The lanterns - large illuminated and often animated displays made with steel frameworks covered in paper and plastics - can be as high as 50 feet and as long as 300 feet.
The Toronto event is based on the historical Chinese Lantern Festival, held on the fifteenth and final day of the Chinese New Years celebration. According to legend, a maid the Imperial Palace, named Yuanxiao, wanted to be home with her family for the Chinese New Year. She told the emperor that the God of Fire visited her and told her that he planned to burn down the city. She suggested that the emperor should make the city look like it was already burning so the God of Fire wouldn’t bother them.
The emperor thus had the entire court and city put up colored lanterns and light firecrackers to mimic a great fire. In the confusion, Yuanxiao was able to sneak home.
The Festival was held at Ontario Place on the waterfront in Toronto, near the Canadian National Exhibition grounds and it featured 40 displays which focused on three major Chinese dynasties; the Qin, the Tang, and the Song. Artisans from China came to help construct the displays.
