The first step is to make the skeleton. Paper lanterns are relatively simple shape is a cube or cylinder, the best choice can be bent bamboo branches or bamboo skin to build a frame, the articulation of the place with a thin line tied tight. If not easy to find, long thin strips of cardboard and barbecue bamboo sticks can also be, the degree of strength and flexibility will be lacking, but placed in the interior is also a very good decoration.
The second step is to make the body of the lamp. Buy a few sheets of white and red plain rice paper or gold rice paper in the store, cut to match the length and width of the lantern skeleton, you can design your own pattern. Calligraphy, painting, paper cutting, can be on a small lantern show. After gluing, you can also use narrow strips of imitation damask paper top and bottom edging, looks more elegant, very much like the ancient style of the palace lantern. If not very good at calligraphy and painting, there is a simple way to refer to.
Use a thin sheet of paper to trace the desired wording on the post, then overlap this thin paper and crimson rice paper, and use a single-edged blade to dig out the handwriting. Remove the thin paper, and the red rice paper appears with hollowed-out lettering. Use white rice paper as the body of the lamp, red rice paper paste inside, candlelight or light from the hollow mapped out, the effect is quite beautiful.
The third step is to make the light source. If placed indoors, just light an ordinary candle in the lantern; if you want to carry out, it is best to make a simple circuit with light bulbs and batteries. It may look a little rough, but in the Lantern Festival light a handmade lantern, it will be a special flavor!
Lanterns have been around since the Eastern Han Dynasty in China, and they are not only used for lighting, they are often a symbol.
Therefore, in the past, every family had a lantern with the surname of the character, which was hung under the eaves and in the living room. In today's God's Welcoming Ceremony, there are still two large lanterns in front of the gods' ding-tao, which is a continuation of this custom. The lanterns nowadays, incorporating new technology, appear more mysterious. Nowadays, solar lanterns mainly use energy-saving LED lighting, most of them can only be used for decoration, and lighting solar lanterns are still rare.
