Have you ever got the chance to join the Diwali festival before? In case you haven't, take a glance at the "Tangled" movie of Disney. The scene in which Eugene and Rapunzel sailing among thousands of lanterns is a similar vision of this festival.
Diwali is a beautiful and dynamic festival with legends and light. It is an occasion for families to get together and spend a wonderful time in a year in some countries. In this article, let's get to know more about the Diwali lanterns, the stunning Diwali festival, and ways to create one.
1. Getting To Know The Lanterns And The Diwali Festival
Lanterns used in the Diwali festival are entitled "Kindeel". They are often made with wooden frames, covered in matte or glossy paper. They come in numerous shapes, sizes, and colors.
The common shapes of kindles are star-like and cylinders. The star-like lanterns are colorful, while the cylinder ones are simpler. But no matter what type you choose for the upcoming Diwali festival, they all have a loving and deep meaning. There are also various shapes of lanterns you can choose from.
These kindeels are hung on the front door throughout the Diwali days. This presents the welcome of the family to the lost relatives. On Diwali, the castaways can come and visit their living family members. It means no harm like some people would make a mistake when they first hear about the meaning. But there is a dark side, saying that if the lanterns are not lit up, the bad luck will go with the family for the entire year.
The Diwali Festival is held on October 24th every year. The holiday lasts for 5 days in total. It is the time for thanksgiving and praying for the best wishes, including peace and luck. The 5 days of Diwali will be filled with light, meaning that the light conquers the dark, and the good defeats the evil. Candles, lanterns, and fireworks are used in this festival.
2. How To Make Diwali Lanterns
Here comes the exciting part of the whole article. Since this is a DIY instruction, we will focus on the easy-to-make lanterns so that you can create your kindeel from the simplest materials with the least tools required.
The major lanterns we guide you would be from paper, which you can quickly find at your home or groceries. Now, we will instruct you from the easiest to the trickiest DIY lanterns. But don't be so worried about the word "Trickiest" because it will be easier than you expected.
The Snowflake Lanterns
Firstly, we are going to make the snowflake lanterns, which we consider the easiest to make because all you need is paper of whatever color you love. Some glue to attach, a marker, and scissors.
The steps are simple and minimized as much as possible. In step one, take a paper sheet and cut a round shape of 20 centimeters. You can make it smaller or larger as you want it to be.
Then, fold the round shape we have cut into a shape of a pizza crust. You can do this by folding it from its half to quarter. Next, fold once again to get the pizza crust shape. We have come halfway through this.
Next, take your marker and draw some lines, following the curve of the edge. You should draw at least 5 to 7 lines on your lantern. Remember to leave some space on the tip.
After that, use the scissors to cut the line you have drawn and cut off a little of the tip to make a smaller circle. This circle will be the place you put string through to make a handle or just hang the lantern if you want.
As we have finished with one sheet, do the exact tasks to another one. When you have the two paper sheets together, lightly hold the smaller circle and the larger one and pull them far from each other.
You must not overdo this because your lantern can be torn. Do it lightly, then take your glue and put it on the larger circles. Finally, stick them together and do the pulling once again. There you go, your snowflake lantern.
The Chinese Style DIY Lanterns
Secondly, on the DIY list of the DIY, you can make the Chinese DIY lantern. There is no doubt that Asia always has the best lanterns with every color and pattern we can imagine. If you have joined a festival in an Asian country with candles and lanterns, it must be one of the unforgettable moments of a lifetime.
Creating your DIY Chinese-style lanterns is so easy as the snowflake ones. The instruction may seem a bit long, but we want it to be detailed so that you can follow it and not engage in any difficulty.
For the Chinese DIY lanterns, the materials and tools are almost the same as the previous ones - paper, scissors, a toilet paper roll, ribbons, and a marker. Now, take your paper and draw straight lines on it. The paper sheet you have should be 30 centimeters wide and 15 centimeters long. Draw your lines in a density that you want. As you finish drawing, fold the sheet in a half for cutting. You can use your scissors or a paper trimmer for the lantern.
After you cut the lines, it's time to take a paper sheet of the compatible tone and glue it to the toilet paper roll. Make sure you cover the whole roll. Then, you should wrap the end of each side round, stick it to the toilet roll.
To make the handle, take your ribbons, make 2 holes on the lantern, and put them through. Remember to tighten them together. At this step, we have completed our Chinese DIY lantern. If you think it is too hard, you can skip the roll and replace the ribbons with paper and glue.
The Freestyle Lanterns
Last but not least, we want you to create your lanterns with your vibes, not following any style. For this one, the tools are going to be a bit different. You will need a plain paper lantern, glue, and any decoration you feel like. It can be paper flowers, ribbons, or butterflies. We would go with the flowers and butterflies.
Place your plain lantern on the table and hold it steadily. Determine the layout, according to which you will put your decoration. We are going to make it elegant and feminine. Let's start from the right corner above. Take the bigger flowers and butterflies and glue them to the right corner. The line of decoration will go from right to the left, high to low. You can take a look at this one. Your ornaments can be handmade or purchased.
Then, go gradually down with the flowers and butterflies. Try to find the palettes that go well with each other. You should not put the contrast colors together for this lantern because when you look at it, you cannot focus on one spot. It should have a center.
Conclusion
Being a part of the Diwali festival is a wonderful experience you can have in life. But for those who haven't got a chance, you can completely get the vibes through making a lantern at home. They are beautiful ornaments with deep meaning. We have guided you with 3 ways to create a DIY lantern. We hope you will be successful in making them and wish you the best of luck.
