Lantern Festival
| Lantern Festival (Chinese) | |
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| Official name | yuánxiāo jié (元宵节, 元宵節) |
| Also called | Shangyuan Festival (上元节, 上元節) |
| Observed by | Chinese |
| Type | Cultural |
| Significance | Marks the end of the Chinese New Year and is the Chinese equivalent of Valentine's Day |
| Observances | Flying of paper lanterns |
| Date | 15th day of the 1st month (lunisolar year) |
| 2016 date | February 22 |
| 2017 date | February 11 |
| 2018 date | March 2 |
| Related to | Chinese |
| Lantern Festival | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Lantern Festival" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
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| Traditional Chinese | 元宵節 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 元宵节 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | "Prime Night Festival" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Yuánxiāo jié |
| Gwoyeu Romatzyh | Yuanshiau jye |
| Wade–Giles | Yüan2-hsiao1 chieh2 |
| IPA | [ɥɛ̌n.ɕjáu tɕjě] |
| Wu | |
| Suzhounese | Nyioe siae tsih |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Yale Romanization | Yùhn-sīu jit |
| Jyutping | jyun4 siu1 zit3 |
| Southern Min | |
| Hokkien POJ | Goân-siau-chiat |
| Eastern Min | |
| Fuzhou BUC | Nguòng-siĕu-cáik |
The Lantern Festival or the Spring Lantern Festival is a Chinese festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunisolar Chinese calendar. It marks the final day of the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations, and falls on some day in February or March in the Gregorian calendar. As early as the Western Han Dynasty (206 BCE-CE 25), it had become a festival with great significance. During the Lantern Festival, children go out at night to temples carrying paper lanterns and solve riddles on the lanterns (simplified Chinese: 猜灯谜; traditional Chinese: 猜燈謎; pinyin: cāidēngmí; Jyutping: caai1 dang1 mai4).
In ancient times, the lanterns were fairly simple, and only the emperor and noblemen had large ornate ones. In modern times, lanterns have been embellished with many complex designs. For example, lanterns are now often made in the shape of animals. The lanterns can symbolize the people letting go of their past selves and getting new ones, which they will let go of the next year. The lanterns are almost always red to symbolize good fortune.
In Hong Kong and Taiwan, it is commercialized as the Chinese equivalent of Valentine's Day. It is not to be confused with the Mid-Autumn Festival; which is sometimes also known as the "Lantern Festival" in locations such as Singapore and Malaysia.
Now the Chinese Lantern Festival is becoming popular in Western countries. In London, the United Kingdom has the Magical Lantern Festival.
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Wikipedia