Billy's Travel Album

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Happy “Double” Valentine’s Day!

Today is 14Feb and as most (if not all) of us know it’s St. Valentine’s Day. But why “Double”? You may ask.

Well if you are Chinese or you live in a Chinese community or you have a Chinese life partner, you probably know the answer. For those who don’t, today is 15Jan in the Chinese Lunar Calendar and it is the Lantern Festival which officially marks the end of the Lunar New Year. In traditional Chinese culture, people would go out in the night and there would be lanterns hanging around. People will have a lot of fun and make new friends – or lovers. So it’s also known as the Chinese Valentine’s Day when boys meet girls.

According to calendar calculation, St. Valentine’s Day and Lantern Festival will overlap on the same day every 19 years. So it’s actually not that rare but still if you are tired of celebrating St. Valentine’s Day, maybe you can add a bit of Chinese flavour this year.

(The picture of this post is taken in the Keukenhof Flower Show in the Netherlands)

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