Chinese Lantern Festival 2026
Tuesday, March 3 is the last day of the 15-day Chinese New Year celebration that began on February 17 – the start of the Spring Festival and the first lunar month of the Yang Fire Horse year. Known as the Lantern Festival or Yuen Xiao Jie, the celebration coincides this year with the full moon and the last total lunar eclipse for three years (also known as the blood moon.)
A tradition begun over 2,000 years ago in China during the Western Han Dynasty, today’s Lantern Festival is considered one of the most cheerful and uplifting events celebrated around the world by people young and old. Families, couples and young children gather together with optimism for the coming year. Candles are lit inside a colorful paper lantern, wishes are made and lanterns set afloat into the night sky carrying messages of hope, abundance and love. Symbolic of letting go, the lanterns drift away with the past carrying hopes for the future. When the lanterns have sailed away out of sight, it is time to get back to work.
In Chinese Metaphysics, lunar eclipses are believed to carry strong yin energy so you may want to check your own time zone for exact moments of the eclipse and remain indoors until it passes.
Wishing you peace and tranquility,
Diane Gallin