Chinese lamps are a symbol of celebration throughout the year, but on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and during the first new moon phase of the year, the Lantern Festival is celebrated. Lanterns and hanging lamps refer all to the same ancient traditional object whose light symbolizes the warmth of
the coming spring.
The “Palace Lantern” has been a very popular kind of lamp to this day that used to decorate palaces, hence its name. The lamp structure is made of wooden rods carved with dragon and phoenix bird figures, a representation of yin and yang from Chinese philosophy. The central glass panels through which the inner light shines were painted with figures of monks, warriors, bureaucrats and children, apart from flowers and fruits that are filled with auspicious meaning.