Famed as one of Singapore’s most colorful and engaging cultural Experiences, the yearly mid- Autumn Festival is a neighborhood melee with all the trappings of a conventional holiday. Come 3rd September 2011, all Singapore will come alive to the sound, taste and feel of one of the most beloved holidays in the Chinese lunar calendar. Dubbed the Mid-Autumn Festival this curious Chinese occasion also known as the Moon Festival celebrating the brightest full moon of the year in addition to the harvest interval is a cultural melee filled with colour, vigour and heritage.
With an illustrious history that dates back to the Tang Dynasty, this unique regional festival has its roots in a 14th century Chinese uprising against Mongol invaders. The legend goes that the crafty rebels composed calls for revolt on rolls of paper and hidden them within cakes which were smuggled to fellow citizens. The mass consumption of this so-called Moon Cakes through the Mid-Autumn Festival is credited to this historical episode which took place centuries ago. These days, the yummy cakes made from ground lotus seeds, sesame seed paste and eggs would be the festival’s most potent symbol with store fronts all along town roads competing to sell the sexy pick items. Traditional Chinese paper lanterns in the form of space ships, planes and animals are offered together with the cakes as the lanterns are also an essential part of the event is festivities.
In actuality, the majority of the town is illuminated by vibrant paper lanterns of all shapes, colors and sizes and households step out on to the roads with their very own candle lit lanterns in hand to go moon gazing during the main festival day. Locals also trek up to The Peak to place their lanterns alight and watch the shining moon increase over the hills while munching on yummy moon cakes. Lantern exhibitions and lantern carnivals are also arranged in conjunction with the mid-autumn festival while Victoria Park hosts the Lantern Wonderland which showcases a giant paper lantern. Elaborate parades and dragon dances will also be part of the parties that is thought of as the country’s biggest cultural event beside the Chinese lunar New Year.