The sky lantern festival

The sky lantern festival is an annual event on the island Taiwan of China.The purpose of the festival is to spread the traditional folklore. It is also known as the Yuan Xiao Festival. This is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the lunar year, just after the Chinese New Year. This year falls on February 11. 
It is hosted by the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications of China.
it is believed that lanterns are originated from 250 BC, being the first portable light gadget of the civilization.

This festival consists in meeting with family, friends, etc to relese hot air lanterns with your wishes written in them towards to the sky. Also the lanterns have images of the owner and these symbolize the farewell of the old and the welcome of the new.
The most popular locality to see and live this festival is called Pingxi ( historically spelled "Pinghsi"), it is very traditional and it is located in the district of taipei, in the north of Taiwan.

During the day, and sometimes even at night, schools organize events and competitions, which often include puzzle-solving games and guessing words for children to practice language skills and problem solving. The celebrations can also include dances, fireworks and drums.

Clowns, acrobats, giant red dragons, musicians and huge representations of the Chinese zodiac walk the streets to the rhythm of music. It is also the ideal time to try the local food, many of them linked with seafood

After dinner, children flood the streets with their lanterns and accompanied by their parents. In ancient times the lanterns were made of homemade form with paper and placed a candle inside. The exterior was decorated by hand and painted designs. 

 

formerly this ritual was carried out in the city, to warn the rest of the region of possible invasions and hostile attacks.
There are many legends related to this festival, one of them is that many years ago was worshiped the heaven god called "Taiyi" and believed that he was responsible for controlling the fate of men.
Another legend say that the habit of hanging lanterns began in the early years of the Han dymasty, 20 centuries ago. The lanterns were first used in the rite of honor to Tai Yi, the Great Monad.

Another legend tells that the emperor Taichung of the Tang Dynasty established a system to encourage his people to study. The children, before entering classes, had to make a beautiful lantern to take to school the first day.

                                                     

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I choose this festival because it is interesting to know about the culture on the other side of the world and is beautiful and spectacular to see a lot of lanterns in the sky painting the water with different types of shiny colours. And i  think that te organization of the festival is perfect because any lantern escapes before the launching of the biggest one of 6 metres.