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Lantern Festival is on the fifteenth day of first lunar
month, which marks the end of the series of Chinese New
Year celebrations.
Traditionally, on the Lantern Festival night, children
went out carrying bright lanterns that were often made
in the shapes of legendary gods and animals, such as Monkey
King and rabbit, while adults would parade the lanterns
under the very first full moon of the year.
The Lantern Festival is also known, along with the seventh
day in the seventh lunar month, as China’s Valentine’s
Day. In the ancient times, it was one of the few nights
when young ladies were allowed going out, and lovers would
be able to meet each other on the street when watching
lantern shows.
On the night of 12 February this year, fireworks lit up
the skies and blazing lanterns dotted the Chinese cities
as the 2006 Lantern Festival began. The "Ping-pung" sound
was the main rhythm of the celebration as Chinese grasped
their last chance to set off firecracker.
An ancient city gate on the festival night in a northern
Chinese city, Wei County
The day before that, residents of Wei County in northern
China's Hebei Province kicked off the celebration with
their 300 year-old tradition – dashuhua (beat
flowers out of a tree).
A man in Wei County performing traditional dashuhua
The performer carried a wet felt hat and
wore a sheepskin jacket inside-out. With a wooden ladle
that had been soaked in water for three days, he repeatedly
scooped up from a bucket the boiling liquid of melted iron,
and threw it with force against the ancient city wall,
producing sparks which were like millions of colourful
flowers burst out of an invisible tree.
(Source of photos: forum.xinhuanet.com)
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