Lantern

A **lantern** is a light-emitting decorative block.

## Overview

A lantern can be placed on top of, or hanging under most solid blocks. It gives off a light level of 15, slightly more than a torch.

## Source

Lanterns can generate on lamp posts in some types of villages, provided they were generated after the upcoming update 1.14. They can also be crafted by players.

## Mining

A Lantern requires a pickaxe to harvest, otherwise it will drop nothing.

1. ↑ Times are for unenchanted tools in seconds.

## History

Lanterns have been discussed as a possible addition to the game for several years, dating back to the time when Notch was working on *Minecraft*. At one time, Notch had said with the addition of the lantern, torches would be changed so that they eventually burn out and would need to be re-lit with flint and steel. The lantern, on the other hand, would always give light. According to Notch, when updated, *all* torches in a world, including in players' inventory or in chests, would be converted to lanterns. This would be done by redesigning the current `minecraft:torch`. Since several years have now passed since this statement, and Notch no longer works for *Mojang*, it is unclear whether this will still be the case.

As part of the Halloween Update, glowstone was introduced and hinted by Notch as a potential item requirement to craft the still-unimplemented lanterns, as it has the greatest luminescence of any raw material. This would have made lanterns relatively inaccessible and a risky item to obtain. A second potential item that might have been required to create lanterns was netherrack, it being a block that never burns out whilst lit. Having both of these items as components for a lantern, would have required players to travel to the Nether, if they wanted to craft one.

On November 11, 2010, on Notch's Twitter account, he claimed (likely as a joke) that "lamps" had actually stood for "**L**ight **A**-givin' **M**aterial **P**ortal **S**ide... the yellow stone thing", probably referring to glowstone. However, on January 13 2011, Notch claimed that lanterns were "postponed", and added on January 20 2011, he clarified that he was "not sure" when they would be implemented.

During early planning stages, it was debated whether lanterns would possibly produce light while being carried, making them a useful item for exploring caves and other dark environments. However, Notch eventually stated on Twitter that he would not add torches as a mobile light source, because he didn't like how they looked, and that he might allow lanterns to be hung from ceilings, but he was not sure. On the 12th of June 2011, Notch once again hinted that he was still working on lanterns.

Lanterns and temporary torches were originally intended to be added in Alpha 1.2.0: the Halloween update. They were repeatedly postponed, until Notch announced on November 18, 2011, at the *Mojang* Panel at MineCon 2011, that lanterns would not be added to *Minecraft*, because of a large negative community response. Instead, other types of lighting would be added; such as redstone lamps and glowstone.

## Trivia

* In Notch's Ludum Dare 22 contest entry, Minicraft, lanterns can be made in the crafting table; however, the difference between it and torches is that lanterns can be moved, and have a greater range.
* This block generates naturally in the Bastion Remnants in the 1.16 - Nether Update (Snapshot: 20w16a)

## See also

* Torch
* Redstone lamp
* Glowstone
* Sea lantern
* End rod

## Reference

1. ↑ ch0wn on Reddit
2. ↑ Notch on Twitter
3. ↑ Notch on Twiter
4. ↑ Notch on Twitter
5. ↑ Notch on Twitter
6. ↑ Notch on Twitter
7. ↑ YouTube Video
8. ↑ Notch on Twitter
9. ↑ Minicraft game made by Notch for Ludum Dare 22

## Gallery

Lantern.pngA non animated lantern.Hanging LanternB.gifHanging LanternHangingSoulFireLantern.pngHanging Soul Fire LanternCapture11.pngA soul fire lantern in-game in 20w06a.