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Let’s See How Countries Around the World Celebrate the Lantern Festival

By: MerxWire

February 20, 2024 at 20:00 PM EST

The Lantern Festival is approaching. This year’s Lantern Festival falls on February 24. On this day, traditional Chinese customs include carrying lanterns, eating glutinous rice balls, going out to enjoy lanterns and guessing lantern riddles, gathering with family and friends, and celebrating the return of spring to the earth.

Light lanterns during the Lantern Festival, hoping to bring happiness, health and success throughout the year. (Photo via unsplash.com)

New York, NY (Merxwire) – With the arrival of the 15th day of the first lunar month, the annual Lantern Festival is about to begin all over the world. This day is the first “full moon” day after the Lunar New Year. The ancients called the first month of the lunar calendar “Yuan Yue” and the night “Xiao”. The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is designated as the Lantern Festival every year.

The origin of the Lantern Festival can be traced back to ancient Chinese sacrificial rituals. It is said that during the Han Dynasty, people worshipped the moon goddess Chang’e, and celebrations were held every year at the Lantern Festival, with people lighting lanterns and eating tangyuan to pray for happiness and peace. These traditional activities have been continued for thousands of years, becoming one of the important festivals in Chinese culture.

However, with the influence of globalization, the celebration of the Lantern Festival has also evolved into diversified forms. Although the Lantern Festival originated in China, different countries celebrate it in different ways. For example, the Japanese eat red bean porridge and glutinous rice dumplings on this day and hold a fire ceremony to pray for peace and success. Vietnamese people will have traditional performances such as lantern parades and dragon and lion dances and also enjoy special delicacies such as glutinous rice cakes and sugar water. In Malaysia, Valentine’s Day falls on the same day as the Lantern Festival, and there is a romantic custom of “throwing oranges and catching bananas”. On the Lantern Festival, single men and women throw oranges or bananas with their contact information written on them into the water, hoping to find a good match this year.

The shape of glutinous rice balls represents reunion and completeness, and eating glutinous rice balls symbolizes family reunion and harmony. (Photo via unsplash.com)

Among the various activities of the Lantern Festival, eating tangyuan is one of the most prominent. In recent years, an increasing number of innovative ways of eating tangyuan have become popular among the public. Here are five different ways to enjoy tangyuan, adding more fun to this year’s Lantern Festival:

Filled Tangyuan:

Fill tangyuan with different fillings, such as taro, milk tea, pumpkin, chocolate, etc., to add diversity and surprise.

Making Colored Tangyuan:

Use natural ingredients or food colouring to make tangyuan in different colours, such as red, green, yellow, etc., making them more attractive and increasing visual enjoyment.

Creative Tangyuan Dishes:

Use tangyuan in various creative dishes, such as adding them to hotpot broth for a unique hotpot ingredient, pairing them with ice cream or jam to make desserts with different flavours, or combining tangyuan with vegetables, meat, etc., to make hotpot or stir-fried dishes, increasing the versatility of tangyuan.

Ice Cream Tangyuan Rolls:

This is an innovative way of combining ice cream and tangyuan, wrapping tangyuan in ice cream and then rolling it into a roll, creating a unique and delicious dessert with a refreshing taste.

Wine-infused Tangyuan:

This is a way of combining tangyuan with wine. Soaking tangyuan in sweet wine or wine mash, it tastes sweet and can also feel the aroma of wine, suitable for a mature taste.

The Lantern Festival, as an important traditional festival, not only reflects people’s longing for happiness and reunion but also demonstrates the diversity and integration of world cultures. Let us experience the charm of different cultures together and share happiness and blessings on this beautiful festival.

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