Festival Lampion atau Lantern Festival (hanzi sederhana: 元宵节, hanzi tradisional: 元宵節, pinyin: yuanxiaojie) adalah festival dengan hiasan lentera yang dirayakan setiap tahunnya pada hari ke-15 bulan pertama kalender Tionghoa yang menandai berakhirnya perayaan tahun baru Imlek. Festival ini biasanya dirayakan secara luas di Taiwan, Hongkong dan sebagian besar daerah di Cina.
The Lantern Festival is a Chinese festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunisolar year in the lunar calendar marking the last day of the lunar New Year celebration. It is usually in February or March in the Gregorian calendar. As early as the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 25), it had become a festival with great significance. During the Lantern Festival, children go out at night to temples carrying paper lanterns and solve riddles on the lanterns (simplified Chinese: 猜灯谜; traditional Chinese: 猜燈謎; pinyin: cāidēngmí; Jyutping: caai1dang1mai4).
Cap Go Meh (Hokkien: 十五暝) melambangkan hari ke-15 dan hari terakhir dari masa perayaan Tahun Baru Imlek bagi komunitas Tionghoa di seluruh dunia. Istilah ini berasal dari dialek Hokkien dan secara harafiah berarti hari kelima belas dari bulan pertama (Cap = Sepuluh, Go = Lima, Meh = Malam). Ini berarti, masa perayaan Tahun Baru Imlek berlangsung selama lima belas hari. Perayaan ini dirayakan dengan jamuan besar dan berbagai kegiatan. Di Taiwan ia dirayakan sebagai Festival Lampion. Di Asia Tenggara ia dikenal sebagai hari Valentine Tionghoa, masa ketika wanita-wanita yang belum menikah berkumpul bersama dan melemparkan jeruk ke dalam laut - suatu adat yang berasal dari Penang, Malaysia.
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. In Hong Kong, it is commercialized as the Chinese equivalent of Valentine's Day. It is not to be confused with the Mid-Autumn Festival; which is sometimes also known as the "Lantern Festival" in locations such as Singapore and Malaysia.
