How to Make Chinese Lanterns for Kids
In China, New Years is one of the most important celebrations of the year. The new year is traditionally celebrated for 15 days, the last day being the Lantern Festival. People hang paper lanterns in homes and temples as a symbol of the prosperity and good fortune to come in the new year. Red is the traditional color of the lanterns, but they can be made in any color and decorated with simple designs or elaborate pictures depicting scenes of importance from Chinese history or legends.
Things You'll Need
- Construction paper
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Markers, crayons or paints
- Decorations such as stickers, glitter or sequins
- Glue or tape
Instructions
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1
Measure and cut a one-inch strip off the top of the construction paper when holding the paper vertically. Use this strip as the handle later.
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2
Turn the remaining paper horozontaly, and fold it in half so it is long and narrow.
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3
Measure and mark a horizontal line one inch below a wide edge of the paper to represent the margin. Then, between the folded edge at the bottom and the margin line at the top, draw vertical lines every inch across the paper.
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4
Cut each vertical line, being careful to stop cutting at the one-inch margin.
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5
Unfold the paper. It should have a one-inch solid boarder all the way around, and vertical cuts every inch through the middle of the paper.
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6
Flip the paper over to work on the side with no pencil marks.
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7
Decorate the paper with designs or pictures. You may use any decorating material you wish, or you may skip this step and make a simple single-colored lantern.
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8
Glue or tape the short edges of the paper together to make a cylinder. The cut lines should run from the top to bottom of the cylinder with a one-inch solid strip across the top and bottom. Make sure the pencil marks are on the inside and the decorations on the outside. If you use tape, be sure to tape your lantern on the inside so it does not show.
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9
Glue or tape the one-inch strip cut-out for the handle to the inside edges of the lantern's top margin. The handle should look like an arch on the top of the lantern.
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10
Flair the center of the lantern out by pushing gently down on the top of the cylinder. The cut lines will separate causing the cylinder to bulge out in the center where the fold was made.
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11
Cut half-inch strips of fringe from another sheet of construction paper and glue or tape these hanging down from the bottom edge of the lantern. These bits of fringe should be a different color than the lantern and may also be decorated, if you wish.
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References
- Photo Credit chinese lantern image by araraadt from Fotolia.com
