The Parade of Random Lanterns!

The reason for the parade is not the reason for the parade.
The parade is the reason for the parade.

How to Parade of Lanterns
it's easy really. a minimum of 5 people, but less works.
i did a very enjoyable solo parade once.

officer: that's a pretty trippy flashlight you've got there
me: thanks!
officer (clearly puzzeled): what are you doing?
me (invoking jedi mind trick): just going for a walk
officer (interupting/agreeing): going for a walk. okay.
me: have a great day!

ingredients:
-lanterns in mixed or thematic styles
-poles to hang lanterns from
-people to hold the poles
-flyer with instructions

optional:
-a direction
-stationary allies with hot chocolate and fire pits
-bells, chimes, tonesources
-documentation; photos of garbage walk, portraits of the lantern walk, audio recordings, blogs and journalisms

the mix:
build some lanterns, get some costumes, some people and a day. Walk your route before the sun goes down and pick up garbage. Start the Parade after the sun goes down. Claim back alleys and residential streets, small parks and river valley trails for the purpose of random beautification. Practice stunning the odd passerby with delight, and meditatively recreate the experience of winter nights.

the timing:
arbitrary or symbolic, in honour of the occasion or occasionally honouring the day. Many traditions of the world have a special time for light festivals during winter.

Notes
if you are going to be parading on city streets, maintain a fairly tight group structure. if a car driver percieves your group to be porous, it will try to get through you, often or occasionally using aggressive acceleration to try to manipulate your behaviour. cars turn people into assholes, so don't take it too personally.

if you add a sound source to your parade, you will get a lot more attention. we found metal wind chimes to be very good. the sound carries well, is unlikely to generate noise complaints, and is easy for the paraders to listen to for a couple of hours.

formation parading is good fun, and especially engaging for those who are watching.

people seem to want to know *why* you are doing this. the real reason often doesn't make sense. indeed, most people don't understand why they want to lantern parade until they have done so for a while. so have fun with your answer. i generally choose something non-threatening or a bit absurd. "happy groundhog day!" sometimes i use the occasion of public interaction to proselytize for random parading. if i have a 'how to lantern parade' flyer i hand it out.