What is the origin of the moon cake festival? At the Toa Payah Community Club's Toastmasters Club, all the members and visitors were asked to stand up and say their name and tell their memories of celebrating the mooncake festival as a child and what they do now.
Lanterns
To illustrate the theme and evoke memories, small coloured paper lanterns, not just orange but also pink and purple and green and blue, hung from the side lights. Two larger lanterns were either side of the lectern, once lit from within by an electric bulb which flashed on and off, distracting me from what the audience members were telling me about the festival.
Family Bonding
Several spoke nostalgically about how they loved carefully carrying the candle-lit paper lanterns, trotting after, alongside or ahead of their parents and family and friends. Others, especially the young marrieds said they now did the same to entertain and bond with their own young children.
Outdated Tradition
Some of the singles shrugged and said they did not bother to celebrate the festival any more, too busy with work. Others tutted, shook their heads, and regretted that the tradition was dying out. One even speculated that in ten or twenty years time the celebration might have become forgotten and ignored. So this event might one day be one of my and our fond memories of the good old days.
Folk Tale
I was delighted to hear the story of the Moon Goddess described as a folk tale. I had been searching for a polite word to describe other people's traditions. To me the story of creation in the book of Genesis in the bible is not scientific. Many cultural and revered stories attached to religion or culture and religious or classic books are passed from generation to generation, with the associated symbols, and praised for their vivid and memorable depiction of rival characters, the failure of the baddies and triumph of the goodies, the explanation of the creation of the world, the seasons, good and evil, family conflicts, aid from above, the mysterious movements of the sun and the moon.
Legend
To call the tales from your own culture and religion, or somebody else's, a legend, seems to denigrate them from fact to fiction. The word legend to me implies disbelief and dismissal.
But the word folk tale seems to me just right. A folk tale is clearly fiction. Yet it has a warmth, suggesting stories told around the campfire or the fireplace, to sleepy children, tired workers, families resting ready to sleep peacefully.
Tale
The word tale evokes an image of an extended story with perhaps an element of repetition and suspense. Tales are entertaining. A tale or tales will enthral you.
Folk
The word folk implies a common tradition, not a secret and never repeated on pain of death naming of Gods and VIPs of the royals and religious and cultural elite, but a shared story, inherited by the entire group, for the world, for everyman, a classic which gives us a glimpse of our grandparents and parents and their parents and grandparents and our shared past.
When the session began with the question to the entire audience, "What story do you associate with the moon?" people shouted, "The man in the moon," as well as, "The Moon Goddess".
Winner of the best speaker ribbon was the toastmaster who took the trouble to dress up at the moon goddess.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker
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