How to Make a Lantern in Minecraft

Lanterns are one of the best decorative light sources that you can use in Minecraft. Blocks like glowstone are too distracting, while traditional torches feel out of place. The only reliable solution left is a lantern, and fortunately, they can either sit on top of blocks or hang beautifully from the ceiling using chains. Once you learn how to make a lantern in Minecraft, you won’t need any other light sources.

Lanterns are bright, aesthetic, and easy to craft. And if you want variety, they have a soul lantern variant and different types of copper lanterns as well. So, if you’re trying to bring your Minecraft house ideas to life, lanterns are your answer for creating that soft and warm aesthetic light during the night.

What is a Lantern in Minecraft?

As the name suggests, lanterns are a light source in Minecraft that can be placed like blocks. They are one of the brightest sources of light and are comparable to lava, beacon, and similar blocks. But what sets them truly apart is their design. Even though the lanterns act like blocks, they have a compact design that visually doesn’t take up much space.

Lanterns have a piece of chain on top of their head. So, when placed beneath another block, they appear to be hanging from that block. Doesn’t that look cool? On the other hand, when you place them without any block on top, the same lantern’s chain changes its appearance. Then it looks like a handle to hold the lantern.

Items Required to Make a Lantern in Minecraft

Now, before you learn how to craft lanterns in Minecraft, take note of the following items that you need to gather first:

You can get the iron nuggets by placing an iron ingot in the crafting area. One iron ingot can give you nine nuggets. Though you only need eight to craft a lantern. You can use our Minecraft ore distribution guide to find iron ore easily to make an iron ingot.

Alternatively, if you have extra iron gear, you can smelt it inside a smelter, furnace, or blast furnace. Smelting an iron item gives out one iron nugget, irrespective of the durability or type of that item.

How to Make a Torch in Minecraft

Minecraft has two types of torches: soul torches and regular torches. To learn how to make a regular torch in Minecraft, you can refer to our linked guide. All you need to do is place a piece of coal or charcoal in a cell above a stick in the crafting area. This torch allows you to craft a regular lantern in the game.

However, if you want to make a soul lantern, you have to craft a soul torch instead of a regular torch. To craft it, place a block of soul soil or soul sand in the cell below the stick and a piece of coal or charcoal above. The crafting recipe for both torches is vertical, and you can make them in any column of the crafting area.

How to Make a Lantern in Minecraft: Crafting Recipe

The crafting recipe for both lanterns is simple. Once you have gathered all the materials, go through the following steps to make a lantern in Minecraft:

• You just have to place the torch or soul torch in the middle cell of the crafting area.
• Then, you need to place iron nuggets all around the torch, filling every other cell.
• This will give you the lantern that you can then drag to your inventory.

How to Get Lanterns in Minecraft World Naturally

Naturally, you can find regular lanterns in the following locations:

• Snowy Tundra Villages
• Bastion Remnants

In the village, they usually generate on top of pillars around farms and on some buildings. As for the Remnants, the lanterns’ spawn location is random. But if you want to get naturally generated soul lanterns, you have to visit ancient cities. That is the only spot in Minecraft that spawns soul lanterns naturally.

Get Lanterns by Trading

You can trade with apprentice-level librarian villagers to get regular lanterns in exchange for an emerald. But they don’t give out soul lanterns at any level.

Using Commands in Creative Mode

In the creative mode of Minecraft, you have the luxury of using Minecraft commands without making your friends frown. Once the commands or the cheats are enabled, type the following command in your text box:

/give @s minecraft:lantern or /give @s minecraft:soul_lantern

As you can already guess, the first command gives you the usual orange-colored lantern type, while the second one gives you the soul variant.

How to Use a Lantern in Minecraft

Learning how to make a lantern in Minecraft is only half the way. Once crafted, you can place the lantern below any block to hang it. Or you can place it on top of another block for a lamp-like appearance.

But make sure you break it only with a pickaxe (can be made out of any material). When broken without a pickaxe, the lantern disappears without dropping anything. You can use a lantern for the following purposes in the game:

• As a light source to illuminate your house in Minecraft
• Because it is a bright light source, the lantern can melt snow slowly
• As an added benefit, the soul lantern, similar to soul fire, easily repels piglins

Different Types of Lanterns in Minecraft

Technically, lanterns use fire as their source of light. Because of that, we only have two types of lanterns in the game that share a similar recipe: Regular Lantern and Soul Lantern.

Other than these two, you also have the option of making a copper lantern in Minecraft. These come in 4 different colors based on their oxidation levels. You can check our linked guide for more details on how to craft it, all its uses, and more.

The regular lantern is orange and yellow in color. Meanwhile, the soul lantern is a shade of blue. It is also worth noting that only the regular lantern, with a light level of 15, is in the group of the brightest light sources. The soul lantern only has a light level of 10 and isn’t even as bright as a Nether portal in Minecraft. You can choose the lantern variant based on your requirements and design.

Bonus: More Lantern Types in Minecraft

A lot of players also search for how to make a pumpkin lantern in Minecraft, but there is a small catch. It isn’t really called a pumpkin lantern in the game; instead, what you’re referring to is the Jack-o’-lantern. It is made using a Carved Pumpkin in Minecraft and a torch.

Another popular lantern block is the Sea Lantern. So, if you’re wondering how to make a sea lantern in Minecraft, you’ll first need to explore the Ocean Monuments and defeat the Guardians to get the required materials.

Now you’re ready to explore all the caves in the worlds made using the best Minecraft seeds. However, if crafting isn’t your favorite pastime, the best Minecraft mods can seem like a better alternative. With that said, which type of lantern are you going to make? Soul lantern or regular lantern? Tell us in the comments!