Mid-Autumn Festival 2023
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a popular observance in Singapore amongst those of ethnic Chinese heritage. It is not a public holiday, but malls nevertheless decorate and sell special food items at this time of year. Here and in other countries, this day is also known as Mid-Autumn Festival.
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Mooncake is a symbol of family reunion for its round shape.
Pomelo is not only round in shape, its Chinese name, you zi, is also a homophone for words that mean "bless the son."
The tradition of eating taro on Mid-Autumn Festival dates back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) but the meaning of eating taro differs from different Chinese regions. One of them believes that eating taro during Mid-Autumn Festival can ward off the evil spirits.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, on a full moon day. This is always in mid-fall, sometime in later September or early October. Moon cakes are the food of choice on this holiday. These cakes are filled with sweet-tasting bean paste or with lotus seeds or another filling. Originally, the Festival was closely connected with making offerings to the moon god to get a bountiful harvest. Today, most are not moon worshipers, but the cake is still shaped as a moon for that reason.
In Singapore, many families go out to see the various Chinese lantern and other lights displays at night during the festival. Kids love Mid-Autumn Festival because they not only get to eat tasty moon cakes, but also they get to hold the strings of floating, fully lit lanterns as they walk about town with their parents. Traditionally, lanterns were lit with wax candles and constructed of colourful Chinese paper. But today you will also see make-shift lanterns made of cellophane bags and hangar wires and store-bought versions lit by battery power and shaped like popular cartoon characters.
Mooncake is a symbol of family reunion for its round shape.
Pomelo is not only round in shape, its Chinese name, you zi, is also a homophone for words that mean "bless the son."
The tradition of eating taro on Mid-Autumn Festival dates back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) but the meaning of eating taro differs from different Chinese regions. One of them believes that eating taro during Mid-Autumn Festival can ward off the evil spirits.
Water Caltrop - A Kind of Nut Boiled and Eaten with Mooncakes
Final supermoon of 2023 illuminates Singapore sky on Mid-Autumn Festival
The Harvest Moon sighted at Woodlands Avenue 5 on Sep 29, 2023. (Photo: A Kannan)
Those celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival were in for a treat as the last supermoon of 2023 was seen over Singapore on Friday (Sep 29) night. Coinciding with the festival, also known as the Mooncake Festival, the fourth supermoon began rising at 7pm from the east.
As the full moon occurs closest to the September equinox every year, with corn harvested around the same time, this full moon is also referred to as the Harvest Moon or Corn Moon, according to Facebook group Stargazing Singapore on Thursday. Despite cloudy conditions during moonrise, CNA reader A Kannan managed to capture photos of the Harvest Moon from Woodlands. He said that the moon became "'clearly visible" at about 8pm, with the "occasional passing clouds shrouding the moon". Mr Kannan also had the chance to see Jupiter above the moon at about 6am on Friday.
He noted the moon was about 361,800km away from Earth when the photos were taken, adding that it was "closer, brighter and bigger than the normal moon we see during other months". The moon, which is expected to set on Saturday morning at about 7.20am, will appear "reddish", said Mr Kannan.
