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Lantern Festival 元宵节
The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the first month in the Chinese lunar calendar, which is February 12 this year. It marks the end of Chinese New Year celebrations.
This festival has been around for over 2,000 years, dating back to the Han Dynasty. Over time, it became a lively event filled with lantern displays, riddle games, and tasty treats.
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元宵节 yuánxiāo jié
If you happen to be in China, head to parks or famous tourist spots—you’ll likely find them beautifully decorated with glowing lanterns. But even just walking down the street, you’ll probably bump into lanterns hanging everywhere.
On this day, you can greet people with:
元宵节快乐!(Yuánxiāo Jié Kuàilè!) – Happy Lantern Festival!
No Lantern Festival is complete without tāngyuán (汤圆)—sweet glutinous rice balls filled with black sesame, red bean, or peanut paste. These days, you can find all kinds of flavors, but black sesame (黑芝麻 hēi zhīma) is still the most popular (and it also happens to be my husband’s favorite Chinese dessert!). Tāngyuán symbolizes family unity and happiness because the word sounds like "reunion" (团圆 tuányuán). Eating them is like wishing for a harmonious year ahead!
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tāngyuán (汤圆)
In some parks or communities, you’ll also find lantern riddles (灯谜 dēngmí)—little brain teasers written on lanterns for people to solve. If you get it right, you might even win a small prize!
The Lantern Festival is all about family unity, and light driving away darkness. It’s a celebration of hope and togetherness, a perfect way to start the year.
I created a Quizlet set with vocabulary words related to the Lantern Festival. You can check it out here: Quizlet Flashcards.
Do you want more help with learning Chinese? Check out my private online classes: