灯笼起源于东汉，最初主要用于照明。在唐代，人们用红灯笼来庆祝安定的生活。从那时起，灯笼在中国的许多地方流行起来。灯笼通常用色彩鲜艳的薄纸制作，形状和尺寸各异。在中国传统文化中，红灯笼象征生活美满和生意兴隆，通常在春节、元宵节和国庆等节日期间悬挂。如今，世界上许多其他地方也能看到红灯笼。

参考译文 Derived from the Eastern Han Dynasty, the lantern was first used for lighting. Red lanterns were used to celebrate the peaceful life in the Tang Dynasty. Since then, the lantern has become popular in various parts of China. Lanterns are usually made of thin colorful paper and vary in shapes and sizes. Red lanterns generally symbolize happy life and prosperous business in traditional Chinese culture, and are often hung up during holidays and festivals, such as the Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival and China’s National Day. Nowadays, red lanterns also can be seen in many other areas of the world.