In addition to the Lantern Festival, it also has other names, such as Yuan Festival, Spring Lantern Festival, Small First Month, etc.
Eating Tangyuan
Eating Tangyuan is an important tradition for the Lantern Festival. Tangyuan, also know as yuanxiao,is a Chinese food made from glutinous rice flour mixed with a small amount of water to form balls and is then cooked and served in boiling water.
Lighting lanterns
Decorating and hanging lanterns is the main tradition of the festival, with lanterns big and small hung around households, parks, streets and other public spaces. Red lanterns of various shape and type will attract countless visitors to watch.
Lion dances
The lion dance is one of the oldest traditions to celebrate the Chinese New Year. In ancient times, people regarded the lion as a symbol of bravery and strength and believed the dance could drive away bad fortune to protect people and their livestock. The custom has continued to the modern day and lion dances are performed at important events on the Chinese calendar, such as the Lantern Festival, to bring good luck.
Lantern riddles
Solving riddles on lanterns has been a popular tradition since the Song Dynasty. People write riddles on paper and stick them to the lanterns and if someone guesses correctly, they can pull the riddle off. The notes often contain messages of good fortune and wishes.
Watch fireworks
In the daytime of the Festival,performances such as a dragon lantern dance, a lion dance, a land boat dance,a yangge dance, walking on stilts and beating drums while dancing will be staged.On the night,except for magnificent lanterns, fireworks form a beautiful scene. Some local governments will even organize a fireworks party.On the night when the first full moon enters the New Year, people become really intoxicated by the imposing fireworks and bright moon in the sky.
Dragon lantern dance
Dragon dance is a form of traditional dance and performance in Chinese culture. Like the lion dance it is most often seen in festival celebration. The dance is performed by a team of dancers who manipulate a long flexible figure of a dragon using poles positioned at regular intervals along the length of the dragon.
Chinese dragons are a symbol of China, and they are believed to bring good luck to people, therefore the longer the dragon in the dance, the more luck it will bring to the community.
Walk on stilts
Walking on stilts is another popular traditional performance for the Lantern Festival, especially in Northern China. According to the archives, our Chinese ancestors began using stilts to help them gather fruits from trees.This practical use of stilts gradually developed into a kind of folk dance.