantern fair each year in the cultural park. during the lantern festival, the park is literally an ocean of lanterns! many new designs attract countless visitors. the most eye-catching lantern is the dragon pole. this is a lantern in the shape of a golden dragon, spiraling up a 27-meter -high pole, spewing fireworks from its mouth. it is quite an impressive sight!
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