FÊTE DES LANTERNES

The Chinese have been celebrating the lantern festival since the Han dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD). This festival, which is held on the 15th day of the Lunar New Year (mid or end of February), officially closes the New Year festivities. In the past, the souls of visiting ancestors were taken back to the other world, symbolized by lanterns lit all over the country (today the feast of the Lanterns is also known as Chinese Valentine's Day). Even today, Taiwanese people still parade through the streets carrying paper and wooden lanterns.