Sky lantern festival lights up Bacolod
Hundreds of flying lanterns lit up the night sky like fireflies as Bacolod City launched its first Flying Lantern Festival on Saturday.
Families gathered at the Central District I.T. Business Park, a business development center, to enjoy the occasion.
The festival was conducted to prevent, in a way, the use of dangerous firecrackers this Christmas season, according to the event organizer, Charles Dumancas.
“Usually, most of us make use of firecrackers. But we try to think different. And so we made this and we’re hoping we are the first,” he said.
Sky lanterns, or “Khoom Fay” in Chinese, are typically made of flame-resistant paper or oiled rice paper set around a bamboo or wire frame.
The frame will support a candle, which will provide enough heat to make the lantern rise up, much like in a hot air balloon.
They were traditionally used alongside fireworks in major Chinese celebrations as a way for people to “send their dreams to the heavens” or to appease their worries and bring them luck or wisdom.
The lanterns were also used by Chinese military as a way to send signals over long distances.
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“We’ve been telling everybody to make a wish every time they raised their lanterns because they said it’s good luck.
We hope this would continue for the next year and would be more fun,” Dumancas said.
“It was very fantastic. Everybody enjoyed,” said Josie Villar, who brought her family to the event.
Some of the event’s participants were curious onlookers or mall shoppers who decided to join the fun.
One such onlooker was Xavier Lim, who decided to join the event after seeing the lanterns being lighted. “We were strolling along SM (mall) and just as we saw the lantern, we traced where it came from and then join[ed] in,” Lim said.
Organizers are hoping the Bacolod City government will incorporate the festival in its official calendar to boost tourism in the city.
Sky lantern festivals are traditionally held in Asian countries like China, Thailand and Taiwan; but are also gaining popularity in the Western world as theatrical shows for weddings, parties or special occasions. (Report by Nico Delfin, ABS-CBN Bacolod)
