Paper Lanterns

Not really, I read it's just an idle animation for sims with a certain trait. I was looking forward to paper lanterns myself and was disappointed to learn that.

Yes, a sim can release a paper lantern if they have the “Child of the Village” trait. They sometimes do it autonomously but you can also direct them to do this via the sim’s personal pie menu - click on sim / release lantern.
There’s not much to this interaction in my opinion. The lantern goes straight up and disappears into the sky and unfortunately doesn’t float around for a while as one might expect.

It would also have been better if all sim were able to buy lanterns at the night market with an option to release them as a group.

I've seen a couple of sims release them in Batuu.

@83bienchen has a mod that unlocks the release lanterns action for all sims. You can find it on this page:
Release Sky Lantern for Everyone
https://onedrive.live.com/embed?resid=8307EBD5C2988473%2113763&authkey=%21AOCFdA8Imnt0rBc&width=1919&height=1080

As mentioned above your sim needs to have the child of the village trait then you can click on them to release a lantern :) It makes for beautiful screenshots especially in the evening <3

https://i.imgur.com/JpsELoC.png

https://i.imgur.com/W1IHfx2.png

Today, Feb 24, 2024, is Lantern Festival Day around the world! ?

Lantern Festival - Time Magazine Article
"The lantern festival falls on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese calendar and marks the first full moon of the new lunar year. People traditionally celebrate the holiday by decorating with colorful lanterns, often with riddles written on them and prizes for those who solve the puzzles."
https://onedrive.live.com/embed?resid=8307EBD5C2988473%2113773&authkey=%21AJ4S7_Dqt67XK_8&width=720&height=480

They are very lovely pictures of your sim with the lantern and the lantern peacefully floating in the night sky over the Tomarang landscape @mcrudd :)

Lanterns in Sixam. ?
https://onedrive.live.com/embed?resid=8307EBD5C2988473%2113826&authkey=%21APj4pwjppyokFuI&width=1920&height=1080

The Sixam picture is very pretty! @lanlyn :)