Traditionally, Khoom Fay or Sky Lanterns were made of oiled rice paper with a bamboo frame carrying a small candle in order to provide the heat to warm up the air. Their invention is credited to Zhuge Liang, a brilliant strategist from the Three Kingdoms era in China. It was one of his most useful and innovative inventions, using the concept of hot air rising over cooler air, which was a novel idea at the time. This concept was not reproduced in Western countries until the 17th century.

Thousands of people would celebrate the annual Yipeng Lantern Festival in the culturally rich Chiang Mai, where they would launch floating rafts in the river Flying Lanterns to the sky to celebrate the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar.

If their Flying Lantern could be seen from a significant distance and rise very high, prosperity and good luck would be in their future. They believe the Lanterns would rise to more than 1,000 meters and travel for a long period of time.

Many people would offer a Flying Lantern to a monk in order to receive wisdom, as the flame of the Lantern would guide them to knowledge and the right path. During Chinese festivities, people would set off fireworks and Sky Lanterns to celebrate.

The local folk in Asia believe that as the Sky Lantern rises, it takes away their troubles and brings them good luck and fortune in the future. It is a promise of a good year ahead.

Today, they are available all throughout the Western world and are used in celebrations including birthdays, firework shows, weddings, anniversaries, camping trips and parties. In China, hundreds of thousands of Sky Lanterns are released to celebrate the new year of the Chinese calendar.