Lanterns and torches are for another reason to announce the month.

The sighting of the crescent moon was announced with ram horns and trumpets audibly and visually with a fire signal at the beginning of the month. The fire signals the new month over Jerusalem, and signal fires would flare up to follow from hilltop to hilltop. The moon dangles like a necklace crescent jewel in the dusk of the night (Judges 8:21.26 and Isaiah 3:18).
To know the calendar cycle as complex as it was in ancient times, one must do the obvious: ' keep watch' of the heavens for time. Those in charge would call out the new month and count the days to the prescribed spring and autumn feasts and festivals. In Christ’s time, the temple court, including the high priest, was responsible for keeping watch.
That slither of the moon uncovered through an opening of a cloudy night before an announcement is signalled throughout the land of a crescent moon. To call the new month valid, the moon must be seen by credible witnesses, not by one whose background was a dice player or one who flies pigeons. Only then will signals flare up, starting from Mount of Olives, which overlooks the city.
Now, the inhabitants of Jerusalem would be quite aware of the preparations for a coming feast. The calendar mirroring the moon and sun’s monthly and yearly journeys was important. All announcements of the new month were important to shepherds of animals as it was also for the harvester to sow and reap. The moon announced the month when the sun would call out the seasons. This method was replaced later by dispatching messengers to carry the news. The Hebrews' enemies would also light fires to confuse and deceive their all-important civil and sacred calendar.
This thin crescent of light on the western horizon will display its horns just after the moon passes the sun's disk. Astronomically, an actual new moon can not be seen until a day has lapsed for it to show itself. The moon's horns tilt from side to side from the summer to winter months of the year. The Hebrews sense a holy obligation to keep in tune with the Lord of time. Michael Toms.