The Lantern Festival (元宵节 Yuánxiāo jié）is celebrated on the 15th and last day of Chinese New Year. The main activity of the festival is lighting and hanging lanterns (灯笼 dēnglóng) and people will often write riddles on these lanterns. These lanterns are commonly red to represent hope and prosperity.
Another important part of the lantern festival is eating glutinous rice balls that are filled with sweet or savory pastes with your friends and family. In Southern China and Taiwan, these are called tangyuan (汤圆 tāngyuán) while in Northern China they are called yuanxiao (元宵 yuánxiāo). Common fillings include red bean (红豆 hóngdòu), sesame (芝麻 zhīma), and peanut (花生
huāshēng). Traditionally, Northern Chinese tend to prefer sweeter yuanxiao while Southern Chinese lean toward savory tangyuan.
Full Disclosure: Window to the World’s official policy issue is that tangyuan with black sesame filling are vastly superior to all other variations. Please share in the comments if you agree or disagree with our well-reasoned conclusion!
