喜 – xi, happiness or joy
喜喜 – “double” happiness or overjoy
喜喜 is a Chinese character that literally combines two of the characters for joy to denote especially joyous occasions, such as weddings and the Lunar New Year. Chinese lanterns (and other decorative items) often have this character written on them and so I have embroidered it in red (which signifies fortune) yarn, utilizing the eyelets in the lantern as a grid.
I then programmed the Arduino to output an uneven signal to the 8 LEDs inside the lantern to mimic the flickering of candles. In order to not burn out the board, I programmed the LEDs to go on only when the button is depressed.
The two lanterns are hung using the red yarn and then the entire chandelier is framed by two sections of dyed bamboo and some twine.
