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Western Australian
Singapore Business Council
Western Australian
Singapore Business Council
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Moon Cake Festival 2000President Speech By Mrs. Cecilia WeeAt the Red Castle Hotel
Members and friends..
A
big welcome to the Red Castle Hotel and for joining us at this moon cake and
lantern festival, which is celebrated on the 15th of the eight month of the
Chinese Lunar Calendar and more often than not falls in September. To
this Chinese, it is the "Mid-autumn festival" but because of it's
association with mooncakes and lanterns, it is often referred to as the mooncake
or lantern festival. It
has been said that on the 15th day of the eight month, the moon is at it's
fullest, brightest and nearest to earth. Hence, it is at it's best and most
beautiful. This of course is greatly appreciated by the people on earth.
Especially by the ladies and young girls, as they would wish to be as beautiful
as the moon when they grow up, and for the mature ladies, they could remain
beautiful as the moon. Of
course, nowadays, since the astronauts walked on the moon, peoples' believe of
the moon is a spirit or a god had diminished and they don't worship the moon but
they still respect it and some still do keep up the practice. I personally do
respect the moon as i not only feel it is beautiful but it is also a powerful
planet. I always say "hello" to the moon to light up my path, so that
i could be safe and successful. For
the Chinese, the 8th mooncake is also a very auspicious month as '8' represents
prosperty and most Chinese would choose the 8th month to get married in. In
Singapore, if one wish to get married on the 8th month, they'll have to book the
venue for their marriage dinner a year ahead, or else they may not be able to
get a booking. It
has been said that there is an old man in the moon who is believed to be a deity
of match-making, and he makes his appearance on the moon on the 15th day and
records those lucky couples destined to be man and wife and to live happily
together, which is very important, unlike the couples jump in and out of beds
and in and out of marriage. The 8th month also signifies the end of the festival of the hungry ghosts, when no marriages take place, and no buying of property or starting a business. It is a Tabu month and most buddhist and Chinese families burn joss sticks and paper money by the roadside for the lost souls spending money. There
are also large road side parties to entertain the ghosts and lots of food to
feed them them so that they will be happy and well fed and not vent their anger
on the peaceful people on earth thus i'd like to to stress that the mooncake
festival is not a religious festival. In
China, mooncake festival is a harvest festival and moon cake is a thanks giving
symbol especially if the harvest was plentiful. (It's like Americans celebrating
thanksgiving with Turkey or the English with their Christmas Puddings) I
have set up the traditional altar which most Chinese families set up to pay
their respects to the moon and ask for blessings. You will notice that most of
the items displayed are consistent to beauty. Like
the comb, hairbrush, face-powder, lip-stick, nail polish, handkerchief, face
towel, basin with water in it to clean the face, fan and last but not least a
round fruit "Pomelo" which means "abundance" from the
Chinese word "yao" which means "to have", and because it is
round and the giving of pomelo to people means good luck and properity. The
drinking of Chinese tea is another must for the festival, as the Chinese tea
with it's aroma and astringent flavor is an ideal drink to compliment the sweet,
rich moon cakes. The Chinese were the first tea-drinking peple. In the north of
China, it is more popular like in England, the Northnerners are mostly tea
drinkers. For those who would like to have moon cake recipies we have some available. And now i'll pass you onto joy who will tell you about the lantern parades held in Singapore and another two legends about the moon.
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