Happy Lantern Festival!
Posted on: Feb 15, 2022
The Lantern Festival is the oldest carnival in China and this year falls on February 15th, which is the first full moon of the first lunar month. Its arrival also marks the end of Spring Festival/Lunar New Year Celebrations.
It is customary to appreciate the beauty of lanterns at night during the Lantern Festival. Large scale lantern exhibitions are held throughout the country. Another traditional activity in the Lantern Festival is working out riddles. Riddles have a long history in China. Attaching riddles to lanterns, however, was believed to be first developed during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The people who could solve the riddle would receive a prize. It’s also a way for both riddle-makers and riddle-guessers to show their talents.
Due to the special circumstances this year, we would like to offer to the CUE community an online alternative to in-person Lantern Festival celebrations. Please visit the link below to complete the riddles:
The deadline to complete the riddles is 11:59 am February 16th, 2022. Three winners will be chosen by the Centre for Chinese Studies to receive a CCS Lantern Festival prize and notified by email. Good luck to everyone!