Roger and Stephen in Singapore: Mid Autumn Festival 2012

Singapore loves a festival and we are coming to the end of the Mid Autumn Festival or sometimes called the Mooncake or Chinese Lantern festival which is celebrated from the 15th of September to the 14th of October. The main day falls on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunar calendar which was Sunday the 30th of September when the moon was at its brightest. This is the second most important festival for the Chinese after the Chinese New Year. It is a time of the year for the family to get together and celebrate the moon.

Mooncakes are very popular to eat and to give away as gifts during this time and each year different hotels and bakeries try to outdo one another with a new flavour and also the nicest packaging. Many shopping centres have a Mooncake stalls with the various hotels setting up temporary stalls for tastings as well as sales.Traditional Mooncakes consist of a thin pastry skin covering a sweet, dense filling, and may contain a whole salted egg yolk in their centre to symbolise the full moon. Many mooncakes have an imprint on top consisting of the Chinese characters for "longevity or "harmony" and flowers, vines, or a rabbit (symbol of the moon) may surround the characters for additional decoration. Mooncakes are considered a delicacy as production is labour-intensive and few people make them at home. The prices for four cakes can start around $30 and can go up to over $100.

In Chinatown and along the river at Clarke Quay the areas are decorated with lanterns and these vary from small traditional lanterns to very large lantern displays. On the night of September the 30th, families gathered with friends and children walked through the streets with small paper lanterns which are illuminatedby a small candle or a LED light inside.