Chinese Lantern Festival

The Lantern Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar. It also marks the last day of the traditional Chinese New Year celebration. Prior to the actual Lantern Festival day, all the temples in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong will be decorated with spectacular paper lanterns, especially with the year’s zodiac animal and this year, it will be the rat. People will flock to temples to admire the lanterns and make their wishes for the new year. In ancient China, women were not allowed outside of the house, with the exception of the Lantern Festival. On this night, the women can stroll freely, lighting lanterns and playing games and interact with men. This is also the reason why the Lantern Festival is also known as Chinese Valentine Day. Riddles and poetry are also written on the paper lantern and friends will guess the riddles and pass time with food and drink before the lanterns are released. Modern Lantern Festivals still have riddle but it is no longer prevalent, however, food celebration is still kept. Tangyuan is a must for this celebration. This is a mochi-like ball made of glutinous rice flour and can be savory as well as sweet. Lantern Festival also coincides with the first full moon after the new year, so the round shape of the tangyuan represents the moon. My Poa Poa (maternal grandmother) always serve tangyuan as a dessert at the end of our Lantern Festival meal. She will either make red bean or black sesame tangyuan with plain ones in simple syrup or serve them in a soupy base of rice marinated in wine. In China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, paper lanterns would be released into the sky after the meal symbolizing the end of the Chinese New Year celebration and the beginning of a bright new year.