Recently, churches in Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Guangdong provinces greeted the Lantern Festival with activities, vitalizing the life of churches.
According to Shanghai Municipal CC&TSPM, on February 23, the affiliated social service center of the Hudong Church in Yangpu District held charitable events, including guessing lantern riddles and making Tangyuan (a traditional Chinese dessert made of glutinous rice shaped into balls, which people often eat during the Lantern Festival).
On the Lantern Festival, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, February 24, Xiangcheng Church in Suzhou City hosted the game of guessing lantern riddles combining characters, geographical names, and Bible history, said the municipal CC&TSPM. Each believer who properly answered the questions received a gift during this informative, interesting, and educational game. Congregations raised their hands to answer as soon as the riddles were raised. The event integrated the traditional festival and culture into worship, which is also an example of sinicization in Christianity.
On February 25, the first floor of the attached building of Shishan Church was adorned for the festival. All present Christians sang hymns, fellowshipped, searched for lanterns together, and raced to solve lantern riddles. Finally, everyone shared the glutinous rice balls.
On the same day, the Union Chapel in Guangdong Union Theological Seminary hosted a Lantern Festival garden party after the morning worship of the Sunday service, said the Guangdong CC&TSPM. Believers and students participated in activities such as guessing lantern riddles, ring tossing, throwing arrows into a distant pot, hanging straw hats, and throwing beanbags.
- Translated by Poppy Chan
