Harvest Festivals Giving thanks in Singapore
by Jennifer Williams
Thanksgiving pumpkin pie
For Americans, November is synonymous with pumpkin pie, turkey and all the "fixin’s." American Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November and is a time for family, feasts, football (American style) and Black Friday — the all-nighter kick-off of the Christmas shopping season. While Americans in Singapore try their best to coax a 20-pound turkey into a 30-centimeter square oven, I discovered how Singaporeans celebrate the harvest season. Although Singapore does not have its own harvest day, it celebrates the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival and the Southern Indian Tamil festival of Pongal.
Jade Rabbit pounding the elixir of life at Gardens by the Bay
Mid-Autumn Festival Mid-Autumn Festival takes over Chinatown, and most malls in Singapore, in August. This traditional Chinese festival falls on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. The Festival is a time for homecomings, family reunions and feasts. I joined an AWA Mid-Autumn workshop hosted by Mun, from the Palace Museum Shop, to learn more. Mun grew up in Singapore during the 1960’s and is a wealth of information on Chinese culture. Along with Oolong tea and mooncakes, Mun served up stories of Mid-Autumn Festival. The moon, which is at its largest and closest to earth on the day of Mid-Autumn, is the most important symbol of the Festival. In Chinese tradition, the moon is inhabited by Chang-e (the Lady in the moon) and the Jade Rabbit. Chang-e lived long ago and married Hou Yi, a hunter who became King. Hou Yi obtained a pill of immortality and hid it from his wife. But Chang-e found the pill and swallowed it. She then floated to the moon where she lives for eternity. The rabbit came to the moon after the Jade Emperor went to earth and disguised himself as an elderly man. He asked a fox, a monkey and a rabbit to find him food. The fox brought a fish and the monkey brought fruit but the rabbit could find nothing. Instead of leaving the old man to starve, the rabbit jumped into the fire and sacrificed himself. As a reward for his selflessness, the Jade Emperor sent the rabbit to live in the Moon
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AWA Magazine Nov/Dec 2021
