The history of the sky lanterns is very interesting. They are also known as Kongming lanterns and it is believed that their inventor is Zhuge
Kongming a noted sage and military strategist during the Three Kingdoms period in China. These pretty things did not have a decorative purpose
Sky Lanterns for Good Luck
back then, but they were rather used to deliver military information when Zhuge’s troops were trapped by their enemies. These gadgets work just like a hot air balloon does – hot air (result from a burning stick) is trapped in them and keeps them going.
Nowadays the Kongming lanterns are a symbol of good luck. There is a big lantern festival that takes place in New Taipei City in Taiwan everyyear in the middle of February. This festival is about celebrating the beginning of the new year and about sending to the sky all the good wishes people have for the new year. This year about 100, 000 people visited the festival and had a chance to either fly a lantern or just admire this unparalleled fiesta in the sky. A total of 2000 lanterns in just 90 minutes were sent to float up above. The big surprise was a giant lantern that had 16 Chinese letters written by the hand of the president, wishing his people a harmonious and prosperous year of peace and love.
If you do not have a chance to visit such an extravaganza, you can always buy a few of those amazing sky lanterns and have your own fiesta.
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