Today, February 22nd, 15th day of the first lunar month, is Lantern Festival day – the first significant feast after Spring Festival.
Where
Yuyuan garden (closest metro station – Yuyuan garden L10)
When
Shedule of the perfomance:
14:30-15:00
16:00-16:30
18:00-18:30
20:00-20:30
21:30-22:00
Don’t miss out a unique cultural event!
About Chinese lantern festival:
The Lantern Festival (simplified Chinese: 灯节) is a Chinese festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunisolar year in the lunar calendar marking the last day of the lunar New Year celebration. It is usually in February or March in the Gregorian calendar. As early as the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 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).
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.
Finding love
In the early days, young people were chaperoned in the streets in hopes of finding love. Matchmakers acted busily in hopes of pairing couples. The brightest lanterns were symbolic of good luck and hope. As time has passed, the festival no longer has such implications in most of China.