Have you heard of Yuan Xiao Jie (元宵節 in Mandarin, also known as the Lantern Festival)? It’s the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and the end day of the Chinese New Year celebration (In 2022, it’s February 15th). It’s also the very first full moon day of the New Year, symbolizing the coming of the spring.
Among all celebration traditions, my favorite two are eating tangyuan (glutinous rice balls typically filled with black sesame paste) and watching beautiful lanterns shining at night! Though this year, due to the pandemic, I didn’t get to attend Lantern Festival celebration events, I was fortunate to spot some festival installations in the area I live, Banqiao, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Et voila, photo time!
@ChanneLing Thanks for sharing your colourful photos. We celebrate Yuan Xiao Jie over in Malaysia too. There will be the usual lanterns and fireworks with some prayers .This festival is celebrated by most Chinese as it is the last day of the Chinese New Year.
@ChanneLing Eating tangyuan is a tradition that my family follows as it has cultural significance. Prayers, lanterns and fireworks bring more joy and make Yuan Xiao Jie more meaningful for the Chinese celebrating it.
Me too! My family always eats tangyuan to celebrate it.
Actually, I just learned from a friend that tangyuan and yuan xiao are made in two different ways. Here’s what I found by Google: In northern China, “yuan xiao” is made by rolling small pieces of hardened filling in dry glutinous rice flour, adding water slowly, until it becomes a ball with a diameter of roughly 2 centimeters, whereas the southern “tangyuan”, is made by wrapping the soft filling in a glutinous rice “dough” similar to making a dumpling.
This is interesting! I didn’t know there’s difference.
@ChanneLing There are many different food and even culture in China. I experienced many different food cuisine in different Chinese provinces in my travels there. Is it the same in Taiwan? I have only been to Taiwan once back in the 1980s and I think it has advance very much now.
Yes, it’s the same case in Taiwan that different places have different food cultures. Yet, since Taiwan is a smaller place, the most common division is the north and the south. For example, there’s a Taiwanese food called 肉圓 (meatball). In the northern Taiwan, it’s commonly deep-fried, while in the south, it’s usually steamed.
Wow, you visited Taiwan in the 80s? That’s cool. And yes, I believe the cities have been developed a lot since then.
Sorry to tag you here. I encountered a problem while using Connect and would like to ask. Today, I was writing a new article to post and found that I’ve uploaded 1,000 photos which meets Connect’s maximum photo limit, which I’d expected so I went to my album to check. However, while checking, I found that there’re some photos in my album that are not uploaded, nor taken by me at all. Could you please help? Thanks!
As for the other images, they’re from nowhere. It’s my first time seeing these photos and I don’t know any of them (like the person in the photo, it’s someone I don’t know and have never met). That’s what makes me feel even more strange.
