The Lantern Festival is one of the most important traditional Chinese festivals, and it is celebrated throughout the country. Although customs are similar in most areas, each region still has its own unique characteristics.

　　Eating Yuanxiao (Glutinous Rice Balls)

　　On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, people eat yuanxiao. As a food, "yuanxiao" has a long history in China. During the Song Dynasty, a new type of food was popular during the Lantern Festival. This food was initially called "floating yuanzi," later known as "yuanxiao," and merchants also gave it a beautiful name, "yuanbao" (gold ingot). Yuanxiao, also known as "tangyuan" (rice balls), is made with fillings such as sugar, rose, sesame, red bean paste, osmanthus, walnuts, nuts, and red date paste, wrapped in glutinous rice flour into round shapes. It can be savory or sweet, with various flavors. It can be boiled, fried, or steamed, symbolizing family reunion and happiness. In Shaanxi, the rice balls are not wrapped but rolled in glutinous rice flour, and they can be boiled or fried, bringing warmth and a sense of togetherness.

　　Lantern Viewing

　　During the Yongping period of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty (58–75 AD), due to Emperor Ming's promotion of Buddhism, when Cai Yin returned from India with Buddhist scriptures, he said that in India's Maudgalyayana Kingdom, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, monks gathered to pay homage to the Buddha's relics, which was considered an auspicious day for Buddhist practices. To promote Buddhism, Emperor Ming ordered that on the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, lanterns should be lit in palaces and temples to honor the Buddha. From then on, the custom of lighting lanterns during the Lantern Festival spread from the court to the people. Every year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, both the aristocracy and commoners hung lanterns, making the cities and countryside brightly lit all night long.

　　The custom of lighting lanterns during the Lantern Festival developed into a grand event during the Tang Dynasty. At that time, Chang'an, the capital, had a population of over a million and was the largest city in the world, with a wealthy society. Under the direct guidance of the emperor, the Lantern Festival became increasingly luxurious. After the middle Tang period, it evolved into a nationwide carnival. During the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong (685–762), the scale of the lantern fair in Chang'an was immense, with five hundred thousand lamps lit, and a wide variety of lanterns. The emperor even commissioned the construction of a giant lantern pavilion, spanning 20 rooms and 150 feet high, glittering with gold and very spectacular.

　　During the Song Dynasty, the Lantern Festival surpassed the Tang Dynasty in both scale and the complexity and beauty of the lantern decorations, and the activities became more popular among the people, with stronger national characteristics. Since then, the Lantern Festival continued to develop, and the duration of the festival became longer. During the Tang Dynasty, the lantern fair lasted for one day before and after the Lantern Festival. In the Song Dynasty, two more days were added after the sixteenth, and in the Ming Dynasty, it was extended to ten days from the eighth to the eighteenth of the first lunar month.

　　In the Qing Dynasty, after the Manchu people entered China, the imperial court no longer held lantern fairs, but the folk lantern fairs remained magnificent. The festival was shortened to five days and continues to this day.

　　In Taiwanese folklore, lanterns symbolize brightness and the birth of sons. Lighting a lamp is believed to illuminate one's future path, and since the word "lantern" (燈) sounds like "son" (丁) in the local dialect, it is believed that women who steal a lantern will have a son. Therefore, in the past, unmarried women would go to the vegetable garden at night to steal onions or vegetables, hoping to marry a good husband. This tradition is commonly known as “stealing scallions means marrying a good husband” or “stealing vegetables means marrying a good spouse.”

　　The Chinese Valentine's Day

　　The Lantern Festival is also a romantic festival. In traditional society, the Lantern Festival provided an opportunity for young men and women to meet. Young girls were usually not allowed to go out freely, but during the festival, they could go out with friends. The Lantern Festival provided a social opportunity, and young men and women could also find their partners while viewing the lanterns. The Lantern Festival is also a time for young people to meet their lovers.