"Many Rivers One Ocean" Lantern Ceremony

The 15th Annual Lantern Floating Hawaii Ceremony took take place on Monday, Memorial Day, May 27, 2013. More than 3,000 candle-lit lanterns bearing individual and community remembrances and prayers illuminated the ocean off of Magic Island at Ala Moana Beach Park.

The event brings together more than 40,000 Hawaii residents and visitors from around the world and from various cultures and traditions who cast afloat lanterns at sunset in remembrance of loved ones who have passed, or as symbolic prayer for a harmonious and peaceful future. The ceremony will also recognize those who have passed due to various causes afflicting humanity throughout the world. The theme of Lantern Floating Hawaii is
 "Many Rivers, One Ocean."

The 90-minute ceremony and program included Shinnyo Taiko, Kuana Torres Kahele, Hâlau Hula Kamamolikolehua, and the Shinnyo-en Shomyo Ensemble. At 6:45 p.m., Her Holiness Shinso Ito, Head of Shinnyo-en, addressed the audience, followed by the lighting of the Light of Harmony. After the lighting, the lanterns were set afloat onto the waters of Ala Moana Beach by the general public and volunteers. At the conclusion of the ceremony, as in past years, all lanterns were collected from the ocean and restored for use in the upcoming years. 

The first Lantern Floating Hawaii Ceremony was held at Ke‘ehi Lagoon on Memorial Day 1999 and has grown each year in response to community demand. Shinnyo-en and presenter Nâ Lei Aloha Foundation have nurtured the community event as a vehicle for cross-cultural cooperation, understanding, harmony and peace, which engages hundreds of volunteers and tens of thousands of participants annually.

For the full story and lots of photos check this out:   http://www.lanternfloatinghawaii.com

(Information above taken from Hawaii News Now Honolulu, and several travel and info sites.)