The Lantern Festival is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunar calendar, marking the last day of the Chinese New Year celebration. During that day, ancient Chinese people go out at night to temples carrying paper lanterns and solve riddles displayed on the lanterns. Nowadays the festival lanterns are not as popular as they once were in ancient times, but Chinese painters preserve these traditions in their paintings. Let's check them out.

元月十五是元宵節，在中國古時候人們會在元宵節晚上提著紙燈籠到廟里猜燈謎。如今這一習俗已經隨著歲月變遷漸行漸遠，所幸的是我們還能在中國畫家描繪元宵節的畫作中去找尋往昔的歡樂氣氛。

A painting of the Lantern Festival by Zou Li. [Photo/artron.net]