Column: Lantern festival bonds participants

There is a moment, standing at the water’s edge with a paper lantern in your hands, when everything you use to separate yourself from other people — your education, nationality, status, age, politics, beliefs or wounds — suddenly becomes irrelevant. As the soft amber light flickers with a golden glow, turning the surrounding darkness into a deep indigo, your heart softens and your breath stills … humanity becomes visible again.