Lantern Festival 2026: Yuan Xiao Jié

Lanterns and Light Displays

Traditional lanterns of paper or silk in the shapes of animals, flowers, and folklore characters fill the streets. Cities hold spectacular lantern fairs with enormous artistic installations. Sky lanterns are released in many parts of China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia — a beautiful and symbolic ending to the New Year season.

Tangyuan and Yuanxiao

The festival food is tangyuan or yuanxiao — small round balls of glutinous rice flour filled with sweet sesame paste, red bean, or peanut butter, served in warm sweet soup. The round shape symbolises family reunion and completeness. Southern China calls them tangyuan; northern China, yuanxiao.

Lantern Riddles (猜灯谜)

Riddles written on paper are hung from lanterns at fairs — participants try to solve them. This tradition has been played since the Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD) and remains a beloved family activity. Correct answers often win small prizes.

Dragon and Lion Dances

Dragon and lion dance performances continue through the Lantern Festival in Chinese communities worldwide. The Lantern Festival night is the final major performance of the New Year season before everyday life resumes.

What is the difference between tangyuan and yuanxiao?

Both tangyuan and yuanxiao are glutinous rice balls eaten on the Lantern Festival, but they differ in preparation. Tangyuan (汤圆), popular in southern China, is made by rolling prepared filling in glutinous rice flour to form a smooth ball — the filling is wrapped from the outside in. Yuanxiao (元宵), popular in northern China, is made by first forming the filling into small cubes, then shaking it in a basket of dry glutinous rice flour until layers build up. The result is a rougher-textured ball with a drier outside. Despite the difference, both are served in warm sweet soup and symbolise family reunion and wholeness.

How is the Lantern Festival celebrated outside China?

The Lantern Festival is observed wherever Chinese diaspora communities exist. In Taiwan, the Pingxi sky lantern festival draws tens of thousands of visitors who write wishes on paper lanterns and release them into the night sky. In Singapore and Malaysia, the festival has a romantic dimension — traditionally considered a time for unmarried people to find partners. In Vietnam (Tết Nguyên Tiêu), Buddhist pagodas hold prayer services and lanterns are floated on rivers. In Chinatowns across the United States, Canada, the UK, and Australia, communities hold public lantern displays, lion dances, and tangyuan-sharing events to close the New Year season.