What festival on March 3 marked the 2026 end of Chinese New Year celebrations?

The festival on March 3, 2026, marking the end of the Chinese New Year season is the Lantern Festival.

The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the first month in the traditional Chinese calendar. In 2026, that date corresponds to March 3, making it the closing celebration of the traditional 15-day New Year period.

Festivities commonly include lantern displays, riddles, lion or dragon dances, fireworks, and family gatherings. Many people eat yuanxiao or tangyuan, sweet glutinous-rice balls whose round shape represents reunion and completeness.

The Lantern Festival is sometimes confused with the Mid-Autumn Festival because both feature lanterns and lunar-calendar dates. The Mid-Autumn Festival occurs in the eighth lunar month, whereas the Lantern Festival concludes the first-month New Year observances.