Happy Lantern Festival

元宵节快乐 - Happy Lantern Festival!

The Lantern Festival (元宵节 or Yuánxiāojié in pinyin) is a Chinese holiday that traditionally marks the end of the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) celebrations.

Chinese people celebrate this holiday by enjoying colored lantern displays and eating sweet rice balls called tangyuan. Read this article to learn about the history of the Lantern Festival and discover more about how it’s celebrated today.

One story about the origins of the Lantern Festival says the holiday was created during the time of Emperor Ming of Han (58-75 CE).

At this time, Buddhism was already gaining popularity in China.

Emperor Ming was a supporter of Buddhism and after he learned that it was customary for Buddhist monks to light lanterns on the 15th day of the first lunar month, he decreed that imperial palaces and individual households should do the same. This practice lives on as today’s Lantern Festival.