Chinese Lantern Festival

The culmination of the New Year's festivities occurs on the 15th day of the first Chinese lunar month, during the full moon, with the Feast of the Lanterns. The Chinese hang lanterns of all shapes and sizes from doorways. Popular designs include lanterns shaped like red carp and goldfish and sheep (because the word for sheep is the same as the word for good auspices). Also popular are multifaceted good-luck lanterns, designed to resemble a water caltrop, a root vegetable whose name in Chinese sounds the same as the word for good luck.

Sweet rice balls (yuan xiao), are the traditional food for this holiday. Traditionally they are made by dipping a kernel of flavored sugar repeatedly in rice flour and water to form successive layers. The balls are then boiled in water until the sugar center dissolves into syrup. The simpler version, usually served today, involves stuffing the sweet rice balls with red bean paste, sweet crushed sesame seeds or peanut paste. Making the rice balls is a family ritual and while they are being made, family members only mention good things, to ensure luck for the coming year.