{"id":8832,"date":"2025-01-14T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-14T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/?p=8832"},"modified":"2025-05-22T08:33:01","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T06:33:01","slug":"lantern-festival-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/lantern-festival-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Lantern Festival 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Lantern Festival (\u5143\u5bb5\u8282, yu\u00e1nxi\u0101o ji\u00e9) is an event celebrated every year in China. The date is defined by the first full moon of the lunar calendar; therefore, the time of the celebrations differs each year according to the solar calendar. Lantern Festival 2025 will take place on the 12th of February. Although it\u2019s not a public holiday, families enjoy it by spending time together and taking part in festive activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lantern Festival\u2019s origin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s assumed that the Lantern Festival\u2019s roots trace back to around 2,000 years ago during the reign of the Han Dynasty (206 BCE \u2013 220 CE). Only legends about its origin remained, the most known being the story of Emperor Ming, who was a supporter of Buddhism. One day, the emperor discovered a tradition among the Buddhist monks \u2013 they would light up lanterns on the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar. He decreed that everyone must light a lantern on that day, a tradition that has survived till the modern era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another legend talks about a maid called Yuan Xiao. She was separated from her family since she began working for the emperor. Burdened by pain, the girl decided to commit suicide when suddenly a man stopped her. The stranger introduced himself as Dongfang Shuo, the emperor\u2019s valued adviser. After promising Yuan Xiao to make her wish come true, he immediately put the plan into action \u2013 he offered the citizens to predict their future, which was identical for everyone. People were frightened by the prophecy of an approaching calamity. Unsure of what to do, they asked Shuo for advice, to which he replied that on the thirteenth day of the lunar calendar, the God of Fire would send an envoy to burn the city, and the only solution was to beg for mercy. Under the disguise of an envoy, Yuan Xiao arrived in the city and told the crowd to pass the emperor a decree from the God of Fire. Guided by Shuo\u2019s advice, the emperor ordered Yuan Xiao and the citizens to prepare tangyuan for the god and then go outside with lanterns and firecrackers. Yuan Xiao was allowed to see her family as a reward for preparing wonderful delicacies. This way, Dongfang Shuo kept his promise, and the emperor decided to turn the festivities into an annual tradition.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How is the Lantern Festival 2025 celebrated?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Although the Lantern Festival isn\u2019t a public holiday, it\u2019s celebrated each year. Families gather to enjoy the special day and cultivate traditions together. What does the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar offer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Traditional dishes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Just like other holidays, Lantern Festival wouldn\u2019t be the same without its signature dishes. The most popular one is yuanxiao, a type of sweet dumpling similar to tangyuan from the legend.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/yuanxiao-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Yuanxiao\" class=\"wp-image-9052 lazyload\" style=\"width:400px\"\/><noscript><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/yuanxiao-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Yuanxiao\" class=\"wp-image-9052 lazyload\" style=\"width:400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/yuanxiao-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/yuanxiao-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/yuanxiao-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/yuanxiao.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lanterns and riddles<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As the festival\u2019s name suggests, Lanterns are the celebration\u2019s highlight. The most common color of lanterns used to decorate cities and houses is red, as it symbolizes luck in China. Riddles written on them provide an entertaining activity for children, who can receive a small reward for solving them.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/dragon-dance-743x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Taniec Smoka\" class=\"wp-image-9050 lazyload\" style=\"width:400px\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"743\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/dragon-dance-743x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Taniec Smoka\" class=\"wp-image-9050 lazyload\" style=\"width:400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/dragon-dance-743x1024.jpg 743w, https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/dragon-dance-218x300.jpg 218w, https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/dragon-dance-768x1058.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/dragon-dance-1115x1536.jpg 1115w, https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/dragon-dance.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 743px) 100vw, 743px\" \/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lion dance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the most popular attractions is the lion dance, which symbolizes good fortune. Dancers perform in a gorgeous lion costume, imitating a lion\u2019s movements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lantern Festival 2025\u2019s impact on import from China<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As a person dealing with suppliers from China, it\u2019s crucial to remember that Lantern Festival 2025 will take place on the 12th of February. Contractors might be unavailable due to the festivities despite it not being a national holiday, so it\u2019s not advisable to attempt contacting them that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lantern Festival (\u5143\u5bb5\u8282, yu\u00e1nxi\u0101o ji\u00e9) is an event celebrated every year in China. The date is defined by the first full moon of the lunar calendar; therefore, the time of the celebrations differs each year according to the solar calendar. &#8230; <a title=\"Lantern Festival 2025\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/lantern-festival-2025\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Lantern Festival 2025\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9049,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[103],"tags":[659,102,104,691],"class_list":["post-8832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chinese-festivals","tag-659","tag-china-festivals","tag-chinese-new-year","tag-lantern-festival","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8832"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9054,"href":"https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8832\/revisions\/9054"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.examinechina.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}