Why Chinese Lanterns Are Causing Controversy
Chinese Lanterns are certainly not a new invention.
The well-known military strategist, Zhuge Liang (or Kong Ming) has been accredited with their invention.
Originally, Chinese lanterns were utilised as signalling tools in times of warfare as well as in military campaigns.
Later, they ceased to be solely useful items, but came to be seen as decorative art works in their own right.
Skip forward a few centuries, and you will note that Chinese lanterns have become a substantial fixture in Western society.
You are more than likely to see them at many a music festival, carnival, and on many a popular TV series (including Come Dine with Me and The Supersizers).
It would now seem however, that they are going back to their roots.
In an ironic twist of fate, Chinese lanterns are causing spot of controversy in coastal towns across the UK because the light that they emit, are being mistaken for distress signals.
It has been reported that innocent parties marking the passing of a loved one or celebrating with their families have caused chaos when their lanterns provoked over-zealous coastguards to alert local rescue teams.
In one instance in Somerset, helicopters and lifeboats were rallied in order to investigate the source of the mysterious lights floating against the sky line.
What a drama! And all because of a few innocent sky lanterns launched by unsuspecting revellers.
It would appear that these graceful, delicate paper objects can all too easily be mistaken for flare guns...
really? Understandably, emergency services are there to avert and prevent emergencies from becoming disasters, far better that they assume the worst than turn a blind eye to a real life-threatening situation.
But really, in this instance, a pair of binoculars would have come in very handy.
Knowing that sky lanterns are widely used across the UK, it might be an idea for coastguards to take a closer look at any lights cluttering up the night sky, to double check that they are in fact innocent lanterns rather than flare guns.
Apparently it's not that obvious to some.
Launching a sky lantern (or better still, many lanterns) is a lovely way of marking an important occasion, and it would be truly tragic if this were no longer permitted in certain areas.
So to conclude, if you live in a coastal town and intend to release some Chinese lanterns this weekend or in the near future, perhaps it might be wise to exercise a little caution and inform those visually impaired coastguards beforehand.
Something to consider.
The well-known military strategist, Zhuge Liang (or Kong Ming) has been accredited with their invention.
Originally, Chinese lanterns were utilised as signalling tools in times of warfare as well as in military campaigns.
Later, they ceased to be solely useful items, but came to be seen as decorative art works in their own right.
Skip forward a few centuries, and you will note that Chinese lanterns have become a substantial fixture in Western society.
You are more than likely to see them at many a music festival, carnival, and on many a popular TV series (including Come Dine with Me and The Supersizers).
It would now seem however, that they are going back to their roots.
In an ironic twist of fate, Chinese lanterns are causing spot of controversy in coastal towns across the UK because the light that they emit, are being mistaken for distress signals.
It has been reported that innocent parties marking the passing of a loved one or celebrating with their families have caused chaos when their lanterns provoked over-zealous coastguards to alert local rescue teams.
In one instance in Somerset, helicopters and lifeboats were rallied in order to investigate the source of the mysterious lights floating against the sky line.
What a drama! And all because of a few innocent sky lanterns launched by unsuspecting revellers.
It would appear that these graceful, delicate paper objects can all too easily be mistaken for flare guns...
really? Understandably, emergency services are there to avert and prevent emergencies from becoming disasters, far better that they assume the worst than turn a blind eye to a real life-threatening situation.
But really, in this instance, a pair of binoculars would have come in very handy.
Knowing that sky lanterns are widely used across the UK, it might be an idea for coastguards to take a closer look at any lights cluttering up the night sky, to double check that they are in fact innocent lanterns rather than flare guns.
Apparently it's not that obvious to some.
Launching a sky lantern (or better still, many lanterns) is a lovely way of marking an important occasion, and it would be truly tragic if this were no longer permitted in certain areas.
So to conclude, if you live in a coastal town and intend to release some Chinese lanterns this weekend or in the near future, perhaps it might be wise to exercise a little caution and inform those visually impaired coastguards beforehand.
Something to consider.
Source...