2027 Lantern Festival

The Lantern Festival, Yuanxiao, falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month — the first full moon of the lunar year — and brings the Chinese New Year season to a close. Its origins reach back to the Han dynasty, when lanterns were lit in honour of Buddha, and later dynasties turned it into a night of public celebration. Streets, parks and temples glow with red lanterns, people solve riddles pinned to them, and lion and dragon dances wind through the crowds. Families eat tangyuan, glutinous rice balls with sweet sesame or peanut fillings served in soup, whose round shape symbolises togetherness; in northern China they are called yuanxiao. It is not a public holiday in mainland China, so it falls on a normal working day, but big lantern displays such as those around Nanjing's Confucius Temple and in Zigong in Sichuan draw large crowds through the evening. This countdown ticks to midnight Beijing time on the 15th day of the lunar year.