A thousand & one lights >> Mid-Autumn Festival in Singapore

Golden Triangle blog returns after this entry. I simply want to walk down memory's lane a little and write about the Lantern Festival, which I haven't celebrated. But, others have.

Today is the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar year. Today, the Chinese celebrate the Mid-Autumn (zhong qiu jie) or Mooncake Festival.

That's not something I bother with as I grow older. I think it has been three decades since I carry a lantern to celebrate this festival.

This evening, however, I'm staying over at Annie's.

On a sudden whim, I suggested a walk after dinner, to see if the Chinese in Singapore were still celebrating this tradition.

Eating lots of mooncakes before, during and after does not qualify. I wonder if children still carry lanterns while the adults gather to chit-chat, drink tea and eat mooncakes.

Downstairs, two families were lighting candles on the walkway. Numerous lanterns hung on nearby benches. But, not much activity besides these gung-ho groups.

And we couldn't see the moon. Much too cloudy. Perhaps it would pour again, like it did early this morning.

Further on, at the quadrangle, more families gathered and it was almost festive. We walked on and entered the public park, an area with jogging and cycling tracks, and exercise machines.

The night transformed, warmed by the tiny glow from many, many, petite candles seven-cm tall and half-a-cm wide. A couple was snacking away while their children played with lanterns and sparklers.

By one path, three girls crouched around a mass of unlit candles. Walking past them, we realised they had arranged the candles to form some word and were trying to flame up each and every candle.

"Keep the plastic bag. Don't throw it on the floor!" An older girl admonished a younger one further down the path.

Malay and Indian families also joined in the fun. They were candles, candles, everywhere, with lanterns strung up by the bushes.

And then, there were the sparklers. Attention grabbers, those sparklers. They emitted a high-pitch whistle once they started to burn. Children lit them and whirled them, momentarily creating bright rings in the air.

The lanterns came in all shapes and sizes. There were simple paper ones, floral patterns painted on the side. More elaborate designs included dragons, somewhat on the chubby side. These paper lanterns were lit with a candle held within its bowels. The plastic lanterns (battery-operated) had more contemporary icons, such as Mickey Mouse. I also saw a lantern which was actually a mini-carousel with a button mushroom as its centrepiece!

There was even music to accompany the festivities as some of the lanterns came equipped with a Chinese pop or evergreen tune. I heard one extolling the warmth and happiness of family, a tune I remember learning in primary school.

As we walked around, Annie and I were reminded of the time we spent in Darjeeling several years ago. As we went there in October, we were very lucky to catch the locals celebrating Diwali.

When night fell, hundreds of candles were lit. At our guesthouse, the staff placed candles on each step of the stairs. The glow was very heartwarming (and warming as well in the cold evenings on the hill station).

Groups of young people went around singing, like carollers during Christmas. One group came to our guesthouse. They placed their tape-recorder on the floor and sang and danced most merrily. Everyone was very appreciative and our lady manager handed them some presents.

Out on the streets, firecrackers added to the festivities. It was fun in the safety of our guesthouse, but much less so when we went out for dinner earlier. It seemed that people simply threw the firecrackers where they liked. We did not want to be 'bombed' so we hurried back to our room and enjoyed the festivities from afar.

As we reminisced, we turned to begin our stroll home. And there, right in front of us, was the moon.

A splendid glowing globe against the dark sky.

For info about the Mid-Autumn Festival & Diwali (or Deepavali), you may find these websites useful:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival
ml.hss.cmu.edu/courses/suemei/Moon/
www.sinica.edu.tw/tit/festivals/0996_MidAutumn.html
www.diwalifestival.org/