Floating Lanterns For The Moon Festival

September 25, 2023

Before I become busy next week once I get back home to attend my father's funeral, I wanted to post articles as much as I could because I'll be off for a while. I have seven drafted articles ready to be posted, mostly travel blogs, so they'll be out in the scheduled days.

Autumn is here, as is the arrival of the Moon Festival, popularly known as the Mid-Autumn Festival. As part of this anticipated event of the season, there are different Moon Festival theme installations in different parts of Hong Kong. And those installations are the main attraction of the festival celebration.

This year's Mid-Autumn Festival falls before the end of September, on September 29th, to be exact, and everyone is excited about it as some suspended events in the past years due to pandemic hiatus will be resumed this year. The Fire Dragon Parade is one of them.

I was in Hong Kong Park one Sunday. It's a perfect place to unwind on the weekend. It's like a paradise in between tall structures. I've been there once, and I told myself I'd visit again, which happened on that day.

There are decorations for the Moon Festival around the lake, on staircases, and along the footpaths. There are bunny, moon, and lantern displays that glow at night, making the whole place magical. On the sides of benches are cute moon and bunny installations.

These three objects — the moon, rabbit, and lantern—have significant symbolism for the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is during this event when the moon is in its full phase, and ever since the old dynasty, they have considered this time to celebrate the bountiful harvest they received. Meanwhile, the jade rabbit is the main mascot for this festival, which was taken from a popular Chinese folktale related to the Goddess of the Moon and the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Lastly, the lanterns are the main decorations during the Mid-Autumn or Moon Festival. Popular spots in Hong Kong and temples are usually decorated with colorful and beautiful lanterns. Some are giant lanterns. At Hong Kong Park Lake, there are beautiful Chinese lanterns that glow at night in the water. Some lanterns are usually hung or floated into the sky. These lanterns in the lake attract koi fish in the water. They seem to like the light glowing from them. I have seen only a few in the afternoon, but when the lanterns glowed at night, koi fish started to swarm around the lanterns.

In Chinese tradition, during the Mid-Autumn festival, they would write wishes on the lantern and float them up into the sky, with the hope that the Goddess of the Moon would read their wishes and bless them with good luck. It is also when families gather to celebrate this festival, worship deities, and pay respect to their ancestors.

And soon, I'll be expecting moon cakes again, which are the main auspicious food during this festival. Unfortunately, I won't be here on the festival day.

(All photos are mine)

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