About Lantern Festival
The Lantern Festival, also known as Yuanxiao Jie in China and observed under various names across East and Southeast Asia, marks the final day of the Lunar New Year celebrations. Traditionally held on the 15th day of the first lunar month, the festival lights the path into the new year with symbolism of hope, reunion, and reflection.
Rooted in over 2,000 years of history, the Lantern Festival is celebrated through a rich array of customs — from lantern displays and lion dances to traditional foods like tangyuan (sweet rice balls). A particularly beloved tradition is the solving of lantern riddles, where witty wordplay and cultural clues are written on lanterns for festival-goers to puzzle over — a practice that reflects the festival’s deep connection to learning, playfulness, and intellect.
While its origins are spiritual — honouring ancestors and seeking harmony — the Lantern Festival has evolved into a vibrant cultural celebration that bridges generations and communities.
In multicultural settings like the UK, the Lantern Festival offers a unique opportunity to bring people together through shared experiences of light, storytelling, and cultural discovery. Whether celebrated in schools, workplaces, or public spaces, it is more than a festive occasion — it is a joyful way to promote cultural diversity, cross-cultural understanding, and community cohesion.
By embracing the traditions of the Lantern Festival — including the thoughtful fun of lantern riddles — we honour the rich heritage of East and Southeast Asian cultures while fostering spaces for dialogue, inclusion, and joy. In today’s increasingly global society, it stands as a beacon of connection, illuminating unity through cultural celebration.
A celebration of light, culture and Intellect.
“Dear Asia offers a gala celebration of culture through learning, hands-on making, and meaningful connection.”
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Heads • Hands • Hearts
At Dear Asia, each cultural celebration is never a small undertaking. Our entire team comes together to craft signature experiences designed for meaningful impact and lasting impressions. We want every guest at our events to see, feel, learn, taste, and create — to connect genuinely with Asian cultures through immersive, multi-sensory experiences.
That’s why every Dear Asia event is built around three core elements – Heads, Hands and Hearts.
How does it work?
At Dear Asia, we design our cultural events like vibrant, interactive fun fairs — adaptable for groups of any size through a series of themed activity stations.
Each station offers a meaningful window into Asian culture, whether through festival food and drink tastings with live storytelling, or cultural demonstrations like tea-making, complete with etiquette and context.
Our craft stations invite guests to get hands-on with creative activities tailored to the cultural occasion. We offer both beginner-friendly and more advanced options, all guided by experienced instructors. Traditional arts such as calligraphy, ink painting, paper cutting, and origami can also be included to enrich the experience.
For deeper immersion, we can also offer traditional costume try-ons and interactive learning stations with quizzes and games that make cultural discovery engaging and fun.
To ensure quality engagement, we maintain a facilitator-to-guest ratio of 1:6–8, ensuring everyone feels guided, involved, and connected.
What we can do
Our client reviews
Read reviews from our clients to see how our cultural workshops have made a positive impact on workplace cultural diversity.
What a fantastic event. I have had several colleagues approach me to tell that it was their favorite event they’ve been to!
Everyone at the event gave the most positive feedback about the session and are dying to have you guys come back for other events.
I’m very pleased with how the workshop turned out. Everyone loved the mooncakes and tea, and had a fantastic time. Thanks for the quiz prizes as well.
We’ve invited Dear Asia to run events for our teams two years in a row, and they’ve been fantastic each time. We definitely recommend them.
Our Festive Celebration Events
Keep an eye on our calendar, and you’ll find that we have festival celebrations throughout the year, bringing you a taste of Asian culture and heritage.
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September 22
Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration: Mooncakes Tasting & Lantern Making Workshop
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November 3
Japanese Culture Day (文化の日, Bunka no Hi) Celebration: Taste, Sip & Enjoy 🇯🇵
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Bespoke cultural workshops for companies
Explore our range of workshops on Asian cultures — perfect for promoting cultural diversity and creating meaningful experiences for your team.
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