Lanterns in Chinese Culture

The children's graduation performance was fun to watch and a great way to end a year of Mandarin! Each student received a Chinese lantern as a parting gift, so it might be time to learn a bit more about lanterns in Chinese culture and history...






Chinese red lanterns have a long history, and they have become a well-known symbol of China Towns worldwide. They started out as a practicality and evolved into elaborate status symbols, literally riddled with mystery.

Read more at   http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/culture/paper-cut.htm


Sky Lanterns



From Asianskylanterns.com:

Sky lanterns are one of the most well-known festivity activities in the world. They hold much significance for people in Asian cultures and are said to impart good luck and prosperity. They are commonly used in weddings in many of the Asian countries.

Sky lanterns are an ancient tradition. They go all the way back to times of war when Chinese troops used them to signal to one another. They were useful for this, as they could be sent into the air, but did not remain there, falling back to the ground after just a few minutes in the air, just enough time to get the word out that all was well or was not well.

It was not until times of peace that commoners began to employ sky lanterns in everyday activities, using them as a means of sending wishes and prayers up into the sky towards the heavens where they might be heard better. It was thought that the longer the sky lantern floated in the air, the better luck the sender would have.

Sky Lanterns were thought to have other pleasant effects as well. Floating lanterns eased troubles by pleasing deities and keeping bad spirits away. It was also said that if these lanterns were offered to Buddhist monks they would receive wisdom and knowledge that they did not previously possess, as the light is said to be the light guiding people to the path of knowledge and righteousness. In addition, the sight of the many sky lanterns in the air is a way of bringing tranquility to any family activity or formal festivity, bringing people closer to one another and to the beauty of the heavens. A multitude of sky lanterns in the air is a visual representation of heavenly bodies and beings.

Sky lanterns come in all types of sizes from the very large to the very small or baby sized sky lanterns. They are used in celebrations of all types of things and are the central focus of many festivals. The Yipeng Lantern Festival celebrates the twelfth moon in the Buddhist Calendar, and sky lanterns are a great part of these festivities.