Celebrating the Year of the Snake Lantern Festival in New Taipei: Double-Heart Main Lantern of Happiness at Shifen
New Taipei City Government Tourism and Travel Bureau Press Release 114.02.12
Celebrating the Year of the Snake Lantern Festival in New Taipei: Double-Heart Main Lantern of Happiness at Shifen
【New Taipei City News】 The highly anticipated "2025 New Taipei City Pingxi Lantern Festival" successfully kicked off on February 8 (Saturday) at Pingxi Junior High School, and today (February 12, Lantern Festival) continued at Shifen Square. To celebrate the Year of the Snake Lantern Festival and Valentine’s Day, the New Taipei City Government Tourism and Travel Bureau, with the theme "Golden Snake Spreads Love, Illuminating New Taipei," saw Mayor Hou You-yi of New Taipei City join international dignitaries in launching the world’s first-ever Year of the Snake Double-Heart Main Lantern, offering love and blessings to the public and fostering friendly cultural exchanges between Taiwan, Japan, and other countries. The event created a romantic and meaningful lantern display, symbolizing the exchange of cultures.
The "2025 New Taipei City Pingxi Lantern Festival" coincides with both the Lunar New Year’s Lantern Festival in the Year of the Snake and Valentine’s Day. The world-first 12-foot pink and golden snakes forming a double-snake main lantern were unveiled today to celebrate the holiday. Mayor Hou You-yi of New Taipei City, along with dignitaries from Japan’s Ibaraki Prefecture, Tottori Prefecture, and Mie Prefecture, wrote New Year’s blessings on the double-snake lantern. As the lanterns soared into the sky, the pink and golden snakes intertwined amidst a hundred other lanterns, forming a giant heart in the air, filling the venue with a warm and joyful atmosphere, and wishing all lovers eternal happiness. Meanwhile, a representative group from France also released lanterns, praying for peace and harmony in the world, through the cultural exchange between Taiwan, Japan, and France.
The continuous lantern performances celebrated the festive Lantern Festival. The opening ceremony featured the "Black Gold Years Dance Troupe," composed of students from the Shifen Elementary School Senior Citizens Learning Center, performing a blessing lantern dance to kick off the evening. This was followed by performances full of festive energy, including "Golden Snake Auspicious Lion, Jointly Offering Good Fortune" and "Happy Snake Welcomes All Blessings—Electronic Three Princes," infusing a lively atmosphere blending tradition and modernity. After the excitement, veteran musician "You Ke Li Lin—Li Ji" performed several classic love songs, offering the best wishes for all lovers. The grand finale featured sweet-voiced singer Lin Yuhan and rising female star Shen Lian, who sang beautiful and powerful songs, bringing blessings for a prosperous new year and good fortune for the Year of the Snake.
The "2025 New Taipei City Pingxi Lantern Festival" concluded today, and in the spirit of preserving the lantern tradition and balancing it with environmental protection efforts, the New Taipei City Government Tourism and Travel Bureau has again collaborated with the New Taipei City Mountain Association to organize a mountain cleaning activity on Sunday, February 16. The public is invited to not only release lanterns to pray for blessings but also participate in the mountain cleaning initiative to help protect the mountains and learn about the local ecosystem. For more information on the "2025 New Taipei City Pingxi Lantern Festival" activities, please visit the related links.
【This news release has been translated by ChatGPT.】
