As the sun sets, the floating lanterns at Ala Moana Beach start to glow from the light of the candles they carry as part of Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawai‘i, a Memorial Day ceremony. Jacob Kam had watched the event on television for years but attended in person for the first time more than a decade ago, while he was still a student at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Kam, who is a cancer survivor, sat next to the stage so he could see the thousands of glowing lanterns as they were released into the ocean.
He didn’t set one afloat, but he experienced a moment of peace.
“It's a mood that's kind of indescribable,” he told Aloha State Daily. “It kind of puts you in just that serene calm. It's almost an otherworldly experience. It’s hard to explain, but it felt like this serene calm and peace that I don't think comes around too much nowadays — that's really more precious now that the world's kind of crazy.”
On Monday, May 25, thousands will gather again at Ala Moana Beach to remember fallen service members and loved ones and release floating lanterns as part of the 28th annual Memorial Day ceremony. The free public event is officiated by Shinnyo-en, an international Buddhist community with Japanese roots. It is presented by the group’s locally based community support arm Nā Lei Aloha Foundation.
Kam and his mother, Betty Lou Kam, are two of the event’s many volunteers.
“It's been a Memorial Day tradition for the last few years,” he said. “I don't really have a Memorial Day tradition per se for myself, but this is kind of my Memorial Day tradition ever since I've started volunteering.”
From 2020 to 2022, the ceremony was observed as a pre-recorded television and internet broadcast due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But when it was announced the event was headed back to the beach, he wanted to get involved as a volunteer.
“And then the next year, mom signed up, too,” his mother added with a laugh.
Over the years, their volunteer roles have changed. Initially, they assembled lanterns. This year, they will be at the shoreline to light the candles in each lantern before families release them into the ocean.
“The temple does a lot about many rivers, one ocean,” she said. “And that's incredible, because when you're standing there — Jacob and I, we actually stand at the coastline and light lanterns. When you're standing there, you feel like you're part of the ocean of people. It's an incredible feeling, because we're all sharing the same feeling.”
“You’d call that a chicken skin kind of moment,” he added.
His mother also likes to help families who are picking up individual lanterns. Each family is invited to decorate their lantern and remember loved ones.
“What happens is we’re all gathered in a tent, and when people pick up, they come to us, and we say, ʻDo you need help?’” she said. “Some people need help because they're still torn with grief and memories. They sit down, and we tell them what to do. Sometimes you step aside and let them cry or let them feel happy, and you share a moment with them.”
Later in the evening, as she lights candles, she sometimes sees families she helped earlier in the day.
“That is the chicken skin moment when somebody says, ‘You helped me,’” she said.
Volunteers are still needed to refurbish lanterns after the ceremony, starting May 30. Sign up to volunteer.
The refurbished lanterns will return to the water next year.
“They carry the messages from thousands of people, because the messages are put on the lanterns,” she said. “These lanterns get refreshed with a new mission of taking more messages to those who are gone, but well-loved and still with us in spirit.”
Want to participate? Individual lanterns are free and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Learn about how to get individual lanterns or add a message to the collective remembrance lantern.
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Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
