the lantern festival, which occurs on the 15-th day of the first month of the chinese year, marks the end of the new year's holidays. lanterns are everywhere. a most interesting tradition is the posting of riddles called 'lantern riddles.' riddles are written on pieces of paper and posted on lanterns or wall. any one solving the riddle is awarded a prize. and the food for lantern festival is tang yuan, i have made some tang yuan in a ginger soup, my wife got a serious cold, so i cooked a pot of ginger soup for her. i look forward to the next spring festival.