🌕 Full Moon (Lantern Festival 2024)

Lantern Festival, always celebrated on a full moon, marks the end of Chinese New Year festivities. The night sky is filled with colorful lanterns, symbolizing good fortune and family reunion. Traditionally, people celebrate by displaying lanterns, solving riddles written on them, and eating sweet rice balls (tangyuan), symbolizing unity and wholeness.

According to legend, the Jade Emperor, ruler of heaven and usually celebrated for being a great friend to humanity, became enraged when a town killed his favorite sacred goose. In his fury, he planned to destroy the town with a storm of fire on the 15th lunar day. The Jade Emperor’s daughter, sympathizing with the innocent people, warned them of her father’s plan. The townspeople then lit lanterns throughout the town and set off firecrackers to make it appear as if the town was already burning. Fooled by this, the Jade Emperor decided not to send down the fire.

Pyromaniacs, get in on the fun! Here’s a video that shows you how to make your own flying fire lantern: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHyAefvWpXA