By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, Sept 29: Hundreds of colorful lanterns illuminated the Malaysia-China Friendship Park or ‘Taman Sahabat’ here in conjunction with Mid-Autumn Festival tonight.
At the venue, some 600 lanterns were given away for free to the members of the public present since 6.30pm.
The celebration also included lion dance performances and a parade circling the park.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Mooncake Festival or Lantern Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated in Chinese culture. Tonight’s celebration was also joined by those of various races and religions.
The same night not only saw children getting excited holding their respective lanterns but also the elderly who were awed by lanterns with modern designs.
This was made possible thanks to the joint effort of Kuching South City Council (MBKS), Persatuan Persahabatan Zong Ho Kuching and Chinese Martial Art Association who had organised the public gathering.
MBKS mayor Dato Wee Hong said the Mid-Autumn Festival is the second biggest festival celebrated by the Chinese after Chinese New Year.
“Other than having moon cakes, I think this festival is more of a family reunion where people come together so that is why we have decided to give out free lanterns and some moon cakes to carry the real meaning of the Moon Cake Festival,” he told reporters at the event.
He also mentioned that MBKS had organised various activities to celebrate this year’s festival with the needy such as the Salvation Army Children’s Home in Samarahan last night (Sept 28) and Sarawak Hun Nam Siang Tng (elderly’s home) this morning (Sept 29).
Also present were Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China, Xing Weiping and Chinese Martial Art Association patron Kapitan Tan Kun Gee.
Watch the video of the celebration here. — DayakDaily
