Chinese culture is still a bit foreign to me but I’m slowly integrating. This past week marked the Mid-Autumn Festival for eastern Asia, where it is a public holiday. This is the second most important date in the Chinese calendar, celebrating the autumn equinox. Chinese New Year ranks as the most important celebration, marking the lunar new year.
When the moon is at its fullest, families traditionally go outside to eat moon cakes, which are equivalent to fruitcakes because of their popularity. Pomelo fruit is also standard to this holiday, and children like to put the rinds on their heads. But the most dazzling event of Mid-Autumn Festival is the lantern display. Children of all ages parade around with lights in honor of the moon.
Our little family decided to check out the hottest place to go in Hong Kong for the festival, Victoria Park. We met up with some friends and enjoyed the many light displays along with a full stage of song and dance. To finish our evening, we sat on the grass and ate moon cake with fruit as Maeli danced around with her lantern. I’ve never felt so Chinese. And oddly enough, it reminded me of my many moon parties at The Evergreen State College where I sat with friends in the dark to enjoy our vast universe.
So I was saddened to read about the amount of garbage dumped in parks around Hong Kong. It amounted to 89 tons for one evening of festivities. There were also 200,000 moon cakes thrown away, which is probably equivalent to the amount of fruitcake thrown away in the US each year. Some things are merely human, no matter how culturally different.
§Commentary
Some kind of cakes would have been a nice addition to those events at the TESC…
Did you forget, Wheel, that Cynth and I made cookies one time. Actually it was the 1st party. I believe it was called “Plant the Seed.” I doubt you forgot.