Red color means also celebration, happiness and blessing in Chinese culture, so Chinese lanterns are mostly red. Round form means perfect, reunion and success, so Chinese like to make round lanterns. In the old times when there was no electricity, many Chinese families hung red and round lanterns on their doors. However, these round lanterns had extra meaning. Ancient Chinese believed that heaven was rectangular and earth was round. A round lanterns and a rectangular door together meant that the world behind the door was the family's own world. Many Chinese even wrote their family names on the lanterns hanging on the doors.
To seek Aesthetic diversity, Chinese make also lanterns in other forms. Palace lanterns are some of the examples. Palace lanterns have been made since East Han dynasty (25-220), and they became popular for their beautiful and nouvel forms and delicate handicraft art. They originated from palace, but it took short time that normal people started to make their own lanterns in the styles of the palace lanterns.
Kongming lanterns are also popular among Chinese. They look like square hats and are made of paper/light silk and bamboo. The bottoms of the lanterns are open, so that the lanterns can fly to the sky after the lights inside them have been lightened. In ancient time, Chinese liked to gathered together to let many Kongming lanterns fly at the same time to create spectcular and happy scenes for Lantern Festival. In the modern times, it is more popular to make gigatic lanterns. Lanterns in forms of complicate figures, beautiful flowers, famous buildings, etc become more and more usual in the light exhibitions of Lantern Festivals.
In general, whatever forms Chinese lanterns are, they are mainly made for celebration and blessing. Chinese lanterns are also used on funerals, because a funeral is actually a ceremony for celebrating a new jouney of the dead in Chinese culture. Chinese use white lanterns for funerals.
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