Okay, I know we have not talked about
upcoming Chinese New Year celebrations yet this year on Gadling, so excuse me for jumping ahead, but I happened to be
reading about the Spring Lantern Festival
(Yuen Siu) and found myself wishing I could be whisked away to see this glorious display of lights. This annual
celebration actually marks the end of Chinese New Year festivities and is considered Chinese Valentine’s Day by some.
It is celebrated every February on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar, which this year falls on
Febrary 12, 2006. The day is marked by a spectacular display of self-made lanterns in people’s homes, in parks and out
in the streets, with designs ranging from traditional dragons to popular characters like Mickey Mouse. Lanterns are
also decorated with riddles that others try to guess throughout the day. There is dancing and fireworks too, and
sometimes lantern matchmaking games to help draw new lovers to one another. The traditional dish for the festival is
yuanxiao, a kind of sweet dumpling. It all sounds quite magical to me, and I gather it would be fun to
experience in either a big city like Shanghai or with locals in a smaller town or village. Soooo, now that I’ve started
at the end of Chinese New Year festivities, watch for more info here in the coming weeks about the kickoff of the
festival, which begins on January 29, 2006.