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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20220215
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20220216
DTSTAMP:20260430T125126
CREATED:20220128T181611Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220128T183144Z
UID:85963-1644883200-1644969599@www.cwa-ni.org
SUMMARY:Lantern Festival 2022
DESCRIPTION:Celebrated on the 15th day of the first Chinese lunar month\, the Lantern Festival traditionally marks the end of the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) period. This year it is Tuesday\, February 15 in 2022. Traditionally Chinese people will go out to look at the moon\, or send up flying lanterns. In recent years for safety and environmental reasons releasing lanterns has been discouraged and we have seen many younger people replacing that tradition with the flying of brightly coloured drones. Some traditions will never change such as having a good family meal  enjoy time together with family and friends. This year as we are all mindful of the COVID Restrictions we are encouraging people to celebrate at home and to enjoy our online resources.\n\n\nLantern Festival Facts\n\nPopular Chinese name: 元宵节 Yuánxiāojié /ywen-sshyaoww jyeah/ ‘first night festival’\nAlternative Chinese name: 上元节 Shàngyuánjié /shung-ywen-jyeah/ ‘first first festival’\nDate: Lunar calendar month 1 day 15 (Feburary 26\, 2021)\nImportance: ends the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival)\nCelebrations: enjoying lanterns\, lantern riddles\, eating tangyuan a.k.a. yuanxiao (ball dumplings in soup)\, lion dances\, dragon dances\, etc.\nHistory: about 2\,000 years\nGreeting: Happy Lantern Festival! 元宵节快乐！Yuánxiāojié kuàilè! /ywen-sshyaoww-jyeah kwhy-luh/\n\n\nThe Heritage and Importance of the Lantern Festival\n\n  \nThe Lantern Festival is the last day (traditionally) of China’s most important festival\, Spring Festival (春节 Chūnjié /chwn-jyeah/ a.k.a. the Chinese New Year festival). \nAfter the Lantern Festival\, Chinese New Year taboos are no longer in effect\, and all New Year decorations are taken down. \nThe Lantern Festival is also the first full moon night in the Chinese calendar\, marking the return of spring and symbolizing the reunion of family. \n  \nThe Lantern Festival can be traced back to 2\,000 years ago. In the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220)\, Emperor Hanmingdi was an advocate of Buddhism. He heard that some monks lit lanterns in the temples to show respect to Buddha on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Therefore\, he ordered that all the temples\, households\, and royal palaces should light lanterns on that evening. This Buddhist custom gradually became a grand festival among the people. \nHow Do We Celebrate the Lantern Festival?\n\nAccording to China’s various folk customs\, people get together on the night of the Lantern Festival to celebrate with different activities. As China is a vast country with a long history and diverse cultures\, Lantern Festival customs and activities vary regionally including lighting and enjoying (floating\, fixed\, held\, and flying) lanterns\, appreciating the bright full moon\, setting off fireworks\, flying drones\, guessing riddles written on lanterns\, eating tangyuan\, lion dances\, dragon dances\, and walking on stilts. \n\nThe most important and prevalent customs are enjoying lanterns\, guessing lantern riddles\, eating tangyuan\, and lion dances. \n  \n\n1. Lighting and Watching Lanterns\nLighting and appreciating lanterns is the main activity of the festival. \nWhen the festival comes\, lanterns of various shapes and sizes (traditional globes\, fish\, dragons\, goats! — up to stories high!) are seen everywhere including households\, shopping malls\, parks\, and streets\, attracting numerous viewers. Children may hold small lanterns while walking the streets. \nThe lanterns’ artwork vividly demonstrates traditional Chinese images and symbols such as fruits\, flowers\, birds\, animals\, people\, and buildings. \nIn the Taiwanese dialect\, the Chinese word for lantern (灯 dēng) is pronounced similarly to (丁 dīng)\, which means ‘a new-born baby boy’. Therefore lighting lanterns there means illuminating the future and giving birth. \nLighting lanterns is a way for people to pray that they will have smooth futures and express their best wishes for their families. Women who want to be pregnant would walk under a hanging lantern praying for a child. \n2. Guessing Lantern Riddles\nLantern owners write riddles on paper notes and pasted them upon the colorful lanterns. People crowd round to guess the riddles. Guessing (solving) lantern riddles\, starting in the Song Dynasty (960–1279)\, is one of the most important and popular activities of the Lantern Festival. If someone thinks they have the right answer\, they can pull the riddle off and go to the lantern owner to check their answer. If the answer is right\, there is usually a small gift as a prize. \n3. Lion Dances\nThe lion dance is one of the most outstanding traditional folk dances in China. It can be dated back to the Three Kingdoms Period (220–280). \nAncient people regarded the lion as a symbol of bravery and strength\, and thought that it could drive away evil and protect people and their livestock. Therefore\, lion dances are performed at important events\, especially the Lantern Festival\, to ward off evil and pray for good fortune and safety. \nThe lion dance requires two highly-trained performers in a lion suit. One acts as the head and forelegs\, and the other the back and rear legs. Under the guidance of a choreographer\, the “lion” dances to the beat of a drum\, gong\, and cymbals. Sometimes they jump\, roll\, and do difficult acts such as walking on stilts. \nIn one lion dance\, the “lion” moves from place to place looking for some green vegetables\, in which red envelopes with money inside are hidden. The acting is very amusing and spectators enjoy it very much. \n  \n4. Eating Tangyuan (Yuanxiao)\nEating tangyuan is an important custom of the Lantern Festival. Tangyuan (汤圆 tāngyuán /tung-ywen/ ‘soup round’) are also called yuanxiao when eaten for the Lantern Festival. \nThese ball-shaped dumplings are made of glutinous rice flour and are stuffed with different fillings such as white sugar\, brown sugar\, sesame seeds\, peanuts\, walnuts\, rose petals\, bean paste\, and jujube paste or a combination of ingredients. They are usually sweet. \nYuanxiao can be boiled\, fried\, or steamed\, and are customarily served in fermented rice soup\, called tianjiu (甜酒 tián jiǔ /tyen-jyoh/ ‘sweet liquor’). \nAs tangyuan is pronounced similarly to tuanyuan (团圆 /twan-ywen/ ‘group round’)\, which means the whole family gathering together happily\, Chinese people believe that the round shape of the balls and their bowls symbolize wholeness and togetherness. \nTherefore\, eating tangyuan on the Lantern Festival is a way for Chinese people to express their best wishes for their family and their future lives. \nIt is believed that the custom of eating tangyuan originated during the Song Dynasty\, and became popular during the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) periods. \nHow to Celebrate this year\nWe would like to see everyone celebrating safely and in line with government guidelines. This will no doubt mean just being with close family or social bubbles. However this doesn’t mean we cannot still have fun and celebrate as a community. We would like to see homes and even gardens decorated with lanterns and a real splash of colour bringing Belfast to life. Then take a picture or video\, post it to us or online to our social media platforms to show everyone. \n 
URL:https://www.cwa-ni.org/event/lantern-festival-2022/
LOCATION:Virtual Event
CATEGORIES:Virtual,Cultural,Community,Chinese New Year 2022
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.cwa-ni.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/banner.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Chinese Welfare Association":MAILTO:office@cwa-ni.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210226
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210227
DTSTAMP:20260430T125126
CREATED:20210212T171332Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210212T171332Z
UID:84163-1614297600-1614383999@www.cwa-ni.org
SUMMARY:Lantern Festival 2021
DESCRIPTION:Celebrated on the 15th day of the first Chinese lunar month\, the Lantern Festival traditionally marks the end of the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) period. This year it is Friday\, February 26 in 2021. Traditionally Chinese people will go out to look at the moon\, or send up flying lanterns. In recent years for safety and environmental reasons releasing lanterns has been discouraged and we have seen many younger people replacing that tradition with the flying of brightly coloured drones. Some traditions will never change such as having a good family meal  enjoy time together with family and friends. This year as we are all mindful of the COVID Restrictions we are encouraging people to celebrate at home and to enjoy our online resources.\n\n\nLantern Festival Facts\n\nPopular Chinese name: 元宵节 Yuánxiāojié /ywen-sshyaoww jyeah/ ‘first night festival’\nAlternative Chinese name: 上元节 Shàngyuánjié /shung-ywen-jyeah/ ‘first first festival’\nDate: Lunar calendar month 1 day 15 (Feburary 26\, 2021)\nImportance: ends the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival)\nCelebrations: enjoying lanterns\, lantern riddles\, eating tangyuan a.k.a. yuanxiao (ball dumplings in soup)\, lion dances\, dragon dances\, etc.\nHistory: about 2\,000 years\nGreeting: Happy Lantern Festival! 元宵节快乐！Yuánxiāojié kuàilè! /ywen-sshyaoww-jyeah kwhy-luh/\n\n\nThe Heritage and Importance of the Lantern Festival\n\n  \nThe Lantern Festival is the last day (traditionally) of China’s most important festival\, Spring Festival (春节 Chūnjié /chwn-jyeah/ a.k.a. the Chinese New Year festival). \nAfter the Lantern Festival\, Chinese New Year taboos are no longer in effect\, and all New Year decorations are taken down. \nThe Lantern Festival is also the first full moon night in the Chinese calendar\, marking the return of spring and symbolizing the reunion of family. \n  \nThe Lantern Festival can be traced back to 2\,000 years ago. In the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220)\, Emperor Hanmingdi was an advocate of Buddhism. He heard that some monks lit lanterns in the temples to show respect to Buddha on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Therefore\, he ordered that all the temples\, households\, and royal palaces should light lanterns on that evening. This Buddhist custom gradually became a grand festival among the people. \nHow Do We Celebrate the Lantern Festival?\n\nAccording to China’s various folk customs\, people get together on the night of the Lantern Festival to celebrate with different activities. As China is a vast country with a long history and diverse cultures\, Lantern Festival customs and activities vary regionally including lighting and enjoying (floating\, fixed\, held\, and flying) lanterns\, appreciating the bright full moon\, setting off fireworks\, flying drones\, guessing riddles written on lanterns\, eating tangyuan\, lion dances\, dragon dances\, and walking on stilts. \n\nThe most important and prevalent customs are enjoying lanterns\, guessing lantern riddles\, eating tangyuan\, and lion dances. \n  \n\n1. Lighting and Watching Lanterns\nLighting and appreciating lanterns is the main activity of the festival. \nWhen the festival comes\, lanterns of various shapes and sizes (traditional globes\, fish\, dragons\, goats! — up to stories high!) are seen everywhere including households\, shopping malls\, parks\, and streets\, attracting numerous viewers. Children may hold small lanterns while walking the streets. \nThe lanterns’ artwork vividly demonstrates traditional Chinese images and symbols such as fruits\, flowers\, birds\, animals\, people\, and buildings. \nIn the Taiwanese dialect\, the Chinese word for lantern (灯 dēng) is pronounced similarly to (丁 dīng)\, which means ‘a new-born baby boy’. Therefore lighting lanterns there means illuminating the future and giving birth. \nLighting lanterns is a way for people to pray that they will have smooth futures and express their best wishes for their families. Women who want to be pregnant would walk under a hanging lantern praying for a child. \n2. Guessing Lantern Riddles\nLantern owners write riddles on paper notes and pasted them upon the colorful lanterns. People crowd round to guess the riddles. Guessing (solving) lantern riddles\, starting in the Song Dynasty (960–1279)\, is one of the most important and popular activities of the Lantern Festival. If someone thinks they have the right answer\, they can pull the riddle off and go to the lantern owner to check their answer. If the answer is right\, there is usually a small gift as a prize. \n3. Lion Dances\nThe lion dance is one of the most outstanding traditional folk dances in China. It can be dated back to the Three Kingdoms Period (220–280). \nAncient people regarded the lion as a symbol of bravery and strength\, and thought that it could drive away evil and protect people and their livestock. Therefore\, lion dances are performed at important events\, especially the Lantern Festival\, to ward off evil and pray for good fortune and safety. \nThe lion dance requires two highly-trained performers in a lion suit. One acts as the head and forelegs\, and the other the back and rear legs. Under the guidance of a choreographer\, the “lion” dances to the beat of a drum\, gong\, and cymbals. Sometimes they jump\, roll\, and do difficult acts such as walking on stilts. \nIn one lion dance\, the “lion” moves from place to place looking for some green vegetables\, in which red envelopes with money inside are hidden. The acting is very amusing and spectators enjoy it very much. \n  \n4. Eating Tangyuan (Yuanxiao)\nEating tangyuan is an important custom of the Lantern Festival. Tangyuan (汤圆 tāngyuán /tung-ywen/ ‘soup round’) are also called yuanxiao when eaten for the Lantern Festival. \nThese ball-shaped dumplings are made of glutinous rice flour and are stuffed with different fillings such as white sugar\, brown sugar\, sesame seeds\, peanuts\, walnuts\, rose petals\, bean paste\, and jujube paste or a combination of ingredients. They are usually sweet. \nYuanxiao can be boiled\, fried\, or steamed\, and are customarily served in fermented rice soup\, called tianjiu (甜酒 tián jiǔ /tyen-jyoh/ ‘sweet liquor’). \nAs tangyuan is pronounced similarly to tuanyuan (团圆 /twan-ywen/ ‘group round’)\, which means the whole family gathering together happily\, Chinese people believe that the round shape of the balls and their bowls symbolize wholeness and togetherness. \nTherefore\, eating tangyuan on the Lantern Festival is a way for Chinese people to express their best wishes for their family and their future lives. \nIt is believed that the custom of eating tangyuan originated during the Song Dynasty\, and became popular during the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) periods. \nHow to Celebrate this year\nWe would like to see everyone celebrating safely and in line with government guidelines. This will no doubt mean just being with close family or social bubbles. However this doesn’t mean we cannot still have fun and celebrate as a community. We would like to see homes and even gardens decorated with lanterns and a real splash of colour bringing Belfast to life. Then take a picture or video\, post it to us or online to our social media platforms to show everyone. \n 
URL:https://www.cwa-ni.org/event/lantern-festival-2021/
LOCATION:Virtual Event
CATEGORIES:Virtual,Cultural,Community
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.cwa-ni.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/banner.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Chinese Welfare Association":MAILTO:office@cwa-ni.org
END:VEVENT
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