Chinese Lantern Festival
On the last evening of the fifteen-long day Chinese New Year, the Lantern Festival is held. This festival is similar to St. Valentine’s Day, since it celebrates the love between couples.
The fifteenth day of the New Year is also the first full moon of the year, as well.
The Chinese Lantern Festival is always celebrated with some unique traditions that make every year a night to remember.
The Traditions of the Lantern Festival
The Lantern Festival has been a part of New Year’s celebrations in China for many centuries. Some people believe that the festival began during the Han Dynasty, while others believe the festival is far older.
One of the myths of the Lantern Festivals origins is that Emperor Mingdi had a dream of a golden man driving darkness out of the land. Because of the dream, the Buddhist scriptures were found, and the Emperor ordered lanterns to be hung in honor of Buddha, who has the power to bring light to the people. There are other legends and myths about the Lantern Festival and its origins, as well, depending on the region of China that you visit.
The hanging of the lanterns, often made from paper, is an important part of the festival, but food is also very traditional. On the day of the Lantern Festival, people make dumplings to eat. The dumplings can be filled with meats or other savory mixtures, or they can be filled with walnuts and sweets. Dumplings are always eaten on the last day of the New Year celebration. It is customary to eat as many dumplings as you can during the celebration, since there is the belief that the more dumplings that you eat, the more money you will make in the upcoming year.
Changing Customs
For the Chinese Lantern Festival, you may find that fewer people light their own paper lanterns are more people attend a community lighting event, instead. The customs that are practiced for the festival vary greatly depending on the country and region that you are visiting. For example, in some parts of China the dumplings are traditionally made from vegetables, while in other regions the dumplings are made from pork, bean paste, or a combination of ingredients.
There are also variations in the legends that are told about the Lantern Festival, as well. One thing that is the same around the world is the lighting of the lanterns and the presence of dumplings.
In many towns and cities, children carry lighted paper lanterns through the streets as part of the Lantern Festival. As part of the air display, you will see lanterns released and float in the sky, too, which is a beautiful sight against the full moon that marks this New Year’s celebration.
In Taiwan, there is a tradition of throwing firecrackers at Hadan, the God of Wealth. The firecrackers are thrown to help keep the god warm, who then returns the favor by bestowing riches on anyone who helped him.
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