Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawaiʻi is a ceremony conducted every year at Ala Moana Beach in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. Candle-lit lanterns are floated in the water to carry our gratitude and prayers for all spirits and forms of life that have supported our existence since the beginning of time.

Everyone is welcome, regardless of belief or background, to take part in this physical expression of love and remembrance for those who have touched our lives.

Whether you participate in person at the beach, view the broadcast on television, or watch the livestream online from anywhere in the world, we hope that, as we gather together in this shared experience of aloha, what might have begun as a personal moment of reflection can grow into an experience of collective harmony and empathy, like many rivers flowing into one ocean.

The theme of the ceremony is “Many Rivers, One Ocean.” When its meaning was shared with Hawaiian language scholar Puakea Nogelmeier, he wrote “Ka Lei Moana.” Take a moment to learn the meaning of this gift.

Every year on Memorial Day in the United States, people remember and honor those who have fallen in service to their country. Several sources account for its origins, among which is the tale of women in the South who visited a cemetery to decorate the graves of Confederate soldiers after the Civil War. Disturbed by the sight of the neglected graves of Union soldiers, they offered flowers on those graves as well. In recent years, the custom has grown to decorate the graves of all departed loved ones in addition to honoring all who died in battle.

When the founder of Shinnyo-en visited Hawaiʻi in 1970, he paid respects at Punchbowl (National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific) and the USS Arizona Memorial. Profoundly moved by this experience, he was inspired with the wish to hold a lantern floating where people could share their hopes for peace. His successor, Her Holiness Shinso Ito, further inspired by the tale of the Southern women, carried out his wish in the form of Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawaiʻi on Memorial Day, 1999.

For its first three years, Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawaiʻi was held at Keʻehi Lagoon on the south shore of Oʻahu. In 2002, the ceremony was moved a few miles down the coast to Ala Moana Beach.

From 2020 to 2022, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the ceremony was observed as a pre-recorded TV and Internet broadcast with a focus on generating feelings of hope and connection. A smaller, in-person walk-through experience was also available on the Shinnyo-en Hawaii temple grounds in Honolulu.

In 2023, the ceremony returned to Ala Moana Beach, and Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawaiʻi celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2024.

The sounding of the pū, or Hawaiian conch shell, sanctifies the area and marks the commencement of the ceremony.

The sound of the taiko calls people together. It is offered as a prayer for peace, with hope that people reach out in the spirit of creating harmony to support one another.

This Hawaiian chant calls the attention of all who are present to prepare their hearts to receive the importance of what will follow.

A visual portrayal of mele (song) or oli (chant) through dance, with movements signifying values and concepts such as harmony with land, water and sky.

Six large Guiding Lanterns carry prayers for all spirits on behalf of all people. Prayers are offered for victims of war, water-related accidents, natural and manmade disasters, famine and disease. Gratitude is offered for all, even endemic, endangered and extinct plant and animal life. These lanterns are floated with the hope of encouraging harmony and peace.

Community leaders, each representing the prayers carried by the Guiding Lanterns, respectfully place lei on the Guiding Lanterns, symbolizing the wish to embrace all in harmony and healing, and honoring the many spirits that the Lanterns represent.

Prior to the floating of the lanterns, Her Holiness Shinso Ito offers a blessing of the ceremonial area, the lanterns, all those being remembered, and all participants, whether in person or from afar.

This ritual symbolizes the offering of spiritual nourishment to the souls of those being remembered.

Through the power of sound, this fusion of traditional Buddhist chant and Western choral harmony expresses our gratitude and hopes for all spirits and living beings to find peace and comfort.

In a traditional Buddhist ritual called sange, petals are scattered to purify the way for buddhas and other spiritual or sacred beings.

During Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawaiʻi, ceremonial assistants scatter flowers along the path for the Guiding Lanterns as they are carried to the ocean, conveying respect and gratitude for the lanterns and the prayers they hold.

The crystal clear sound of Her Holiness Shinso Ito’s bell focuses everyone’s thoughts and prayers and signifies that it is time to float the lanterns.

Lanterns are placed onto the water with wishes for the peace and happiness of loved ones past while unveiling courage and hope in the hearts of those in the present.

The singing of “Hawaiʻi Aloha” is a beloved local tradition observed at the end of gatherings. It expresses love for and connection with our community and the land.