The Lantern Festival is a Chinese festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunisolar year in the lunar calendar marking the last day of the lunar New Year celebration. It is usually in February or March in the Gregorian calendar. As early as the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 25), it had become a festival with great significance. During the Lantern Festival, children go out at night to temples carrying paper lanterns andsolve riddles on the lanterns.
元宵节是中国的传统节日。每年的阴历一月十五日是元宵节，阳历则在二月或三月，它也是阴历新年庆祝活动的最后一天。早在西汉年间(公元前206年——公元25年)，元宵节就已经是非常重要的节日。在元宵节这一天，孩子们晚上打着纸做的灯笼到寺庙中猜灯谜。
In ancient times, the lanterns were fairly simple, and only the emperor and noblemen had large ornate ones. In modern times, lanterns have been embellished with many complex designs. For example, lanterns are now often made in the shape of animals. The lanterns cansymbolize the people letting go of their past selves and getting new ones, which they will let go of the next year. The lanterns are almost always red to symbolize good fortune.
在古时候，灯笼的制作非常简单，只有皇帝和贵族们拥有大型而华丽的灯笼。在现代社会，人们用很多复杂的设计来装饰灯笼。例如，现在人们把灯笼做成动物的形状。灯笼象征着人们送别过去的自己并迎接崭新的自己，年复一年，周而复始。灯笼基本上是红色的，用以象征好运。
In Hong Kong, it is commercialized as the Chinese equivalent of Valentine's Day. It is not to be confused with the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is sometimes also known as the "Lantern Festival" in locations such as Singapore and Malaysia.
在香港，元宵节已经被商业化，被人们当作中国的情人节。元宵节不应该和中秋节混为一谈，尽管在新加坡和马来西亚等地区，中秋节有时候被叫做"灯笼节"。