Send your wishes to the Stars! (Sky Lanterns)

Member Name: sewbizzie

Product:	Sky Lanterns
Date:	22/06/09 (184 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fun, look very nice, different

Disadvantages: can only be used on windless clear nights

This sky lantern is not something which I would bought but it was given to me by my mom who was given it for us. I will admit that I was in no rush to light it as it is best to do so when it is dark and as the nights have been staying lighter for longer then we had not had chance to do so until last weekend.

-The History of Sky Lanterns-

Well, sky lanterns were made in China and they are now a Chinese Tradition, they were first invented during the three Kingdom Period. They were made and used by the locals to warn each other when enemy armies were approaching. They have now evolved and are used for sending personal wishes to the heavens and it is known that people do attach their own personal messages to the lanterns before they are lit and released. The lantern can now be found at weddings and special occasions.

-The Lantern-

The lantern is made from very fine tissue like papers and it is white in colour. It is approximately 1 meter long by half a meter wide and it forms a sort of dome shape when lit and floating in the sky.

There is a rectangle at the bottom which forms the wick and it is to be lit on each of the four corners. Before lighting the wick the lantern is to be opened up as best as possible and held from the top. Two people doing this makes the job easier as the wick is placed at the bottom and the lantern should be help and opened from the top.

When the lantern wick is lit than the lantern fill with hot air, this takes under a minute, which makes it open up fully and when it is completely inflated then it can be released. On releasing the lantern it is a tradition to make a wish which the lantern will send to the stars.

The Lantern must only be lit in on open area outside of the house and only by a responsible adult. You may wish to attach a piece of paper to you lantern with a special message, for instance a note in memory of a loved one or for a wedding with a wish for the happy couple. We did not attach a message to ours but we did make a wish when it was released.

-Warnings-

The lantern does come in a flat plastic cover which has a nice detailed paper sleeve. The paper does have a few directions for use and there are also a few warnings for the user, these include things which really are very obvious anyway.

Use in low wind conditions
Do not launch near airports trees of overhead cables
Have a bucket of water present
To be used by a responsible adult and only in the conditions stated

-Opinion of lantern-

We watched our lantern for a good few minutes as we had a lovely clear night with only a few clouds. It was wonderful watching it lifting higher and higher in the dark night sky, I do wonder if anyone thought it was a UFO though! The lantern did rise straight up but after about 200 meters then it did hit a bit of wind and started going off to the side. We were still able to view the lantern until it finally disappeared behind a small cloud and then it was only a small bright dot which did look like a star.

The lantern is made from 100% biodegradable paper so when it does finally come back down to earth it is not going to remain littering the area which it has landed. The paper is also fire retardant.

Lighting a single lantern did give a nice effect but I can imagine how this would look if it was lit with several more and it really would make a wonderful night display. The lanterns are available in different sizes and shapes and are suitable for all occasions.

I am not sure how much the lanterns are to but as we were given this one but the prices and products are available online at www.skylantern.com. I did try to log into this address to get some prices but for some reason it was having difficulty loading the page. I will keep trying and if I do manage to get onto their site then I will add prices for you.

I do recommend this lantern as it is a wonderful addition to a party of celebration and makes a change from fireworks and you also get the added bonus of sending a wish to the stars.

Summary: An alternative to fireworks that look pretty