Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration

I shall share an event that took place yesterday in one of Singapore's busiest shopping area i.e. Chinatown.

When I was travelling downtown, all vehicles upon reaching the entrance of the road leading to Chinatown had to detour. I was wondering. What on earth was happening? The destination I was heading is a few miles away. After finishing my chores, I made my way to Chinatown to see for myself what event was taking place. After looking at banners hanged within the area, I realised that Chinatown was celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival. This festival is being observed by the Chinese since long time ago. Moon cakes and lanterns are related to this festival. It can also be called Moon Cake Festival or Lantern Festival. In ancient China, agriculture was very important and during harvesting time the farmers celebrated. This festival might be a festival relating to farming.

Later the forktale legend of Chang E, the beautiful immortal in the moon was added to give essence to the festival. Chang E stole the pill of immortality from her husband and swallowed it to save the people from him who was a tyrant. Upon taking the pill, she became an immortal and levitated to the moon.

During the Mongol Dynasty in China, the people was oppressed. There were rebellions trying to overthrow the foreign rulers. The rebels put messages in moon cakes which were a must in the celebration asking the masses to revolt against the Mongolians on the day of Mid-Autumn Festival. The rebellion was successful and invaders were driven out of Middle Kingdom i.e. China. Thus the start of the Ming Dynasty.

The celebration was to begin at 8 p.m. but when I reached there at about 5 p.m., multitudes of people were already gathering at the three stations where the celebration could be watched. There were hugh viewing screens at these stations. The stage was at the centre between the lst and 2nd stations. At the 1st station rows of chairs were arranged in rows for invited guests and dignitaries like the President of Singapore, the Member of Parliament for that area, the Mayor for that district, etc.

The celebration started with the usual speeches by the necessary dignitaries followed by the presentation of awards and honours. The President of Singapore was invited to light the hugh lantern with 2,000 over hand prints to kick off the celebration. Ten lighted Kong Ming lanterns were released and drifted higher and higher into the sky. Fireworks were set off. Dragon dances were performed with graceful movements. Dances, singing items, etc were also in the program. The performances lasted for about 2 hours and were watched by few thousands of people. There were many foreign tourists among the spectators but majority of the spectators were locals.

I was pondering whether this event will help boost the sales revenue in Chinatown.