Ways the Lantern Festival Is Being Observed Globally
Communities in China and globally are observing the Lantern Festival this weekend, occurring on Saturday, February 24, marking the culmination of the 2024 Lunar New Year festivities, which heralded the Year of the Dragon.
The lantern festival occurs on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese calendar, symbolizing the first full moon of the new lunar year. Traditionally, people celebrate by adorning their surroundings with vibrant lanterns, often adorned with enigmatic riddles and rewards for those who decipher them.
Here’s how individuals worldwide are embracing the occasion.
How China is celebrating the Lantern Festival ➡️
Crowds welcomed the Lantern Festival in urban centers throughout the globe’s second most populous nation with 1.4 billion inhabitants. Beijing hosted numerous lantern festival gatherings throughout the metropolis. Families gathered to witness impressive lantern exhibits and illuminated inflatable creatures. In Rizhao, confectioners hurried to produce the festival’s distinctive sweet rice balls, fashioned and dyed resembling persimmons.
Revelries everywhere showcased lion and serpent dances. In one municipality, Qiandongnan, they even amalgamated a serpent dance with pyrotechnics—participants clad in flame-resistant suits and helmets.
Various municipalities showcased a local variation on the festivities, exhibiting distinct indigenous arts and garments. In Anyang, face-painted performers strutted on stilts during a procession. Elsewhere, in Qingdao, they organized a fair featuring classical dances, percussive displays, and indigenous art.
Fireworks illuminated skylines nationwide. In Chongqing, sightseers observed a remote-controlled exhibition of an immense illuminated avian creature soaring through the heavens.
The Lantern Festival festivities in Canada ➡️
Canada, with a significant Chinese community, was poised to illuminate in celebration of the occasion. Vancouver had organized a range of activities for its LunarFest, encompassing art displays, movie screenings, paper-folding workshops, and more.
In Toronto’s Chinatown, a pair of festive days were in the works, featuring a traditional lion dance, a Chinese banquet, and a mahjong tournament. Throughout the metropolis, eateries geared up to provide discounts and specialty delicacies. Streets came alive with performances, lantern exhibitions, and artisanal markets.
Several events paid tribute to diverse cultures observing the holiday, with anticipated Vietnamese New Year festivities and a library hosting a Korean Lunar New Year event with readings in Korean.
How Asia is welcoming the Lantern Festival ➡️
Some regions in Southeast Asia also observe the festival, known locally as Cap Go Meh.
In Penang, Malaysia, a street carnival featured fire manipulation, culinary delights, artistic displays, handicrafts, a dragon procession, musical ensembles, percussion showcases, and a customary Malay Dondang Sayang, recognized as UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage.
Meanwhile, in Jakarta, Indonesia, certain households visited Chinese temples before enjoying lontong cap go meh, a traditional festive delicacy comprising rice cakes wrapped in banana leaves, accompanied by chicken, boiled eggs, vegetables in coconut milk broth, prawn crackers, and spicy chili paste.
Elsewhere in Indonesia, some individuals engaged in facial piercing—a custom believed to repel malevolent entities.
Ways the Lantern Festival Is Being Observed Globally
The Lantern Festival proceedings in the U.K. ➡️
Some British locales also acknowledged the holiday, including a Chinatown culinary tour in London and an event in Southampton.
Moreover, contemporary Chinese eateries in Birmingham are organizing their own festivities to honor the occasion.
How the U.S. is marking the Lantern Festival ➡️
Apart from local festivities within Chinese communities, several official gatherings commemorated the holiday in cities across the United States. For instance, in New York City, there was an event where attendees could create their own lanterns.
In San Francisco, various local groups organized a celebration complete with performances, lantern displays, and mahjong games. Similarly, in the nearby city of Oakland, which boasts its own Chinatown, nonprofit organizations joined forces to showcase Asian-American artists and promote local businesses throughout the weekend.
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