The Lantern Festival falls on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, which on the Gregorian calendar falls between February and March

The Lantern Festival is a traditional festival held on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month every year, also known as the Shangyuan Festival, the Lantern Festival, or Yuanxi. This day is the first full moon night of the year, and it is also regarded as the finale of the Spring Festival celebrations; there is a long-standing folk saying that the New Year is not truly over until the fifteenth has passed.

Because the Lantern Festival's date is set according to the lunar calendar, its corresponding Gregorian date differs every year, generally falling between February and March. To find out the exact month and day of the Lantern Festival in a given year, simply consult that year's calendar or a lunar-Gregorian conversion table; there is no need to estimate from memory.

The main customs of the Lantern Festival include eating yuanxiao or tangyuan, admiring decorative lanterns, guessing lantern riddles, and dragon and lion dances. In the north, yuanxiao are mostly made by rolling fillings in glutinous rice flour, while in the south people are accustomed to wrapping tangyuan from glutinous rice dough; the methods differ, but the meaning is similar, as both express the wish for reunion and happiness.

From the perspective of farming, the Lantern Festival sits right at the point between the lunar New Year and spring plowing. After the festival, temperatures gradually rise, and places begin one after another to prepare the soil, ready seeds, and check and repair farm tools in preparation for spring production. The glutinous rice used to make tangyuan comes from rice farming, a typical example of the combination of traditional seasonal food and agricultural production.

A common question is also whether the Lantern Festival is a public holiday. The Lantern Festival is currently not a statutory public holiday, and whether people get time off depends on each workplace's arrangements, but many places hold folk activities such as lantern fairs and temple fairs, so the festive atmosphere remains strong.