DigiNepal · festivals
Lantern Festival (Yuanxiao) (元宵节 (Chinese)). Region: China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, diaspora. Tradition: Chinese cultural. Calendar: Chinese lunisolar (month 1 day 15). Dates: China 2026: Tuesday 3 March 2026 [computed]; China 2027: Saturday 20 February 2027 [computed]; China 2028: Wednesday 9 February 2028 [computed]. History and significance: The Lantern Festival falls on the first full moon of the lunar year and closes the New Year season. People display and release lanterns, solve riddles written on them and watch dragon dances. The custom dates back over two thousand years to the Han dynasty. In Malaysia and Singapore it is known as Chap Goh Mei. Key rituals and foods: Lantern displays, lantern riddles, dragon dances; foods include tangyuan or yuanxiao sweet rice balls. Date basis: official = matches a government gazetted holiday list; computed = calculated from the calendar system (tithi astronomy with skyfield and JPL DE421, Hijri Umm al-Qura, Chinese, Korean and Hebrew calendar libraries, or the fixed rule); expected = Umm al-Qura projection pending moon sighting. Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata (CC BY-SA, CC0) and government holiday lists, summarised in our own words.