CHINESE LANTERN PARADE FULL
CHINESE LANTERN PARADE SERIES

(The Buddhist community retrieves the lanterns from the Pacific afterward, cleans and repairs them, and stores them for use in future festivals.) Dates for the 2023 celebration have yet to be determined, but the festival usually takes place in late May. Then, participants send floating lanterns-meant to inspire remembrance, hope, and good fortune-into the Pacific Ocean as the sun sets.

CHINESE LANTERN PARADE SERIES

The ceremony begins with a series of traditional performances by local musical groups a prayer led by the head of the Shinnyo-en community, Her Holiness Shinso Ito, follows. But since 2002, the festival has been held at Ala Moana Beach, a sandy stretch between Waikiki and downtown Honolulu. The island’s first festival, hosted by Shinnyo-en, an international Buddhist community, took place in 1999 at Keehi Lagoon.

CHINESE LANTERN PARADE FULL

Afterward, villagers continued the tradition to commemorate the event.Īcross the centuries, the tradition of lantern festivals has spread across Asia through trade, immigration, and colonialism, meshing with local cultures and customs-they now occur throughout the continent and wherever there are large populations of people of Asian descent.įrom a floating lantern festival in Hawai‘i to Vietnam’s monthly full moon festival, here are seven radiant lantern celebrations around the world:Įach Memorial Day on Oahu’s south shore, Lantern Floating Hawai‘i brings thousands of residents and visitors together on the beach to honor and remember their deceased loved ones. His daughter took pity on the townsfolk and instructed them to trick the Emperor into thinking their homes were already on fire by lighting lanterns and setting off fireworks-the plan worked. Another more fanciful explanation goes that the Jade Emperor (a principal figure in Chinese mythology) threatened to burn down a village after its citizens accidentally killed his favorite pet crane. One theory goes that on the 15th day of the Lunar New Year, monks would light lanterns in honor of Buddha, and eventually other people caught onto the custom and began lighting lanterns in honor of loved ones who had passed.

The history of lantern festivals is also believed to have begun during the Han Dynasty, though no one is certain when or how they came about. Sky lanterns can be traced back thousands of years to the Eastern Han Dynasty in China (25–220 C.E.), when the objects were used not only as decorative light sources but also as military signals that could communicate messages across long distances. Throughout Asia, lanterns have been used to commemorate cultural and spiritual celebrations for centuries.

Chinese lantern parade