Often, decorative writings are used on lanterns that convey best wishes for a long and healthy life and a wealthy future.Ĭhinese Dragon designs represent strength, flowers and butterflies represent happiness, bamboo designs represent resilience, and plants signify growth. The decoration and art featured on lanterns can also have different meanings. Their circular shape symbolizes wholeness and togetherness and is reminiscent of the full moon, which is an important part of both the Lantern Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival - two holidays which make ample use of lanterns during their celebrations. Nowadays, you can even find geometric figures and even Chinese zodiac signs, though most traditional lanterns are round. Different shapes and sizesīesides color, the shape of the lantern is another factor to be taken into consideration. The color green is associated with health and prosperity in Chinese culture. Abroad, these lanterns have become synonymous with Chinese businesses, and many Chinatowns and Chinese-owned shops and restaurants keep them hanging all year long. Red lanterns are very popular during the year’s most important festivals, most notably the Chinese New Year and Lantern Festival. Most Chinese lanterns are red, and lanterns of this color symbolize a prosperous business and a thriving life. In China, red represents wealth, fame, and prosperity, which is why festivals, weddings, and other celebrations often have a lot of red decorations and outfits. The meanings and superstitions behind colors are very important in China, so the intended message of any given Chinese lantern can vary depending on its color. What do Chinese lanterns represent?Įach of the various types of Chinese lanterns comes with its own set of meanings, but generally speaking, all of the lanterns signify a wish for a better and brighter future. Solving these riddles is one of the most popular activities during the Lantern Festival!ĭuring the Lantern Festival, Chinese lanterns are decorated with riddles waiting to be solved. It's a time for celebration with loved ones during which families gather to light and admire lanterns.Ĭities all over Mainland China are decorated in large and beautiful lanterns with various shapes. In modern-day China, the Lantern Festival continues to be celebrated on the 15th day of the Chinese calendar, which marks the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations. From then on, lighting lanterns and launching them into the sky became a common practice. These were peaceful and prosperous times, and the Chinese sent lanterns to the skies to celebrate all the blessings they had received. It gained further popularity during the Tang dynasty (618 to 907 AD), when citizens released lanterns into the sky to celebrate the country’s strength during this period. Over the centuries, this small practice grew to become a big celebration throughout China. As part of the ritual, believers would carry the lanterns to the palace in Luoyang.Ĭhinese lanterns date all the way back to the Eastern Han dynasty, and maybe even before. One very devout emperor requested his subjects to follow this practice and people started lighting lanterns to honor the Buddha. They adopted lanterns as part of their rituals of worship on the twelfth day of the first month of the lunar calendar. These silk or paper covers would be decorated with different traditional Chinese characters, sometimes even advertising nearby businesses.Īs these lanterns caught on in Chinese culture at the time, monks adopted them to celebrate the Buddha. The people of that time created frames for candles using bamboo, wood or wheat-straw, stretching silk or paper over it to allow for a hot air balloon effect. What is the history of Chinese lanterns? Han dynasty rootsĬhinese lanterns have a long history and there are even records of the existence of paper Chinese lanterns dating back to as early as the Eastern Han dynasty (25 to 220 AD).
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