Editing Lantern (section)

==Uses==
The lantern enclosure was primarily used to prevent a burning candle or wick being extinguished from wind, rain or other causes. Some antique lanterns have only a metal grid, indicating their function was to protect the candle or wick during transportation and avoid the excess heat from the top to avoid unexpected fires.

Another important function was to reduce the risk of fire should a spark leap from the flame or the light be dropped. This was especially important below deck on ships: a fire on a wooden ship was a major catastrophe. Use of unguarded lights was taken so seriously that obligatory use of lanterns, rather than unprotected flames, below decks was written into one of the few known remaining examples of a [[pirate code]], on pain of severe punishment.<ref>Article VI of [[Pirate code#Captain John Phillips's articles|Captain John Phillips's articles]].</ref>

Lanterns may also be used for signaling.  In naval operations, ships used lights to communicate at least as far back as the [[Middle Ages]];<ref>{{cite book | editor-first = Christopher H. | editor-last = Sterling | title = Military Communications: From Ancient Times to the 21st Century | year = 2008 | location = Santa Barbara, California | publisher = ABC-CLIO, Inc. | isbn = 978-1-85109-732-6| page = 287 | quote = Medieval ships, like the carrack and smaller caravel, used flag and lantern communication.}}</ref> the use of a [[Signal lamp|lantern that blinks code]] to transmit a message dates to the mid-1800s.<ref>Sterling 2008, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=RBC2nY1rp5MC&pg=PA209 209].</ref> In railroad operations, lanterns have multiple uses. Permanent lanterns on poles are used to signal trains about the operational status of the track ahead, sometimes with [[color gel]]s in front of the light to signify stop, etc.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Weissenbruch Three-Position Signal System as Used in Belgium: Four Indications Given, Clear, Caution, Attention or Stop | first = T. S. | last = Lascelles | journal = Railway Signal Engineer | volume = 15 | number = 2 | date = 1922 | publisher = Simmons-Boardman Publishing Company | pages = 55–58}}</ref>  Historically, a [[Flagman (rail)|flagman]] at a [[level crossing]] used a lantern to stop cars and other vehicular traffic before a train arrived.<ref>{{citation | title = Railway Signal Engineer: Fifteenth Volume, from January, 1922, to December, 1922 | date = 1922 | publisher = Simmons-Boardman Publishing Company | page = 178 | quote = The News of the Month.... Sixteen persons were killed and nine injured at Painesville, Ohio, on the night of March 3, [1922,] when a New York Central express train, eastbound, crashed into a crowded motor bus at St. Clair street in that city.  The railroad company issued a statement that the crossing watchman was on duty at the time and signaled the driver of the bus with his lantern to stop.  The flagman states that he began to five the bus driver this warning signal when the latter was still from 300 to 500 ft. from the tracks, and the train had its electric headlight burning bright and clear; its whistle was sounded twice and the bell was ringing automatically.  The bus driver was among the fatally injured. | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=O4BCAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA178}}</ref> Lanterns also provided a means to signal from train-to-train or from station-to-train.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.collectorsweekly.com/railroadiana/lanterns | title = Antique Railroad Lanterns and Lamps | date = n.d. | work = Collectors Weekly | publisher = Auctions Online USA Ltd | access-date = 17 February 2020}}</ref>

A "dark lantern" was a candle lantern with a sliding shutter so that a space could be conveniently made dark without extinguishing the candle. For example, in the Sherlock Holmes story "[[The Red-Headed League]]", the detective and police make their way down to a bank vault by lantern light but then put a 'screen over that dark lantern' in order to wait in the dark for thieves to finish tunneling.<ref>{{citation | title = The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | chapter = The Red-Headed League | chapter-url = https://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Arthur_Conan_Doyle/The_Adventures_of_Sherlock_Holmes/ADVENTURE_II_THE_RED_HEADED_LEAGUE_p14.html | first = Arthur Conan | last = Doyle | year = 1861}}</ref> This type of lantern could also preserve the light source for sudden use when needed.

[[File:Arabic lanterns.jpg|thumb|Arabic style lanterns ([[fanous]]), symbolic in the Islamic month of Ramadan]]
Lanterns may be used in religious observances. In the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], lanterns are used in religious [[processions]] and [[Entrance (liturgical)|liturgical entrances]], usually coming before the [[processional cross]]. Lanterns are also used to transport the [[Holy Fire]] from the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]] on [[Great Saturday]] during [[Holy Week]].

Lanterns are used in many Asian festivals. During the [[Ghost Festival]], lotus shaped lanterns are set afloat in rivers and seas to symbolically guide the lost souls of forgotten ancestors to the afterlife. During the [[Lantern Festival]], the displaying of many lanterns is still a common sight on the 15th day of the first lunar month throughout China. During other Chinese festivities, [[kongming lantern]]s (sky lanterns) can be seen floating high into the air. However, some jurisdictions, such as in Canada, some states in the U.S., and parts of India, as well as some organizations, ban the use of sky lanterns because of concerns about fire and safety.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/while-their-popularity-soars-illuminated-paper-lanterns-increasingly-banned-across-canada-as-serious-fire-hazards | title = While their popularity soars, illuminated paper lanterns increasingly banned across Canada as 'serious fire hazards' | first = Sarah | last = Boesveld | date = 23 July 2013 | work = National Post | publisher = Postmedia Network Inc.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://wildfiretoday.com/2015/12/31/update-on-the-legality-of-sky-lanterns-banned-in-28-states/ | title = Update on the legality of sky lanterns – banned in 29 states | first = Bill | last = Gabbert | date = 31 December 2015 | work = Wildfire Today | access-date = 17 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{citation | url = https://www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/Public-Education/Resources/Safety-tip-sheets/SkyLaterns.ashx?la=en | format = PDF| title = Sky Lanterns Safety | publisher = National Fire Protection Association | location = Quincy, Massachusetts, USA | date = 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{citation | url = https://environmentjournal.online/articles/feature-sky-lanterns-safe-or-scourge/ | title = Feature: sky lanterns – safe or scourge? | date = 21 March 2018 | first = Thomas | last = Barrett | work = Environment Journal }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/sky-lantern-ban-extended-to-six-ps-area/articleshow/66441576.cms | title = Sky lantern ban extended to six PS area | first = Tamaghna | last = Banerjee | date = 31 October 2018 | location = Kolkata, India | work = The Times of India | publisher = Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.scouting.org/health-and-safety/alerts/sky-lanterns/ | title = Sky Lantern Dangers | work = Scouting.org | publisher = Boy Scouts of America | access-date = 17 February 2020}}</ref>

The term "lantern" can be used more generically to mean a light source, or the enclosure for a light source, even if it is not portable. Decorative lanterns exist in a wide range of designs. Some hang from buildings, such as [[street light]]s enclosed in glass panes. Others are placed on or just above the ground; low-light varieties can function as decoration or [[landscape lighting]] and can be a variety of colors and sizes. The housing for the top [[Lamp (electrical component)|lamp]] and lens section of a [[lighthouse]] may be called a lantern.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/closeups/illumination/index.htm | first = Terry | last = Pepper | work = Seeing the Light | title = Great Lakes Lighthouse Illumination | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090123055321/http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/closeups/illumination/index.htm | archive-date = 23 January 2009 | access-date = 21 September 2008 }}</ref>