Lantern Festival

Festivities

Based on an old Chinese tradition, flower markets, restaurants, homes and parks are filled with colorful lanterns in traditional designs. During the festival, singles gather to play matchmaking games with the lanterns, to determine who will be their lover. Those who do not carry lanterns often enjoy watching informal lantern parades.

In addition to eating tangyuan, another popular activity at this festival is guessing lantern riddles (which became part of the festival during the Tang Dynasty), which often contain messages of good fortune, family reunion, abundant harvest, prosperity and love. As riddle guessing is interesting and full of wisdom, it has become popular among all social strata.

Till today, the lantern festival is still held each year around the country. Lanterns of various shapes and sizes are hung in the streets, attracting countless visitors. Children will hold self-made or bought lanterns to stroll with on the streets, extremely excited.