On the fifteenth day of the Chinese New Year, or Lantern Festival, children are supposed to be walking on the street carrying a lantern. However, it is raining at this moment, and looking out, I don't see a soul, much less a lantern. Were it not for the festive sound of fireworks in the distance, I might take today as an ordinary day.
Hmm, later I'll eat Yuanxiao to celebrate this big day, before I start to grade students' writing on today's mock exam.
The following is a passage from Wikipedia about the fifteenth day of the Chinese New Year. The Malaysia and Singapore custom mentioned in the second paragraph is very interesting.
"Fifteenth day
The fifteenth day of the new year is celebrated as Yuan Xiao Festival/Yuánxiāojié (元宵节) or Shang Yuan Festival/Shàngyuánjié (上元节) or Lantern Festival, otherwise known as Chap Goh Mei (Chinese: 十五暝; pinyin: shí wǔ míng; literally "the fifteen night") in Fujian dialect. Rice dumplings tangyuan (simplified Chinese: 汤圆; traditional Chinese: 湯圓; pinyin: tāngyuán), a sweet glutinous rice ball brewed in a soup, are eaten this day. Candles are lit outside houses as a way to guide wayward spirits home. This day is celebrated as the Lantern Festival, and families walk the street carrying lighted lanterns.
In Malaysia and Singapore, this day is celebrated by individuals seeking for a love partner, a different version of Valentine's Day.[11] Normally, single women would write their contact number on mandarin oranges and throw it in a river or a lake while single men would collect them and eat the oranges. The taste is an indication of their possible love: sweet represents a good fate while sour represents a bad fate.
This day often marks the end of the Chinese New Year festivities."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year)
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