Lantern Festival (Yuanxiao Festival), China, is celebrated on the 15th
day of the first lunar month. Observed after fourteen days of the Chinese New
Year, it is one of the biggest festivals of China. Throughout the day there are
several dance performances like dragon dance, lion dance, yangge dance etc. Fireworks
and wonderful lanterns add to the glitter of the night. Intoxicated people makes
merry when the full moon firsts appears in the night sky.
Yuanxiao is the most popular cuisine of the festival. The customary food varies
from place to place. Yuanxiao tea, which is a soup made of vegetables and fruits
with a mixture of boiled flour, is widely consumed in Shaanxi Province. Bean
dough is favorite amongst the Kunming people of the Yunnan Province. At Luoyang
and Lingbao of Henan Province the most consumed delicacy during the Lantern
Festival is jujube paste. Besides eating, which is an indispensable part of
the festival; people also indulge into other activities like lantern fair, guessing
riddles, and performing traditional festivities.
People gather from all the corners in the morning. Sounds of chimes, drums,
suona horns, and firecrackers fill the air accompanied by yangge, the lion dance,
and many other activities. Running the cloth boats, riding bamboo horses, and
walking on stilts are a few activities performed by the villagers during the
festival. But the most important activity of this day is watching lanterns.
Various shapes and sizes colorful lanterns are hung all over the streets.
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