These little nightlight lanterns were inspired by a legend I discovered in the book I'm reading about Greek-American holiday. It says that during the time of the Dodecameron (December 25 - January 6) mischievous goblins called kalikantzari, who live beneath the surface of the earth and try to destroy the world's Good, emerge to disrupt people's lives with pranks and tricks, like spilled milk, disappearing keys, and broken glass.
Fire and light protect people from the kalikantzari and so on Christmas Eve a fire is lit to prevent the goblins from coming down the chimney. Sometimes bonfires are built in the villages of Greece, and people carry a candle with them at night for protection.
Looking ahead to December, I wanted the kids to have little vessels for candlelight, and this tutorial made for a special project we could work on together.
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Decoupage tissue paper on a clean jelly jar and let dry completely |
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Add 22-gauge wire around rim to form a handle, string the wire with beads and secure |
Color changing LED lights are fire-free and plenty bright, we put more than one in each jar for a rainbow glow effect.
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An Instagram preview of the lanterns at night |
In December, we'll look forward to blaming any suspicious holiday chaos on the kalkantzari but, when nightfalls, and we're snuggled together in bed, we'll be protected from the brunt of their malevolence, safe by the light of our lanterns.