A recent article from Malaysia described paper lanterns adorned with "Angry Birds". That made me curious to find out what other strange paper lanterns there are around the world. This is what I found out:
Winnie-the-Pooh and Snow White paper lanterns. |
Her Royal Kittyness in Singapore.
Here's an interesting one. Unfortunately, I am too old to know who these characters are.
Crazy Cartoon Paper Lantern from blueq.com |
Hangzhou Sunbeauty store in China. |
Tinsel-Me-Elmo from Aunt Peaches |
(Note: I was just informed by one of my co-workers that those those figures above, that I didn't recognize, are from the world of Pokemon. I'm so embarrassed I didn't know that!)
Of course, some people just won't be happy until they see lanterns as heads of animals. The beloved Panda as well as the Tiger, Fox, Elephant and Penguin can be recognized in the picture below.( One or two of them may be fish.) This remarkable find is from Scandinavia.
Little Cute Mokkasin |
Santa face and Union Jack Sky Lanterns from Party Delights in the U.K. |
"Lanternes Celestes" are popular in France too. These are from 1001lanterns.com |
You could think of this as a huge sky lantern, but actually, it's a hot air balloon. I include it here, because it's simply something that everyone should see:
Darth Vader hot air balloon. Fantastic! |
Darth Does New Jersey, plus he has his own Facebook page with over 2,000 likes. |
Let's get into some more abstract variations on the lantern. Etsy, that great pool of DIY talent, is a source for many wildly imaginative paper lanterns. The one below was made by attaching strips of colored paper to a plain paper lantern.
Dramatic Paper Lantern covered with streamers. For sale on Etsy. |
Back to the Far East. At the really big lantern festivals, you can find giant lantern sculptures that are hard to describe. This strange one looks like an aquatic life-form from another world. It was part of the huge lantern festival in Kaifeng, one of the seven ancient capitals of China.
Glowing plant shapes at the Lantern Festival in Kaifeng, China. |
Hand-made Hello Kitty paper lanterns as seen at Etsy shop shelbynbosch.. |
There you have it. If you have seen crazy unusual paper lanterns in your wanderings, let me know. I'd love to see what you come up with. You can post it here any time.
Décorez et Célébrez!
Dorothy & the Team at Cultural Intrigue.
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