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Lantern Festival in Harbin

The Lantern Festival is celebrated on the 15^th day of the first month of every lunar year. It is the last big celebration for the Spring Festival and marks the end of the Spring Festival. On the festival day, each family lights paper lanterns and visits a local temple or park, setting off fireworks, eating tangyuan, watching or participating in performances like the dragon dance or lion dance, and enjoying the glorious full moon together as thousands of colorful lanterns hang in the sky. Another distinctive and very fun tradition associated with the holiday is guessing lantern riddles—trying to solve riddles written on the paper lanterns. Dating from the Song Dynasty, the both mirthful and enlightening tradition was celebrated by all levels of society in ancient China. 

 

 

Edited and translated by Zhang Mengying

Revised by Charles Horne