The Lantern Festival

The Chinese Lunar Festival comes to an end each year with the Lantern Festival. I have been to several different celebrations, one up in the mountains in a lovely and historical town, called Shifen and the other at the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Memorial, just six subway stops from my apartment in Ximen. The celebrations were totally different. My friends Steven, Jessica and their beagle, Macho, and I drove up into the foggy and ancient mountains last Sunday for an experience that I will never forget. I felt as if I was inside of a Chinese Ink Painting and every turn was more beautiful than the next. In the small town, we wrote our wishes for the new year onto a huge red lantern. We did them in Chinese Calligraphy. The lantern was then fired up and lifted into the sky. It is believed that the messages are going directly to God and will surely come true. I made many special wishes, as they did, including my constant wish of Peace on Earth. The experience was very meaningful for me and as I watched many other families and friends create their lanterns, and send them flying upwards, I had the feeling that they felt the same. The faces were so alight with joy and a sense of wonder. The innocent and adorable children always steal my heart.

The celebrati

on at the SYS Memorial was glitzy and totally awesome. The talent displayed in the creation of many lanterns and 3-D animated

 structures, light art displays was simply extraordinary. Each of the displays had a theme. 

Some pictured a celebration of life in Taipei or Taiwan, and some were celebrations of the New Year, 2008 and of the Year of the Rat. The rat has great significance in the Chines culture as it is the symbol for opportunity and good prospects. The rat is thought of as a mouse and there are many 

symbols of our American favorites, Mickey and Minnie!

Both professional displays and student creations were part of the exhibition. I was ver

y impressed with the crafting of every item I saw. Generally, these lanterns are

 more like Japanese Ikari, where the structure if first created in wire. Then paper or cloth is stretched over the wire and glued in place. The light structures were equally awesome and line the boulevards.