Attend a lantern release ceremony

“As I mentioned, we got there an hour or two before sunset. This gave us time to set up our chairs, eat all of our s’mores, and write/decorate our lanterns as we waited for launch. It was a very windy day (it was supposed to rain a lot, but luckily it stayed dry!), so the launch was delayed until about 9:30pm. [...] It took about a minute or two in the tiki torch for it to full set the center part on fire. Once it was lit, we held it upright so the middle part could fill with hot air. It’s similar to a hot air balloon, so it needs that hot air to float. Once filled with the hot air and inflated, release it carefully and watch it float away. For a minute, everything was silent as everyone watched in unison. I couldn’t hear the music or emcee. It was like time stood still for a moment as thousands of eyes collectively watched this magical moment happen.”

“A family matriarch died three years ago and I was unable to attend the funeral, so I floated a lantern for her. I actually live in Hawaii, and at the time I was about a 30 minute walk from Ala Moana Beach Park. I just took the bus down in the morning to set up my lantern, and then I went back to my apartment. Afterwards, I went back down again about an hour before the ceremony started to find my spot. I have to admit I’m not a beach person, so staying there the whole day did not appeal to me at all. Yes, it can take a while to get to the water to float your lantern, but it’s not the type of event where you rush through everything to beat the traffic home or something. Take time to really absorb the ceremony and the energy around you.”