 |
| "Happy Lantern Festival!" |
Happy New Year! Or as
they say here in China, “xīn nián kuài lè” (新年快乐)! February 10th is the beginning of
the Lunar New Year and the start of China’s Spring Festival. On the last day of the Spring Festival, February
24th, there is a celebration known as “shàng yuán jié” (上元节) or
the day of the “Lantern Festival.” This
was my first time celebrating the Lantern Festival and I wasn’t sure to what
expect. My good friend, Megan, invited
me to come out that evening to the People’s Park for the celebration. The park was packed full of people. There were street venders everywhere selling
all sorts of glowing devices for decorating one’s person. Many people wore glittering face masks and
carried glow sticks. The police had shut
down the streets around the park so there was no worry about vehicular traffic. Young and old people alike were gathered in
the streets shooting off fireworks into the night sky. It was quite the celebration!
Megan and I finally made our way through the crowds to the
People’s Park in the center of the city.
The park was crowded with visitors and for good reason. The city had set up dozens of elaborate light
displays throughout the park. It
reminded of me going to see a huge Christmas light display in America. There were massive lanterns filled with
colored lights. Each lantern was shaped
differently and representing an assortment of scenes and creatures. There were light displays shaped like
flowers, one that was shaped like the story of the three little pigs, one that
was shaped like a great phoenix, one that was shaped like some tradition
Chinese folk heroes, and one that was even shaped like a smiley face. It was beautiful. But a picture is worth a thousand words so enjoy
some of the wonderful scenes we got to experiance that evening:
 |
| It's a Giant Lantern! |
 |
| Playing an Air Violin... |
 |
| Welcome to the People's Park! |
 |
| Flowers! |
 |
| More Flowers! |
 |
| It's a Glowing Garden! |
 |
| One of the Three Little Pigs |
 |
| Megan and me. |
 |
| So many people... and Pandas... |
 |
| These things are straight out of Alice in Wonderland. |
 |
| Traditional Chinese Folk Heroes |
 |
| "Like a bridge over troubled waters..." |
 |
| A Romantic Love Scene |
 |
| This Pagoda was three stories tall! |
 |
| It's happy to see ya! |
Beautiful! The whole place reminds me, too, of Christmas lights here in the States. It seems like it is quite the celebration. It looks like a light wonderland.
ReplyDeleteI am very glad your friend, Megan, invited you and took you to the Lantern Festival.
Love you and miss you,
Mom