The Lantern Festival, also called Shangyuan Festival, is a Chinese
traditional festival celebrated on the full moon, the fifteenth day of the
first month in the lunisolar Chinese calendar. Usually falling in February
or early March on the Gregorian calendar, it marks the final day of the
traditional Chinese New Year celebrations. As early as the Western Han
Dynasty, it had become a festival with great significance. During the
Lantern Festival, children go out at night carrying paper lanterns and
solve riddles on the lanterns. In ancient times, the lanterns were fairly
simple, and only the emperor and noblemen had large ornate ones. In modern
times, lanterns have been embellished with many complex designs. For
example, lanterns are now often made in the shape of animals. The lanterns
can symbolize the people letting go of their past selves and getting new
ones, which they will let go of the next year. The lanterns are almost
always red to symbolize good fortune. Source: Duckduckgo API