Mooncakes are usually eaten in small wedges with families or friends during the night of Mid-Autumn, often served with tea or wine. T he most traditional ones, however, are made with a lotus seed paste with a salted egg yolk centre. In fact, there's an overwhelming variety of flavours to choose from these days. Nowadays, mooncakes symbolise togetherness and harmony, and every year we see shops and restaurants touting mooncakes of all kinds. Mooncakes are said to have originated from Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 AD) revolutionaries as a means to pass covert messages hidden in them. This annual affair is a popular tradition that still remains in our modern city and every year, families, friends, and couples flock to the best spots in town to admire the beautiful moon. For thousands of years, communities would come together during the holiday to write wishes on sky lanterns (the type that floats up into the sky) and light them in honour of the legendary goddess of the moon, Chang’e, hoping that she would bless her worshippers with luck.Įach year, there are three important days to gaze at the moon among the Chinese community: on the eve of Mid-Autumn Festival when we welcome the moon on the day of the festival to admire the moon and on the following day to send off the moon. Lanterns are no doubt one of the oldest traditions of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Photograph: Courtesy Leisure and Cultural Services Department Today, this public event has become one of the most famous annual rituals in Hong Kong and shines as a testament to the city’s rich cultural traditions. The Tai Hang dragon is a massive structure is covered in thousands of incense sticks burning on its body, made out of hemp rope, pearl straw, and ratton and requires hundreds of performers to prop it up. To commemorate the victory, the villagers would perform a fire dragon dance through the alleys and streets of Tai Hang every year since. Legend has it that in the 1880s, the villagers in Tai Hang successfully chased off plague and evil spirits by parading the village with a straw dragon covered with incense. Take a Hong Kong tour to admire the Mid-autumn lantern carnival, and experience the colorful living culture.The Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance is one of the most spectacular traditions during the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong.
#MID AUTUMN FESTIVAL LANTERN FISH FULL#
Then, they would admire the full moon, taste delicious moon cakes, floating sky lanterns, and other interesting activities.Ĭontents of celebration varied in different areas of China. So at the festival, families would get together to have dinner for a reunion. And the term round implies family reunion in Chinese.
Chinese people believe that on that day, the moon is the biggest, roundest and brightest. It takes place on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. The Mid-Autumn Festival is considered only second to Chinese New Year in importance. The event would take three days, 300 performers, 72,000 incense sticks and a 67-metre-long dragon studded with thousands of burning joss sticks. In Hong Kong, there are also other activities for celebration, a famous one - Fire Dragon Dance. It measures 37 meters long and 14 meters wide. The giant fish-shaped sculpture, made of more than 2,500 lanterns, is expected to be the world's largest fish lantern. Hong Kong Tourism Board organized the lantern carnival in Victoria Park to welcome the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival. A giant fish lantern was lit at a mid-autumn lantern carnival in Hong Kong on Sept 5, 2011.
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