Chinese Lantern
Bring A Touch Of The Orient Home
A Chinese lantern is a fun decorative lamp for the home or patio. They are also often seen in
restaurants and other businesses as well. They are perfect for all settings and have a long history of use in
China. Today they are just as popular in the western world and are used for both illumination and décor.
A Chinese lantern is a light made of rice paper that houses a light source. Traditionally a candle was used.
The rice paper covered a frame made of bamboo hoops that held the light away from the candle. These lanterns
were made in many different sizes and used extensively in festivals and celebrations. Some were even designed
to take flight when the candle was lit. These were called sky lanterns. When many of these were set off at once
during festivals, the night sky would be filled with floating glowing lights.
Sky lanterns and traditional Chinese lanterns are still popular in that part of the world today, but their
construction has been updated for use in the modern world. The Chinese lantern still holds onto its oriental
ambiance but is usually made from collapsing metal hoops and operates off of electricity so they are safer and
more versatile.
A Chinese lantern can be a beautiful accent piece for a home. Commonly, the lantern itself is merely a
lampshade that is placed over an existing light fixture. They are still usually constructed of rice paper
because of the unique glow it creates. The paper is available in a range of colors from white, blue, red,
green, and everything in between. Oriental designs and artwork can also adorn these lanterns such as paintings
of plum blossoms or dragons.
Thanks to wire instead of bamboo frames, the Chinese lantern today can take on different forms as well. It is
possible to buy square and oval shapes in addition to the traditional globe or round shape. They also come in
many sizes from small string lights to large lamp shapes. Even sky lanterns have become more modern and are
constructed of fire proof paper so they are safer to use and last longer. These Chinese lanterns are great fun
for kids and to commemorate special occasions.
One of the great advantages to the Chinese lantern is that it is very affordable, especially when buying a
lantern to use on an existing light fixture. Beautiful styles reminiscent of the Orient can be purchased for
less than five dollars. Even when purchasing an accompanying light kit, or string lights, they are still quite
affordable, especially when weighed against how well they enhance the area they are placed.
Chinese lanterns are ideal for rooms with an Oriental décor but they are also perfect as simple accent pieces
in just about any other type of decorating scheme. Although paper lanterns have been used for centuries with
candles as the light source, they are still somewhat unusual in today's homes, so they are sure to draw
interest and admiring looks.
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