Lantern Festival!!

The lantern festival marks the last day of the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations. This year, Chinese Lantern Festival is celebrated on February 17th. Lanterns are hung to symbolize the light and warmth of spring and they are also used as signposts for the ancestral spirits to guide them home for the lunar celebration. After the fifteenth day, the light leads them back to the other world. In some region and countries, this festival is also regarded as the Chinese version of St. Valentine's Day. I thought I'd show you a few of our favorite Chinese lanterns found in our home.

Additional lantern crafting tutorials can be found here on my blog.

This past September for Moon Festival, I picked up red paper lanterns at our local dollar store and had Josie decorate them with gold star stickers and tissue paper streamers. Any chance to use scissors, stickers and tape makes her very happy.

I added a few Chinese take-out containers to our lantern garland.

These red lanterns were on display while we were in China.

We have a smaller version of the red lanterns hanging on our china hutch.

Long after the lantern festival is over, you will find several pastel paper lanterns in my craft room on permanent display. Josie has a few hanging up in her bedroom too.

Whenever I can find them for a decent price at my favorite antique stores or thrift stores, I snatch them up.

Aren't the graphics wonderful?

I just recently picked up these Martha Stewart lantern stickers at Michael's.

A few of them made their way onto Josie's Valentine chocolate box but there are more to play with.

Happy Lantern Festival.
Happy soon-to-be spring!