The Lantern Festival (Yuan Xiao Festival)
Thursday, March 4th, 2010
The Lantern Festival (also called Yuan Xiao Festival) is on the 15th day of the first Chinese lunar month. According to the custom, people start to prepare for the celebration of Lantern Festival to be held on the 14th day of the first Chinese lunar month. Two of the most important things are lanterns and sweet dumplings (called Yuanxiao in Chinese).
“Yuan” literally means first, while “Xiao” refers to night. The Lantern Festival is the first time when we see the full moon in the lunar year. It is traditional festival for family reunion. And the lanterns in various sizes are hung in the trees or somewhere. Besides, the lanterns owners write riddles on a piece of paper and post them on the lanterns in ancient time. If someone knows the solution to riddles, they can pull the paper out and go to the owners to check the answer. If they are right, they can get some small gifts.
