Children pose for a group photo with their artworks, the colorful lanterns at Zhangjiagang museum. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Zhangjiagang Museum will host a parent-child lantern activity featuring painting lanterns on Feb 16 offering families a chance to get together to enjoy the Chinese traditional festival.

Lantern Festival, or yuanxiaojie in pinyin, which comes on the 15th day of the first lunar month, is the first festival after the celebration of Lunar New Year in China.

The tradition dates back to more than 2000 years ago-during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) when Buddhism was flourishing in China. Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) ordered that lanterns be lit in the imperial palace to worship and show respect for Buddha.