In celebration of the upcoming Lunar New Year, Wellesley Free Library hosted a Lunar New Year Paper Lantern crafting night.
In many east Asian countries, the new year means family reunions, fresh starts, and good fortune. Paper lanterns symbolize unity, prosperity, and the coming together of family and friends. What better craft to bring together people of all ages?
The craft was beginner friendly and only required a few materials: red and yellow paper, scissors or an X-ACTO knife, double sided tape, and embroidery thread. The host librarians had already cut the red papers into six pieces, three wider than the other three, and strips of yellow paper for detailing later, along with tying thread into a tassel.
With materials organized, it was time to craft!
Participants started by taking thicker sheets of paper and marking each end a centimeter in and drawing a line across it. From there, adult supervision was necessary as crafters used X-ACTO knives to cut vertically from the parallel lines, careful not to cut all the way to the end. Once the cutting was complete, crafters attached it to the uncut sheet of paper, bunched it up a little to give it a curve, and curled it around to tape it into a cylinder. It was starting to take the shape of a lantern!
Using the yellow paper, crafters attached it around the top and bottom for details. With scrap red paper, they formed a top and bottom and tied it all together with the embroidery thread with the tassel on the end!
During the crafting, patrons around the table had fun discussions and shared the importance of their own traditions during Lunar New Year. The librarians had red and gold foiled chocolate coins and White Rabbit Creamy Candy, a candy iconic in Chinese culture and has been produced since 1943. I could see why, they were delicious.
This was also a great event for newcomers to the library. Crafters were engaged in conversation and found some community to connect with.
With goodie bags filled with more paper craft instructions and plenty of leftover candy, the patrons went home with a homemade decoration to help ring in the Lunar New Year!
