The Lantern Festival also called Shangyuan Festival is a Chinese traditional festival celebrated on the full moon, the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunisolar Chinese calendar.
It marks the final day of the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations. As early as the Western Han Dynasty (206 BCE–25 CE), it had become a festival with great significance.
During the Lantern Festival, children go out at night carrying paper lanterns and solve riddles on the lanterns
It should not be confused with the Mid-Autumn Festival; which is sometimes also known as the "Lantern Festival" in locations such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Lantern Festivals have also become popular in Western countries, such as US. In London also, the Magical Lantern Festival is held annually.
Its roots trace back more than 2,000 years ago and is popularly linked to the reign of Emperor Ming of the Han dynasty at the time when Buddhism was growing in China.
In the early days, young people were chaperoned in the streets in hopes of finding love. The brightest lanterns were symbolic of good luck and hope
Tangyuan or Yuanxiao, Eaten during the Lantern Festival, is a glutinous rice ball typically filled with sweet red bean paste, sesame paste, or peanut butter