Mid-Autumn Festival

Today, the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the Lunar Calendar is the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is believed that the moon is the roundest, biggest and brightest, on this day of the year.

There are many stories and legends surrounding the celebration of this Festival which started some 2,000 years ago. As with any tradition, or customs that old, the origin of the festival is always murky. You will no doubt find the stories and legends preposterous. So, we will not go there.

The version I believe in is that, once upon a time in China, farmers celebrated their bountiful harvest on this day outdoors when the moon was brightest. Families gathered to feast and make merry. They also made bean paste based pastries which they called moon-cakes. They enjoy the moon-cakes and moon gazed, as they catch up with each other.

In those days, there were no electricity, so the farmers made paper lanterns and hung them up for light. They also made small paper lanterns for the children to carry around their compound, to keep them amused.

Later on, during the late Yuan Dynasty, there was unrest. The rebels communicated the date of the revolt by hiding the message in the moon-cakes. The revolt was successful, and the new emperor, declared the moon-cake festival an official annual event.

When the Chinese immigrants headed down to South-East Asia, they brought the festival with them. Unfortunately, the meaning of this custom/tradition was lost in transition. Nowadays, most people don’t even know the origin of the story behind the celebration.

These days, people celebrate the festival, by buying moon-cakes as gifts for their elders as a gesture of respect. Friends too buy each other moon-cakes as a gesture of friendship. Companies gift them to clients, and employees gift them to their superiors to foster goodwill.

The festival is now very commercialized. Businesses cash in on this occasion to churn out all sorts of flavoured moon-cake. The packaging themselves are eye-openers. Look at the picture below. The cost of these moon-cakes will also make one open his/her eyes wide.

In Singapore, the two places that celebrate this occasion in a big way is The Gardens by the Bay, and The Chinese Garden. I have never been to the celebration in the Chinese Garden. But from reports from the press, it was more like a lantern show. There was a display of lanterns of various sizes, shapes and designs, some of which were very intricate.

I was at The Gardens by the Bay last year to take in the display. The Gardens by the Bay is a lot bigger than the Chinese Garden. There were stalls selling things that are synonymous with the celebration. There was also a performance by a Chinese Orchestra.