Auckland Chinese Lantern Festival

On Saturday, February 21, 2016, several of the senior missionaries boarded the city bus and rode it downtown to the "Auckland Domain" to see the Chinese Lantern Festival.  We caught the bus in the early afternoon to avoid the traffic and crowds.  The festival started at 5:00pm and lasted till late in the evening.  We enjoyed the festival and left just before dark.  

Auckland is home to a thriving Chinese community and the lantern festival is a huge annual celebration.  They moved the event location this year to a larger venue.  The new location  gave more space for the larger crowds.  Upon arrival we were greeted by a LONG row of international food stalls.  To quote AucklandNZ.com "Like most Chinese festivals, the Lantern Festival has its own special foods, including tang yuan (or yuan xiao in Northern China)— round glutinous rice dumplings with sweet or salty fillings. The shape of the dumplings symbolise both the first full moon and family unity"   Those who went last year advised us to eat early before the big crowds arrived.  The advice was right on target.  In leaving the festival after seeing the lanterns, we felt like fish swimming against the current.  There were record crowds this year and while riding home we could see the bumper to bumper traffic headed into the city, we were glad that we used public transportation.

There were over 800 handmade lanterns and live entertainment.  The pictures tell the rest of the story.  We had a nice time.

Learning about traditions and different cultures has been one of our favorite pastimes in New Zealand.  Families are a very important part of all the cultures here.

“I see the positive things it will help the people of this generation to know about their ancestors.”   Rangi Parker, "So They Will Know Their Heritage" - Ensign January, 2011