America is known as the melting pot, but in some ways, Singapore is the ultimate Asian melting pot. There are giant populations of folks here from just about everywhere in Asia with a bunch of expats sprinkled in for good measure. The schools generally celebrate two of every religious holidays which I think is a pretty cool way for a kid to get exposed to the world. One of the biggest Chinese holidays is The Mooncake Festival, also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival which kicked off today.
I was chomping at the bits to go check it out and for good reason. The two main streets of Chinatown are now covered by a canopy of brightly colored lanterns. The main side street had lots of folks hawking lanterns and other Chinese crap. It is absolutely beautiful - and that was before they turned on the lights!
Since we got there a little early, we first grabbed dinner with Hudson shoveling in his new favorite dish of fried rice and Tom trying Chili Crabs for the first time. The famous Singaporean crabs really are good (and expensive!), but man, it takes a lot of messy effort just to get a little nugget of meat!
The festival is a lunar harvest celebration celebrated the 15th day of the eight day of the Chinese year which is around the autumnal equinox. Because the moon is round, there is a tradition of eating round things, like specially made mooncakes and pomelos which are GIANT grapefruit-type globes.
Mooncakes come in all shapes and sizes. The traditional one has an egg yolk inside - not my favorite. We got the kids cakes tonight and they were a bit like giant Fig Newtons. Neither kid finished a whole one, but they liked them - and so did I! Sadly, my camera was acting up so my photos were a bit fuzzy. Bummer.
There is also a tradition of lighting lanterns because, hey - lanterns are round and lit brightly, just like the moon. On the last night of the festival - which happens to be Tom's birthday on the 29th - kids walk with lit lanterns through the streets of Singapore. We're still debating whether or not we attempt it with the kids.
Our realtor Wendy is Chinese and she told me she remembers making the lanterns as a little girl and walking with a real candle inside in total terror that she'd catch her lantern on fire, but nobody's ever did. Nowdays, you put an electric candle inside or - worse yet - you buy a cheapie one that is prelit. They even sell PLASTIC lanterns. That just seems wrong - even to me, a Westerner. I'm thinking I may sneak back over the next few days and buy a couple of cool lanterns to take home. What better way to decorate for our obligational Singaporean dinner that we'll need to cook for our famliy and friends?!
In Taiwan, the lit lanterns are floated into the air, kind of like the story of "Tangled." (If you have little kids, you've seen the Disney version of Rapunzel). Lanterns aren't just Asian. Tom told me that in Holland as a little boy they used to celebrate the The Festival of Sintmaarten by carrying lit lanterns and getting candy. It was a little like our Halloween, but I'm thinking it must've have been cold in November! Brrr.
Anyway, on the Mooncake Festival's opening night, there is a big ceremony complete with lion dances, fireworks and, of course, the lighting of the lanterns. Truth is, Tom and I couldn't see much anyway though Maisie and Hudson had great seats on our shoulders, towering above the Asian population. Since the ceremony started at 7 - their bedtime - the kids were just getting too pooped so we only caught one thing: the dragon dance. Hudson was really funny about it, screaming from my shoulders, "Dragon! Dragon!" much to the delight of the blond-baby-loving Chinese! I really wanted to stay longer and try to see the whole ceremony and the lanterns light up, but when Hudson said, "Home. Nap. Bobo (his lovey)," that was that.
This morning, I took Tom and the kids to Dempsey Hill's Jones the Grocer because they have an amazing brunch, something Tom has been craving. The plan was to then walk around and wait for the kids to fall asleep in the stroller. They'd get a nap before tonight and we'd get to do a little shopping. I was hoping to buy THE trinket from stroller. No nap. No shopping. No fireworks. Bummer. Oh well, that just means I get to back by myself and buy something really cool! Ha!