Lanterns alight in Pingxi Feb 8, 2020

Lanterns alight in Pingxi

Today"s Lantern Festival marks the final day of Lunar (aka Chinese) New Year celebrations, which began back on January 25. The day of the festival is filled with dancing, firecrackers, children"s games, and food. Nighttime brings a quieter, more thoughtful way to start the new year. After sundown, celebrants may gather at a designated area to light and release paper lanterns into the dark sky. Many think of the lantern as symbolic of the "old you"—and by letting the old you go, the past is released and you can start the new year fresh. This multiple-exposure composite image shows the trail of "sky lanterns" as they"re ascending over Pingxi, a district in Taiwan.

© Jung-Pang Wu/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Feb 8, 2018The Cordillera de la Sal in the Cordillera Domeyko Range of Chile
Feb 8, 2019A winter light show
Feb 8, 2021A hero for the 21st century
Feb 8, 2022Extraterrestrial Culture Day
Feb 8, 2023Uredd Rest Area, Norway
Feb 8, 2024Mount Hood, Oregon
Feb 8, 2025Medieval towers in Mestia, Upper Svaneti, Georgia
Feb 8, 2026Corfu at night, Greece

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jan 3, 2021An Alpine fairy-tale castle
Jul 28, 2019Road-trip worthy attraction in the heartland
Nov 17, 2025National Take a Hike Day
Mar 28, 2018Great Salt Lake Shorelands Preserve in Layton, Utah
Feb 16, 2019It’s not a pinecone, it’s a pangolin
Jan 13, 2018Fire-damaged forest near Wolf Creek Pass, Colorado
Apr 25, 2020Rockin with the rockhoppers
Nov 27, 2024Tombeau du Géant in Bouillon, Belgium
Dec 2, 2018Winter in Old Nuuk
Oct 1, 2024Yosemite National Park anniversary
May 22, 2023International Day for Biodiversity
Sep 6, 2022National Mushroom Month
May 26, 2025Memorial Day
Feb 7, 2023Village of Labro, Italy
Aug 7, 2018Guiding ships to safety
Oct 17, 2021A walk among the giants
Feb 5, 2021A sea of swirling stone
Oct 15, 2022International Archaeology Day
Jun 28, 2023Pride Month
Mar 6, 2020Hello, harbinger of spring
Nov 20, 2018Flamingos of the Chilean desert
Jun 1, 2024Pride Month
Sep 29, 2021The largest American bison around
Jun 13, 2019A unique elephant encounter in Nantes
Aug 8, 2019Spot on for International Cat Day
Oct 13, 2021Celebrating a young girl s age-old discovery
Apr 18, 2020National Park Week begins
Dec 12, 2019On the lookout for Sheep-Cote Clod
Jun 17, 2020Don t go chasing waterfalls
Dec 31, 20193, 2, 1 … Happy New Year!