Home Today Is Thousands Of Years Ago Kites Were Made From Leaves

Thousands Of Years Ago Kites Were Made From Leaves

flying day

Observed annually on February 8th, National Kite Flying Day is marked by kite flying enthusiasts across the country.

Kites date back to China in 470 B.C. China is full of lore and histories of the origins of the kite. Many are related to the way wind affects the leaves on the trees, the shelters they lived in, blowing away the sails on their ships and the hats they wore upon their heads. The stories also tell of kites being invented to spy on their enemies or to send messages.

There is also evidence that the people of South Sea Islands were using kites for fishing around the same time as the people of China.

Early kites were constructed from bamboo or sturdy reeds for framing. Leaves, silk or paper made ideal sails. Vines or braided fibers completed the line or tether. While kites were initially used as tools, they were also ceremonial as well. Used to send messages into the heavens or to lift offerings up to the gods, kites had a symbolic place in the culture.

Faith Based Events

Today kites are popular both as hobbies and for outdoor fun. They range from a simple diamond kite to more complicated box kites and giant sled kites. Stunt kites, also known as sport kites, are designed so the operator can maneuver the kite into dips, twists, and dives with dramatic effect.

  • The smallest kite in the world which actually flies is 5mm high (less than .2 inches)
  • the largest kite in the world is called the Megabite, which is 55 x 22 metres (181 ft x  72 ft)
  • The longest kite in the world is 1034 metres which is 3394 ft.
  • The earliest kites were flown thousands of years ago and made of leaves.
  • The world record for the longest kite fly is 180 hours.
  • Large kites were banned in East Germany because of the possibility of lifting people over the Berlin Wall.
  • Kite flying was banned in China during the Cultural Revolution, anyone
    found flying a kite was sent to jail for up to three years and their kites
    destroyed.
  • Kites were used in the American Civil War to deliver letters and newspapers.
  • Kite flying is one of the fastest growing sports in the world with over 50 million kites being sold in the USA every year.
  • More adults in the world fly kites than children.
  • Kite flying was banned in Japan in 1760 because too many people preferred to fly kites than work.
  • Do you know Interesting Fun Facts about Kites is that there is at least one Kite Festival every weekend of the year in some part of the world.
  • The earliest written account of kite flying was about 200 B.C. when the Chinese General Han Hsin of the Han Dynasty flew a kite over the walls of a city he was attacking to measure how far his army would have to tunnel to reach past the defenses.
  • The earliest evidence of Indian kite flying comes from miniature paintings from the Mogul Period around 1500. A favorite theme was of a young man skillfully using his kite to drop messages to a lover who was being held in strict seclusion from him and the rest of the world.

Sources:

National Day Calendar

The Fact Site

Kite Trade

Richmond

Syskool


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