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SCMP Reporter

The Spring Lantern Festival, held on the 15th day of the first lunar month, marks the end of the two-week-long Lunar New Year celebrations. The festival is characterised by colourful lanterns crafted in a variety of shapes and styles, with riddles attached.
Scroll on to see how Hong Kong has celebrated the festival through the years.












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From our archives

In pictures: Spring Lantern Festival in Hong Kong, through the years

Visitors trying to solve lantern riddles during the Spring Lantern Festival in Tiger Balm Gardens in Tai Hang, Hong Kong, in 1988. Photo: David Wong

A lion dance to celebrate the Spring Lantern Festival in Tiger Balm Gardens, in 1988. Photo: David Wong.

Six-month-old Tse Pui-shan and her father admiring spring lanterns at the Taoist Yuen Yuen Institute in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong, in 1992. One thousand people bought lanterns at the institute over the weekend in preparation for the Spring Lantern Festival. Lanterns were decorated with images such as dragons and gods, and cost up to HK$5,000. Photo: SCMP Archives

Seeing the light … Love is in the air for Johnny Lam Tin-hon and Jean Kwan Hing-ling as they attend the 1994 Spring Lantern Festival at the Ko Shan Theatre, Kowloon. Couples enjoyed the romantic setting during the Chinese equivalent of Valentine’s Day and entertainment included Chinese chamber music and a lantern gala. Photo: SCMP Archives

Visitors appreciating the lanterns on display at the Ko Shan Theatre during the Spring Lantern Festival celebration in 1997. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

The Spring Lantern Festival celebrated at Hong Kong’s Ko Shan Road Park, in 2004. Photo: Oliver Tsang

The lantern exhibition “Echoes of the Condor Heroes” at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre foyer, Tsim Sha Tsui, in 2009. Photo: Sam Tsang

Visitors to the “Echoes of the Condor Heroes” exhibition at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui, in 2009. Photo: Sam Tsang

Spring Lantern Festival celebrations at the Tsuen Wan Sha Tsui Road Playground in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong, in 2012. Photo: Edward Wong

A Lantern Festival fair at the Tung Shan Old Temple, San Tin, Yuen Long, Hong Kong, in February 2024. Photo: Edmond So

People attempting to solve riddles attached to lanterns at the Great George Street Lunar New Year Lantern Carnival, in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, in February 2024. Photo: Eugene Lee

The Lunar New Year poon choi feast isn’t just about food. It’s about community

Residents of Ng Ka Tsuen, in Yuen Long, Hong Kong, enjoy a Lunar New Year poon choi meal. Photo: David Wong

An old-style village poon choi is a humble but tasty collation of pork, chicken and duck dishes prepared in various styles. Photo: Felix Wong

In 2012, Lions Club International broke the Hong Kong record of hosting the largest poon choi meal, with 600 tables for more than 7,000 people in Yuen Long, Hong Kong. Photo: Felix Wong

What’s your luck like in February 2025, the Earth Tiger Month? Chinese horoscopes for health, wealth, work and love as we enter the transformative Year of the Yin Wood Snake

What’s your luck like in February 2025, the Earth Tiger Month? Chinese horoscopes for health, wealth, work and love as we enter the Year of the Yin Wood Snake. Photo: SCMP Graphic

It is now a Yin Wood Snake Year, associated with transformation and renewal. Photo: Shutterstock

February 2025 is the Tiger Month. Photo: Shutterstock

The Tiger is associated with reverence, courage, protection and nobility in Chinese astrology. Photo: Getty Images

Snakes are very mindful of their environment, as this Black Mamba shows as it uses its tongue to smell. Photo: Shutterstock

Rat Years include 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984 and 1996. Photo: SCMP Graphic

Ox Years include 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985 and 1997. Photo: SCMP Graphic

Tiger Years include 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986 and 1998. Photo: SCMP Graphic

Rabbit Years include 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987 and 1999. Photo: SCMP Graphic

Dragon Years include 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988 and 2000. Photo: SCMP Graphic

Snake Years include 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989 and 2001. Photo: SCMP Graphic

Horse Years include 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990 and 2002. Photo: SCMP Graphic

Sheep Years include 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991 and 2003. Photo: SCMP Graphic

Monkey Years include 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992 and 2004. Photo: SCMP Graphic

Rooster Years include 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993 and 2005. Photo: SCMP Graphic

Dog Years include 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994 and 2006. Photo: SCMP Graphic

Pig Years include 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983 and 1995. Photo: SCMP Graphic

How to prepare your home for the Year of the Snake and bring positive feng shui energy

2025 is the Year of the Wood Snake, as celebrated in this limited edition plaque by Royal Selangor. Photo: Royal Selangor

Feng shui expert Thierry Chow reveals how to prepare your home for the Year of the Wood Snake. Photo: Courtesy of Thierry Chow

Declutter and choose warm hues and round shapes for your home in the Year of the Snake. Photo: Courtesy of Ellison Studios

Living things such as plants, flowers and pets can uplift a home’s positive energy in the Year of the Wood Snake. Photo: Shutterstock

Metallic items such as copper coins can help minimise bad energy in the Year of the Snake, says feng shui designer Thierry Chow. Photo: Shutterstock

Red brings luck in the Lunar New Year, but for the Year of the Snake it is good to find balance. Photo: Royal Selangor

When do I open my Lunar New Year red packets? The luckiest time to do so, and why

There is a particular day and time considered the best and most auspicious to open your Lunar New Year red packets. Photo: Shutterstock

Why for some Chinese, ninth day of Lunar New Year is the most important: it’s the day they worship the Jade Emperor – and sugar cane is involved

A worshipper prays to the Jade Emperor or Lord of Heaven at a temple in Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam. People from China’s Fujian province and neighbouring regions, and their descendants in the Chinese diaspora, offer tributes to the deity on the ninth day of Chinese New Year, the Jade Emperor’s birthday. Photo: Getty Images

The worship of the Jade Emperor by Chinese people in Fujian province, and those from neighbouring regions, involves offerings of long stalks of sugar cane (above). Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Customers buy sugar cane stalks at a market in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in preparation for their offering of prayers to the Lord of Heaven on the ninth day of Chinese New Year. Photo: Reuters

PostMag

Culture

To mark the end of Chinese New Year, Hong Kong comes alive with colourful lanterns on the 15th day of the first lunar month – here’s a look back at celebrations from the 1980s to 2024


To mark the end of Chinese New Year, Hong Kong comes alive with colourful lanterns on the 15th day of the first lunar month – here’s a look back at celebrations from the 1980s to 2024.
