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Chinese Lantern Festival - Release with Care!
Chinese New Year celebrations traditionally end with the Lantern Festival - where colourful lanterns are lit and released into the air. This year the event lands on Sunday, 28 February 2010, to correspond with the next full moon.
This delightful spectacle has also become popular around the world in celebration of many other events, including weddings.
The laws of yin and yang inevitably expose the upside and downside associated with most things.… Although they are beautiful to behold, the BBC recently reported some problems associated with the lanterns – and a growing number of people who would like to see them banned. Read the report here.
According to some farmers in the UK, the lanterns are causing injury and death to livestock. Paper lanterns, once lit and released, can travel many miles - and what goes up must come down… Many of the lanterns are landing in fields full of dry crops - creating a potential fire hazard (as well as to thatched roofs and other vulnerable buildings).
Complaints from farmers have also highlighted the problems when lanterns land in fields where livestock seem to find them irresistible and chew or eat them, causing illness and sometimes a prolonged death. Many of the lanterns contain wire frames and bamboo, both of which are obviously harmful if ingested. There is also a risk of the lanterns, especially the wire parts, being chopped into silage – again resulting in harm to livestock. One farmer is reported to have found more than 50 lanterns scattered on her land.
The lanterns are certainly a very pretty sight, and a delightful tradition. There appear to be many magical legends and versions of the origin of the lanterns, dating back to the Han Dynasty and the Jade Emperor. In many Asian countries releasing the lanterns is believed to bring good fortune and prosperity. In Taiwan people write their wishes on paper and insert them into the lanterns before releasing them to fly up to heaven for their wishes to be granted. In some places candles are lit outside homes to help guide lost spirits home.
Until a solution is found to keep farmers and the coastguard and maritime agencies happy (or there is a total ban!) people should take care where they release lanterns, and avoid releasing them near coasts – or give the coastguard advance warning.
The other side of the argument is that the paper lanterns (without the metal frame) are biodegradable, and more evironmentally friendly than latex or helium filled foil balloons. Some lanterns also contain bamboo (which is very brittle). It seems likely that the lanterns will, in future, be manufactured without the metal frames. For those who like to make their own lanterns, please be mindful of the harm the lanterns could cause when they land.
If you are setting off on a holiday or adventure abroad, we would advise against lighting and releasing a lantern containing your wishes for good luck and safe travels – it would be much wiser to take out travel insurance!
