Vesak Lanterns – By Anuki De Silva

Vesak Full Moon Poya Day is an auspicious day for Buddhists, memorialising the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha. The day is usually commemorated like other Poya days in the lunar calendar by visiting the temple and even holding festivals with communities, for example the ‘Buddha Birthday Festival’ held annually in South Bank, however due to Government restrictions that are in place at the moment, this year has unfortunately seen a loss of these festivities.

Instead, the restrictions have allowed families to spend time together, and many Buddhists have been practicing their rituals at home. This year my family and I created our very own lanterns for the first time since I was young. Due to our usual busy lives with work or education, we never had the time to create our own lanterns at home, but this year gave us an opportunity to do so.

Vesak is known to be the ‘Festival of Light’, and therefore many illuminated decorations are made to commemorate the meaning behind the occasion, such as these lanterns, lighting oil lamps, candles and many more. Traditionally, these lanterns are made out of bamboo, but due to lack of material availability in urban communities they can be made in other ways as well, for example using plastic frames. During the time leading up to Vesak, the streets of Sri Lanka are filled with vendors selling their own materials and ready-made lanterns for those who do not have time to make it themselves. My family had bought some materials in the past, which we never were able to put to use until now.

Using square-shaped plastic frames to create the base frame of the lantern, these are usually put together in a hexagon shape by using four frames and attaching each of the corners together, traditionally with string or in this case, with plastic connectors made for these plastic frames. Next, special cellophane paper (almost see-through) in various colours are used to cover the sides of the lantern. As the lanterns use square frames, these are cut into square and triangular shapes to cover each blank side, except the bottom and top orientations of the lantern (a gap is left to allow light to pass through). The paper can be cut and designed in various ways and make each individual lantern unique due to the various creative possibilities. They are then glued onto the frame using a special thick glue, traditionally made out of flour and water. The remaining pieces of paper are used to make long tassels (tails) for the lanterns and are stuck onto the bottom orientation of the frame. A candle or light holder is fixed into the middle of the lantern, and string is tied onto the top corners of the frame so the lantern can be held.

Since my family could not visit the temple this year for Vesak, we hung the lanterns in front of our house and lit them every evening using neon lights instead of candles. We received many compliments from our neighbours and people passing by for the lanterns, and some even asked the reason and meaning behind making them. Celebrating Vesak from home has been a good experience for my family and myself to be able to re-create these lanterns after not being able to for so long, very enjoyable and the final product is definitely worth seeing, especially when illuminated at night.
Anuki De Silva