Chinese Lanterns

Chinese Lanterns posts cover the round red paper lanterns hung outside homes and shops at festivals, plus the floating sky lanterns released at the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the lunar new year. Articles look at how to make a basic frame from bamboo strips, the symbolism of the red colour and gold trim, the regional differences between northern and southern lantern shapes, and why floating sky lanterns have been banned in many places due to wildfire risk. There are also notes on the silk palace lanterns made in Beijing.