Mid Autumn Festival

     The Mid Autumn Festival celebrations have begun in Singapore and this is one of my new favorite holidays. It is a harvest holiday held in the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, close to the autumnal equinox. There are a few stories about the origins of the festival. Some say the ancient Chinese observed that the movement of the moon had a close correlation to the changes of the seasons and agricultural production. The Mid Autumn Festival is a time to show gratitude to the moon for the abundant harvest. There is also the story of a man named Hou Yi who saved the fields from the scorching heat of ten suns by taking his bow and arrow and shooting down all but one, ordering the last sun to rise and set according to a schedule. The people were so grateful they made him king, however, he became a mean tyrant. In order to live long without death he asked for an immortality elixir. His wife, Chang'e, stole this from him to keep the people from suffering under his rule and she drank the elixir. When Hou Yi found out about this he was so angry he began to shoot at his wife, she escaped to the moon and Hou Yi was so angry he died. Since then, the moon has been celebrated to show gratitude for Chang'e's actions. Cool stuff, huh? This is one version of the story I found online, there are others that are slightly different.
     A notable part of the celebrations is to carry or hang colorful lit lanterns. I have seen a few places in town with beautiful lanterns hanging and I have a few photos to share.

Chinatown

A few for sale in Chinatown.

Gardens by the Bay

This was put up just for the Mid Autumn Festival, usually there is nothing in the water here.

The same picture as above but taken at night, all lit up.

Not the most traditional lanterns but the most popular with the little kids. 

I liked this shot with the full moon, super trees, flower domes, lanterns and a pretty decent reflection in the water. Like the blues of the sky.

I'd like to get a bit closer to this display. It is roped off and hard to get a good picture. There is a dragon, swans, dragonflies, birds and lotus flowers. Super trees are in the background to the left.

 Everyone out walking around enjoying the lanterns on display. 

Chinese Gardens

These two shots were taken outside of the gardens. I didn't realize that they were charging a fee to enter. Since I had my camera bag and tripod I didn't bring much money, just a few dollars for a water. So I didn't make it inside, bummer. Looked like it had potential for good lantern pics!

This guy was hanging out by the front entrance to the gardens. Guess he didn't want to pay the entrance fees either!

Happy Friday!