Homemade Chinese Lantern

Chinese lanterns are used in important festivals such as the Spring Festival (Lunar New Year to the Lantern Festival) and the Mid-Autumn Festival.

During Lunar New Year it is not uncommon to see lanterns hung on trees in the streets, office buildings, and doors of houses. Hanging a red lantern in front of the door is believed to drive off bad luck.

Why not make your own lantern this year? 

 

You will need:

  • One sheet red paper
  • Two to three sheets gold paper
  • Pencil and ruler
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Tape
  • Stapler
  1. Using the pencil and ruler, mark out lines creating columns 1 inch thick across the red paper. 
  2. Cut down each line you have marked, leaving half an inch uncut at the top of each. 
  3. Use tape to secure the cut end of the strips together (use one long piece across the bottom of the sheet as if you were trying to make it a complete sheet again)
  4. Cut thin strips of gold paper, enough for one strip on each of the red lantern strips you have. Glue a gold strip onto each of the red lantern strips. 
  5. Make a fold half an inch from the top and the bottom of your red sheet. Use scissors to score this to make folding easier if you wish. 
  6. Take another sheet of the gold paper and roll it into a tube (this will be the middle of the lantern, so do not make it too narrow or wide), gluing it together so it holds the tube shape. 
  7. Take your red lantern sheet and roll this around the gold tube you have made. Match one end of the gold tube to one end of the red sheet and glue these together (you may wish to use staples as they hold better). 
  8. Glue together the other end of the red tube, this time, glue the red tube end about ¾ of the way down the gold tube (there should be a quarter of the gold tube exposed underneath the red lantern strips and the red strips should bulge outwards). 
  9. Cut the remaining exposed gold tube into thin strips that will create a fringing effect when the lantern is hung. 
  10. Take a strip of gold paper to create a handle at the top of your lantern (the end without fringing) and staple this to either side across the top of the tube. 

You should now have a homemade lantern to display!

 
Last updated 1 year ago Read time 2 mins