Chinese New Year 2021 (Year of the Ox) started on Friday, February 12th, 2021, and celebrations culminate with the Lantern Festival that falls on February 26th, 2021. Preparations begin the 23rd.
The Lantern Festival, also known as the Yuan Xiao Festival, welcomes the lunar year’s first full moon. It’s a dazzling holiday that wraps up Chinese New Year’s annual Spring Festival with a night of sparkling lights.
The Lantern Festival celebration dates back some 2,000 years to lanterns hung in Buddhist temples by monks during the Han Dynasty. By imperial decree, temples, homes and palaces across China adopted the practice of hanging brightly-lit lanterns on the 15th night of the year’s 1st lunar month. Once the Lantern Festival passes, there’s no need to fear Chinese New Year taboos and it’s appropriate to take down Chinese New Year decorations.