Singapore celebrates the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival with cultural shows and a vibrant parade of dragon dances, lantern-carrying children and fireworks. Wander the decorated Chinatown streets, browsing market stalls and sampling the festival’s traditional mooncakes made with red bean paste.
Mooncake (yuek beng) occupies a special place in Chinese hearts. Legend has it that 14th-century Chinese patriots used these sweet delicacies to overthrow the tyrannical Yuan Dynasty by embedding messages in them and smuggling them to their allies.
The opening ceremony of the Mid Autumn Festival in Chinatown is a sight to behold, with lion and dragon dances, a lantern parade, fireworks, stilt walkers, giant flag bearers and cultural dances. Children show off their paper lanterns against the night sky, adults relax with tea and yuek beng and elderly Chinese look out for Chang Er and her pet rabbit who, as legend has it, reside on the moon.
As well as Chinatown, good places to celebrate Mid-Autumn are Albert Mall, Orchard Road, around the Singapore River and the Chinese Garden. Along the historic river, brilliant lights and psychedelic lanterns create a lively backdrop to a lifestyle bazaar. While soaking up the atmosphere, don’t forget to check out the carnival on the river banks. Yummy goodies and novelties are on offer in the open field along Sago Lane and visitors can also enjoy nightly opera performances and daily acrobatic shows.
Orchard Road is a great place to savour the delicious mooncake in all its forms. Red bean paste is the most common but new and unique flavours of this mouth-watering delicacy are on offer including preserved ducks eggs, lotus paste, melon seeds and yam.
Other festive foods you might come across during the festival include pomelos, a local citrus fruit, and pastries galore. Festival altars are adorned with five dishes of round fruits – apples, peaches etc – as these symbolise the moon and family unity.
Source : http://www.singeve.com/2009/04/mid-autumn-festival-august-and-setember.html
Tags: Mid autumn festival, Mooncake
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