Lantern Festival in Pingxi, Taiwan

© Jung-Pang Wu/Getty Image

Lanterns alight in Pingxi

The Lantern Festival marks the end of the Lunar New Year celebration. The day of the festival is filled with dancing, firecrackers, children’s games, and food. Nighttime brings a quieter, more thoughtful way to start the new year. After sundown, celebrants may gather at a designated area to light and release paper lanterns into the dark sky. This multiple-exposure composite image shows the trail of 'sky lanterns' as they're ascending over Pingxi, a district in Taiwan. Many think of the lantern as symbolic of the old you—and by letting the old you go, you release the past and can start the new year fresh.