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WATERMELON LANTERN IN CHINA

What is a watermelon
Watermelon has a botanical name called Citrullus vulgaris, which was used to describe the diminutive form of citrus about its color and shape. Usually, the skin of the watermelon is light green and dark green， but sometimes it's just dark green, which is caused by the different panting techniques or species of the watermelons. Most kinds of watermelon have red flesh inside, but some kinds of watermelons have yellow fleshes. The reason that the watermelon is called watermelon mainly because 92% of its body is made of water that is stored in the vacuole of the watermelon cells.

Where it grows
It was always assumed by many scientists that the watermelon is indigenous to Africa because people first found the wild watermelon specie there. However, recent evidence from Tim Bortoli shows that watermelon was originally farming in Egypt around 2000 BC. Then, it was spread to ancient China in the 10th century and introduced to America in the 16th century. Watermelon is the kind of species that is very adaptable, does not fear horrible environment, which means they can grow almost everywhere with water and sunshine. Therefore, watermelon is pretty popular among commercial farms as well as residential gardens.

What is a watermelon lantern
Watermelon lantern is a kind of lantern that is made from watermelons with beautiful pictures curved on its surfaces and shining lights inside the empty space in the watermelon that is scooped out previously in order to place a light inside. A watermelon lantern is unbelievable gorgeous during the summer nights for its attractive natural light that is created by the lights in the watermelon passing through the surved surface of the watermelon, showing beautiful pictures with deep meanings. It really makes you feel the real nature when you see light green light with dark green skin decorated together on the surface of the watermelon.

History
Watermelon lantern festival first started since 2000 years ago to celebrate the harvest of watermelon by the local farmers in Pinghu. Now, the festival is held on Sept. 29th of every year in Pinghu, people in Pinghu will stop their work, preparing for the big event and devoting themselves into the sensational festival. Local schools and organizations will held a competition on curving watermelon lanterns every year for students in schools and folk artists. Usually, the competition will start at 8 o’clock in the evening at the main square of Donghu Lake, lasting for about 4 hours, ended up with beautiful fireworks along the side of the Donghu Lake, a delicate local lake that has all kinds of sightseeings surrounded. The competition is an excellent chance for those who are not famous but have the talents to show themselves.

How to make a watermelon lantern
During the festival, local people will prepare lots of watermelons for eating and carving. One of the most significant event is the watermelon lantern carving. Local artists first tunnel the watermelon through little spoon in order to save the shape of the fruit, leaving the watermelon peels in one piece in order to get a complete watermelon lantern at the end, then they will curve all kinds of amazing and gorgeous patterns related to the local culture on the surface of watermelon with curving tools and plant a special made light bulb inside its body. Finally, those artist will decorate the watermelon lantern with Chinese knot. A watermelon lamp is finished ! Although it seems pretty simple, but it’s actually pretty hard to accomplish the process. .

Steps
1. Make a draft of what you want to curve, brainstorming.

2. Buy a watermelon that has good shape with smooth skin, which is easy to curve your patterns, reducing the amount of work you have to do greatly.

3. Use a knife to remove the top of the watermelon carefully.

4. Carefully tunnel all the flesh of the watermelon into other containers for others to eat.(don’t waste it)

5. Wash the watermelon with soft cloth so that the sleek surface will not be damaged.

6. Dry the surface of the watermelon, preventing curving accidents from happening.

7. Find a curving tool that is suitable to your hands and the patterns that you gonna paint, or you can buy a set of professional curving tools.

8. Use a big marker to briefly print your draft on the surface of the watermelon. (Careful not to mix the patterns with your hands)

9. Start from main structures of the patterns, sharping the outlines first, then work on the detailed parts, such as eyes, tails and hairs if you are curving a people. (Careful not to curve to hard because you might break the structure of the watermelon)

10. Plant a waterproof light source in the curved watermelon.

11. Decorate the watermelon lantern with Chinese traditional decorations.