How Our Hội An Lanterns Are Made
In Hội An, a small town on Vietnam's central coast, lanterns are not mere decoration — they are part of the town itself. As night falls, the old quarter, a UNESCO World Heritage site, lights up with hundreds of silk lanterns hanging from shopfronts, bridges and the boats of the Thu Bồn river. That is where the lanterns we offer at the store come from.
A four-century-old tradition
The art of the lantern reached Hội An more than 400 years ago, when the port welcomed Chinese and Japanese merchants. Local artisan families made it their own: a light bamboo frame, brightly coloured stretched silk, and round, oval or diamond shapes. The craft has been passed down ever since, generation after generation, in small family workshops.
Every month, on the 14th day of the lunar calendar, the town switches off its electric lights for the full-moon festival: only lanterns light the streets. Small paper lanterns are also set afloat on the river, each carrying a wish for health and happiness.
Bamboo and silk
You can recognize a true Hội An lantern by its materials:
- Bamboo: aged and soaked at length to make it supple and protect it from insects, then split by hand into thin strips that will form the frame.
- Silk: stretched panel by panel over the frame, glued, then trimmed by knife. It is the silk that gives the light its distinctive warmth.
How a lantern is made
- Preparing the bamboo — soaking, drying, then cutting into even strips.
- Building the frame — the strips are bent and fixed onto two wooden rings, which give the lantern its shape.
- Stretching the silk — the fabric is glued panel by panel, without a crease, and the excess is trimmed away.
- Finishing touches — fringe, tassel and hanging cord, all fitted by hand.
The result: a unique, entirely handmade lantern — and a collapsible one, which lets it travel from Hội An all the way to Drummondville without losing its shape.
A symbol of luck and light
In Vietnam, giving a lantern means giving a wish: light drives away misfortune and draws luck into the home. Each colour has its meaning — red for joy and celebration, yellow for prosperity, white for purity. Hung in an entrance, above a table, or in a garden in summer, a Hội An lantern brings a touch of Vietnamese warmth to your home.
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From Hội An to Drummondville
We select our lanterns from Hội An artisans and bring them back to offer them to you here at the store. Every piece is handmade: shades and patterns vary slightly from one lantern to the next — the signature of true craftsmanship.
Browse our lanterns and Vietnamese products in the catalogue, or drop by the store in Drummondville. And to taste Vietnam as well as see it, our family kitchen awaits you at danhphamcuisine.com.
