The Night of the Lanterns
Written by Julen Madariaga on February 11th, 2009Last night I was going to stay in and write a long, thoughtful post. Instead I went out and took some pictures.
The first full moon marks the end of the New Year celebrations. It is called 元宵节, usually known in English as the Night of the Lanterns. Apart from the lanterns, there are also fireworks. And of course, like in every festival in China, there is a special thing to eat: the 汤圆 or 元宵，AKA the sticky rice balls.
I also captured some of the 牛Year’s 牛s，flashing bravely on Yunan Road.
Below is a whole family of 牛s, looking Holy in their neon halo.
More lamps. Have you noticed how the paper lamps, with their older technology, actually decorate the streets much better than neon strings? Ancient Chinese were smart. Homeland Christmas decorators: take note.
And one last for the little Chinese street guitar session.
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Uln, we’re still waiting for your post on chinese hairdressers!!!
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13
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OK, OK, it’s coming…
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15
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Those are some great pictures you took. It must have been pretty noisy with all the fireworks. My apartment in Beijing is right by a river where the entire neighborhood launched every kind of firework available. It sounded like a war zone, but it was one of the most spectacular fireworks displays I have ever witnessed.
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Yeah, I really enjoy the Night of the Lanterns, it is one of the most beautiful nights of the year.
And fireworks are great. I used to think they were annoying, until I started buying them myself in big quantities. This completely changed my point of view
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