The meaning of Kongming Lantern

The meaning of the Kongming Lantern is to pray for blessings. Men, women and children of all ages write their wishes for blessings with their own hands, symbolizing a successful harvest and happiness every year.

According to legend, it was invented by Zhuge Liang during the Three Kingdoms period. Back then, Zhuge Liang was besieged by Sima Yi in Pingyang. The entire army was helpless. Zhuge Liang came up with a clever plan. He calculated the wind direction and ordered his men to bring thousands of pieces of white paper and paste them into countless lanterns.

Then the upward gravitational force of the smoke was used to take them into the sky. Small lanterns rose one by one, and the soldiers in the camp shouted: "Mr. Zhuge is sitting on a sky lantern to break through!". Sima Yi actually believed it and led his troops to chase in the direction of the sky lantern, and Zhuge Liang was able to escape. So later generations called this kind of lantern "Kongming Lantern".

Extended information:

When you want to light a lamp and take off into the air, tie a piece of coarse cloth or gold paper dipped in kerosene or peanut oil in the middle of the bottom bracket. Light the oil before flying. After the fire burns for a while, hot air is produced, and the Kongming lantern expands. After letting go, the entire lantern will slowly fly into the sky. If the weather is good, the Kongming lantern will automatically descend after the kerosene at the bottom is burned out.

Kongming lanterns must be flown in windless weather and in open areas, otherwise not only will they not be able to fly into the sky, but they may also cause fires. When flying, it requires the cooperation of 2-3 people, and it is strongly recommended to be accompanied by an adult. In addition, a line can be tied to the bottom of the sky lantern, so that it can be released repeatedly and control the take-off height and range to avoid causing fire.