Allentown "UFOs" Identified as Sky Lanterns

A detailed report of off Airport Road Sunday has been debunked as memorial sky lanterns rising from the adjacent Cedar Hill Memorial Park.

The Morning Call reports that an anonymous caller said lanterns were released at a grave around 5 p.m. WFMZ has a photo of the strange orange lights and says a Slatington family sent up the lanterns in memory of a loved one who died Dec. 4, 2010.

Patch readers added comments to the noting sightings of unusual lights in Hellertown, Emmaus and other towns in recent years.

Sky lanterns, popular in some Asian cultures, are made of a small candle or fuel cell, oiled paper and a frame of wood or bamboo. They're sold by websites such as Skywishlantern and Skylanterns, which makes the items in Thailand and sells them to more than 100 countries for festivals and celebrations such as birthdays and weddings.