Known for their breathtaking illuminated displays, lantern festivals serve as celebrations of community, good luck, and new beginnings. Although particularly common in Asia — especially during New Year’s celebrations — lantern festivals occur worldwide.
These scenic and often lively events usually feature live performances, tasty eats, and local artisans. The lanterns are often handmade, culturally traditional works of art that decorate and radiate light. There are also those glowing yet simpler lanterns that attendees cast into the sky, which make for captivating, beautiful, awe-striking moments and memories.
Spring Lantern Festival — Throughout China And Hong Kong
Culminating Chinese New Year festivities, the Spring Lantern Festival has a history that dates back to the Western Han dynasty. Celebrated on the 15th day of the Lunar New Year, the festivities are held annually in February or March. Many take this time to visit family, and celebrations are enriched with culture, history, and even folklore. They include traditional meals, fireworks, lion and dragon dance performances, and lanterns. The latter are often red or in vibrant colors with riddles printed on them.
People may symbolically light lanterns or simply admire those displayed outside buildings and at festivals. As the final New Year’s celebration, the festival also promotes peace, prosperity, and forgiveness.
Taiwan Lantern Festival — Taiwan
The Taiwan Lantern Festival is a nationwide annual event that rotates its host city every year. Also known as the Taiwan Lunar Festival or “Little New Year,” it lasts around 10 days and begins on the 15th day of the Lunar New Year. Taiwan Tourism describes the event as the country’s “most important holiday,” and millions attend each year.
The festivities include live performances, local cuisine, and praying for prosperity. Of course, lanterns fill the festival grounds, and attendees also send their own into the sky. Much of the lantern launching occurs during the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival, which concludes the Lunar New Year festivities in celebration.
BNZ Auckland Lantern Festival — Auckland, New Zealand
The BNZ (Bank of New Zealand) Auckland Lantern Festival has taken place since 2000 as a local celebration of the Chinese New Year. During its over two decades of growth, it has evolved into a four-day event at the Manukau Sports Bowl which has a capacity for over 100,000 people.
Tickets are free, and the family-friendly event includes hundreds of handmade lanterns, live cultural performances, food vendors, craft stalls, and amusement rides. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights of the festival, the celebrations culminate with a lively fireworks show.
Yi Peng Lantern Festival — Chiang Mai And Other Places In Northern Thailand
Also known as Yee Ping, this fall celebration in Chiang Mai honors the beauty of the moon during the first full moon of the second month of the Thai Lanna Calendar, according to the festival’s website. Attendees may enjoy the local market and cultural events as well as a food buffet and more. A spiritual affair, people also visit temples and send up their lit lanterns at night “as a form of devotion,” making wishes, and ridding themselves of the past.
RISE Festival — Mojave Desert (Outside Las Vegas, Nevada, USA)
This year, the annual RISE Festival celebrated its 10th anniversary in early October, just outside Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Organizers claim that this festival on Jean Dry Lakebed in the Mojave Desert is home to the “World’s Largest Sky Lantern Ceremony.” The three-day charitable event is organized by a non-profit organization dedicated to celebrating and fostering the arts.
In addition to the picturesque, large-scale lantern ceremony with tens of thousands of floating lights in the sky each night, attendees can expect big-name musical headliners, dancing, imaginative art installations, and the desert’s captivating beauty.
Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
This lantern festival is now a Philly summertime staple. Since 2016, the festival in the city’s historic Franklin Square Park has been a fun and celebratory family-friendly affair. It’s a special annual treat for Philly locals and visitors alike, especially those who enjoy the festival’s eye-catching 200-foot-long dragon.
Visitors of all generations come to see over 1,000 handcrafted lanterns, made both locally and in China. The event immerses attendees in Chinese history, culture, and celebration, as well as some other unique displays. The festival also features food vendors, live performances, and Chinese artisans showcasing their crafts and traditional art.
Night Of Wishes — Athens, Greece
During this stunning annual Christmas Eve celebration in Kotzia Square, attendees light biodegradable paper lanterns and send them into the sky with their wishes and dreams for the new year. According to Visit Greece, the night to remember is a time to be in community, enjoy live music, and “immerse yourself in the spectacular glow symbolizing luck, joy, and togetherness.”
