Center's Lantern Festival celebrates Chinese New Year
There's a Chinese tradition called the Lantern Festival that is traditionally celebrated on the 15th day of the first month in the lunar year in the Chinese calendar.
With the 2008 Chinese New Year, the Year of the Rat, beginning Feb. 7, that would have made Feb. 22 the customary day for the festival.
That also means the celebration, which typically features a panoply of Chinese cultural displays and revelry, would be over for another year.
Not so in Naperville, where the Xilin Association will present its 2008 Lantern Festival from 1 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Naperville North High School, 899 N. Mill St.
More than 300 performers will dance, sing, perform theatrical presentations and give martial arts demonstrations, said Linda Yang, director of the association's Xilin Asian Community Center.
Yang said the Lantern Festival is celebrated on three levels. The first involves an intimate celebration with close family members. The second is for extended family. The third is for the community at large.
In China, she said, the third level of celebration is marked with a parade and the presence of a multiplicity of lanterns, riddles and fireworks.
Yang said bringing the Chinese tradition to Naperville gives residents of Asian heritage a way to connect with their homeland. It also invites non-Asian people to learn about Chinese culture.
"The reason we celebrate the Lantern Festival is we really like the idea of the community level celebration. Everybody joins in," she said.
The festival drew large crowds last year when it was at Neuqua Valley High School.
"We were in the field house, 2,500 seats, all full," she said.
Yang said the festival moved to Naperville North this year because the grand scale of the event is too overwhelming for any one venue to handle year after year.
"We were just too big," she said.
The 800-seat auditorium at Naperville North will be the scene for two Lantern Festival performances Saturday, cultural activities including games -- Yang said children will paint paper lanterns, learn how to achieve Chinese hairstyles and play Chinese yo-yo -- exhibits and food.
If you go
What: Naperville's third annual Lantern Festival: Step Into the Dream of China
Who: Xilin Association
When: 1 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Naperville North High School, 899 N. Mill St.
Tickets: $15-$20
Info: (630) 355-4322 or xilin.org