Lantern festival honors Chinese – Letters Of Liberty

**“Lantern festival honors Chinese”, Monterey Herald—January 8, 2022**

Lantern Festival celebrations began around 2,000 years ago during the Han Dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE). The holiday’s exact origins are somewhat unclear. Several different origin stories are used to explain where the festival came from. One of the most common stories is that Emperor Ming was a supporter of Buddhism and after he learned that it was customary for Buddhist monks to light lanterns on the 15th day of the first lunar month, he decreed that imperial palaces and individual households should do the same. This concept lives on as today’s Lantern Festivals.

The woke people who want to stop the Feast of Lanterns in Pacific Grove may be trying to end a longtime Chinese custom. What gives them the right to dictate what should be canceled as part of their cancel culture. I have always believed that the Feast of Lanterns honored the Chinese people and their decedents who settled in Pacific Grove. Why do so many traditions and customs have to be removed from our lives?

— Vince Tuminello, Pacific Grove