Villagers perform Banqiao dragon lantern dance at Zhangshu Township of Yushan County, east China's Jiangxi Province, Feb. 7, 2009. The Banqiao dragon lantern, with a length of 400 meters, has a history of hundreds of years. The villagers will perform Banqiao dragon lantern dance for three successive nights to celebrate the Chinese traditional Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese Lunar Year, or Feb. 9 this year. [Xinhua]

During the festival, people, especially children, go out at night carrying paper lanterns and solve riddles on the lanterns. Young ladies who normally stayed at home were chaperoned in the streets in the hope of finding love.

According to Wu Bing'an, a professor of Folklore, 17 ethnic groups, including Han, Mongolian, Korean, Hui, Tibetan, and Manchu, had the tradition to celebrate the festival.

The Lantern Festival came into the list of China's intangible cultural heritage last year.

At the end of 2007 China rescheduled its national legal holidays, adding three traditional Chinese festivals, including the "Tomb-Sweeping Day," "Dragon Boat Festival" and "Mid-Autumn Festival," as legal holidays.

Hence many advocated that people should enjoy a day off work during the Lantern Festival as well.

"In the past Lantern Festival was a carnival. It is close to the Spring Festival and people are still in the atmosphere and mood of celebration," said Liu Xuebin, curator of the Jinan folk art museum of Shandong province. "No matter judged from its history or the current situation, the day deserves to be a legal holiday," he said.

Li Yunzheng, a folk artist in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, believed that "making traditional festivals legal holidays could help rejuvenating ancient culture". While Feng Jicai, president of the China Folklore Society, is also for the appeal.