In the darkness of the summer evening, a glowing lantern is carried down the Tabernacle’s center aisle. The person carrying it reaches up to the roof and hangs it with the other lanterns surrounding the Tabernacle. At this signal, the lanterns throughout the Campground’s gingerbread cottages come to life, dazzling the crowd gathered for The Grand Illumination Night.
Every August, always on a Wednesday night, the residents of the Methodist Campground in Oak Bluffs celebrate summer with Illumination Night.
Campground residents prepare for the event throughout the day, decorating their cottages with lanterns.
Some unpack treasured lanterns that have been hung by generations of cottage families.
Other residents hang lanterns that were hand decorated by members of their families. It’s common to see children busily creating their own designs to add to the family collection.
I imagine families reliving treasured memories of past summers as they ready their lanterns for hanging, sharing stories of who made the lanterns and tales of previous Illumination Nights.
The Tabernacle’s roof is trimmed with lanterns.
The evening begins with a community sing. The Tabernacle is packed with people. It’s standing room only on the outer perimeter of the structure. On the grass in the center of the Campground, people sit on blankets or in beach chairs. Residents and guests relax on cottage porches with glasses of lemonade or wine and appetizers.
When darkness sets in and the sing ends, the lantern lighting ceremony begins. Afterwards, the crowds stroll the walkways, admiring the beautiful lanterns adorning the cottages.
Some houses display fragile, hand-painted silk lanterns brought back from China by whaling captains and traders. The lanterns remain with their houses through inheritances and sales. They have tears and might be slightly scorched by candle flame, but these old lanterns are magnificent.
The sounds of a celebratory summer evening are everywhere. The calls of children chasing each other through the Campground, the laughter of adults sharing the evening on their porches, the oohs and aahs of visitors admiring the spectacle. In the darkness, with the glow of lanterns everywhere, is a little summer magic.
You can find more information at the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association website.
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So beautiful!
Thanks. It’s a wonderful tradition.