Asian Heritage Month Special Event – Lotus Lantern Craft Class

nathashang
May 29, 2021
3 min read

Sitting on a ledge looking over a quaint body of water, you feel your mind at peace and your body relaxes. The air blows gently around you like a comforting hug as you take in the beauty before your eyes. But something catches your eye on the surface of the waters; a single lotus flower, beautiful and untainted, reveals itself to you.

The lotus flower is an iconic symbol of Buddhism and holds many special meanings. Born from muddy waters, with an uncontaminated radiance, it holds the meaning of the achievement of enlightenment. Lotus, “flaming flower from the mud,” is also a symbol of mercy and truth, values that are of great importance.

Source: iceycreamqueen.com

Welcome back to a new blog post! I am excited to write about another wonderful event organized by the Korean Cultural Center (KCC Canada) that I had the chance to attend on Monday, May 24th, 2021. In honor of May being Asian Heritage Month, KCC Canada held a special event: a lotus lantern craft class. As attendees, we had the chance of being taught by Buddhist monk Deung Gwang Sunim from Korea.

During the craft-making process, meditation prompts by Buddhist monk Deung Gwang Sunim created a special time for meditation and helped us feel more relaxed. I encourage those assembling lotus lanterns to include meditation time to fully embrace the experience.

Materials

After registering, we were sent the materials to make the lotus lantern by mail. The lotus lantern kit contained the following:

LED paper cup
A hook
16 lotus petals
- Colours: pink, yellow, purple and green
Detailed assembly instructions

*Additional required materials were scissors and glue*

Instructions

1. Fix the wires in the holes at both ends of the paper cup

2. Tie the handle string to the groove of the wire fixed inside the cup

3. Choose a color for the first layer of petals. Cut the inner bottom part of the petals (about 2 cm) and apply glue on it

Note: There will be 3 layers of petals and 1 layer of green leaves. The order of the layers of petals is up to you. For my lantern, the first layer was pink, followed by purple and then yellow. You will only need to cut the inner bottom part for the first layer.

4. Paste the first row of petals around the middle of the cup. Overlap each petal by around 1 cm around the cup

Tip: You should hold each petal to the cup for at least 3 seconds. Your body temperature can help the petals stick to the cup.

5. Pick a second color for the next layer and affix the second row of petals slightly below the first one and between the petals of the first row

6. Affix the third row of petal in the same way, aligning the bottom of the petals to the bottom of the cup

7. For the fourth row (the leaves), flip the petal outward and apply glue on the lower part of the outer side of the petals. Affix to the lower part of the third row of petals to complete the lotus lantern.

Tip: This last layer might be harder to stick on the cup, so you should hold each petal to the cup for at least 5 seconds. Make sure to align this layer with the bottom of the cup as well

My impressions

I really enjoyed this lantern craft class. Buddhist monk Deung Gwang Sunim made the experience very therapeutic with meditation breaks between each petal. She was also very informative about lotus flowers and their meaning. Her instructions for the lantern crafting were clear and easy to follow, which made the lanterns turn out great! I also enjoyed the Q&A at the end of class where we got to hear more about Buddhist monk Deung Gwang Sunim’s background. This class was such a fun experience and I honestly could not have asked for a better event!