Mid-Autumn Festival
September 12, 2005
Blab blah blah..
Feeling upset today. Miscommunication, misperception with my cousin, a lot of things I want to talk about but I can’t say it.
Anyway, bless me; I have Hubby, my permanent source of relief and strength. It just feel so right, if a spouse/bf/gf is a source of sorrow instead of relief, something must be wrong on one or both.
Here, two bloggers were detained, because they were writing about racism things. I don’t know how bad and shallow the way these two guys wrote, but hopefully the government and society have good reason to detain them. Religion discussions had been done to death, I think if some governments go and check the writing website I like to visit daily; they wouldn’t have enough jail. Some racism discussion of course end up ugly, fights and arguments, but some also result in smart discussions when everybody is agree to disagree and there are shades of grey instead of black and white. So I’m quite convinced that these two guys crossed the line a bit too far.
Anyway, I’d like to share more on happy things. Like Pontianak, Singapore has strong Chinese tradition. Now we are entering mid-autumn festival, time to eat mooncake and light up the lantern. In Pontianak, the tradition is stronger. Like my family, on the fifteenth of the moon (Lunar Calendar) we would set up a table in the deck or yard, filled it with all kind of pretty and new things, and spend the night gathering with family, chatting, sharing story and watching the moon. It was my favorite time of the year; me and brothers would built windmill from Bombix (cheaper and simpler version of Lego), our display would be the highest and prettiest among cousins. Mom and dad would fill the table with moon cake, cookies, new toiletries, flowers etc.
It was fun because the deck was covered with vinyl, we could jump, climb, lie down, play hide and seek and hear stories from my late grandma, who seldom visited our house. The moon would be beautiful and full. I’m impressed with Lunar Calendar, it’s always accurate, whenever it’s full moon, it must be the fifteenth. Unlike our Dutch Calendar, full moon hardly happens on fifteenth.
Okie, so now I miss the tradition, we still do that, but now it’s much more simplified, and I always miss that since I’m not staying with my family. I think Sinciapo’s tradition is not as much as mine last time, they celebrate it only with mooncakes and lanterns, if I’m not wrong. And psst, I don’t like the mooncakes here. It’s different and very sweet.
Two years ago, my Dad received couple of boxes from his friends, so me and Hubby had to finish it. Tell you, it was tough! The most that I could eat without goose bump is a quarter of a cake (one cake’s diameter is about 10 cm), while one box consists of four mooncakes and we had many of them, non-stop gifts. To add to the pain, my colleague also held mooncake party, and even my office. After that year, I forbid any kind of mooncake in the house, so far so good, but I still have half a month to go to keep an eye on my Dad. :)
Lantern. Actually, we had lantern in Pontianak only on Capgomeh, the end of Chinese New Year. Apparently, they play lantern here in mid-autumn festival. So, yesterday, I brought Mom to the Lantern Festival at Chinese Garden. It was quite impressive; huge, bright and colorful lanterns around the park. From all type of dinosaurs to flowers and fairy, they had it. I wanted to bring my nephew last year, it was Hello Kitty theme, but we didn’t have time then. Mom was very happy; she likes to see this kind of colorful and beautiful thingy, too bad Dad couldn’t join us.
Now the lantern made by plastic/fabric and bulb, instead of paper and candles last time. I agree, paper, children and fire are dangeroussss combinations.
Since I talk about Pontianak, I’d like to share my concern. In Indonesia, we know kuntilanak, the infamous ghost originated from Pontianak. In here, they call kuntilanak as Pontianak. I’m very upset, it’s my hometown! Just because of some misinterpretation, they call the ghost Pontianak. At one job interview, a lady almost bulged her eyes out when I said I was from Pontianak, coincidentally I had long hair and red eyes from lack of sleep, mhehhehehhehe….frustating. Grr.
Blab blah blah..
Feeling upset today. Miscommunication, misperception with my cousin, a lot of things I want to talk about but I can’t say it.
Anyway, bless me; I have Hubby, my permanent source of relief and strength. It just feel so right, if a spouse/bf/gf is a source of sorrow instead of relief, something must be wrong on one or both.
Here, two bloggers were detained, because they were writing about racism things. I don’t know how bad and shallow the way these two guys wrote, but hopefully the government and society have good reason to detain them. Religion discussions had been done to death, I think if some governments go and check the writing website I like to visit daily; they wouldn’t have enough jail. Some racism discussion of course end up ugly, fights and arguments, but some also result in smart discussions when everybody is agree to disagree and there are shades of grey instead of black and white. So I’m quite convinced that these two guys crossed the line a bit too far.
Anyway, I’d like to share more on happy things. Like Pontianak, Singapore has strong Chinese tradition. Now we are entering mid-autumn festival, time to eat mooncake and light up the lantern. In Pontianak, the tradition is stronger. Like my family, on the fifteenth of the moon (Lunar Calendar) we would set up a table in the deck or yard, filled it with all kind of pretty and new things, and spend the night gathering with family, chatting, sharing story and watching the moon. It was my favorite time of the year; me and brothers would built windmill from Bombix (cheaper and simpler version of Lego), our display would be the highest and prettiest among cousins. Mom and dad would fill the table with moon cake, cookies, new toiletries, flowers etc.
It was fun because the deck was covered with vinyl, we could jump, climb, lie down, play hide and seek and hear stories from my late grandma, who seldom visited our house. The moon would be beautiful and full. I’m impressed with Lunar Calendar, it’s always accurate, whenever it’s full moon, it must be the fifteenth. Unlike our Dutch Calendar, full moon hardly happens on fifteenth.
Okie, so now I miss the tradition, we still do that, but now it’s much more simplified, and I always miss that since I’m not staying with my family. I think Sinciapo’s tradition is not as much as mine last time, they celebrate it only with mooncakes and lanterns, if I’m not wrong. And psst, I don’t like the mooncakes here. It’s different and very sweet.
Two years ago, my Dad received couple of boxes from his friends, so me and Hubby had to finish it. Tell you, it was tough! The most that I could eat without goose bump is a quarter of a cake (one cake’s diameter is about 10 cm), while one box consists of four mooncakes and we had many of them, non-stop gifts. To add to the pain, my colleague also held mooncake party, and even my office. After that year, I forbid any kind of mooncake in the house, so far so good, but I still have half a month to go to keep an eye on my Dad. :)
Lantern. Actually, we had lantern in Pontianak only on Capgomeh, the end of Chinese New Year. Apparently, they play lantern here in mid-autumn festival. So, yesterday, I brought Mom to the Lantern Festival at Chinese Garden. It was quite impressive; huge, bright and colorful lanterns around the park. From all type of dinosaurs to flowers and fairy, they had it. I wanted to bring my nephew last year, it was Hello Kitty theme, but we didn’t have time then. Mom was very happy; she likes to see this kind of colorful and beautiful thingy, too bad Dad couldn’t join us.
Now the lantern made by plastic/fabric and bulb, instead of paper and candles last time. I agree, paper, children and fire are dangeroussss combinations.
Since I talk about Pontianak, I’d like to share my concern. In Indonesia, we know kuntilanak, the infamous ghost originated from Pontianak. In here, they call kuntilanak as Pontianak. I’m very upset, it’s my hometown! Just because of some misinterpretation, they call the ghost Pontianak. At one job interview, a lady almost bulged her eyes out when I said I was from Pontianak, coincidentally I had long hair and red eyes from lack of sleep, mhehhehehhehe….frustating. Grr.
posted by aping | 12:17 AM
<< Home