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Enjoy the Hoi An Lanterns Now – Best Spots & Tips

Hoi An Lanterns There are a lot of things that people can experience when they travel to Hoi An. One of the good things that they would not forget is the lanterns of Hoi An. The Hoi An Lanterns are famous for being traditional and unique. It is one of the signs showing the unique culture of Vietnam.

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There are some sorts of history regarding the origin of the Hoi An Lanterns. In the past, people in Vietnam usually tried to use the oil lamps for decorating some lanterns. Then, they would try to put the whole device to the outside of the door. This was similar to the Chinese lantern. The major purpose of doing this was to ensure that the street would have sufficient lights to provide a safety experience when people walk in the street at night. The purpose is the same as those used in China. But the overall design of the lanterns is different in these two countries. In Vietnam, the lanterns usually appear as the spherical shape. There would also be hexagonal shape in some cases.

In the 16th century, some of the people from foreign countries visited this town. The Japanese merchants modified the lanterns and hang these lanterns outside the doors. This further encouraged the local people to use these lanterns outside the door for the lighting purposes. At the same time, the purpose of these lanterns was not solely for the safety or functional ones. Instead, there are also blessing purposes. There would be some wordings on the lanterns to bless the people hanging them outdoor. It represented good luck and also the safety of the whole town. Therefore, the widespread of the use of Hoi An Lanterns in the town began.

But later, people gradually did not put the lanterns outside their home. It was because the invention of electricity and light bulb changed the setting of the whole town. Therefore, people no longer need to use these lanterns for the lighting purposes. Some people therefore did not want to waste the time and money to get the lanterns.

Fortunately, the culture was brought back in 1998. During that year, the authority of the town decided to encourage people putting lanterns outside their houses again and this received great and positive response from the public. People started to put the lanterns outdoor again and this attracted a lot of tourists to further ask about this culture. A lot of shops and households put the lanterns outdoor during that year and it was a great move at that time. Due to this success, the authority decided to turn this into an annual event to attract tourists to visit this town.

To conclude, the Hoi An Lanterns are valuable assets to the local culture. Therefore, it is not surprising for people to find that there are lantern-related items and projects in this town. People can always enjoy these things and see the production process of the lanterns in order to know more about the culture of the town.