Every Beijing would say, “æ£æœˆåäº”é›ªæ‰“ç¯ (On the 1st full moon of the new year, the lanterns are covered with snow).”
This is a unusually warm winter in Beijing. On March 2nd, two days before the new moon, it was 15°C. I was arguing with a long-time Beijinger, “There is no way it is going to snow.” It rained the next day. On the morning of March 4th, the full moon's day, I pulled open the drapes and saw the city covered in white. “Indeed,” I said to myself. “Indeed it snowed.”
Chinese always have a special food for each festival. On Lantern's Festival, we have 汤圆 (TangYuan, a ball of sticky rice shell and sweet fillings, usually sesame paste). Historically, the intellectual will hang a puzzle under the lantern. Those who can solve it will take the puzzle down, announce the answer, and get a prize.